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^^^What is Viviscal, I have never heard of it. What are the ingredients?
Honestly, I fooled around with different brands of Biotin, but generic (cheaper) seemed to do just as well.
It took a good couple of years before I experienced the difference in my fingernails, which in the past had always torn & peeled. The downside is that now my toenails are also extra-strong!
Otherwise, I just take a multi-vitamin, always have, & extra D since moving to winter-gloomy PNW.
Thanks for all of the suggestions! To answer your questions... I do have PCOS- diagnosed about 10 years ago. I have had other symptoms of PCOS (weight gain, cysts rupture, body hair, etc.). I was put on birth control and haven't had any trouble for 10+ years. I did ask my doctor if I needed to switch birth control types... she offered two other low androgen brands to switch to, however they both have the side effect of hair loss (which doesn't make sense to me). Is it normal for people with PCOS to all of a sudden have hair loss? That wasn't one of the symptoms I had ever had before.
The bloodwork I had done did include a thyroid panel... everything came back in the normal range. My family does have a history of thyroid issues.
I am currently taking 6000 IU of Biotin and 4000 IU of vitamin D. Sounds like I should take more? Nov3, I sometimes get breakouts on my face when I up the dosage of Biotin, but that's about it.
I don't have a family history of hair loss/balding. Not even the males in my family have this. We all have extremely thick hair and a lot of it. Unfortunately, it makes the areas that my hair is thinning really stand out.
I do have a lot of stress in my life. I started taking anti-anxiety meds a few weeks ago to try and help with the increased stress hormones.
I'm not really really sure what to do next. Would a dermatologist be able to help? I know they specialize in skin... does scalp/hair loss fall into their realm? Or is there another type of doctor?
I went to a dermatologist for thinning hair and she took a blood test for iron levels. Turns out mine were extremely low (I don't eat meat or dairy), so she prescribed mega-doses of iron for a few months and my hair became thick again. Who knew?
Before I would start taking any meds-----way to many people rely on meds for way too much this day and age---- I would look at what I am doing to my hair.
1. Do you perm it?
2. Dye it at home or at a salon? My sister is almost bald from getting her hair dyed evey 5 weeks so she doesn't look like an old lady. Instead we see her scalp . Her hair dresser says it is not the dye but it is.
3. Do you pull it back tightly into a bun or pony tail? One of my friends did this everyday with her long hair(almost to her waist for years......sadly she ended up having to get it cut because of the hair loss around her face. She was literally pulling it out to get it as tight to the head as possible.
4. Do you brush it too much? Use the wrong kind of brush?
5. Do you use hot rollers?
6. Do you use a hot curling iron?
Next when it falls out look at the ends. Are there little bulbs on the end or is it more from breakage. If it is a medical reason for the loss the little bulbs will be attached to the hair. Surgeries, pregnancy, death of loved one as we cope, etc. can cause thinner hair, too.
Taking more vitamins than your body needs can also cause hair loss. I think it is vitamin A that causes hair loss if you overdose on it. A dermatologist can look at the hair follicles and see if they are damaged.
I had a really stressful year and my hair fell out in handfuls. It wound around the vacuum beater-thing so much the vacuum quit working. My husband had to cut out the hair wound around it. Finally this resolved but I am still a "shedder"---just glad it's light-colored so doesn't show up on our white floors, LOL.
Honestly, I am usually pretty stressed.. however the last month or so has been the worst it's been in a few years. I noticed my hair started thinning around April or May and hoped it would get better during the summer, since I'm more relaxed. I did have a minor surgery in July (and was under general anesthesia... Marcia, why did anesthesia make your hair fall out). And my hair just seems to be getting thinner and thinner.
I'm definitely going to schedule an appt with my dermatologist. The hairs that I lose do seem to have the bulbs at the end. The thinning is mostly at the front of my head, above the forehead. I think my hair might be thinning all over, however the front is where I can see my scalp more noticeably.
I've never heard of viviscal... what is it? This may be a stupid question... but are there any risks of losing more hair with Rogaine? Or what about getting too hairy... like do I have to be careful with where I put it near my hairline/forehead?
^^^The dermatologist told me that, for some people, anesthesia is just very hard on the body, and when you think about it, that makes sense...very powerful drugs that knock you unconscious. In my case, my surgery was almost 4 hours. Plus, I had all the other stuff going on at the same time in my life, including the thing that required the surgery.
The “little bulbs” on the end of your hairs that a previous poster spoke of...I forgot about that...it’s how the dermatologist diagnosed me with telogen effluvium...he could see the little white bulb at the root, indicating the hair was coming directly out of my scalp, not just breaking off. That made me realize that for me, there was no point in going to an endocrinologist for thyroid testing, which would have been next in my plan.
The only thing I remember about Rogaine is you were supposed to wash your hands after application, & there were warnings about not using if you were pregnant or planning to be. The dermatologist suggested it as a way to slow down the hair loss & help regrow some of the lost hair while my body regrouped...which it did.
BTW, for those who commented about “medication”, Biotin is a water-soluble B Vitamin, not a medication.
Anyway, Nancy, that was my experience & what worked for me. I hope you post back with what happens with you, because I’ve learned that female hair loss in women is pretty common, & also traumatic, but few are willing to discuss...so you would be helping others. Good luck.
Hi again! I wanted to give you all an update and again ask for advice...
My hair is still thinning... specifically in the front- think of a receding hairline.
I had blood tesst run at my family doctor and everything came back within normal ranges. I went to a dermatologist. She also ran blood tests and everything came back normal. Her only advice is to start Rogaine. I'm wanting to find the cause of this and not necessarily just fix the problem. Plus Rogaine is expensive! I called my female health doctor due to swollen lymph nodes, but everything seemed normal after an ultrasound.
I don't know where to go or what to do next. Are there any specialists that you would recommend? I'm just feeling very frustrated and like I've been pushed to the side at every appointment.
Hi again! I wanted to give you all an update and again ask for advice...
My hair is still thinning... specifically in the front- think of a receding hairline.
I had blood tesst run at my family doctor and everything came back within normal ranges. I went to a dermatologist. She also ran blood tests and everything came back normal. Her only advice is to start Rogaine. I'm wanting to find the cause of this and not necessarily just fix the problem. Plus Rogaine is expensive! I called my female health doctor due to swollen lymph nodes, but everything seemed normal after an ultrasound.
I don't know where to go or what to do next. Are there any specialists that you would recommend? I'm just feeling very frustrated and like I've been pushed to the side at every appointment.
There are way more symptoms of low thryoid but here is one link.
I went 10 yrs from 1991-2002 with labs that told doctors my thyroid was OK, but finally a doctor put me on armour in 2002 and 10 yrs of depression lifted. Those labs are not the gospel.
And if one can find a doctor who knows more about symptoms than numbers, you are so ahead of the game.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 12-28-2017 at 11:39 AM..
I don't know where to go or what to do next. Are there any specialists that you would recommend? I'm just feeling very frustrated and like I've been pushed to the side at every appointment.
I have been reading this thread with interest. I feel your pain. I am scared to start the Rogaine because I have heard once you start you can't really stop it. Even the stuff my Salon carries is pricey and they say, once you start it, it you stop it, it goes back to what was previous.
I am also thinning on my scalp. I am really bothered by it. Biotin does not help me. For me it started when I had my weight loss surgery and has just continued. It has been 4-5 years, I am 60. My mother's hair was sparse the older she got. It bothers me a lot. All my blood tests come back normal.
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