Comments on: Hair Loss and Medication – Vicky’s Hair Loss Story

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 03:33:38 +0000

Hey for anyone reading up on this horrible health problem that is hair loss, I experienced hormone related hair loss starting 3 years ago. After denying it for a year I realized it was happening and eventually my search for help brought me to a Diane 35 prescription.

I’ve had incredible regrowth which began after 6 months of being on that pill. I never imagined the hair would actually come back on my temples. So if anyone is desperate, try it. I am aware of the serious health risks Diane has, which is bringing me to re-evaluate this problem. I’m wondering if since it worked so well, that switching to an androgen blocker like Spiro might be a safer alternative.

Good luck everyone.

By: joanna

joanna — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 15:50:47 +0000

hello everyone, i too started experiencing hair loss 3 years ago and i am trying prp its been only 2 months so i cannot really comment has anyone else tried this? i am also thinking of taking androcur. i am 47 so i am probably perimenapausal as well and going through a stressful time right now so shedding a lot. my mom also experienced hair loss but it started in her 50’s. my derm diagnosed me with androgenic alopecia. i think its a combination of stress and hormones, i am in new york and looking for a second opinion so if anyone can help i would appreciate that.

By: Eve

Eve — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 10:29:05 +0000

FPHL means Female Pattern Hairloss.

I started shedding hair after a traumatic flight experience. The plane dropped 6 storeys and everything including my 5yr old son was on a free fall in that plane. We had to endure another 10hours in that flight to get to our destination.

At around 3 months prior to that flight experience, I stop my OCP Gynera.

1 month after that horrid flight, I noticed excessive shedding in the shower and combing throughout the day. I was freak out, fearful n depressed.

Visited a dermatologist and she asking me to go on the laser machine. After 3 months and thousands of $ spend, still shedding.

Shedding has been going on for 18 months till to date. I tried CRP/PRP at Dr Greco, chinese medicine and acupunture, Spironolactone (increased shedding by 3rd dose n I stop).

Only positive was when I started Yaz 5 months ago. Before Yaz, I was shedding 50-80 hairs a day. After Yaz, I was reduced to 30-50 hairs a day. 30 on a good day, 40 -50 on average. However, I noticed my shedding is slowly increasing again. 40-60 range. I’m thinking of switching to either Yasmin or Diana 35.

Anyone have experience with switching from Yaz for reduce shedding?
Pls share….

Hairloss n shedding is the worst nightmare and only people living in it will understand. My friends thinks that I’m making it worse than it is.

Derma diagnose me with Chronic Telogen Effunvium n FPHL as they saw hair miniurazation.

By: SabaZ

SabaZ — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 22:08:20 +0000

Hey I have been reading this thread. Can anyone plz tell me what FPHL is ?

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sat, 25 May 2013 22:31:08 +0000

Hello all ! SUCCESS STORY! First I’d like to begin by saying that I am 26 years old and my hair started falling out when I was 20. I immediately went to derm and got a hair biopsy which showed it was FPHL. Devastation. I wont go into detail as to what this does to us women emotionally as you are all well aware of that. Well I went to see Dr. Redmond in NY about 3 months after FPHL was confirmed. I tried various treatments with no success. Finally I went on Zovia 1/35 and androcur 50mg daily and only stopping for a period every 3 months and after about a year or so I noticed how little by little my shedding was decreased. Today I only shed between 10-20 hairs a day even on hair wash days. I’ve been on these treatments for the last 3 years. Slowly I’ve begun to decrease androcur dosage since I’d like to try to conceive in a year or so and didn’t want to shock my body by going off cold turkey. I began to cut and take the androcur in half for about 3 months then into 4 pieces so now I’m taking 12.5 mg a day with no problems with hair. I just want everyone to know that as devastating as hair loss is, just remember that this is hope in treatments but patience is key! Also please try to remind yourself that there are worse things in life and if hair loss is the only “illness” we experience in our lives, then we are truly blessed. Hope this message helped someone. Hugs.

By: E.

E. — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:08:51 +0000

Hi girls, sorry for dropping by after such a long time since the last post, but I just wanted to share my personal story.
I was prescribed Accutane for my acne in july 2010; the derm also suggested that I’d take Diane35, which would help me on the hormonal level. Anyhow, I only took three pills or something, because it made me dizzy and nauseous, could hardly hold myself on my feet, so I stopped it. Like three months later, I noticed sudden, extreme shedding of my hair, I didn’t give it too much importance back then, but I still talked to people around it, and my aesthetician told me that I should go on Diane, that she had been taking it for three years and stopped four months ago and she had no side effects and no displeasures at all. I followed her advice, got past the initial disconfort and I must say my hair stopped shedding like a week after I took the first pill, so I was really happy with the results and continued taking it. I took it for two months and then I started getting fed up with the mild depression, irritability etc that the pill would give me, and I stopped taking it. All fine and dandy for exactly four months, then again, SUDDEN shedding of my hair. I blamed it on the spring anemia and so on and ignored it, did not wanna go on Diane again. Took some natural supplements, including some pills containing L-lysine that Vicky mentioned, did not notice great improvement. Not to mention lotions and toners and stuff that promises to save your scalp, improve your blood flow and so on. I’ve cut my hair pretty short about two months ago, did not really help, but I gave it a try. Now my hair doesn’t LOOK much thinner, actually I ask my mom rather regularly about it and she says she doesnt notice anything, but I wonder how long it can go on like this without it becoming a problem. On the other hand, I notice a whole lot of regrowth around the crown, where it’s more obvious. Actually there are like many many 2-3 cm. long strands that are “sticking out” from the rest of the hair, when I have it combed back. I tried pulling them out to see if they’re in Telogen Effluvium as well, but none of them came out. I plucked one out with a tweezer and noticed it had a black root, no white end on its base, so that gives me hope as well. I read in many articles that it’s not actually the shedding that matters, but the regrowth. Even if you lose a big number of hairs a day, the follicle must continue being active AND THE NEW STRANDS MUST NOT BE AFFECTED OF TELOGEN EFFLUVIUM. So yeah, even if my hair is still falling out a lot, I’m hoping and crossing my fingers the regrowth is for serious and the new hairs will stay healthy for a long time.

