Hi everyone… I wanted to share what I think has benefited me in case it may possibly help someone else. I have hairs sprouting everywhere and my shedding has been pretty darn low over the past couple of months, and still seems to be dropping. I know that its way too soon to claim victory, but its been years and years since I’ve seen this low amount of shedding for this length of time so I felt it was worth sharing what I believe has helped me thus far.
I have AGA (my story is somewhere on this forum), and have been experiencing hair loss for about 13 years since starting on bcp’s when I was 22. I stopped taking Yasmin in 2007, hoping it would help but it didn’t. My hair has continued to thin over the years, and last year I did end up buying a topper from Flora (which I LOVE btw!). Thankfully, I don’t need to wear it all the time, but there are those days when I feel extra paranoid, and its nice to slap it on and go. I can’t tell you exactly what has helped me the most, but all I can say is don’t give up hope.
So here are a few things:
1) I think I was way overloading my body with supplements. I had tried Vitex, Shen Min, Ashwaganda, Dong Quai, Saw Palmetto, and a few others off and on some at the same time. I had a horrible shed in the Summer of last year and my hair got really thin in the front and I was just at my wit’s end because nothing was helping. I decided to stop all the supplements for about a month. I ended up selecting a few herbs and vitamins that I dedicated myself to sticking with – Maca root, Viviscal, and garlic (my whole regimen is below). Its so hard to wait months to see if something works, but trust me, nothing that really works is going to help overnight.
2) I started seeing a new dermatologist last year who specialized in women’s hair loss. I actually had my first appt. back in May of 2009, but when she prescribed Spiro and Rogaine, I was too afraid to try either of them because I had read so many bad things about initial shedding. I finally got up the nerve to start on Spiro in Oct, 2009 – only 25 mg. I had no initial shedding at all because the dosage was so low. It was not until about 3 months in that I started seeing the shedding drop a little. I went back for a follow-up at the beginning of Jan this year, and she increased my dosage to 50 mg. The shedding has continued to decrease. My derm wants to keep me at 50mg, she said although most doctors recommend 100-200mg for hair loss, she believes the side effects are greater at higher doses and that people can still see benefits at 50 mg, especially since I responded at 25mg. I have started the Rogaine but only in one tiny spot, lol. I’m still scared to put it all over.
3) This ones going to sound really crazy, but I’ve done a lot of research on electromagnetic radiation, and if you google ‘EMF and hair loss’ you’ll find a few interesting articles. Some people are extra sensitive to EMFs, and we are surrounded by it in our homes, offices, and just about anywhere: wireless networks, cell phones, microwave ovens, hair dryers, electric appliances, etc. I bought a little $25 hand-held radiation detection device off the internet, and it has helped me to determine how far back I need to sit from the computer, and to pin-point items in our house that were really blasting us with radiation. I also bought a low-emf hair dryer. The alarm clock right beside my head every night – who would have thought it produced that much radiation? I used to cook dinner every single night practically, with the microwave oven running over the stove right above my head. My husband pointed out how bad he thought it was for me, and unplugged the microwave despite my loud protesting 
Yes, its hard to get used to not using a microwave, but I think the health benefits greatly outweigh the inconvenience. Toaster ovens work great btw. In addition, every single Spring and Summer, I lived in a Tanning bed. I had no idea the amount of radiation you receive from a tanning bed, stupidly enough it never crossed my mind. And, funny, that my hair always went through major sheds during the summer months… I always thought it was seasonal, but what a coincidence? I truly believe that by being aware and reducing my exposure to items that produce lots of radiation has helped my hair. Even my office air purifier sitting beside me on my desk running every day was a high producer. Studies have shown that radiation can continue to build up in our bodies over time. There was a good article in prevention magazine recently about "dirty electricity", although it doesn’t specifically mention it causing hair loss, its still good information: <a href="http://www.prevention.com/health/health/healthy-lifestyle/is-dirty-electricity-making-you-sick/article/9e60d47569225210VgnVCM10000030281eac____” target=”_blank”>http://www.prevention.com/health/hea…0030281eac____. Its not something that would take effect overnight, as it takes weeks or maybe months, for radiation levels to drop. If you’re still reading this you probably think I’m nuts, but hey, whatever works!
4) Reduce the STRESS in your life. Life is too short. I cried myself silly over my hair until I couldn’t cry anymore. While it may make you temporarily feel better to let it out, it doesn’t help your hair or your health! Easier said than done, I know. I can’t tell you what a relief it was to buy a topper and to see how nice it looks and to walk out in public without worrying that the lights were reflecting on my scalp. Do whatever you can to make you feel better about yourself and do whatever helps to reduce the stress. I work full-time and am getting my Master’s degree online – last semester and this semester I decided to reduce my class load – it will take me longer to finish, but I don’t regret it one bit. Its not worth stressing myself out. Maybe its just me, but I think the Spiro has also helped to chill me out
So my current regimen is listed below in case anyone is interested. Most days my shedding is down to about 20 – 25 hairs in the shower and styling. Although I do think the week before and week of my period for some reason, I always lose less hair (?). A year ago at this time I was losing about 70-80 hairs in the shower on a normal day and during the summer it was up in the 100 range. So I’ll take whatever I can get and just pray that it continues. I will also say that after about 3 months on Viviscal is when I noticed a lot of new hairs sprouting out, although this also is about the same time I hit the 3 month mark on the Spiro as well.
Daily:
50 mg Spironalactone
New Chapter Organics Women’s One Daily multivitamin
2 x Viviscal hair vitamin for women
1,000mg Maca Root (Maca Magic tablets, not the capsules)
3 x Kyolic Garlic Immune Formula (really great stuff, I take extra if I have a cold)
1,000mg Vitamin D
500mg Calcium
250mg Magnesium
I also use about 1 – 2 tsp of Black Strap Molasses in my coffee every morning, this is full of iron and magnesium.
In addition, I’m really conscious of my protein intake, as we rarely eat red meats at our house. I snack on cheese, and natural peanut butter during the day. Protein is important for healthy hair.
Sorry for the long post, but hope this helps someone.
