Comments on: American Hair Loss Association Androgen Index List of Birth Control Pills

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 18:42:27 +0000

In reply to Hal.

My hair loss comes and goes (seems like bouts of telogen effluvium). I was diagnosed with a rare form of scarring alopecia known as frontal fibrosing alopecia in May 2021. It’s a nightmare. I think it all started when I stopped taking Loestrin back in 2016, but they haven’t pinpointed a cause for FFA as of today and it’s very difficult to treat. I have tried to treat my hair loss using other forms of BC (yaz, ortho-cept) but it didnt help and when i stopped my hair fell out like crazy for 4-6 months My
advice to women is to stay away from birth control pills in
general. There are rare hair-loss conditions out there that literally kill our hair follicles (scarring alopecia). Researchers believe that birth control pills may be linked, yet you will not be informed by your obgyn. If I could go back I would have never taken birth control.

By: Hal

Hal — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 03:29:15 +0000

In reply to Heather.

I’m going through a similar experience. I stopped taking Lo Loestrin in June 2021 and switched to Yaz (but bled 75% of the time) so they switched me again to Aviane-28. But about 4-5 months after the Lo Loestrin was stopped, I noticed extreme thinning and it seems to be getting progressively worse. They just started me on Finasteride and iron (I was extremely low in iron/ferritin in my blood tests), and I may start Spironolactone as well – can I ask if you think those pills/supplements helped you at all?

I may also try PRP because I’m worried these pills won’t be enough to combat the loss. Do you think my best option is to try these interventions? Or does it seem like going BACK on the Lo Loestrin is the best option??? Thank you!

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 18:03:48 +0000

In reply to Michelle.

Hi Michelle,
I started bc when I was 18 (1996) and took Ortho-Cept for 6 years with no problems until I decided to stop and give my body a break from bc.

In October of 2011 I started taking Loestrin Fe and loved it because I had no period on this pill. In April of 2016 I stopped taking the Loestrin and 4 months after my hair started falling out like crazy (400+ hairs lost per day) and my period never came back. I waited 8 months and went back on bc (Yaz) because Yaz is supposed to help with hair loss. I’m also taking spirinolactone, finasteride, and a cocktail of supplements….all for my hair loss.

It is 2021 and my hair has been progressively thinning over the last 5 years. I was just wondering what you gave tried and if you are better.

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 27 Mar 2021 17:44:56 +0000

In reply to Kelley. My hair loss started 4 months after stopping Loestrin Fe and I now have androgenetic alopecia (almost 5 years now) thanks to Loestrin. I took it for 4 years after the birth of my last child with no issues. I had no period while on it and that was nice. 8 months after stopping Loestrin I started taking Yaz and it has not helped much.

By: Sara

Sara — Tue, 20 Nov 2018 19:01:14 +0000

I lost a ton of hair with Mirena. I had it removed after 2 years and having baldness in spots and overall loss of 30 percent volume.
When the mirena was removed, I bled so heavy for months I was anemic. I went on Lo Loestrin Fe at advice of doctor, and at 2 pills a day for a month to slow down bleeding. Then onto 1 pill a day onwards. My hair loss continued and now I’ve lost a big patch at the front which I’m very self conscious of.
My doctor switched me to Tri-Lo-Marzia today. Is that better than Lo Loestrin Fe? He doesn’t believe the pill is causing hair loss but said the Mirena did, and does, so he thinks I’m just still adjusting. I got several rounds of steroid shots in the bald areas and no change yet at all.

Does anyone know the androgen index for Tri-Lo-Marzia?
If this doesn’t work, I’m considering having tubal ligation as I am done having children anyhow (and pre menopausal – I’m 45).

Thanks!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 00:33:16 +0000

Started on LoLoestrin in November 2017, just to regulate my periods. Called my GYN in January to ask if there would be any connection to increased shedding that started about 3 to 4 months after starting lolestrin…. her answer was that it’s not common to have issues . Started on Lexapro in April… couldn’t handle the stress of losing my hair,. About 150 hairs a day.
Dermatologist said he thought Androgenic Alopecia, not TE. When I lose my hair, there is small white bulbs at the end on most. I am going through a divorce and the death my father at the same time… thought maybe stress playing a factor. I have always had very think , naturally wavy hair…. I’ve been so devasted by the loss of hair… at least 60% is gone. Majority is at bangs and sides,.. but the top creases have widened immensely. I can’t run my hands through my hair,.. without pulling out at least 30 hairs.
My dermatologist said try Yaz and spironolactone … my family physician said stay away from BC and my gyn says there is no link. Please help ! Any suggestions are welcome. I’m 43,.. starting my life over… don’t want to lose any more and just want to regrow to fill in. Started a week of YAZ ,.. 4 days in , lost 300 hairs . Think after reading all of this… I’m done with BC .
And does anyone take anxiety meds, like Lexapro,.. to help them distress?

