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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Sarah T. on March 2, 2005, at 0:17:24
I'd like to hear from anyone who has experienced hair loss. Did you find out what caused it and, if so, how did you treat the problem? Is your hair back to normal now? I've been having some widely fluctuating TSH values. All other thyroid tests have been normal, but I haven't yet been tested for thyroid antibodies. I understand that both hypo- and hyper-thyroidism can cause hair loss. I've read that other causes of hair loss include: stress, fungal infections of the scalp, high testosterone, lowering estrogen, some medications, and various vitamin deficiences. Any other ideas?
Posted by Sarah T. on March 2, 2005, at 0:38:51
In reply to Hair Loss, causes and treatment?, posted by Sarah T. on March 2, 2005, at 0:17:24
In my above post, I mentioned high testosterone as a possible cause of hair loss. I meant to say elevated androgens in general, not necessarily limited to testosterone.
Posted by Tabitha on March 5, 2005, at 17:47:48
In reply to Hair Loss, causes and treatment?, posted by Sarah T. on March 2, 2005, at 0:17:24
I got the idea doctors can't really say for sure what causes women's hair loss. There are conflicting ideas out there. I've had chronic telogen effluvium (shedding a bunch every few months) and some pattern loss on the temples and crown for the past 5 years or so. I've had some improvement with minoxidil 5%. My temples have filled in and I haven't had any shedding periods since I've been on it.
I wish I'd started it earlier-- it really worked well on the most recent loss, not so well on the older loss. I'm going to see how I do for a few months then consider adding an anti-androgen.
Posted by Sarah T. on March 5, 2005, at 20:42:56
In reply to Re: Hair Loss, causes and treatment?, posted by Tabitha on March 5, 2005, at 17:47:48
Hi Tabitha. Thanks for the information. Do you know whether it is advisable and/or safe to take an anti-androgen such as Spironolactone if your testosterone and other androgen levels are within the normal range? I have heard of doctors prescribing anti-androgens for hair loss even in the absence of any evidence that androgens are elevated. I might be wrong, but it just doesn't make sense to me to lower (or raise) any of these hormones if they are within normal limits. I guess I'm thinking, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." If androgens are not elevated, then wouldn't that be ruled out as a cause of hair loss?
Posted by Tabitha on March 6, 2005, at 16:13:52
In reply to Re: Hair Loss, causes and treatment? » Tabitha, posted by Sarah T. on March 5, 2005, at 20:42:56
I think the idea is that some people's hair might be more sensitive to androgens than others, so the hair loss can still be androgen related even if levels are normal. Now whether you'll feel OK with your androgens suppressed, well you probably just have to try and see. Also, I got the idea that the androgen-related loss appears in the 30s and 40s for women as estrogen starts to decline, so another option is to use birth control pills to restore estrogen levels. Yasmin is the brand of birth control I've seen mentioned most often for hair loss. Diane-35 was also used, but it's no longer available in the U.S.
Spironolactone actually lowers androgens, which is why it's given only to women. The drugs they give to men (propecia and newer ones) are supposed to prevent conversion of testosterone to DHT without lowering testosterone. I wonder why that approach isn't also preferable for women with normal testosterone levels? Those drugs cause birth defects in male babies, but so does the spiro. I think there's just heavy marketing involved to avoid giving the new men's drugs to women to avoid lawsuits over birth defects.
Posted by Sarah T. on March 7, 2005, at 0:30:48
In reply to Re: Hair Loss, causes and treatment?, posted by Tabitha on March 6, 2005, at 16:13:52
> I think the idea is that some people's hair might be more sensitive to androgens than others, so the hair loss can still be androgen related even if levels are normal. Now whether you'll feel OK with your androgens suppressed, well you probably just have to try and see. >
Hi Tabitha. That's interesting. I need some more blood work before I make a decision about this. I've had some widely fluctuating TSH values, so it may turn out that the hair loss is related to that rather than to androgens or estrogens. I'm reluctant to take the pill because of a family history of blood clots and strokes. Until recently, I've always had a lot of hair. I've been gobbling B-vitamins as if there were no tomorrow. I think they help a little bit. If I weren't taking them, the hair loss would probably be worse. I'm glad the Rogaine is helping you. Have you seen a shampoo called "Progaine"? I saw it in the store today. I didn't buy it but I'm curious about it.
