Female Hair Loss – Page 80

April 24, 2006

Synthroid and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I had thick and fast growing hair until I started taking syntrhoid for an underactive thyroid. The doctor says the medicine is not to blame but it just seems too coincidental to me. But, I am losing most of my hair in the front part of my scalp and I feel these tiny pimple like bumps on my scalp. I do not have dandruff but am wondering if this could be something else. I take no other medications and I am 56 years old, female. MY Mother and Grandmother both had and have thinning hair but it is in the back and they were both on all sorts of heart and blood pressure medicine. My 58 year old sister and brother are having no hair problems. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Patients with hypothyroidism tends to have hair loss, and hair loss is a known side effect of Synthroid. I would certainly take this up with your doctor. There are many other causes for female hair loss as well, such as stress, crash diets, oral contraceptive pills, beta blockers, coumadin, psoriasis, and inflammatory diseases.

April 21, 2006

Emotional 13 Year Old Girl – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

hi. right now, i have a perm from curly to straight. i am 13 yrs old girl and if would be cery nice of you if you would pleeeease help me. i went on a winter vacation with my family for 3 days. the second day i went to the pool with out a cap. after a while i went up to my hotel room by myself, then i blew dry my hair. after the vacation was over i went home to wash the chlorine out of my hair which were V05 conditioner and shampoo. after i washed it, i blew dry my hair some more. later in about a few weeks, every time i comb my hair a whole chunk of hair came out every single day for 3 weeks. it came from the back of my head. i just noticed when my hair dresser said it looked like a short boys hair cut and i started to cry for weeks. i did not want to go out in puplic expecially in school where my friends had good looking then i did. i felt jealous and lonley because a few had longer hair than me, straight with out a perm. and i don’t really want to show my natural hair because it’s crazy looking. so if you would pleeeeease help to grow it back faster i’ll feel much better again and take better care of a perm. thank you so much

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You sound very emotional, and that is understandable seeing as how you are a young teenager. When my daughter was your age, I saw these range of emotions firsthand. Please know that losing hair is normal (average person loses about 100-150 hairs per day) so that if you are seeing such numbers of hairs being lost, you are just seeing something that you may not have noticed before. If you are healthy and have no medical problems, then there is no reason for significant hair loss. First, you need to talk with your parents and tell them what you are experiencing. Then they may take you to a good dermatologist who can evaluate your hair to find out if the loss you are experiencing is above the normal daily loss for an adult. The best advice I can give you is to reach out and ask those who love you to help you through this experience.

April 21, 2006

Female Started Losing Her Hair at 13 – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i am a 17 year old (almost 18) female and have been experiencing hair loss since i was about 13. i used to have thick curly hair and now its very thin, i have to wear it half up in a clip to keep the thinning spots hidden (even though my whole head is thinning). my father is going bald and his brother and father are completely bald. i do not have any thyroid or hormone problems nor do i have any iron problems. i have been to dermitologists and they perscribed me monoxidil which i used when i was approx. 14 and stopped after about a half a year to a year because i hated using it and my hair loss was not completely noticble. now at 17 its pretty bad and i began using the monoxidil again, i started about a month ago. no one can explain my hair thinning and why a lot of it falls out after i shower and brush it. at first when i was 13-14 i didnt care because it was not noticable, but now i cant take it, im in high school almost uniiveristy and i dont know what to do! its been happening for 5 years without slowing or stopping..is there anything you can offer that will help me? pleasee im desperate, all my friends have thick hair and i hate the fact that i dont and mine falls out and is noticibly thin.

You have done your research concerning female hair loss. Have the dermatologist biopsy your scalp to see if you have an inflammatory process occuring which cause your hair loss. Find out if there are there any miniaturized hairs in the donor area, which is in the back of your head, and how much miniaturization you have everwhere else on your scalp. Are there any noticeble spots on your head? Has your hair loss been stabilized or has it become more progressive? I am limited to what I can do over the internet. Be sure to get a good, caring doctor to help guide you through what you are now experiencing.