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 22:47:30 +0000

Yes, like everyone else says, thank goodness for this website. I’m a woman in my 30s with no history of female pattern baldness on either side of my family. My 90 year old grandmother died with a full head of hair. Until last year, my hair was so thick it was a nuisance. It would break hair ties. I could do absolutely nothing with it because it was so thick and uncontrollable. I actually envied women with thinner more manageable hair. Then I went on a yaz generic. Over two months, I lost a ton of weight inexplicably, I looked skeletal. At the same time, I was finding ropes of my hair in my car where I sit. I called my OBGYN who said it couldn’t possibly be the birth control. Now my hair is so thin, I have to use small hair ties wrapped several times to hold it back. My hair line is receding dramatically and I can see my scalp clearly. I avoid looking at myself in the mirror, I can’t even recognize my own face and I don’t want anybody to see me. After reading all these posts, I’ve decided to go off my bc. I’ll give it a good year before I report back on my progress because I know the hormonal shock to my system could cause more hair to fall out. Best of luck to everyone else suffering through this. I never even wanted to be on this stupid pill, condoms had always worked fine but my OBGYN pressured me to do it. She’s been pushing that ring on me to. I’m about to tell her where she can stick it.

By: JP

JP — Fri, 06 Apr 2018 09:27:28 +0000

Hello everyone,
I’ll start off by saying it’s very telling that this blog/post has been ongoing for the last 10 years… this is obviously a major problem for a lot of women, and I assume there are many who haven’t found these kinds of resources. also I think we all need to agree that doctors can not deny the reality of this. Trust your body and yourself. I wish I had known so much earlier. However I’m so happy this web site exists for us to confide in one another. I agree that no one understands the horrendous affect this can have on your life unless you’re also going through it.

A little about me. My hair has always been my best quality. I have always loved my extremely thick hair, and can’t remember a time where I wasn’t complimented on it regularly. It would take me an hour to dry and straighten it all – a burden I was happy to have honestly. I didn’t realize how much confidence I got from my hair until I started to lose it. I started taking BC around 15- 16 or so. I used it until I was about 20 (TRI-CYCLEN). I broke up with my bf at the time and was going on a euro trip 4 months later. I decided not to be on birth control because, truthfully, it was annoying to have to remember and I didn’t want to spend the money. I was also not planning on sleeping with anyone for a while so I decided to stop it. I started to notice hair loss a couple months after. But it wasn’t extreme. So I shrugged it off. Everyone told me it was in my head or it was normal.

I started to use birth control again probably 8 months later. I met the most amazing guy and responsibly knew I should be on it again. So it’s now been 2 and a half years since I went back on it. And my hair loss has been slow, but 100% has continued. It has plagued me so much that I feel like I’ve lost my self and my identity. I know how dramatic that sounds but it causes me so much anxiety and grief. I used to have such thick hair that I needed two elastics to keep it in a sturdy high pony tail. Now it’s probably 1/8th the thickness and looks limp and frail. I despise looking in mirrors. I feel embarrassed which i know is crazy, but I can’t help it.

I’m 23 now. This last month I didn’t take birth control at all cause I ran out of my prescription and I have been so busy. & this is the reason I came to the conclusion that my hair loss is due to birth control. In the last month alone..I have noticed my hair loss increased suddenly and was exacerbated, and there is literally NO other thing that has changed in my life! I started to research the possibility of it and I have come across EXTENSIVE resources affirming my beliefs.

I am fearful of the possibility of losing even more hair. But to be honest, I think I’m done with birth control for good. My hair is so important to me and at this point I’ll do whatever it takes to repair or improve it. So if that means trying to stay off birth control, then here I go…I’ll update you all on what happens… xo.

By: Jaqui

Jaqui — Fri, 06 Oct 2017 11:37:17 +0000

Hi everyone, I am working with my doctors to find the exact reason for my extreme shedding, she recommended I switch my generic loestrin to yaz. Has anyone had experience with generic yaz helping with their shedding? Any help would be appreciated =D

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 22:55:05 +0000

Hi ladies! So I’ve had the same issues with everyone on Loestrin – I went off it in january, NO ONE BELIEVES ME WHEN I SAY MY HAIR IS THINNING, and it feels like I’m losing half of my hair. Knowing that this is a common issue has made me feel so less stressed- I finally feel like I can stop worrying knowing that my hair can’t really get worse, it’ll just start to heal now that I’m off this pill. My question – what non-hormonal birth control options exist? I’m about to graduate college and kids are NOT in plan at all, so are there any options that won’t ruin my hair further?