I’ve just discovered your site and I must say that i,m glad that it exists. This is my dilemma, I’m a 39 year old woman who is experiencing hair loss/shedding and thinning for the last year and a half. I’ve always had long thick hair so this hair loss is a BIG adjusment for me and a lot of people have noticed the change in my hair which of course is adding to my stress and my depression. What I would like to know is this, I took aldactone for a little over 2 months and had some side effects, but only really stopped it because I had an infection elsewhere and I had to get onto medication that contained potassium. The infecton has now cleared up and I’m thinking of going on aldactone again as my shedding has increased again and also I’m also having my period and its seems I shed even more during my cycle than any other time (or at least i think i do). Is it worth going on aldactone again? Is the increased shedding due to the stopping of aldactone? I was also prescribed Diane 35 and Androcur- but have read up on them and the side effects scare me. I’m also trying chinese herbs and a regrow lotion for the last 4 months which has slowed my shedding but not stopped it. I would like to keep what I have left and not take medication that in in long run will do more harm than good. Do you know anything about soya products and hair?Thanks, awaiting your reply.
Dear Vicky -
Thanks for writing. I think a huge consideration is exactly what side effects you were having from the Aldactone and that should definitely be discussed with your physician. You were on Aldactone for such a short period of time that I don’t even know if that is long enough for it to have really have had enough effect to cause shedding from getting off it. Please remember I am not a doctor and cannot give medical advice, this is just my opinion, but it makes more sense to me that the shedding at the 2 month mark could have occurred from actually getting on the pill. Most medication used to treat hair loss all have the possibility of causing increased shedding in the beginning, it can get worse before it gets better type thing and it occurs around that time frame.
When it comes to taking any medication side effects can be pretty scary, but all meds have them. For myself I try to weigh out the possibility of one of the potential side effects to the degree of distress the ailment is causing me, in this case hair loss. Hair loss for me 8 years ago was probably the worst thing in the world, no one thinks they are going to lose their hair at 21. So I was very willing to try anything I could to save it, even knowing that some trouble could occur down the line. But again I was 21. As I got older I started to worry more and more about what effects taking a blood pressure pill that isn’t necessary was having on my body long term. Same for the pill I’m on, Orthotricyclen. Each year that passes by I worry a little more, but I really feel stuck taking all of it because I am very aware that the cessation of any of these mediation could throw me into such an extreme telogen effluvium (shedding) that my mind wouldn’t be able to recover and I’d be so depressed and hiding in bed forever. Not good. That is where I am at so I continue taking the meds despite my growing concerns. In all fareness, if my hair loss had stop and was no longer shedding I probably be happy as a peach and say, “it is all worth it” all the self questioning is happening because it seems that the treatments are no longer working to the degree they did early on… so I feel shorted in some way.
Aldactone has varying degrees of effectiveness for women, for myself I do think it helped me, more so in past years. I know this because I stopped taking my prescribed 100mg of aldactone approximately 5 years ago or so thinking it was not working. I had some pretty bad shedding, as expected, but my hair never seemed to really recover so I go back on, and at a higher dosage as well 200mg. Sometimes women are actually seeing protective hair benefits from low androgen index pills and aldactone and don’t even realize it. The realization comes when they stop taking the medication for awhile and notice that they were doing better while they were on them. When you stop taking the hair loss treatments you lose any benefits your hair got from it, and that is true for every hair loss treatment including Rogaine.
I am very unfamiliar with Cyproterone acetate (Androcur) and have never tried it myself, I know it is an antiandrogenetic hormone preparation and that is about it. Do you think your hair has gotten any better while on Androcur and Diane 35? Or are you not taking them and it was just prescribed to you? Unfortunately I don’t know about soya products, so I’m hoping another reader will be able to share any experience they had with it.
I don’t discourage women from trying Aldactone because it has proven to be of some help in treating women’s hair loss and I’m all for being proactive. I just like to tell my whole story and my thoughts that occurred years later after taking the treatments. For example, for women that are going to want to have children… they cannot take aldactone while being pregnant and obviously cannot take the birth control pill. So at some point 5, 10, 15 years down the line that day will come when they will have to get off all the meds and realize the possibility exists that they’ll start shedding hair at an accelerated rate. Of course after the baby is born the woman can get back on treatments, but understanding this and accepting this is making and education decision when treating your hair loss. Doctors don’t give you a sit down and tell you all of this.
