Well, in my situation, my family doctor first ordered blood work to look for an underying hair loss cause and found nothing. So she referred me to a dermatologist and on my own I sought out an endocrinologist because I have other symptoms. An endocrinologist is now looking into a possible underactive adrenal gland now because my cortisol level was borderline low. At the same time, my dermatologist did a biopsy of my scalp and found telogen effluvium AND androgenetic alopecia. SHOCK! No women in my family have this problem. So, I am wondering if you’ve heard of any possibility that this could be a false -positive for the androgenetic alopecia. Can anything else mimic alopecia? There’s no way to tell how much of my hair loss is due to TE or how much is due to AA, but as a result I have been advised to start using Rogaine for Women. I was told Men’s Rogaine is too strong while not helping any more than the women’s Rogaine. I also am going to use Nizoral 1%(doctor suggested) for dandruff that I already have and that may get worse with Rogaine. I just pray the Rogaine works. I don’t want to waste time and hair.
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Hi, welcome to the site! I’m not a doctor and I don’t have a lot of first hand experience with scalp biopsies so I’m hoping that perhaps Andrea or another women who has actually had this test performed, can help in providing greater insight. I’m also sending your question over to The American Hair Loss Association so that it can be answered by an actual physician because I want to make sure you get the right information. I wish I could answer your question about whether or not scalp biopsies can return results that are false positives for androgenetic alopecia. Logically I think that it is always possible in any test. I am curious to know if any other women have received the same results as you, being diagnosed with both telogen effluvium and androgenetic alopecia. If I was concerned about the resulting diagnosis I probably would consider having the test be redone by a different physician. Doctors are people too and they do make mistakes.
When I was first diagnosed with androgenetic alopecia back when I as 21/22 years of age I was told to take the Mens Rogaine and that it was perfectly safe and would be more effective. I know that a lot of doctors do tell their female patients to go ahead with the stronger dose as well, but you have to do what you feel comfortable with. You can always go for the higher strength Men’s Rogaine at a later time should you choose to do so. Also, a few women on this blog have been saying that the Rogaine Foam is easier to use and eliminates some of the problems that the regular Rogaine can sometimes cause, such as greasiness and itchiness, since it doesn’t have the propylene glycol. Although currently the Rogaine Foam is only available in the 5% minoxidil Men’s version. You can read the comment Gretchen wrote about it here.
I used to use Nizoral myself because I read somewhere that the active ingredient Ketoconazole actually had some mild anti-androgen properties that would help in hair loss. Not sure that those claims where ever substantiated, but if there is any truth to it that’ll be a bonus for you since you are using it anyways to treat your dandruff.
I know the horror and shock of being told you have androgenetic alopecia, I think we all hope that it is just a temporary telogen effluvium, and for some women it is. You’ve definitely taken all the right steps in helping yourself to determine your cause of hair loss. But perhaps to ease your mind you should consider consulting with one more physician so that they confirm your previous diagnosis. As I think about it more and more, one thing that sort of struck me as odd was that your doctor did tell you that the Men’s Rogaine was no more effective than the Women’s Rogaine. From everything I’ve ever read and been told by the doctors I saw, the 5 % minoxidil formulation (Men’s) is definitely more effective than the 2% minoxidil (Womens). In my opinion that was a little bit of misinformation provided to you by your doctor. If you do decide to go see someone else, I would go in as a blank slate as through you had never been to any other physician for your hair loss. That way you can see what they come up with on their own without having already heard about what you were diagnosed with from a previous physician.
I’ll let you know when I receive a answer back from The American Hair Loss Association and I’ll be sure to post here for you.
