One year ago exactly, just after my 49th birthday, I was shocked to realize that my hair was thinning. Shocked and devastated. I had never thought I was particularly vain person, but based on my reaction, which was one of falling apart, I had to face that that wasn't totally true. I am an outdoorsey type of woman, fit and youthful looking, with long blonde hair that I've always taken care with. I was in no way ready to give up on my outward appearance.
In the previous couple of months to making this discovery, I had stopped taking oral contraceptives. I'm not sure if that was the cause initially or not. But whatever the cause, I knew I had to act fast. I made an appointment to see a dermatologist immediately. He started me on Rogaine (men's 5% - he said to not even bother with women's 2%) and a prescription of spironolactone and recommended the Nioxin 4 system of hair and scalp care. At the same time, my family physician prescribed Yasmin, an oral contraceptive which supports hair growth in similar ways to spironolactone. I also made an appointment with an endocrinologist specializing in menopause, which took several months to get in.
When I was finally able to see the menopause specialist, she concurred with everything that has been prescribed and she also suggested I take a supplement called Saw Palmetto. After further discussion, we agreed that I would stop taking spironolactone as my preferred diet, a healthy one with lots of fruits and vegetables, is high in potassium which needs to be severely limited when taking spironolactone. It just wasn't sustainable for me over the long run. So I ended up with Rogaine 5%, Yasmin, Saw Palmetto, and Nioxin 4. I also purchased a small hair piece, but I could never adjust to the stiffness of it, so I only ever wore it outside of the house about two times. But after one year, can I say that something worked? Yes, actually.
Immediately, my hair loss slowed. I found it nearly impossible to do two applications of Rogaine per day, so I did one application at bedtime only. Being unable to blow dry my hair once I put the Rogaine in was a big problem that I just couldn't overcome. On my fine hair, it was goopy and gloppy and as bad as I already felt about the situation, I couldn't face going out into the world with that on my head. This was a risk that after my hair loss slowed, I elected to take. In the long run, my result has been good. By the way, since the original Rogaine serum was all that was ever tested in clinical studies according to the dermatologist, I stuck with that formula only.
By the late autumn, about six-seven months after my initial discovery of hair loss, I noticed that my hair had filled in somewhat. Over the winter, it continued to improve to a small degree. It's been one year now, and although I doubt I will ever have the same amount of hair that I had before all this started, my scalp isn't nearly as visible. My hair stylist says that my hair and scalp appear normal to others. Most of the time, I feel fine with what I have. Sometimes I use a bit of light brown keratin scalp powder, but not very often. My hair is in a shedding phase right now, but it seems typical and diffuse, not concentrated on the crown of my head.
Things that I learned included that any improvement takes a long time and for me, although it did improve, it was not a dramatic thing. Rogaine literature says four months, but it was nearly double that for me, and the full effect took more like close to a year. I also learned, after my initial devastation, to attempt to enjoy the hair I had instead of fretting about hair I may lose in the future. For now, I just continue my regimen. At some point in the future, I may have to discontinue the oral contraceptives but it is not an immediate concern. My results may be better than some women's, and worse than other women's, but there is definite improvement. I am grateful for it.
 Does Rogaine etc. work for some women? YesPrintable View
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