Hair loss after pill + menopause
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Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:35 am

Hi everyone,

I need your help regarding hair loss. To quickly summarize, I was on the pill for 20 odd years. Having high blood pressure and being over 40, I decided to stop the pill (Yasminelle) 2 years ago. My gynecologist placed an IUD (Mirena). As soon I stopped the pill and started Mirena, my skin started to be greasy (it used to be dry/normal before) and my hair felt very greasy (sometimes only 24hrs after shampoo) but it used to be rather dry before... I could not do anything with my hair, it was flat, lifeless and it felt that I was having much less hair..

After around 10 months, there was still no improvement and I decided to stop Mirena and stop hormonal contraception.

But my hair continued to fall out, even though it was a bit less greasy. 6 months later I went to see another gynecologist to have hormonal blood test done. It revealed I was pre-menopaused apparently. I have been on Hormonal replacement therapy for 6 months now, my hair and my skin are a bit less greasy but I am still losing my hair.

Has anyone had that kind of problem before? Any idea that could help me? I am only 43, and this is very hard to take on...

Thank you very much for any help/support!!

free skin care · Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:27 pm

I can sympathise, went through something similar recently, I am also in early 40s. There are several threads here discussing it as well.

What helped me is scalp massage, something similar to http://www.oledalifestyles.com/living-younger-longer-get-back-thicker-stronger-hair/ (I massage with knuckles until scalp is warm and then sort of pull hair, every day) and hair masks (some oil that your hair likes + rosemary and lavander essential oil).
It takes a couple of months to see changes, but I am certain that massage and masks will not do any harm and can only be beneficial.

I also take various supplements (for hair and nails and maca), but since you are on HRT, I wouldn't recommend maca, but if taking estrogen in HRT, would recommend looking into iodine (not for hair, more for general health).

Good luck!

Thu Nov 26, 2015 1:09 am

Thanks for this. It helps me too.

Thu Nov 26, 2015 5:23 am

Thanks Maggie,

Every little helps!

Sat Nov 28, 2015 7:26 am

I just had the results from a blood test. My zinc and Magnesium are a bit low, I guess that could explain a bit of my hair loss. my levels of thyroid hormones, testosterone, progesterone, androsterone, dhea sulfate, and cortisol are ok but my SHBG is way too high! I guess it is because my hormonal treatment is too high in oestrogens. But shouldn't my hair be gorgeous with so much oestrogen instead of falling out?

free skin care · Sat Nov 28, 2015 4:42 pm

Hmmm...
Found this article: http://www.hairsentinel.com/estrogen-and-hair-loss.html that discusses estrogen impact on hair, including what happens with too much estrogen compared to progesterone... Hopefully your doctor will fine tune your therapy.

And, some articles on iodine for prevention of estrogen related cancers (I apologize, I just know that I don't have nearly enough iodine in my diet and I think it is a simple step to add to a routine):
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(76)92102-4/abstract?cc=y=
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodine

Mon Nov 30, 2015 4:53 am

Thank you for this interesting link, Maggie. I have an appointment with an endocrinologist on Thursday. I will ask her about that....! I saw a dermatologist this morning and she confirmed that it was certainly due to an hormonal problem and gave me some nutritional supplements and a lotion called Minoxidil 2% (I think the equivalent in English is called Rogaine). I am a bit worried about using this lotion I must say with everything I read about it on the internet...! I am just really hoping that the endocrinologist will find what's wrong because I think this should be the base, treating the cause, and not the effects...

free skin care · Tue Dec 01, 2015 12:01 pm

What strikes me is that you were using a birth control pill with an anti androgenic form of progestin (Drospirenone) and you had no issues with hair loss and normal skin. Then you switched to Mirena which contains a progestin (levonorgestrel) which has one of the strongest androgenic effects of all the progestins. It may be that the drospirenone was keeping your androgens in check so you had no issues with hair loss and oily skin. While the levonorgestrel was stimulating androgen production which resulted in hair loss and oily skin. When you stopped the Mierna you condition improved but maybe your baseline condition is a bit over androgenic and it was only because you were using drospirenone that you were able to keep your androgen in check and not have hair loss. Or your baseline condition could be normal and it might just be taking a while for your hair growth cycle to return to normal after going off birth control hormones. You say you are using HRT. Does your HRT include progestin/progesterone or is it estrogen only?

