My treatment regimen. Thoughts???

[HairPlease]

I guess I will begin by saying that this is my first time actually posting on this website; however, I have slowly found myself visiting this forum and becoming more involved in learning about other individual's battle with hair loss. Soo... might as well share my story and my new treatment regimen ideas.

To set the stage: I am a 24 year old female who is getting ready to embark on my new life as an adult in the work force. I have always considered myself an up-beat and a happy person with GREAT family and friends. Little did anyone know, for the past 2.5 years I have been keeping my battle with hair loss a secret, trying to pretend it wasn't an issue and that it would magically go away on its own...um no. wrong. That being said, for the past 5 months I have become proactive and doing as much research as I can to figure out WHAT is causing me to shed hair. I have recently told my family and close friends about what has been going on, and glad I have their support.

First: To begin, I found a WONDERFUL doctor who has been helping me find out the culprit of my hair loss. I have had every ounce of blood work taken and have pretty much eliminated every possible cause of my hair loss. Everything came back "normal".

Based on everything my Doctor and I have researched AND due to my specific pattern of hair loss, we have a strong belief that it is most likely due to androgenetic alopecia, DHT hormone.

My symptoms: I have diffuse thinning all over my head (my pony tail has dramatically gotten smaller). I have even more thinning and miniaturization of hair follicles around my temples and my front hair line. This strongly suggests male pattern baldness. For the past 2.5 years it has slowly gotten worse. My frontal scalp is starting to show and I am having a more difficult time hiding it.


I wanted to get yalls thoughts on my new regimen, and I am curious for anyone to tell me if they are taking something similar to me and if they have seen results!

Just recently started the following:

50 mg/twice daily Spironolactone (100 mg total daily)
Saw Palmetto 160 mg
Green Tea Extract
L-Lysine
Biotin
Multivitamin
2 % Nizorall Shampoo 3 time per week

I am also switching from Mircette birth control to Ortho Tricyclen birth control. I wanted to make sure that I am not losing hair due to Mircette's low estrogen amount. Orth Trycyclen is also another hair friendly medicine with a little higher estrogen than mircette.


HAS ANYONE used a similar regimen and seen results? Or does anyone have any thoughts on what I am taking?!

Thanks for ALL your support! I would greatly appreciate the help! We can all do this together.

[Quassime]

First, I think it's great that your doctor has actually taken the time to really and truly help you identify the cause of your hair loss. I know we all haven't been quite as fortunate with our own practitioners. Does he/she know exactly which supplements you're taking, in addition to any topical applications you use (looks like it's only Nizoral...no Rogaine or anything like that...)? If not, you probably should go over this with him/her and make sure that none of the herbal or all-natural treatments, for example, interfere with your birth control or Spiro. Actually, as I type this, I realize I should probably do the same. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a health care practitioner willing to take me seriously when it comes to my HL troubles.

Much of what you're taking is also what I take, and I am about 99.999% positive that I have androgenetic alopecia as well. I am not, however, taking Spiro, so I can't speak to that. I do think it's prudent for nearly everyone to take a high-quality multi-vitamin each day, whether or not they suffer from HL, because there's no denying our diets do not provide us with an adequate amount of nourishment.

You mention that you just switched to ortho-tricyclen, correct? I have no idea if there's a real correlation or not, but my HL began when I went to college and started taking this exact form of birth control. Again, I don't know if it had anything at all to do with my HL, but if I were you, I'd monitor that very closely.

With all of this being said, I can't say that I've seen any great results from my own regimen, which, as I mentioned, is similar to yours. I don't think I'm shedding as much as I was six months ago, but I definitely haven't seen any new hair growth where I am thin (which is basically everywhere, EXCEPT my hairline). Have you noticed any changes -- for better or worse -- since beginning this?

[HairPlease]

Quassime,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my first post! It is such a relief to have someone out there who actually understands and takes the time to let you know!

Ok- let me explain a little further. After talking to my doctor, he recommended I start taking biotin and a prenatal vitamin along with 25 mg/once daily spirolactone about 4 months ago. I did some research on the correct dosage of spironolactone for hair loss and every thing I read on this drug says that in order to see adequate results the dose needs to be anywhere between 75mg-200mg. That being said, due to my small frame, the doctor slowly let me take 25 mg twice a day (50 mg), and until one week ago, he has begun to let me start taking 50mg twice daily (100 mg). Everything I read says that the ideal dosage is 200mg for the most positive results- I even read a couple post on this forum with woman who have actually had success by taking 200 mg of spiro along with using 2% nizoral shampoo. I do not feel that I want to take 200mg of spirolactone bc no amount of medicine for hair loss should compromise my health. I feel that 100 mg of spiro is at least finally in the ballpark of being able to help with hair loss, and I make sure to do my best to watch my potassium intake (I dont indulge in bananas and things like that). My doctor checks my blood every 2 months to be sure I am A-Okay. I thought by adding saw palmetto and green tea to my regimen that this would help to supplement for my lack of spirolactone.

