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  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Florida
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    Default Where should I start?

    I am a 39 year old female. I first started noticing my hair thinning and falling out around 2012 and I went to see a dermatologist shortly after it started. The doctor looked at my scalp (barely even touching my hair), asked me a few questions and told me I have either pattern baldness, alopecia or telegen effluvium. (Seriously? You cant narrow it down?? Ugh) No blood work, nothing. He seemed like he could not have cared any less about why I was there. He told me to go get some Rogaine. I went to the pharmacy and the pharmacist mentioned that you have to take Rogaine consistently and that I will lose my hair again if I stop using it. I decided against it and that was that.

    Over the years since that visit, my hair has continued to thin and fall out (in huge, scary clumps), but it was on and off. It was really bad when I got sick in 2014 and lost 50 lbs. I have also had a few surgeries over the years as well, and a couple of stressful life events. I avoided going to see a doctor because I didnt want to feel the way that dermatologist made me feel.

    So today I went to see another dermatologist. I told him the horrible experience I had with that other doctor years ago. He was definitely more sympathetic and was at least able to narrow it down to pattern baldness, but he too barely moved around my hair or do a pull test. I asked about blood work, specifically iron, ferritin, hormones and thyroid. He said if I had any issues with low or high levels, I would have other symptoms, plus "low iron doesnt cause my type of hair loss". He told me to go get some Rogaine.

    I mentioned some symptoms I've had (and some that I still have) that I thought might be related, but it was like he was done with the visit and didnt care. Ugh. Should I just suck it up and admit that I am stuck with Rogaine for the rest of my life? I dont have a family history of hair loss - even the men in my family. I just dont know what to do.

    Where did you all start when you began noticing your hair loss?

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    119

    Default

    Hello, I'm sorry to hear about your hair loss & the distress that it has, & is still causing. Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, if you're suffering from male or female pattern hair loss then increasing the consumption of certain vitamins or adjusting various aspects of your lifestyle will only have a minimal effect. For us pattern baldness sufferers it seems Rogaine (Finasteride for men as well) is the only thing that can make a real difference. In my own case, Rogaine & Finasteride have been very effective (well, so far anyway). Having taken me from a severely diffuse balding head (all over) to a head which really doesn't look like it's balding, all within about 6 months. But yes, I need to pop a pill everyday & apply Rogaine twice a day for as long as I want to keep my new hair (oh & I derma roll every other day as well which also takes times). It can feel burdensome at times (the constant application and the cost), however I just try to always remind myself that if I want to keep my new hair (which I certainly do) then it's something I have to do & to not resent it. Most importantly, all in all, I'm just very very grateful that for now... my hair has returned. With regards to whether you should start or not, I really can't say, this is because I don't know how bad you feel about your hair at the moment. For me, if I didn't do anything I would have been bald in a few years or less, thus had nothing to lose. You will probably start to shed a lot of hairs when you start Rogaine (not everyone does, I did) and you need to be able to deal with this and stick it out, as shedding large amounts of hairs, albeit scary is a sign that you will experience good regrow in a few months. Secondly, regrowth is slow... it can seem like a life time for those first few months to pass by... and you generally have to get 'balder' before things get better. Thirdly, yes you need to be sure that you can commit to rubbing it onto your scalp twice a day... well for as long as you want your new hair (it's very sticky, smells and is just well generally not that nice, some people experience side effects as well). And I guess last but not least it the cost, it's not a huge expense, but if you're on a low income it's definitely something you will need to budget for. Anyway, that's my two cents, good luck with what every you decide. All the best.

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