Menopause Matters Forum

Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Charlie62 on May 18, 2019, 09:14:05 AM

Title: Hair thinning
Post by: Charlie62 on May 18, 2019, 09:14:05 AM
Hi, I'm 56  & don't.know how long iv been menopausal for as I went.from the contraceptive pill straight onto her. Firstly femosoton now everol patches.
I'm am really concerned about hair loss. I noticed my hair thinning & more hairs on the brush but the last couple of days iv really noticed a difference, especially around my temples. My mum has lost her hair (she is 78 but she started losing hers many years ago which started from the front to the back with complete baldness)
Iv been to the gp who is sending me for blood tests but.this is really messing with my anxiety and.stress levels ☹
I know I should be thinking it's only hair & I'm not going to die from it but I'm really worried.
Any reassurance will be gratefully received x
Title: Re: Hair thinning
Post by: Turkish delight on May 18, 2019, 12:13:37 PM
Hia Charlie, I feel you!

I'm prone to thinning hair too, I have just about enough to cover my head lol, and none spare, especially around the crown.

Good your getting checks, as ferritin, iron, b vitamins deficiency can cause/add to thinning, and obv menopause can contribute also.

I have mentioned on here before that I use Caboki, get on ebay, it bridges the gap by adding keratin fibre to the hair, also caffeine shampoo's help with creating thickness to what you have, but I find once I've box dyed my hair I cant use the caffeine shampoo for at least 5 washes as it doesn't seem to like the dye, and goes limp but ok after that.

Try not to worry too much, I'm sure your beautiful with or without as much hair.

X
Title: Re: Hair thinning
Post by: Charlie62 on May 18, 2019, 01:08:26 PM
Hia Charlie, I feel you!

I'm prone to thinning hair too, I have just about enough to cover my head lol, and none spare, especially around the crown.

Good your getting checks, as ferritin, iron, b vitamins deficiency can cause/add to thinning, and obv menopause can contribute also.

I have mentioned on here before that I use Caboki, get on ebay, it bridges the gap by adding keratin fibre to the hair, also caffeine shampoo's help with creating thickness to what you have, but I find once I've box dyed my hair I cant use the caffeine shampoo for at least 5 washes as it doesn't seem to like the dye, and goes limp but ok after that.

Thank you. I hope the blood tests reveal something so it can be treated. My biggest fear is that what my mum suffered from is hereditary. She didnt get a full diagnosis but once her hair fell out none of it grew back as the follicles had died. im keeping my fingers crossed
Try not to worry too much, I'm sure your beautiful with or without as much hair.

X
Title: Re: Hair thinning
Post by: Mandee on May 18, 2019, 06:22:26 PM
Hi Charlie62,

I'm using patches and have exactly the same problem whenever I increase the dose, no idea what's going on either.
Estrogen is supposed to make hair grow better! :bang:
Title: Re: Hair thinning
Post by: Alicess on May 19, 2019, 07:52:23 AM

I also lost a lot of hair, especially my frontal hairline and my temples. It's also very dry and thin. When I used testosterone the hairloss stopped
and my hair looked fuller and less dry. My eyelashes looked great too. Unfortunately I had to cut testosterone and my hair is thin and fragile again.
Hairloss started again too. Hope this will give you some inside.
Title: Re: Hair thinning
Post by: MicheleMaBelle on May 19, 2019, 08:13:16 AM
Hi Charlie62- I'd get your blood tests done, especially thyroid, ferritin levels, b and d vitamin levels. The issue you may have is with your GP saying they are within normal levels but that doesn't equate to optimal levels for hair health. No consolation I know, but the hair does thin with age and can be made worse with progesterone. I'm not convinced you'll get the support you need from your GP and you are in danger of self diagnosing when you don't know what the issue is. Is there any way that you could get to see a dermatologist or trichologist near you. They would most certainly want to see the results of blood tests including your testosterone and free androgen index ( not sure if your gp would carry these out )
You can lose hair at the front/ top/ temples as part of overall hair thinning ( telogen effuivum ), it's not always linked to androgenic hair loss ( female pattern balding ) . It can be caused by more than one thing ,it can be improved with some simple measures such as supplementation but until you know what's causing it, you're unlikely to make improvements in the long term. So, as I said, if poss, cut to the chase and go see a specialist if you can.

I've been there, got the t shirt. Just wished I'd gone to see someone earlier rather than try and sort it myself.Good luck x
Title: Re: Hair thinning
Post by: jaycee on May 19, 2019, 10:25:10 AM
Same here, but seemed to happen suddenly, although i might just not have noticed it getting so bad as dont usually look at the back of my head, it was a shock,
I am very cofused now about the effects of testosterone as i thought it was high T that caused hair loss, but i read a post on mumsnet forum ,that low T is likely to cause hair loss, [Roll Eyes]
Title: Re: Hair thinning
Post by: Charlie62 on May 19, 2019, 10:29:51 AM
Thank you for all your replies & suggestions. I'm due to have a blood on Tuesday. I'm already on thyroxine. I don't know why I haven't noticed it before but I'm realising that my body hair has declined too. Iv googled possible causes (which isn't helping my mental state) this could be an auto immune disease.  My mum has hardly any body hair too so could be genetic ☹ I may have to find a way to accept this is not going to improve
Title: Re: Hair thinning
Post by: Charlie62 on May 19, 2019, 11:38:20 AM
Getting your sex hormones and thyroid hormones balanced will make a huge difference. My body hair diminished when I had low oestrogen and low testosterone. Testosterone boosts hair growth but if it goes too high your hair will drop. But when t is high you also might have other symptoms too such as acne and facial hair. Low oestrogen alone will make your hair on your head and body very sparse. Thyroid issues tend to make you shed.
Thanks birdy
Seems like it's one thing after another. Physical symptoms were fine, can't seem to level out the anxiety & now this.
I'm going away on Thursday but this has really affected me & not looking forward to it now☹ I need to try & accept it & not worry too much until i get the bloods back  but it's really hard