I hope this all makes sense! If not I could try to explain it better.

Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:54 am

Hello h.kitty,

Your analysis is the same one that I had. It was confirmed by my dermatologist. Yasminelle is anti-androgen (it wasn't chosen for any anti-androgen reason but because I had high blood pressure). I stopped and was put on Mirena (the total opposite, but at that time my gynecologist forgot to mention the lovely side effects....If only I had known that!!!). Then I haven't been on any hormones for nearly 2 years (I would have thought that it was enough for my body to get back to "normal"). Then 6 months ago I started climaston (HRT with oestradiol and dydrogesterone). After 6 months of HRT, just a slight improvement on hair greasiness, but my skin is still greasier than before and my hair is still falling out...) HRT is supposed to give beautiful skin and hair and help women who lose hair because of Menopause... For the moment, no beautiful skin or hair... Only good thing is that I am less on a rollercoaster emotionally !!!

Wed Dec 02, 2015 10:17 am

Thanks for this. It helps me too.

Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:20 am

Sorry to hear about your hair issues... It seems that you have eliminate other health causes.
Stress is actually a major trigger besides medical conditions.

You may try silicone free hair products and keep the roots clean. Oily scalp increase hair loss. However, avoid long-term use of harsh shampoos as it will make the scalp constantly secreting more oil. You may also try to soak your feet in warm/hot water every night before bedtime. This routine has helped me.

Wed Dec 02, 2015 11:28 am

Hormone replacement should be reserve for women who have uncontrollable menopause symptoms (severe mood disturbance affecting function; hot flashes cannot be managed by other medication etc) rather than treating aging. There are significant risk associated with HRT (increase breast cancer, heart disease, endometrial cancer with un-oppose estrogen use, risk of blood clot,weight gain etc). These side-effects have been well demonstrated in medical literature.

Given your age, if you do not smoke or has other medical problems, it is not unreasonable to continue with HRT. However, this is not a permanent solution and it's a matter of time that your doctor will recommend you to taper it off. Exercise is one of the healthiest activity can help with menopause symptoms and maintain bone/cardiovascular health.

Hopefully this helps.

free skin care · Wed Dec 02, 2015 2:19 pm

sfj wrote:

Hello h.kitty,

Your analysis is the same one that I had. It was confirmed by my dermatologist. Yasminelle is anti-androgen (it wasn't chosen for any anti-androgen reason but because I had high blood pressure). I stopped and was put on Mirena (the total opposite, but at that time my gynecologist forgot to mention the lovely side effects....If only I had known that!!!). Then I haven't been on any hormones for nearly 2 years (I would have thought that it was enough for my body to get back to "normal"). Then 6 months ago I started climaston (HRT with oestradiol and dydrogesterone). After 6 months of HRT, just a slight improvement on hair greasiness, but my skin is still greasier than before and my hair is still falling out...) HRT is supposed to give beautiful skin and hair and help women who lose hair because of Menopause... For the moment, no beautiful skin or hair... Only good thing is that I am less on a rollercoaster emotionally !!!

Two years is definitely long enough for your body to get back to normal! I totally agree with what you posted earlier about addressing the root cause and not just treating individual symptoms. I hope that you get your answers when you see the endocrinologist. Please report back on what he/she says.

Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:22 am

Hello Catxl,

I agree with you that we have to be cautious with HRT. I am on Climaston (Estradiol and Dydrogesterone) which I think is quite a soft one. Funny thing is I had high blood pressure for more than 10 years (since my first pregnancy). I was treated with high dosage medicine and the HRT resolved this! First day I took HRT, my blood pressure went down so low that my cardiologist had to take me off most of my medication and I am now left with a very low dosage of anti-hypertensive drug!

