Female hair loss

[irish-gal]

Does anybody suffer from female hair loss and know what causes it?

I'm seriously distressed about it.

It has started at the front and is now quite noticeable and really itchy.

I have pcos but thats under control. I was thinking pehaps it may be hypothyroidism as i've also got little hair on my face as well as other symptoms.

However my blood test came back o.k but i still think it cud be that.Could the doctor be wrong

Please help

[BeStrongBeHappy]

If it is itchy it could be some other condition... allergy, dermatitis, immune system reaction, lice, ringworm, and many other causes.

 

You might want to go to a dermatologist to have them look at your scalp to see if it can be treated and not assume it is hormonal.

[Jeen]

It could be your diet, medication you use, or stress.

[doyathink]

We were just talking about this not long ago. Read this thread...she also has pcos.

When I started losing hair, I was told it was probably my thyroid...but my test came back ok too.

 

[irish-gal]

We were just talking about this not long ago. Read this thread...she also has pcos.

When I started losing hair, I was told it was probably my thyroid...but my test came back ok too.

]

 

Has your hair grown back? What was the problem?

[JadedStar]

PCOS can definitely cause hair loss.

 

"Androgenic alopecia" is hair loss due to a male hormone imbalance, and is probably the most common cause for hair thinning and loss in PCOS women.

 

 

The above is what causes the hair loss and you say you have that under control, the PCOS, but i am not entirely sure that will correct the hairloss. The fact that your scalp is itchy also can suggest other issues. Do discuss with your doctor.

[doyathink]

Has your hair grown back? What was the problem?

 

I didn't lose any on my head, it was on my body. They don't know what caused it, but I'm sure it has to do with my thyroid....I had other symptoms too. No, it didn't come back.

[Portage]

I've lost a patch that is well hidden on the back of my head. My hairdresser noticed last Saturday.

 

I just came back from a blood test THIS EVENING to eliminate the possibility of a weakened immune system due to thryoid condition, low iron, etc,,,

 

My doctor told me that she believes it is 90 percent stress related. She had an identical case two days prior. If it is stress related i have a referral with a dermatologist in January to inject the patch (about the size of a 50 cent piece) with steroids.

 

I hope this helps. PM me if you want to chat. Nothing worse than being a female and thinking you may lose some or a majority of your hair. I never thought to worry about this - EVER!!!!!

 

Isn't giving birth enough????????????????????????

 

EDIT: She also gave me a topical ointment to apply every night before the January appt. to promote growth called corticosteroid

[lila...]

Does anybody suffer from female hair loss and know what causes it?

I'm seriously distressed about it.

It has started at the front and is now quite noticeable and really itchy.

I have pcos but thats under control. I was thinking pehaps it may be hypothyroidism as i've also got little hair on my face as well as other symptoms.

However my blood test came back o.k but i still think it cud be that.Could the doctor be wrong

Please help

 

Maybe it is the PCOS. PCOS causes many symptoms, you have to take various medicines to treat each of them individually...like one for the excess body hair growth, one for the irregular periods, etc., although some will cover most symptoms at once since they're all hormone related, maybe you just haven't tried anything that will treat the hair loss? Have you talked to your doctor about it?

[tiredofvampires]

Funny this post is up, when I am right now dealing with the same kind of problem -- and just saw a dermatologist yesterday about it. I have generally frizzy and kind of brittle hair, but it's been gradually over the last 2-3 years getting worse and worse, and the last time I saw my hairdresser (quite a while back), she said I had a lot of hairs that looked broken and unhealthy, and that it was like the kind of texture she sees with her hypothyroid clients. For a long time, I've just been dissatisfied with the texture, but more and more, I've found my hair shedding all over the place. I have to mop up handfuls of hair from the shower and drain after showers and it seems that no sooner do I clean the bathroom floor, it's got hair all over the tiles. Now in the last couple of weeks, I've noticed that around the front, near my temples, there is enough thinning that I can see scalp through the hair! Especially on one side. Which really sucks, because I like pulling my hair back in clips and ponytails, and so now I feel really self-conscious about this. A couple of friends said they couldn't really tell...

 

But sure enough, the dermatologist examined it and said that I've "lost significant amounts of hair" around that hairline area, and when she did a "pull test", enough hair came out that she said it is not normal. I showed her some bloodwork I'd gotten done 2 months ago, with basic chem profiles and thyroid functions, and she said all of that looked okay. So she told me it could be one of 2 things:

 

1. Telogenic Effluvium -- this occurs in women after preganancy sometimes, and about 50% of hair can be lost; otherwise, it is due to sudden or profound stress (such as a death, a breakup, exams). She said she often sees this in people who say they got through something alright, but "your hair is still stressed". Basically, the follicles aren't growing the hair out as usual. This passes on its own, after a period of months when the stress goes away. Well, I'm under enormous stress lately, and it's been unremitting, so maybe...

 

2. Alopecia Areata -- this is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks the hair follicles, and usually it results in patches falling out, but it can be generalized over the entire head. It can cause itching. (Which I don't have.) This won't clear up on its own, and improves using topical corticosteroids, she said. I don't know how long you'd need to use the medication or if you stop, the condition will be as bad as before, but she said it can control it pretty well. I do know that steroids used chronically will thin out the skin, so I'm not nuts about using that indefinitely, if this is what I have. Then again, I'd rather have thin scalp skin than gone hair!!