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April 19, 2006

Female with Hair Too Thin For Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have thin hair all over, I have spent a lot of money on wigs, that are really pretty, but I am severely depressed over my extremely thin hair. Do you know anyone that could help me? I am not a candidate for hair transplant, I went to Bosley Medical and was told my hair was to thin all over to get donor hair. Although I can wear a wig, I want my own hair. I am very sad over this, I am a pretty 34 year old woman with a wig, but without it I feel i look horrible. Please do you know anyone who can help me? Thank You!

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Not many women are candidates for hair transplantation, especially those with diffuse telogen effluvium (thinning throughout the scalp including the donor area). Have you tried Rogaine for Women? It would be valuable to you to see a doctor to be absolutely sure that you have no medical conditions that can cause hair thinning. They would be the same conditions as discussed here.

April 19, 2006

My Hair Only Grows When In Braids – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hello Dr.,

i’ve been having hair problems since a was a little girl. my hair only grew when i had braids. whenever i removed them, the hair would fall out. so, upset and in my late 20ies, i decided to shave my head and kept them short until my early 30ies.

i began hair treatment at this salon where i actually saw result. my hair was finally growing without the breads and i finally looked like a feminine black woman. after a couple of months, hell broke loose. it started falling again. now, my receeding line is pushing back and my already large forehead got even larger.

i trully don’t know what to do. you see, i am already a little tomboyish so not having hair, makes me feel very uncomfortable in my body. i rarely go out now and if i do, i either wear a hat or use mascara to cover the front of my hair.

what to do? implant for me is financially impossible but i am putting some money aside for it. i saw a Dr. in Canada, who is willing to implant for 2500$ but he has no knowlegde of what is wrong with me and doesn’t seem interested in finding out.

please take care of me. right now, i am using Ducray Anastim products. i can manage to send you a picture of the disaster if you want.

kindly!

A while ago I wrote a piece on a syndrome that may reflect an element of your problem (see What Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder?).

I can make no sense of what you are telling me, because it is not logical to my mind. If you found a doctor willing to do a hair transplant for $2,500 without a diagnosis, it is like giving that doctor $2,500 with a doubtful end point that will make you happy. If you insist on parting with $2,500, give it to a good charity and you will get more pleasure than having some ‘hack’ doctor take your money. You need to get a good doctor to help you with your possible dysmorphic situation and also get some good tests to determine what is really going on. I would be pleased to get pictures and upon receiving them, I will get back with you for some general advice, but what you need is a hands-on, caring doctor who is not trying to put his hands in your purse.

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April 19, 2006

Transplanted Hair From Leg To Forehead – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Female – Hi, I had a body hair transplant (300 grafts)four days ago. I had leg hair moved from my legs to the the top of my forehead to get my forehead to look smaller. I don’t have a hairloss problem, I have a naturally high hairline and am trying to lower it. After the procedure I had lots of numbness, even 3 inches away from the recipient area. Today I have numbness around the recipient area only. Up to an inch away. I am very concerned about shock loss. Does the numbness indicate trauma and that the existing hairs in the numb area will fall out? I’m very worried about this. If there’s something you can tell me that I can do to prevent this, I’d greatly appreciate the help. Please let me know.

First, you should go back to the doctor who did your transplant and ask him/her if there were any issues the time of surgery that may have caused problems. Some sensory defects are often present and usually go away within a few days after the surgery. At times some small nerve endings are severed with the needles used and this can last (rarely) a long time until other nerves take over. There is little to do but to wait it out.

I am curious why you elected to do a leg to forehead hair transplant? This is unusual and probably experimental and you should have been informed of this by your doctor. There is no real data for leg to forehead hair transplants, so predictable results are not something that you can depend upon. I would hope that your doctor told you this.

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April 19, 2006

Woman Losing Eyelashes and Eyebrow Hairs – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello. I am a 23 year old female who started to notice I was losing my hair about a year and a half ago – which was a half a year after having been severly ill with mono. I am not sure if that is directly related to my hair loss, but I have heard it’s true for other people. Since then, I have tried 2% Minoxidil (plus a supplement pill suggested by the Hair Club for Men and Women), Spironolactone (recommended by a dermatologist), and now a Progesterone cream plus the Minoxidil. Not only have I not seen any new hairs growing back, but I have noticed a dramatic increase in my hair loss, along with the loss of eyelashes and eyebrow hairs. I am very discouraged and am running out of hope, time, and money. Any advice as to what is wrong would be helpful and appreciated.