My gynecologist gave me HRT for multiple reasons (mood swings, bad sleeping, etc, on top of hair loss). And as you said, I won't be able to have it indefinitely and that is what scares me a bit because even if the doctors manage to stop my hairloss with the right dosage of HRT, what will happen when I come off the therapy in a few years time? I probably lose my hair again and it might even be worse than this time!

Thu Dec 03, 2015 2:23 am

I am seeing the endocrinologist today, I will keep you posted!

h.kitty wrote:

sfj wrote:

Hello h.kitty,

Your analysis is the same one that I had. It was confirmed by my dermatologist. Yasminelle is anti-androgen (it wasn't chosen for any anti-androgen reason but because I had high blood pressure). I stopped and was put on Mirena (the total opposite, but at that time my gynecologist forgot to mention the lovely side effects....If only I had known that!!!). Then I haven't been on any hormones for nearly 2 years (I would have thought that it was enough for my body to get back to "normal"). Then 6 months ago I started climaston (HRT with oestradiol and dydrogesterone). After 6 months of HRT, just a slight improvement on hair greasiness, but my skin is still greasier than before and my hair is still falling out...) HRT is supposed to give beautiful skin and hair and help women who lose hair because of Menopause... For the moment, no beautiful skin or hair... Only good thing is that I am less on a rollercoaster emotionally !!!

Two years is definitely long enough for your body to get back to normal! I totally agree with what you posted earlier about addressing the root cause and not just treating individual symptoms. I hope that you get your answers when you see the endocrinologist. Please report back on what he/she says.

Thu Dec 03, 2015 6:36 am

Well, here is my report back on my endocrinologist appointment: TOTAL WASTE OF TIME!!

I paid 56 euros to hear that my hormones were ok, that I did not have any symptom of any hyperandrogenic disorder, and that my profile was very unusual and she had no answer for me.... Basically, she doesn't understand why my high blood pressure went down with HRT as it should have been the opposite, why I still had my periods before HRT even though my hormones were very low and why I don't have my periods anymore since I have started the HRT. And therefore she doesn't know why I am losing my hair except that I am slightly underweight....

So I am supposed to continue what I am doing and cross my fingers that my hair will stop falling out at some point!!!

I love doctors!!!

free skin care · Thu Dec 03, 2015 12:57 pm

You need to get a scalp biopsy to determine the reason for hair loss.

In the meantime, since it could be androgenic ( and your hormones can be normal in this case), you can use nizoral. It really helps

Fri Dec 04, 2015 3:04 am

Hi sar9876,

You mean the shampoo Nizoral 1% ? Can it be used with Minoxidil ?

I would probably have to buy it on the internet as it is not available in France apparently....

sar9876 wrote:

You need to get a scalp biopsy to determine the reason for hair loss.

In the meantime, since it could be androgenic ( and your hormones can be normal in this case), you can use nizoral. It really helps

Fri Dec 04, 2015 11:11 am

Hi sfj,

Thanks for your comments. It indeed a bit strange that your blood pressure is better regulated when you on HRT. Hormone pill increase blood pressure is a textbook answer for doctors and it is true in most women. Some women with borderline BP will get sky high BP when they on birth control pills.

Nevertheless,if this is the lowest possible dose to make you feel good yet keep you off other medications then don't worry about it.

Tue Dec 08, 2015 7:39 am

Some news; amazingly enough I had my periods yesterday! As I said earlier, I had no more menstruations since I started on HRT (6 months ago). The only thing I have changed recently is starting Zinc supplements 2 weeks ago because my blood test revealed Zinc deficiency. So I thought I'd take a supplement as it supposed to be good for skin and hair. And I have noticed that my hair is less falling out! I did a research and apparently Zinc is good for regulating hormones. Could Zinc be the solution for me?

free skin care · Tue Dec 08, 2015 7:53 am

The zinc dint make you break out at all? I tried it a few years back and did not have a good experience.

Tue Dec 08, 2015 8:36 am

No it hasn't so far. But i am not usually getting spots

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