Female hair loss at 41 yrs old need doctor advice

[Joelle]

I am so confused about what to do about my hair loss. I am 41 years old and have been slowly loosing hair since I had my last child. He will be 5 years old in March 2010. I am adopted and unfortunately the state of NY allows me NOTHING to help me with my family history.
I went to a dermatologist who was of very little help to me. She told me to take vitamins, (b-50, calcium, multi vit. and biotin, I also take fish oil). I have taken them for over 2 months now with nothing noticeable as far as stopping my hair loss or re growth. I use to have very thick hair, but now it's to thin. If there is a light above me and you look up under my bangs, you can see how thin my hair is. I have included a couple pictures.
My question is, what else can I do? I have been taking birth control on and off since I was about 21 years old. Can that be causing it? I had test that said my thyroid was fine, no apparent problems there.
Please help me.

[Joelle]

Wow no advice at all? How depressing

Has anyone ever tried Nioxin? I just started using the products to see if I get any results.
Joelle

[Plum]

I'm sorry that no one has responded to your thread; as I am sure you can guess, there are fewer women on this forum than men. I happen to be one of those few women....and I am also one who has had hair restoration.

Have you considered seeing a hair restoration physician regarding your hairloss? Part of their expertise is in assessing the causes of the hair loss. (Make sure you see one that comes highly recommended if you decide to pursue this option...)

I was also wondering if you have always been on the same birth control pill. Some of them are known to have hairloss as a side effect. However, if you have been on them off and on for that many years, I would doubt that would be the reason for your thinning (unless you had been taking one in more recent months that you hadn't taken before ....)

Have you also considered Rogaine as an option? There are formulas made for women, and from what I understand, they are less oily than those for men.... Of course, when you use it, you may have worse looking hair before you start having better looking hair, and you need to give it a good three months minimum before you can assess whether or not it is helping...

I really do hope you find the answers you are looking for. I realize I have not provided much advice, but I didn't want you to feel alone.

[Ragckr]

I'm not a woman, and to be honest, I cannot say I am fully up to speed on hairloss treatments for them either

I have heard of women that no longer have any intention/ability of becoming pregnant that go on finasteride. I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatch on that one though, I'd say that option is 95% chance a no-go.

GOOD NEWS THOUGH! I'm pretty sure there is a female version of Rogaine, and if nothing else, I personally used a product called "Dermmatch" that acts as a hairloss concealer. The stuff really does work pretty well for hiding hairloss, and if yours is mild enough, it can probably make a huge difference in your cosmetic appearance while you wait other treatments out.

Best thing I could tell you to do is go back to your doctor or dermatologist and tell them that the fishoils/whatever else aren't really doing it for you at this point and try to explore some other options. Dermmatch.com is the place to check out that concealer I mentioned if you are interested in checking the site/product out.

[tinaintexas]

Female hair loss

Hello gang-

I noticed my hair thinning and FREAKED OUT. Went to family doctor. She did blood work (said everything is normal) and put me on 100 Spirno.

Went to derm. She did blood work said iron was a little low continue with Sprino, add Biotin and Iron supplement.

I got an reffed to an Endocrinologist who said I had PCOS, was insulin-resistant.

*This* was causing my hair loss.

Keep searching for the underlying cause.

I can't tell that the Spirno has had any affect but it hasn't been even two months yet. I am going to consult with Dr. Limmer after the new year. I want to fill in before it gets worse.

Good luck!

[Jeffrey Epstein, MD]

A few thoughts about female hair loss.
First, as far as birth control/hormone pills go, some patients do well with Yaz, an oral contraceptive.
Second, in some patients low level laser light therapy seems to provide some improvement.
Finally, if you decide to look into a hair transplant, I strongly suggest you visit someone who specializes in the treatment of women.

Best of luck.
Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS

[tinaintexas]

Thank you for you feedback. I don't think birthcontrol is an option for me. I am post-menopausal.

How would I go about finding someone that specializes in female hair transplant?
I'd rather be proactive and deal with it before its really noticeable.

Do you have any suggestions? I heard of a doctor in Dallas, Lam? that seemed to cater to women.

I can understand why it would be important I just don't see it emphasized on many Hair Restorations physicians sites.

Thanks, Tina

[Winston]

I understand that Yaz has come under some scrutiny for causing significant and dangerous side effects, so I would do my research before considering that drug. It’s also common knowledge that women especially should not have hair transplants to fill in small areas if they have diffuse thinning. Being pro-active can make your situation worse if you have shock loss, which is quite common for people with as much hair as you have. Since you were told you have PCOS your hair might grow back once it’s treated anyway. You can also look into PRP treatments.

[Jeffrey Epstein, MD]

Just because a female has a diagnosis of PCOS does that mean she cannot benefit from a hair transplant. Case in point- please go and view some before and after photos on one of my websites www.womenscenterforhairloss.com and you can see some examples.

Research is key for finding a doctor who specializes in treating women. Find someone who performs at least 2 to 3 procedures on women weekly, and who can show you many before and after photos.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS

[Joelle]

I want to thank everyone who respoded to this post! I honestly had not been back because I was to depressed about the whole thing. I have decided to start over and go back to my dr. and get the blood work done over. It's been 2 years since the first draw. So I will start there. I do have new hair growing, it just doesn't seem to be fast enough. I think the Nioxin is helping, but can't REALLY tell for sure.
tinaintexas what is Sprino? I tried to look it up, but found nothing.
Thanks again!

[Joelle]

PS: Dr. Epstein what is low level laser light therapy? How would I go about trying this?

[Sugar379]

Iron supplements may help

Hello
I am a 44-year-old woman had a problem with noticeable bare patches along my centre parting and at the front of my hair and general overall thinning. After feeling totally depressed over it for a few months, I ended up getting an appointment with a dermatologist who diagnosed low ferritin levels and put me on iron tablets. Well, they took a good while to make a real difference but now, almost a year later, I think I can say that things are approaching normal again. I wouldn't go as far as to say I could go out with a centre parting but that is because the new hairs are still too short to give total coverage. Anyway, my advice is to try and get your ferritin levels up above at least 80 and that may bring things back to normal. Good luck.