~Y
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December 31st, 2007 at 1:19 am
Hello all. I’m very happy to have found this site. I am 31 years old and I hate my hair. I’ve always had “thin” hair, but after I had my second child at age 25 I developed a “thin spot” at the back of my head.At the time I had my hair cut in a short pixie cut which only made the problem more visible. I thought that “oh well, it’s hormones and it will correct itself over time”, but over the last few years it has only gotten worse. Unfourtunetly I have dark brown hair and very pale skin so it kind of exaggerates the problem. now there is significant thinning on the top, back and sides of my head. I had grown my hair out long to cover up the thin areas, but it was really scraggely and thin looking. It also was beginning to look bad in a ponytail as there would be lines of scalp showing through, so I cut it off into a chin length inverted bob which works ok. I can’t wear bangs anymore because it is too thin behind the hair line. I went to a dermatologist about three years ago and they found I was significantly anemic so they blamed the hair loss on that. I’ve been watching my diet and taking iron since then, but the problem has continued. I went to my GP about three months ago and she did the battery of tests.. thyroid, androgens, iron, zinc… I’m no longer anemic and every thing else is “normal”. She pretty much chalked it up to stress or pattern baldness. I had been on birth control for migraines and she suggested that I stop it and see if that helps. I did and no difference with the hair loss. I”ve used dermatch, but pretty much for special occasions as I find it messy to deal with (but effective). I was looking on the web and stumbled across another scalp colorant called “tween times” by roux. Has anyone tried this product? It’s pretty sad really, I’ll be in the bath tub washing my hair and of course quite a bit comes out. I end up making a little pile on the side of the bath tub each time. I think to myself, maybe I should save it as I might need it later to make a weft or something. I throw it away. I pretty much avoid looking at the back or sides of my hair. I know it is stupid to tie so much of self image in hair, but my husband is very concerned with physical appearence (this has resulted in my having several cosmetic plastic surgeries- yes, I know, screwed up) and I don’t get any support from him. I’ve brainstormed hairstyles, coloring, perming and all kinds of ideas for improving the situation. I don’t really want to go on rogaine. I’m not sure why. Any way, that’s my story. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
January 5th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Hi Katy:
I’m 38 and have been dealing with hair loss since my mid-twenties. My hair loss is caused by thyroid issues and genetics. I always had fine hair growing up, but had plenty of it. I vividly remember being little and looking at all of my mom’s sisters with their very thin hair, and thinking that if that ever happened to me I’d want to die. Well, guess what. It has happened to me, and although I most certainly don’t want to die because of it, it does suck. Most of the thinning is on the top of my head, but I have noticed lately that the sides are starting to thin, too. Oh, joy. : /
The best product I’ve found to help cover the thinning areas is Organin. It’s a sprinkle on cover up, and although it’s messy, it does seem to do the trick. I buy it from folica.com. I haven’t tried the scalp colorant products like Dermatch, though. I did look up the Tween Times product you mentioned, but that looks like a product that covers up your roots or gray hairs in between hair colorings, so I don’t really think it’s a hair loss cover up product. Other sprinkle on products I’ve tried are Toppik and Nanogen, but I find Organin has the best color matches for my hair. And at $19.95 for a good size jar, it’s the cheapest.
Hang in there, sweetie! This can definitely be a tough row to hoe, but it’s great to know this web site is here and that there are other women who are going through the same thing. I’m so sorry to hear that you don’t get any support from your husband, because that’s very important when dealing with this issue. Hopefully you have a good friend or two you can turn to for support and understanding. Of course, you always have all the women on this web site, too. All us thin haired gals have to stick together! : )
May 9th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Just to say i know how you all feel. I am 40 year all female suffering with hair loss in last 3 three years gone down hill both physically and emotionally. I too sit in the bath with lots of hair strands everywhere wondering if i should be saving it. Exremely sad!! Have been to dermatologist as suggested by my gp and have been on regain mens extra strenth for three weeks, early days but I’m not convinced it will do the trick, makes my hair really dry and unmanagable but am waiting to carry out a scalp biopsy which sounds yuk!
My husband is very supportive but I am losing my self confidence fast. I dont want to go out as i dont feel femine or pretty. I know there are worse things out there than hair loss but i cant help it affecting me.
Also my personal opinion and advice to other sufferers is dont waste your money on any Niourkin products, I did for two years and saw absolutely no results. I now just have to wait and see what becomes of the biopsy results. Sorry for sounding so depressing.