I can’t tell you if it is worth getting on aldactone again because that is a very personal decision. I think whenever we are thinking about trying new meds we have to take out the benjamin scale and start weighing. I hope some other women can offer you their perspective as well, and that will help you in making the decision that is best for you and one you can live with.
~Y
Technorati Tags: aldactone, Androcur, Diane 35, hair loss
December 16th, 2007 at 11:22 am
Vicky,
Can you tell us what regrow lotion you used that slowed down shedding?
December 18th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Hi Jenny
The lotion that i used is called “101 hair regain tonic” which is a blend of chinese herbs (Developed by a dermotoligist & it has been around for ages) and i also take some chinese pills as well. A friend of mine recommended it as she has hair loss over a number of years and had tried this and notice a reduction of shedding and regrowth after several months (but she has stop it now as u need to apply morning & night, so its a bit fidgety). The site is http://www.101.com.au - this is the australian site u can read up on this and make up your own mind whether it is somethig u want to try. I’m also looking into VitB12 injection - apparently it is very good for hair and stress levels, as one goes hand in hand with each other. So i will see how this goes.
Bye Vic.
January 17th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Vicky, my wife was having trouble with hair loss and had been told it was probably just a side effect of her autoimmune disease, and there wasn’t much that could be done about it - other than Rogaine, which was messy and not very effective. This has been a problem for her for years, until a few months ago she saw a dermatologist for something else - and the dermatologist told her low iron can cause hair loss. Well she put her on high-strength iron supplements and after only a couple of months her hairdresser says she can already see new hairs starting to grow in on her scalp. If it get worse during your cycle maybe this is what’s causing your hair loss. Just something you might want to look into - I’m not a doctor.
January 17th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hi Justme, Welcome to the Site! Thank you for sharing your wife’s story. I’ve heard from several women now that increasing their iron dosage has helped them to some degree with their hair loss. It’s always great to hear different people’s experiences with different supplements and hair loss treatments, it really helps to figure out the path we want to take for ourselves and perhaps things we need to get tested. Thank you for sharing that!
~Y
January 22nd, 2008 at 5:17 am
Hi justme, its always nice to hear from the guys as my husband has also been very supportive i really do not know what i would do without him. About the iron, my iron levels were tested in May 07 and they were very low and i was put on iron supplements for approx 4 months and was retested and was told that the levels are fine now. But my hair is still shedding i think not as much now but i also dont have as much hair now as i did back in 07. But i did read another ladies story about her iron levels and she said it had to be at a particular level before it starts growing - something that i will check with mt derm.
About the Diane 35 and Androcur i was prescribed to take it but haven’t. I’m still confused about the pill as so many women on this site have taken it for years and have noticed hair loss and yet doctors prescribe different types of the “pill” for hairloss. So which one is the right one? that really is the question?
By the way my derm took 2 biopsies, so she could be sure and she told me i had FPB, as my hair had shown miniturization but what scares me is the constant shedding that is occuring i wonder if i have TE as well as FPB, i just dont know i’m going back to the derm early feb with a list of questions and some more blood work results. So i see how i go.
Vic.
April 19th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Hi Vicky,
Could you tell me how your hair loss condition is now? I am experiencing thinning all over my head and I don’t know why. I am a 24 year old female.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Hi Alynna
My journey is still continuing, it’s being approx. 19 months since i noticed my hair shedding and i’ve tried a variety of things and i’ve also resisted trying certain medication even though the dx tell u its the current way - i think your natural instincts kick or something.
My shedding has slowed down, last shower i counted “”5″” hairs a HUGH reduction from previous showers, before that 24, 20, 16, 40, 80, 100 etc etc. What have i done u propably ask? I FORCED myself to relax. I started walking, about 4-5 times a week (with a friend, i call it my FREE therapy), I am not on any pill and i feel comfortable enough, for me that is, not to go down that road, i’ve already tried aldactone(spiro), it gave me side effects i even tried saw pal. that gave me side effects as well.