Anyhow, my bottom line, after this long story, is that I really really truly regret having taken Diane. I wouldn’t do it again, and even if it has crossed my mind to restart the treatment after my shedding began, I rapidly abandoned the thought after reading other testimonials, stating that their shedding started all over after each time they stopped the pill. There are people who tried to explain the phenomenon through how Diane acts as an anti-androgen substance on the follicle, causing it to “block” androgens throughout the period of the treatment and then leaving it more sensitive to those hormones after you stop taking the pill. I’m thinking the body should be able to regulate its hormones after a while, though, so I’ll just wait. And hope that the mistake I made, which is two months of Diane treatment, didn’t really affect my hormones so harshly and that the body will heal itself on its own. Maybe I’ll take some natural estrogen promoting medicines, drink soymilk, exercise and stuff like that, but no going back on Diane. (in the meantime, I must say I’ve taken a pill called EVE, which is a new product, very light, but I don’t know if it can be found in the US, I got it in Italy. Didn’t do much for my shedding, didn’t make it get worse after stopping).

So, if anyone reads this, I really hope it’s gonna help them decide on whether take Diane or not, and I’d also be very glad to read other people’s stories (preferably success ones, he he).

By: Janeviv

Janeviv — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:10:31 +0000

Hi Vicky. Do you know if your hairloss is hormonal? Have you been diagnosed with polysystic overies? Aldactone or Androcur will only be helpful if hairloss is hormonal related. I began losing in my 20’s and am now 44. I was diagnosed with PCO and was given Androcur and contraceptive pill. Was great for clearing skin and any excessive facial/body hair thinned (but that wasn’t a huge problem to begin with). It didn’t regrow hair in bald patches on my head but I think it really did stop shedding. Thing is I never really thought I would shed anymore for some reason and I hadn’t for 20yrs until now. I believe that’s co’s of these drugs. Androcur made me moody and my menstral cycle was all over the place. I changed to aldactone and it has been much better but still no regrowth just prevention of shedding, until last few months. I was on 100g per day but have now gone onto 200g. After 3 weeks of upping it I think (not too excited just yet) the shedding is decreasing!!! I have also gone on iron supplements 2 days ago just in case its from low iron. I dont expect i’ll ever get all my hair back but sure don’t want to lose more. I hope this info helps you.
Take care,
Jane

By: Asiangal

Asiangal — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:03:31 +0000

I’ve always had thin hair since young. Due to some bad hair perming, i started shedding a lot, to the extent when my scalp was painful to comb through my hair. This happened many years ago. At that time, i took this supplement called Hair Push (by Wil Harrisons & Associates) for a total of 18 months and my hair reduced shedding and regrowth was great. After almost 2 years, I had more hair than original.

I stopped taking it for many years and my hair was ok. Now, I’m 33 and starting to experience hair loss again. So recently, I took on Diane35 AND the hair supplement Hair Push. It has been just one month and things are looking good. Reduced shedding… as for regrowth, I’ll have to wait for at least 6-10 months before anything significant can be noticed.

This is my personal experience and I hope it helps others with the same problem. Also, I have heard that using alcohol such as gin or egg whiteto rub on balding areas will stimulate hair growth. Never tried this though but my mum swears by it.

By: Annie

Annie — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:10:21 +0000

Hey Jen, while taking the Spiro and Diane 35 did you experience any side effects? I have been taking Spiro for 2 months now and I had to stop it for blood tests of hormones and enzymes and after a week off Spironolactone my hair is falling like never before. So, I started it again, but I am not sure when and if I will have any result. I have Diane 35 as well, but did not take it, because my dermatologist advised that will be too much…..

By: Vicky

Vicky — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:52:59 +0000

Hey Y, you say you have been taking Aldactone and BCP for about 9 years but have regretted it. I wanted to ask you during those years where you said you did think it was helping, did you feel even though you still shed, your loss stabilized? or has your hair been slowing progrssively been getting thinner? Because you said going on the synthroid started the loss again but how about before that? because if it did somewhat stabilize it where it wasnt getting worse year after year, I think thats a great success even if there was no regrowth. Please let me know thank you so much.