AboutPeter J. Panagotacos, <B>M.D.</B> Expertise I have 30 years experience in the field of medical and surgical Hair Restoration and am Board Certified
in Dermatology and Hair Restoration Surgery.
Experience I have 30 years experience in the field of medical and surgical Hair Restoration and am Board Certified
in Dermatology and Hair Restoration Surgery.
More information can be found at my website
www.hairdoc.com
Question QUESTION: Am in my 40's and the last 1 year I have noticed excessive hair loss (at least 300 in each washing)
In the past 5 years I have been (taking on and off) Tri-cylcen low. And I have been on a low dosage of synthroid for over 10 years (to prevent a goiter)
In my 20's I had been diagnosed with MILD PCOS.
My mother and her mother both have experienced thinning of their hair in their later ages.
In my case, I would suspect that my age, heredity and hormonal imbalances are causing my hairloss now. Yet I am still concerned if there could be another reason, since this change has been so sudden. Within a year I feel I have lost almost 50 % of my hair volume !
I have read that BC pills and even Synthroid pills have been known to cause hair loss in women....could those meds be a cause of my hair loss now?..perhaps as I am aging, my natural hormonal levels are changing thus BC pills and synthroid pills have an adverse affect on me now ?
How do I make sure ?,
ANSWER: The answer as to whether the pills could have cause this or not is that it is possible but very unlikely since both pills are of low dose and you would have had other signs of thyroid imbalance or of irregular periods. My guess is that this is due to PCOS and that you have had an active cyst producing more testosterone which may be making your underlying AndroGenetic Alopecia show up.
Even if your serum testosterone and DHEA are normal or high normal you may be experiencing loss due to hypersensitivity to male hormone. In most cases like this the pills of choice are Yasmin and spironolactone. I doubt your thyroid has anything to do with this but a simple thyroid test will determine whether you are way out of range.
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QUESTION: Thank you very much for your answer. My recent thyroid tests were ok.
I also suspected that I may have a sensitivity to DHT. I recall 15 yrs ago, when being told I had mild PCOS, my irregular periods and hirsutism were not due to high testosterone. So (apart from DHT sensitivity) does high estrogen (or rather estrogen dominance) cause hair loss (and hair growth in the wrong places) ? Or can it be due to high LH/FSH ?
Now I want to get off the BC pill and try natural remedies, what would you suggest (isoflavones, phytoestrogens, Flax seeds..etc) ?
Answer Estrogens do not cause hair loss. It is the androgens stimulating loss. Stress causing Telogen Effluvium, your history of ongoing PCOS and your inherited pattern of AGA are what is causing the loss.
I have already suggested Yasmin and spironolactone as the standard treatment. Everytime you change or stop and start a birth control pill this contributes to more shedding and permanent loss.
There are no natural treatments which will correct this problem.
Please see an endocrinologist.