Posted by Racer on March 20, 2005, at 21:29:09
In reply to Hair Loss, causes and treatment?, posted by Sarah T. on March 2, 2005, at 0:17:24
Telogen Effluvium is probably the most common type of hair loss, if you're losing it all at one time, from what I read a while back when I lost about half the hair on my head! It's horrible, and I have to say that I've had a couple of other go-rounds with it, but it's stress related, and the humongous stressors are past, so I'm hoping I'll get my moderately thin hair back soon. (Some is already growing back, but it's always been thin, so I'm not expecting great tresses any time soon.)
TE usually occurs some time after the stressful event, so you may not associate it right away. For me, the first episode happened about two months after a suicide attempt. I thought it might be related to the meds I was on at the time, but apparently it was just that delayed reaction to the stress.
Also, I did try Nioxin shampoo, which may not have helped, but didn't hurt (and did strip the residue my old shampoo had left, so maybe it helped otherwise?) Progaine is probably nothing more than regular shampoo with snake oil added. Check the ingredients and see. Or check out www.cosmeticscop.com and see if there's a review.
Posted by Sarah T. on March 22, 2005, at 0:55:24
In reply to Re: Hair Loss, causes and treatment? » Sarah T., posted by Racer on March 20, 2005, at 21:29:09
Hi Racer. Thanks for replying. I'm unfamiliar with Nioxin. Is that like Nizoral Shampoo? Over-the-counter Nizoral has 1% ketoconazole (an anti-fungal) in it. Prescription Nizoral has 2% ketoconazole, I believe. Is Nioxin over-the-counter? I have been under a lot of stress lately. Perhaps that's the cause.
Posted by pinkeye on March 30, 2005, at 14:35:53
In reply to Re: Hair Loss, causes and treatment? » Racer, posted by Sarah T. on March 22, 2005, at 0:55:24
Stress can cause huge hair loss. If your body is prone to inflammation, then stress increases the inflammation and this inflammation leads to increase hair loss. For me, a lot of stress caused a huge hair loss, and I was thinking of all these things that you do now. (Rogain, androgen elevation, Nizoral shampoos etc). But once I stopped getting stressed so much, my hair loss subsided and it seems to be growing back also.
Also another thing that might help is, milk and any other animal protein caused me more inflammation ( I have rheumatoid arthritis ) which is due to inflammation as well. So stopping any animal protein intake helped.
This was for me. But it might be different for you. But managing the stress and trying to go on a vegan diet should help atleast a little bit. Plus I also tried some cleansing programs like enemas and stuff. I don't know if that helped or not.
I was also on drugs like Methotrexate which caused hair loss for me. Stopping them also helped.
Are you on any drugs?
Posted by Sarah T. on March 30, 2005, at 22:03:50
In reply to Re: Hair Loss, causes and treatment? » Sarah T., posted by pinkeye on March 30, 2005, at 14:35:53
Hi pinkeye,
Thanks very much for your reply. Well, yes, I am under a lot of stress now, but aren't we always under a lot of stress? It is worse now though than it has been previously. How did you manage to stop getting stressed?I was interested to read what you said about animal protein, milk and inflammation. If you have a moment, could you elaborate on that? I don't eat much animal protein like beef or whole milk because I don't want to eat too much animal fat. Occasionally I splurge on those yummy whole milk yogurts made by Stonyfield Farm or Brown Cow yogurt, but that's about it. Do you mean any kind of animal protein, even chicken or fish? How does that cause inflammation?
I think I'd be reluctant to take the enemas you mention on a regular basis because I think that might deplete me of electrolytes and other important nutrients.
Currently, I'm not on any "traditional" medications regularly. I have been trying out different things now and then, but usually I can't tolerate the side effects for more than a day or so. I have been experimenting with lots of different alternative remedies, but I'm not having much luck in that area either. I do take a Centrum multi-vitamin daily as well as fish oil, magnesium glycinate at night, lots of extra vitamin C, B12 (methylcobalamin), a tiny bit of extra B6 before my period, and nutritional yeast.
