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[Sammiejane]

Jaycee

I totally agree HRT causes hairloss

I spoke to a tricologist who explained that a surge in hormones can to cause hairloss whether this evens out once a balance is obtained ? I don't know because for me just having estrogen I'm never going to have a balance unless I take progesterone and testosterone and I have friend who take both estrogen and testosterone and still have hairloss due to imbalance in progesterone.
I was on estrogel and to be honest didn't feel great wasn't obsorbing well on 2 pumps and upped to 3 but felt awful so reduced back done but suffered awful thinning scalp hair I don't know if it was estrogel ? Vagifem can cause hairloss and is listed on the website as side effect I've now swapped to estradot 75 patch been on since Sunday so hair still shedding but I hope will stop so just see how it goes . The gel was good for VA but did give me achy pain in vagina which has gone and I got constipated fatigue irratic mood bloated I used to rub on inner thighs and got fat deposits there to but apart from that and hairloss worked well but I'll see how I go on patch if hrt doesn't work then I'm going on the pill

[bear]

BeaR, Once again i am confused re,hair loss and thinning, you said on Sammijanes post that testosterone is well known for hair growth,yet further down testosterone is said to affect hair loss if its too high
I think if there seems to be imbalance  surely Drs should give you a blood test,it would save all the changing and trying different patches etc,and be able to balance the two betterMine has been getting worse and worse so now i have stopped everything,vagifem and livial
My daughters hair is also falling out,it seems to happening a lot with HRT

Hi Jaycee,

Sorry if I have confused you. It's all about balance, really. Testosterone helps 'male pattern' hair growth, but it can also boost hair growth in females. You are right, if testosterone levels are too high it's not good at all for women.

I think it's a good idea to stop everything so you can know for sure if HRT is the cause of your hair loss. I personally don't think it is, but everything is possible. There are 'inactive ingredients' in all preparations that can have an impact on susceptible people.

BeaR.

[Hurdity]

This is all way off topic!

However the relationship between T and hair growth is very complex and not fully understood! There are genetic differences in how we respond and also I understand much depends on relative balance between T and oestrogen levels which alter when we reach menopause in favour of testosterone (or rather the ratio of T to Oestrogen increases because oestrogen declines quicker than T which declines gradually). Hence we can develop more androgenic characteristics. Adding T and oestrogen exogenously ( from outside) as part of HRT also alters the balance and certain testosterone derived progestogens also affect hair loss. SHBG and Dyhydrotestosterone are also involved but it all looks extremely complex from what I've skim read!

Blood tests unfortunately will tell you nothing about what causes your hair loss although if you are taking replacement testosterone it is a good idea to have your levels measured to ensure they remain within physiological range for women - despite their inaccuracy. Also oestrogen needs to be at a good level but you will be able to tell that from your symptoms most probably? If you are peri oestrogen blood tests are inaccurate and generally they are anyway if a one-off...

Hurdity x

[Saffy]

Sammiejane, I would have to agree with the trichologist as I think that has been my experience too. I first had very gradual hair loss when I was in earlyish peri - my periods were coming every 12-20 days and I had huge adrenaline rushes so I assume my oestrogen levels were surging from low to high then back again.

By the time my periods had spread apart by months my hairloss had stopped (but it hadn't grown back). I started on very low HRT (25mcg patches and utrogestan) and very slowly over 2 years worked my way up to 100 patches (poor absorber) and had no additional hairloss. I then doubled my dose to 2x100 patches, which finally raised oestrogen levels to 257 pmol and after a few months introduced testosterone which pushed my levels up to 700 pmol within 10 weeks. A month or so later my hair started to shed in the same pattern (crown and front/sides). I strongly suspect it wasnt't the testosterone per se but the rapid increase in oestrogen levels. Hoping it will subside soon  .

Just my view but I would suggest anyone worried about hairloss increases or decreases their oestrogen and testosterone levels very slowly!!

[KiltedCupid]

This is all way off topic!

However the relationship between T and hair growth is very complex and not fully understood! There are genetic differences in how we respond and also I understand much depends on relative balance between T and oestrogen levels which alter when we reach menopause in favour of testosterone (or rather the ratio of T to Oestrogen increases because oestrogen declines quicker than T which declines gradually). Hence we can develop more androgenic characteristics. Adding T and oestrogen exogenously ( from outside) as part of HRT also alters the balance and certain testosterone derived progestogens also affect hair loss. SHBG and Dyhydrotestosterone are also involved but it all looks extremely complex from what I've skim read!

Blood tests unfortunately will tell you nothing about what causes your hair loss although if you are taking replacement testosterone it is a good idea to have your levels measured to ensure they remain within physiological range for women - despite their inaccuracy. Also oestrogen needs to be at a good level but you will be able to tell that from your symptoms most probably? If you are peri oestrogen blood tests are inaccurate and generally they are anyway if a one-off...

Hurdity x

A full spectrum blood test will tell if your thyroid, b vits and iron levels are within range, which all impact on hair loss.

[jaycee]

Well have been to the Drs today a different one to my own, but a good one,he did say livial[tibilone ] has higher androgeni properties than estrogen, so maybe that didn't help
Anyway seeing a dermatologist next month, so will see what he has to say

Sorry if i have diverted from  original subject i will shut up now

[Sammiejane]

Hi saffy

So do you think my hair shedding has increased due to the patch going on 75 and obsorbing more estrogen the problem is I think a balance need to be obtained through all 3 hormones when hairloss is caused by hormones which mine is as my bloods are all fine and has only happened since going on estrogen hrt and now I've swapped from 2 pumps of gel to 75 patch I've got more shedding ! My hairloss had slowed on the gel but then my estrogen levels reduced as wasn't obsorbing well but I guess the ratio between estrogen and progesterone and testosterone was more in balance with estrogen being lower as my progesterone is non existent and testosterone 0.6 which is low so when estrogen surges up this still creates an imbalance and high estrogen which can cause hairloss same as women who are pregnant can also have hairloss due to surge in hormones i personally never did I shed a bit when baby was born but nothing major and couldn't tell as my hair was so so thick and even before hrt it was still mega thick ! This hrt as caused my hairloss