First of all, I just want to say, I have been through almost all of your postings (and many of them more than once). It has provided so much support to me in going through this process in my life and I hope you know how much you have helped other women in the world who are going through this cursed condition. So thank you for that!

And I love your latest entry, especially because I can just sense all of the contentment you have in your life. Peace and contentment with the hair situation is so much harder to come by than good hair (which we can just throw on). I’m so happy for you and wish that someday I can get there.

I am writing because I have an issue that I am going through and would like to ask you for some advice. My hair loss story is remarkably similar to yours. Started taking Loestrin birth control pill at a very young age (like 12 or 13) because my periods were so irregular that my doctor wanted to regulate it and put me on the pill. I also have had eczema since my teens. And I also have been diagnosed with AGA (my hair is miniaturizing like crazy), and I think I may have chronic TE too because of the massive sheds. I also started taking Spiro for a couple of years, and then any attempt to wean myself off of it have given me crazy sheds.

After following your story so closely, and hearing that you went to Dr. Greco for PRP Therapy, and were actually able to use the treatments to “counteract” the effects of massive sheds from stopping Spiro, I made up ny mind to make an appointment with Dr. G. (I have been dying to get off Spiro because my husband and I are thinking about starting a family soon, and given the effects of Spiro on male fetuses, I knew it had to go). So the morning I went to get the PRP treatment was my last time taking Spiro. (I didn’t wait until several PRP treatments later like you did.). Of course, Dr. G and his team were so great and the pain was actually not so bad during the PRP treatment.

Now here’s the interesting result – in the past, when I have stopped taking Spiro, literally the week after, my hair would shed and shed and shed. This time, my hair looked and felt great! It just felt a little perkier (like you mentioned in one of your posts) and I literally had no shedding. I was so excited because I was thinking, if this is the immediate result after PRP, maybe the results would be even better after 4 months, or during the “peak” of the PRP effects.

I wish I had knocked wood after thinking those thoughts because, 5 weeks after my PRP treatment, my hair started falling again. Now, to be fair, it’s nowhere near as much that had fallen out before after stopping Spiro. But, now that my hair is so thin, the effects of my hair fall can be immediately seen. 🙁 🙁 :(. And I was really hoping PRP would be my saving grace also… To at least normalize my shedding and help me keep what I have.

My question is this– do you think another PRP therapy could help abate this new round of dread shed and help negate the lack of Spiro? Or do you think that my new hair shed is telling me that PRP isn’t really working for me, and I should save my money and my time? Because it is a lot of money, and if nothing is going to stop the hell that is removing Spiro from my regiment (i.e. massive sheds), then maybe I should just forget about it..

Also, I’d like to know in a little more detail, whether PRP completely negated the effects of stopping Spiro for you, or if you still saw some ill effects, like sheds, or more miniaturization. . That would be so helpful to my decision about whether to fly out to FL again to see Dr. G.

Lastly, I have sent multiple requests to join the WHLP network, with no response. Would you be able to send me a code so I could join the network? I would really like to be able to login and see the effects of PRP treatments on people’s hair loss and hear about others’ experiences in this process.

Thanks so much Y.!!

Cheers,

M

Thanks in advance!!

M

F

@Naomi – I echo that.. “We are so much more than just our hair!”

@S – For the longest time I wore a short beanie type hat when I went to certain places locally in my short hair, to make the difference of my long and short not so obvious, eventually I let that go. It all took time though, to move on progressively in the acceptance of a ) wearing hair and my hair loss, and b ) wearing both my hair and my wigs everywhere and around everyone. It is a journey.

@Amelia – Thank you! and you are definitely not alone in this

@Colleen – You can’t worry about what others will say, trust me.. your true friends and the people that matter, will love and accept you and all of you, and also won’t make you feel odd or off for switching it up between your wigs and your own hair. My friends know I wear hair and if they are with me when I get home, they very likely will see me slide it right off and put it on the counter ! or it might come off in uber on the way home LOL — that’s happened quite a bit too. 🙂

@Marilyn – Thank you!

@B – No limits indeed ! swish on!!

@Mia – Thank you and yes, life does go on, and we CAN live really good and happy lives with our hair loss, it doesn’t have to own us.

@bayareagirl – Thank you!

@sandy – Thank you!

XOXO