Thank You.

ps – I was tested for hypothyroidism, but it was negative. Also, there is no history of hair loss in my family, so I really don’t think it is alopecia.

If you feel that the medications you are taking may be contributing to your progressive hair loss, then you should should discuss stopping them with the doctor who prescribed them. You problem sounds complex, certainly too complex for internet management. Be sure that your medical work up is complete and covers eczema, malnutrition, autoimmune disease, drug reactions, infections, genetics, etc.

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April 18, 2006

Kevis and IntraUterine Device (IUD) – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr. Rassman,
i have had andorgenetic alopecia for year now. it started at the age of 12 or 13 and now i am 26. i have lost more than half of my hair. it is really devastating. i have been on kevis for about a year now. in the beginning, i felt my hair loss problem was going to be a thing of the past but now i am experiencing a great amount of hair loss. i am confused as to what is the reason. i have had an IUD inserted also about a year ago- it caused great amounts of bleeding. could it be that i now have acquired a low serum ferritin count that is causing this imbalance? i also have irregular menses, could it be a hormonal imbalance caused by the IUD (it was a copper IUD). The reason i ask this is because the IUD caused me to have delayed periods and bleeing for more than a week.
i am really stressed out and do not know if to continue the kevis or not. i am so thankful that you have a website like this for people like me.
thank you

Bleeding and anemia can cause hair loss. Low ferritin can also contribute to hair loss, as well as hormonal abnormalities which you seem to have. Kevis is incidental, I suspect. The active ingedient in Kevis is minoxidil, so I would suggest that you switch to it and simplify what is happening to you. You need to get your doctor very involved in this problem.

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April 18, 2006

Woman’s Hair Loss: LA Times – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

A different pattern to female baldness

The above link is to an interesting article which appeared April 17, 2006 (yesterday) in the Los Angeles Times. The article discusses the differences between male and female hair loss, but offers few viable solutions to the female hair loss problems that face nearly half of women past menopause and many young women. The article paints hair transplantation into a distorted positive view, suggesting it is a solution for many women. In my experience, women who make good hair transplant candidates are few and if the transplant option is played in most women who are not suitable candidates, not only is there often poor results, but the women that are inappropriately transplanted could be worse off than if they were to have left it alone or just put on drugs like minoxidil. I hope that women who read this article do not rush into a surgical solution that is not the answer to their dreams for if they do it may take their dreams and turn them into nightmares.

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April 17, 2006

Androgenetic Alopecia Diagnosis from Scalp Biopsy – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr Rassman,
I’m a 27 y-o female who has experienced major thinning all over the scalp. I wrote to you earlier this year regarding how my low ferritin levels (14-ish for the past 10 years) could impact my hair loss.

I recently received my scalp biopsy results which gave me a diagnosis of “Scalp skin with intermediate and terminal hairs. No significant immunopathology. This suggests an early androgenetic effect”. It also stated that “no clear cut diminution of hairs is apparent”.

Why would this history lead to a diagnosis of androgenetic alopecia rather than CTE? If I don’t have clear cut miniaturization, and my ferritin is so low, could this be true? I am just reluctant to go on Propecia since my insurance won’t cover it for women.

Thanks very much for your time.

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These terms chronic (meaning long term) telogen (refers to a part of the hair cycle where hair goes into resting phase) effluvium (means hair shedding) and Androgenetic (means genetic and a weak sex hormonally combined into a single word) Alopecia (means hair loss) are descriptive terms, which in your case does not help. Much of medicine is rooted in the descriptive arena based upon Latin language usage. This makes doctors sound very intelligent, when the actual meaning reflects more of our ignorance. See EHRS for a better understanding of the difference between the two possible diagnoses listed above (chronic telogen effluvium/ CTE and Androgenetic Alopecia). You might identify with this piece: Channel4.com – Women Who Lose Their Hair.