I was originally on mircette birth control for the past 5 years. The research I have done on birth control and hair loss list Ortho tricylen and mircette as two of the top birth control options for women who suffer from androgenetic alopecia because they are low androgen pills. I do not know if the birth control is the reason I started losing my hair a couple years ago, but I have always wondered. Frankly, I wish I had never started the darn pill (but I had to bc I stopped having a period for a couple months- and no, I was not preggers! ha). BUT- here is my theory on this birth control:
- I was on mircette, which has one of the LOWEST amounts of estrogen in it (almost close to being menopausal), for about 5 years. Everything I read pertaining to women with hair loss says that a higher dose of estrogen can actually help fight against the testosterone that is killing out our hair follicles. Therefore, I have always questioned if I have been losing my hair because I do not have enough estrogen in my body (God gave us estrogen for a reason!!). So, ortho tricylen actually rates higher than mircette for being better for you hair, AND it has more estrogen- which can only HELP my hair.

My Doctor knows that I take 100 mg of spiro (obviously), a prenatal vitamin and biotin. I called to tell him about my Saw Palmetto but he isnt as familiar with this herb and had very little to say about it. You are correct in that it has the possibility of effecting birth control, but- because of this risk, I take even EXTRA precautions in that area when I need to. And if Saw Palmetto means growing my hair back.... then..well.... ill stop doing whatever I need to stop, even at my boyfriends expense. :)

I read that L-Lysine doesnt stop hair loss per say, but, L-Lysine actually helps the medicine work BETTER that you take to stop the DHT.

Green Tea, Saw Palmetto, Lysine, 2% Nizoral shampoo and an additional 50 mg of spiro is the only thing I have changed this past week- So i dont think that I have been using it long enough to tell a huge difference. I wanted to start writing on this forum so that IF this new regimen DOES start to work- I can hopefully share my *success* story with other women with similar issues.

As for now, I will continue this and see how it goes. I recentely bought Jessica Simpsons "Bump up the volume" and 5 piece fineline volume hair pieces to compensate for my lack of UMPH in my hair now. It is suppose to come in the mail this Friday!

Let me know if you have any other thoughts or comments- What exactly do you take????

[-T-]

Hairplease-
I have noticed everyone talking about spiro and It's something I really want to try- does it have any bad side effects yet?
As far as vitamins - I think they are a must and I can notice a difference in my shedding when I go off them and when I go back on them. They are totally crucial so keep it up :) :) Right now I'm using leftover ones I never used up from my system at hair club.. which brings me to my next product. An enzyme scalp cleaner is something that I think is very effective in keeping the hair you have now, and clearing out any debris that is clogging up your hair follicle. I got mine still from hairclub too, but I'm sure there are many others to use to (try to stick with hypoallergenic and all natural ingredients though). Or, look on ebay for the hairclub one- it might be kind of expensive but it will be far cheaper than the price of a HC membership. So what I do then with the cleanser is spritz it all over my scalp after I've shampooed, then apply my conditioner on top of it. Let it sit for 2 minutes, then rinse. After you dry your hair then use a minoxidil solution on your areas of concern.
A lot of people are concerned with the minoxidil not working, but I firmly believe that half of the problem is that the pores in your scalp are too clogged up from oil and what not, making it difficult for the medication to be seap in properly.

I hope this helps a little bit? Let me know how everything works out for you, I'm always looking for improvements!!
<3
-T-

[HairPlease]

T,

In my case (and in most others I have researched), a doctor with knowledge in women's hair loss will prescribe spiro when all other causes of hair loss have been eliminated (ie thyroid, b-12 deficiency, ect). Spiro is a diuretic that doctors discovered helped women with their hairless- it acts by blocking testosterone from reaching the hair follicle (which in my case, is why I am losing hair). Men typically aren't able to take spiro bc it may cause them to develop breast tissue, however some men still take it bc they would rather have hair and don't care! I was a little iffy about starting any type of prescription medication bc I dont know the long term side effects; however, my doctor monitors me by drawing blood every couple of months. Spiro is a potassium sparing diuretic- it's basically a water pill that makes you go to the bathroom more frequently while inhibiting you from releasing any extra potassium that's in your system. Because of this, it's important to keep an eye out on your potassium intake (banannas, tomatoes, oranges). Too much potassium can be very dangerous.

But like I mentioned in one of my other post, the recommended dose for hair loss is 200mg. But they say you can see results by taking 75mg-200mg. I compromised at 100mg!

If you are younger and don't feel comfortable doing the medication, the "natural" remedy that is really popular is saw palmetto. Supposedly it also blocks the DHT from getting to the hair follicle. The recommended dose is 320mg but I only take 160mg (a little is better than nothing since I'm already taking spiro!)

But you should definitely talk to your doctor and they can tell you what's best for you!

And I agree with you- a good exfoliating shampoo is a must! I use the Nizoral 2%. I tried the Rogaine but it actually made my weaker "miniaturized" hair fall out! And so I stopped. At this point,
I need ALL my hairs, even the injured ones!