Hair Loss

Hi Everyone: I am new to this forum. I have always had a thick head of hair. In the past 3 years or so it has become thinner and thinner. I am on tons of meds for a heart attack 2 years ago, mostly blood pressure meds and cholesterol meds. The doctor thinks one of them is the culprit but I have heard that menopause does this too. The problem is mostly in the front and it is very disturbing. I have become depressed over the daily task of trying to style my hair. Thank goodness for hairspray and thickening creams and gels. I have an appointment with a hair club in April. I am considering a transplant that will keep me working forever just to pay for it! Men might think it is difficult going bald, but try being a woman. Any others here with this problem??
Thanks, Pam

Oh girlfriend...please wait if you can. I had the same problem and now that I am post-menopausal (you can tell by my sweetness, kindess and of course my humbleness)things have gone back to normal. In the late stages of menopause, my hair started coming out as well. Along that same timeframe, I had a really bad car wreck, my Daddy died, my Mother came down with breast cancer, and I quit smoking in the middle of it. The "culprit" was either stress....which is very likely, or the meds I was on for acid reflux AND the pain meds.

Once things got better, and life resume it's roll on a more even keel, the hair came back and thicker than ever. I can't say for sure it was a) meds, b) stress, or c) menopause...but it MAY come back. I hate to see you go to the expense of a transplant if it's going to come back anyway.

How long did my hair keep falling out? About six months. I look like Donald Trump gone bad. Then it slowly, but surely started growing again, and the gaps were filled in. I know from whence you speak...it is very devastating! Especially if you've always had a head full of thick hair, like me and you.

Got stress?
Got Menopause?
Got Meds?

Any of these could be causing it. Can you cut back on the meds? Can you somehow learn to cope with the stress? Can you wait and WIN over menopause? You have my sympathy!

Hope this helps give you some hope!

JJ

I recently had hair loss, just enough to notice, but it growing back. It happened 2 other times in my life, when I got divorced and when my son moved out.

The past 2 months it's been growing back and I think it's partially due to the bio-identical hormones I started on 6 weeks ago. Hair loss can be caused by either too much or not enough testosterone and I'm taking just enough to replace what I'm missing.

Your hair will grow back!

Daisygirl

I have Grave's Disease and had terrible hair loss along with deterioration. My hair was lifeless, thin, brittle and just a plain mess.

Once I went into remission I wanted to learn how to get my hair back in shape. I also entered menopause and that didn't help.

I learned on this forum that Biotin is a great supplement to take that makes your hair stronger, thicker, and healthier.

I take 1000mg a day. First thing in the morning with my regular pills. I think it was about 3 or 4 weeks before I noticed a change. Even my hairdresser could tell the difference. I have been taking Biotin now for about a year and I wouldn't ever stop.

Biotin is one of the B vitamins. You can find it at your local pharmacy like Walgreens or CVS in the vitamin section.

I hope it helps!

There is a behind the counter product called Appearx that is a large dosage of biotin and really works.

I didn't lose my hair but it suddenly stopped growing (after a bad haircut of course). Before then, I had bionic hair that amazed my hair stylist but suddenly, nothing. My nails also got brittle. What an ugly, depressing time that was.

But, the good news is it goes away eventually. Now, your meds may be playing a part in this and in that case, I guess you have to make a choice of some kind.

Vicki, my stepson also has Graves.

Thank you all for your advice! I will certainly talk to my cardiologist (who is like a God to me) about the Biotin. I would love to avoid a drastic decision of a hair transplant if a simple drug would work for me. My cardio thinks it is the Toprol that I must take for my blood pressure. Hair loss is a prime side effect. I take a very high dose and have already tried to reduce it but the BP went up very quickly. I am now back on the original dose prescribed. He thinks that menopause does play a role as well. I hate taking drugs since my heart attack happened 35 minutes after taking an Imitrex for a migraine. I will check with him to be sure the Biotin is safe for me. Thanks again.

This is why I went the Botox route for my Migraines. It's hard on the heart.

PamR, I am an avid believer in Biotin because it is something that is healthy for the entire body, bones, hair and nails especially. It does not interfere with any medications either,(thouroughly investigated). Now if it isn't fast enough for you and you still feel you need additional help, before anything else try Women's Rogaine....It is very affordable, easy to use and really works without any side effects either. I am post menopausal and so are many of my women friends and several really bad cases of balding were completely stopped with the Rogaine. I have always had fine hair but lots of it and the Biotin has worked wonders for me.

Pam, I hope you will go to the welcome forum and introduce yourself. Stick around. WE'd love to get to know you.

Danita, does Arbonne have a hair revitalizer? I'm thinking there was one with the men's products...

I might have to get some of that Biotin, I seem to be losing an awful lot of my hair these days. Not sure if it's because of menopause (from full hysterectomy) or maybe one of mediciations I'm taking. But it's scary when you notice your hair getting thinner!

Well ladies after much deliberation on my part I decided to color my light brown streaked with silver/gray hair. I bought the color which was the palest ash platinum blonde, which looked fabulous on the box. I choose the ash because it mutes any red that might want to show through. Did it last night and this morning when passing the mirror I was flabbergasted....there before the mirror stood a big fat DANDELION in full bloom...yep, me looking like some sort of demanted weed. The red never shown through instead it became yellow. So now I am DANDELION woman...oh and went and got a very short shag cut today to try to control this disaster...only to me this could happen!!

Hey dandelion girl,

You are the image of spring. Yellow tops springing up all around the lawn.

Just hope it doesn't turn white then blow away in the wind. I guess that would be a sure sign you were going to seed.

smile

Oh how well I remember some of the hair disasters of my youth!! Poor Chatty, I feel for you. But the question is.....are you happy with your new cut?

Janis if only it would turn white (not blow away) I would be thrilled....and Flossie I love the short shag, so easy to manage and looks cute too for a DANDELION but it grows fast thank God....

Chatty, you have given me the best laugh I have had all day. My hair is half gray and half dark brown. I wish it would just go all gray. I think solid silver hair is gorgeous.

Sometimes I see women with gray hair and it's such a lovely shade and it suits them. I'm just afraid my gray will be one of those ghastly looking grays. Too afraid to stop the colouring yet!!

My husband actually prefers me with my gray hair instead of coloring it. Go figure. It's definitely easier to take care of. They say that gray hair is coarser. But, not with taking the Biotin. My hair is soft and bouncy.

I got some Biotin yesterday, my bottle is 150mcg (per pill) and I see you take 1000mg Vicki. I'm not up with the mg / mcg?

I hope my hair becomes a nice soft bouncy gray like yours when I do decide to let the gray come through!!!

Flossie, I went and looked at the bottle. I need to correct myself, it's 1000 mcg.