Posted by pinkeye on March 31, 2005, at 16:48:02
In reply to Re: Hair Loss, causes and treatment? » pinkeye, posted by Sarah T. on March 30, 2005, at 22:03:50
I didn't manage to stop getting stressed. But somehow, I always used to be very tensed and high strung all the time, and I was very worried about lot of things. With therapy, I got over some of the stress and worries. And that helped. If you are stressed, therapy would help immensely.
But still I have a tendency to get highly stressed and worried. I try to not ruminate (keep focussing on the same issue over and over again), but not always successful.
For me, I have couple of other autoimmune diseases - rheumatoid arthritis and hypothyroidism. So I started doing a lot of research myself into all these and found that the hair loss was also actually related to these autoimmune disease. And my autoimmune disease (my rheumatoid arthritis) had a high corrleation with milk. Whenever I take any milk products, my joints tend to flare up. And for safety and for personal and religious reasons, I became a vegetarian about 2 years back. From then on my hair loss has stopped.
I don't know exactly which caused it and which stopped it.. but I have tried a lot of things for the hair loss, and while Rogaine and Nizoral shampoo helped, ultimately the full stop came from stopping any milk intake.. and also switching to a vegan diet.
You can try a vegan diet for 3 months to see if that helps you. (No milk products especially.. I am not sure about chicken and fish, they might be ok). But you can try being a vegan if everything else fails to stop the hair loss.
I think enemas can be given provided you substitue with lot of electrolytes intake. There are also some places in the US where they do something like colonic cleaning or called colonics. You can try that as well.
Most of the alternative remedies for hair loss stems from a basic body cleansing.. so it will involve some sort of enemas and stuff.
Posted by pinkeye on March 31, 2005, at 17:21:07
In reply to Re: Hair Loss, causes and treatment? » pinkeye, posted by Sarah T. on March 30, 2005, at 22:03:50
I can maybe give you a list of all the things that I tried and whether it helped me or not. And you can try them out if it would help you.
1. Try Rogaine. The 5 % strength was too much for me and I tried the 2 %. It helped initially to stop the hair loss a little bit, but then I didn't really grow back any hair, and it was painful to apply it everyday morning and night, so I stopped applying it over 2 years ago. Haven't noticed any more hair loss after that. But initially I think it helped to stop the hair loss.2. There was another solution I tried for a long time (I don't remember the name now) But that also helped only for sometime to stop the hair loss and then it didnt.
3. I tried various oils for hair - like Hair Care, and several oils from India, castor oil, etc etc. I must have tried dozens of various kinds of oils. But I don't think anything helped.
4. Try different shampoos - prograine, Nizoral, Ayurvedic shampoos etc.. I don't know if any of them helped significantly. Right now I have settled for a simple natural shampoo.
5. Tried homeopathci medicines and oils. I think that oil helped a little, but I discontinued the use of that as well. Mostly because my hair loss kind of stopped about 2 years back and haven't noticed any significant hair loss after that.. It has grown back even though my Dr actually said it may not grow back. She thought it was hereditary kind of loss. But it seems to be growing back.
6. Tried Ayurvedic drugs from India. Still on them for my rheumatoid arhtritis. I am not sure if that would be possible for you. There are various drugs available claiming to be Ayurvedic but not valid ones.
7. Stopped being a non vegetarian and switched to complete vegan diet (no milk also, no cheese, no yogurt, no meat of any kind, no fish, no chicken).
8. Tried various internal cleansing things - like colonics, enemas, large enemas, fasting for 2 - 3 days at a time. Btw, fasting for 2 - 3 days at a stretch was the first thing that immediately stopped my hair loss. But I also stopped some drugs that I used to take like Methotrexate at that time, so it might have been due to that.
9. Stop intense rumination and being anxious all the time and try to leave things to God. That more relaxed you are able to be, the better your overall health and hair will be.
10. Tried various hair massages to improve circulation, hot oil massages etc.
11. Various juicing recipes.. vegetable etc and tried out just eating raw uncooked vegetables.
12. Various diets, including without any spices, tomatoes, eggplants, sour fruits and sour stuff etc.
13. Ultimately realized that hair loss is due to inflammation, and the best way to stop inflammation is to stop stress. And develop a more relaxed attitude towards life. And being on a vegan diet helps me. And I go on periodic fasting for a day (one day of fasting once or twice a month - if that is not possible, you can try juice fasting or clear juice fasting)
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