I am 54 and was diagnosed with andro alopecia. Please tell me,will I lose all my hair or will it grow back after some time? My hair is the only nice feature in me and I am losing it .I am very depressed about that. Thank you for any information.
Androgenetic alopecia in women does not usually get better, but unlike men, women rarely lose much hair. The process is worse when a woman goes through menopause. Minoxidil may help and is worth a try.
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My teenage daughter is loosing a lot of hair. She also has protein in the urine. Could that be related at all, and should we be concerned about the hair loss? It is more than the normal 100 strands a day.
Protein in the urine could be due to serious medical conditions. If your daughter is losing hair, it may due to the stress on her body from some medical condition (some diseases can cause hair loss). The hair loss may be related, but it is also normal to lose 100+ hairs a day (100 is not a finite number in relation to this — could be slightly more, could be less). She should be under the care of a physician.
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I had a partial Hysterectomy in January 2007. My ovaries are still intact. For about 3 months now I have had tons of hair just break off at the scalp, I went to my gynecologist that performed my surgery he ran some labs and told me that my hormone levels are fine, but I am having severe hot flashes and daily hair loss(it’s coming out in clumps) It has me in tears and I used to have beautiful thick hair. Can you give me some helpful information, Please. Thank you
You need to be examined by a good doctor who understands hair loss in women. Hair loss is present in almost 50% of post menopausal women.
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I am a 46 yr old female wanting a hair transplant. I am concerned the transplant won’t “take”. I have no conclusive diagnosis. One Doctor thinks genetic, another thinks hormonal. Also, the texture changed to bumpy/kinky, like pubic hair. I wouldn’t want to transplant it. Any suggestions?
I don’t quite understand what you are asking. All surgeries have risks, just as driving your car has risks. You need good examination and a diagnosis before considering surgery. You also need to trust the doctor and establish a good communication line where your risks and benefits and expectations are addressed. Hairs that initially grow out from a hair transplant surgery may grow more coarse and wavy (rarely as you describe like “pubic hair”), but that is a risk and over time and it generally returns to its normal texture… unless the hair was harvested from your pubic area, of course.
I am an emotional wreck about my hair loss, just down the road from suicidal. When I look in the mirror, I see an attractive, fit 47 year old female with thinning hair. I found a website yesterday, a female blog about hair loss and read everything I could. Most of the visitors use medications some in combination with Rogaine and have hair regrowth. The one medication frequently mentioned is Avodart but is considered to be harsher then others. Reading this gave me hope- that there is something I can use to stop the loss. Also, I am a type 1 diabetic (for 35 years) and believe some of my hair loss may be a result of poor diet and uncontrolled sugars. Can you tell me what tests I should have a doctor do to rule things out and if you might happen to know a dermatologist willing to do these tests in DC? Thank you for your site.
The use of Avodart (dutasteride) or Propecia (finasteride) in women is not FDA approved and has no proven value. With that said, more and more doctors are prescribing it, possibly because in some women it may work. There are a series of studies that have been discussed here (see Treatments Available for Female Hair Loss), which are valuable to review. There are risks that are not clearly defined so safety of the drugs have not been defined in women.
As for tests, see Female Genetic Hair Loss is Different from Male Genetic Hair Loss. Sorry, I don’t have a dermatologist recommendation in Washington DC.
I have been on the Nuvaring birth control since January. Prior to that I was on the patch for 2 years. I started noticing thinning hair in March. First thing I noticed was a bald patch! Since I have a history of underacive thyroid and am on Levoxyl, I figured my thyroid was messed up. It wasn’t. It was just recently that I thought the Nuvaring was to blame. Went to a dotor or specializes in women’s hair loss. He said it could be caused by switching from patch to ring. He said I shouldn’t stop ring or switch to pill because that could make things worse. HELP. My hair loss gets worse every day. I am 38 and have been completely checked out. All blood tests came back fine. What should I do? Should I stop ring? Should I stop birth control all together? Or is that more risky? Please help me.
Despite the fact that your hair loss was due to medication changes or thyroid problems or other undetermined medical conditions, female hair loss is very difficult to treat or stop. Many women who are going through menopause will also notice some degree of hair loss. With respect to treatments for hair loss, there is only one medication proven to work for women — Rogaine (minoxidil), though its effects are minimal and you do not get drastic results.
I do not recommend that you stop taking your prescribed medication on your own. You need to discuss this with your doctor. The NuvaRing is a flexible plastic ring inserted into the vagina that releases progestin and estrogen over 3 weeks (then you must remove it for a week). Birth control methods like the pill or the ring or the patch can trigger hair loss.
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I am a 23 year old female considering having my hairline surgically lowered. What I am wondering about is shock loss with this type of procedure. How often does this problem occur and how much hair is usually lost when it does happen? Are there any factors, besides female pattern baldness, that increase the risk of this side effect? Also, do you recommend using Minoxidil to lessen the possibility of fallout, and is it safe if there are no signs of FPB? (The label says not to, but doesn’t say the exact reason why.)
Thank you for your time!
There are no published numbers of the shock hair loss risk after a hairline lowering procedure. This may also depend on the surgeon who performs the surgery and his/her expertise with it. This is a question that should be reserved to the doctor who may be doing your surgery, asking for his/her experience with shock loss and the surgery.
Assuming (worst case) that hair loss occurs, it could be caused by just the manipulation of the hairline and if it did, it should return. If it is caused by too much tension at the suture line, it might not return. Experienced surgeons know this and rarely put much tension on the suture line.
You should also be well informed about other options such as hair transplants to lower the hairline. I do not believe minoxidil will have a significant impact on shock loss.
Hi, I’m a 25 yr old female who has noticed lots of hair loss and scalp showing. When I put my hair down the middle part is getting a bit wider and is creeping further back. When i put my hair up, I have to be careful that hair is covering the scalp showing on the sides.
My dad’s side has hair loss and I’ve been taking diet pills from 1998- 2007 (abused lots of ephedra-based ones) and have dealt w/binge eating, bulimia, and a serious case of anorexia. Is this all catching up w/me?
Either way, WHO do I go see to get a diagnosis? Someone told me endocinologist while others say dermatologist. I’m a college student w/no health insurance so money is very tight. Any
suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!Thank you for taking your time to read this and I hope to hear back soon.
You need a primary care doctor first and foremost. It is highly likely that your erratic diet is central to your hair loss, so that is where you need to start. Weight loss and poor diet are contributing factors for hair loss.
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Hi I am a 58yr old female who has been loosing hair for about 30 years I was diagnosed with female pattern baldness. I recently had shingles on my head and was given antiviral medication. Since then my hair has been shedding quite a bit more. is this do to the meds and will it stop? Thanks
There is no specific medication other than topical minoxidil (Rogaine) that can grow hair for female pattern hair loss. Physical stress such as your recent bout with shingles can accelerate the hair loss process. Unfortunately, there is not much in terms of medications that can bring hair back.
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3 months after the onset of summer my hair starts to shed/regrowth more, it reaches a peak then goes back to normal. Do you know if this is because we are subjected to longer daylight in summer or is it that we absorb more sunlight. Its only more noticeable to me since I lost hair due to iron deficiency.
Humans have asynchronous hair growth, which means we shed and regrow hair uniformly as a general rule, so sunlight should not cause hair loss. Clearly, when you added hair loss due to iron deficiency (and what else?), there are clearly other factors that make my opinion inadequate in giving you a knowledgeable answer. For example, many people with iron deficiency have anemia as well, which also leads to hair loss.
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