This has GOT to be hormonal!?

[mainegirl]

Hi Everyone,

I posted this is MY STORY as well, but here I am again :)

I recently found this site and have been reading through many posts. Great to hear that I am not the only one going through this. I wanted to post my story in the hopes that someone out there may read it and have some advice for me!

I'm 38 years old and have two children ages, 5 and 8.

I started noticing thinning hair when I was about 22 or so. Up until then I had thick, beautiful hair for all of my life. When it first started happening I went to my dr. at the time, she checked blood work, said it was normal and recommended rogaine :( I tried it but didn't stick with it..

I guess I just dealt with it over the next few years. Move up a few years--I'm now 30 and it's 2002. I had my first baby (my hair grew in thick and lovely while I was prego of course) and postpartum it shed like MAD. Add to that-I was breaking out--I finally did my own research and saw an endocrinologist. She put me on yasmin and eventually the hair loss and acne stopped! Heaven! Stayed on for two years, went off (so I could try and get prego again) hair started falling out like crazy went I went off the pill...got pregnant, hair grew back/stayed, had the baby--this time didn't have the PP hair loss that I remember (I was also on prozac throughout this pregnancy and PP--still am)..

Now we're all good up until about 1 1/2 years ago maybe? Here I was still on the yasmin and prozac and hair is fuller, not falling out...but then it hits and starts shedding BADLY..I was also crazy tired so had blood work and found out my thyroid was freakishly low. Started thyroid med Oct/2009--still losing hair...In January, since I was still losing hair while still ON yasmin, I went off......still losing hair...energy is much better though! Now this brings me up to present...not only am I losing hair--and it's probably the worst and thinnest it's ever been at this point--but I'm breaking out too...so a week ago, I started Yasmin again to see if it would stop acne and maybe hair loss?

What a mess...now I'm waiting...at this point I am scared to tears and sick to my stomach...I don't know what to do...feel like I'm always tracking down doctors and trying to find the one person who can help me and now I don't know what my next step should be?

If any of this sounds similar to anyone who's ended up finally finding the right combo of treatments, I would love to hear from you. I am sooo unbelievably sad right now and I can't really talk to anyone about it.

The only thing that gives me hope is the fact that my hair loss started, but then stopped for a good amount of time--so obviously it's got to be fluctuation in hormone levels that is causing this? So logically, that means it should be able to be figured out, right?? :) I have to believe that!

Thanks for reading, if you are!

Sandy

[Emma Jo]

Your story sounds similar to mine. I am 39 years old and have had hl for about 16 or more years. Off and on it seems that it will get worse and then ok (not great) for awhile, then worse again. Like if I look back at pics from when I got married my hair seemed thin/dry then I look back at about 7 years ago and my hair looked better (not great but good for me!) I am hypothyroid and have been on synthroid for about 9 years or so. If I remember it seemed that it did help once I got regulated but then off and on thru the years (and my endo keeps close tabs on my levels for me) I still have had hl. Sometimes around 100 when I count after combing out but other times (like the last 1-2 months) around 150 or more...losing count!! Also have you had your ferritin levels checked?? I know mine have been low for years but my regular doc (like 10 or so yrs ago) told me mine was normal but realized now that 20 is not that great. My ferritin hovers around 20-30, not higher. Just started infusions so hoping that it helps. But ur right it does sound somewhat hormonal but there could be other things (similar to mine) going on. Yes when I was prego with my son, born about 4 years ago my hair got really thick, thickest it had been in years. Sorry hope this makes sense but my story seems similar to yours. It could be perimenopause at our age! Also I have not been on any birth control since before I got married 10 years ago. I have thought about going that route but worried that it will make it worse going on or off of it!! Also my progesterone was low at first during my pregnancy and had to take pills for a few weeks.......
Always a mystery, huh??!! Update if you find out anything! Good luck!