 

She said to determine which of these two it is, she'd need to take a biopsy, a 3 mm. incision in the back of my head (she said nearly no one loses hair there, so taking a few strands/follicles from there wouldn't compromise my hair....but Portage just said she's thinning in the back of the head, so now I dunno!) I was all set to have this biopsy right there and then, but then decided to postpone it until after the holidays, because it's going to be uncomfortable and I don't want that discomfort right now.

 

However, I do believe that blood tests for hypothyroidism are NOT accurate, and I have that from a few doctors who tend to think outside the mainstream medical box. I have a chronic condition (fibromyalgia) that affects a lot of metabolic processes, and there are some experts who believe that low thyroid function and/or low conversion of thyroid hormones in the tissues is responsible for a lot of undiagnosed "subclinical" cases of hypothyroidism. In other words, a doctor can give you a clean bill of health about your thyroid tests, and it won't be an accurate measure. In fact, my psychiatrist just told me that thyroid tests "aren't terribly sensitive", when I was asking him about the relationship between depression and low thyroid function. So I have it from good sources that you could be underactive in several points in the chain of thyroid hormones and it won't necessarily show up on standard blood tests.

 

This is something I'm actively currently investigating, and have just had a doctor prescribe small quantities of thyroid hormones to see how I do. You kind of have to go outside the standard by-the-book trained endocrinologist for this care, though.

 

So I'm a bit torn about whether to see if the thyroid hormones start helping this hair thing (which would take months to see the benefits of, I'm sure), or whether to rule out the two conditions above, with my dermatologist in 2 weeks time. I'm inclined to do both, get the biopsy AND start the thyroid treatment. (Note, I actually was on thyroid before and had to stop, so this would be a second time around. I wasn't shedding hair during that time as badly as I am now, but I was still losing some then.)

 

You might try running these diagnoses past a dermatologist and see what they say. I do have great trust that my dermatologist is the best there there is. I've seen lots of docs, so I know a good one when I see one.

 

I just hate this, though...I don't wanna be getting a mannish head now. (and I don't even have a baby to show for it!)

[waveseer]

I lost hair due to stress in my relationship once. I know it was this because the minute I divested myself, my hair stopped falling out. Amazing.

[MontaEllis]

Stop eating soy. start balancing your hormones with correct diet...veggies and fruit and no red meat...your hormones are all screwed up...you can fix this naturally.

[doyathink]

Stop eating soy. start balancing your hormones with correct diet...veggies and fruit and no red meat...your hormones are all screwed up...you can fix this naturally.

 

What if you don't eat soy already?

[chrissykissy83]

Hey everyone, I just search alopecia and this thread came up.

I was diagnosed with it on monday by my doctor, was given blood tests and they all came back ok.

Its really distressing, mine is at the front of my head, near the hairline and the hair looks very thin.

Ive started using a hairloss spray from Boots in the UK, Im taking silica, brewers yeast, vitamin e, evening primrose oil and ive changed my shampoo to organic.

Every little strand of hair that now comes out I count, I try to hold onto every single one of them.

I think mine was caused by stress,as Ive had loads of it this past year :S

I was just wondering if anyones hair started to grow back yet?

[Portage]

Hey everyone, I just search alopecia and this thread came up.

I was diagnosed with it on monday by my doctor, was given blood tests and they all came back ok.

Its really distressing, mine is at the front of my head, near the hairline and the hair looks very thin.

Ive started using a hairloss spray from Boots in the UK, Im taking silica, brewers yeast, vitamin e, evening primrose oil and ive changed my shampoo to organic.

Every little strand of hair that now comes out I count, I try to hold onto every single one of them.

I think mine was caused by stress,as Ive had loads of it this past year

I was just wondering if anyones hair started to grow back yet?

 

 

Mine started falling out at the back of my head. It is localised and quite a substantial patch, though, i'm lucky as i have thick hair that covers it nicely. It is fairly shocking looking and i was a nervous wreck initially, what woman would not be?? I had a specialist appointment last week and he told me it looks great and WILL all grow back. The hair follicles are healthy and i've got a new topical lotion, supposedly a stronger brand compared to what my family doctor prescribed - Clobetasol Propionate - Initially my family doctor thought i'd need steroid injections right into the scalp but the specialist said such aggressive treatment was unnecessary.

 

It is linked to your genes and stress is the Catalyst...so i've been told. It is a 90 percent success rate for regrowth. Unfortunately i run a greater risk of hair loss in a different area down the road so keep stress to a minimum

 

Keep applying your medication, keep your Vitamin B complex and omega 3 intake up on a daily basis. I try not to freak out when i see hair in the sink or shower or keyboard...think positive and it will all grow back in the end. This has been going on since last december and i can see the fine hairs emerging. It can take up to two years to fully grow back.

 

I wish you well...

[chrissykissy83]

Hi thanks for replying so quickly. Its good to hear you're getting some fine hairs back.

Losing my hair has always been my worst nightmare and it was such a shock to see that little bald patch.

I count every hair that comes out when i wash it, its horrible. Ive noticed i get around 10-15 hairs come out when i was it, that isnt too bad, but i noticed several weeks back that i had quite a bit coming out.

I bought some clip in extensions to give me back some thickness when I go out too, i havent worn them yet though.

Its really nice to hear that you're getting through this and getting results already, it gives me hope

take care x