I’ve done alot of research and i’m on a more natural approach. One thing that i feel that has helped with my shedding was taking an amino acidcalled “L-Lysine”, if your lacking this u tend to break out in cold sores, which i’ve done my whole life. I was on this for approx. 2 months when i noticed a change in my shedding and apparently it can also help if u are on the pill or spiro or any other medication its suppose to help it along.
I take this along with other vitamins etc and i’m also seeing a natropath who has me taking some herbal stuff (which tastes awful), don’t know if this is working yet.
Alynna, are u on any meds? and for how long? If u arn’t sometimes its just best to let your body ride it out? allow mother nature to heal itself. I know how difficult this is and how we focus all our energies on our hair, but if u can try and put your energies towards other things your body and hair will thank u for it eventually.
BTW, one my favourite hair habits is to wear a “hair net” arround the house, so i don’t see my hair all over my nice white/cream floor ( i have dark hair)- talk about being extreme, but we do what we can, every little step helps.
I send this to all the ladies who are struggling, keep searching, be gentle to your bodies, if meds is the way to go then so be it, love yourselfs and remeber we are all beautiful with or without hair. Best wishes Vic.
July 24th, 2008 at 7:50 am
Hi Vicky,
How is your progress?
I’m 32 and I’ve had thin hair pretty much since I was 18 years old. I tried Diane 35 for 4 years, and it did miracles for my skin and I had pretty healthy hair while on it, and it didn’t have much side effects other than a somewhat dampened sex drive. I came off of it a year ago after I ended a relationship and since then started having gradual hair thinning and hair loss. I also got coarse chin hairs, which I had to laser off.
Then 3 months ago, I started a new relationship and my acne flared like crazy and my hair started shedding a little more. I figured it was hormonal and went on Yasmin for 2 months and I started losing hair much worse: up to 200 to 300 strands a day. I also started gaining weight all of a sudden. My doctor told me she has never heard of anyone losing more hair on Yasmin and dismissed my concerns and told me it was a combination of stress and genetics. But the package insert says that some women experience hair loss. So I stopped it 2 weeks ago.
Anyway, it’s gotten so bad that a lot of people have noticed it and I know my new boyfriend has noticed it but he’s been too polite to say anything about it. It’s getting me pretty depressed. A family friend who is an endocrinologist recommended that I also go on both Diane 35 and Androcur, but I don’t want to lose my sex drive completely, especially at the start of a new relationship. But I’m thinking of going back on Diane 35 for a while again.
I’ve been taking a ton of vitamin supplements for the past couple of months and I was reading about Saw Palmetto as well. Can you tell me what kind of side effects you got from that? Also is there a particular shampoo you’ve found that is gentle and not contributing to excess shedding?
Thanks.
August 7th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I was on diane 35 for many years and took a break of 6 months about 4 years ago. I went back on it due to heavy periods and acne but decided to take another break in March this year. I’m thinking that was a big mistake. After a heavy period and severe cramps in June I decided to go back on the pill and was prescribed Yasmin - big mistake. I took it for 17 days and it did not agree with me at all. I have IBS which before Yasmin I had under good control but this pill made it flare up badly which I later learned was a common side effect and then a couple of weeks later I started to notice the hair loss. I actually didn’t notice it until I had my hair done as I was wearing it tied back all the time and hadn’t noticed it getting thinner but as the hair dresser was drying it I realised it was so thin you could see through it. Anyway that was on July 23rd and it’s gradually gotten worse over the past few weeks. It’s gotten really thin on top around my parting to the point where if I sttand under a light or even in sunlight you can see my scalp through my hair. It’s horrible.
So I think that as I stopped talking Diane in March and started to notice the hair loss in July that this is probably what caused it as I’ve read that the change in hormone levels can take 3 - 4 months to show. But I don’t think the Yasmin helped at all especially as I’ve snce read lots of reports about people losing their hair both on and coming off Yasmin.
Anyway I plan to go back on Diane 35 asap and keep my fingers crossed but remember to beware of Yasmin, especially since it’s sometimes marketed as a pill to help people with hair loss!
Thanks.