pcos and hairloss

[belle75]

Hi guys,

Had a haircut yesterday. When the stylist washed my hair I could see my entire scalp in the mirror! I'd be sitting doing nothing and hair falls off my head (only to grow in places I don't need!!) Feeling extremely depressed and very sorry for myself

Has anyone else experienced anything similar? What have you done about it? Does it ever grow back - is there any hope? I feel so shattered right now. I've had hairloss for the last 15 yrs I think (I am now 33), but since stopping the Pill and going on metformin, I have noticed it getting worse and worse. I've got a pitiful amount of hair left. Combined with a greasy scalp, it is not a good look!!

Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I see someone - maybe a dermatologist? I don't want to take any medication since we are TTC. dunno: what to do . I feel really lost right now. Help guys!!

[*Twinkle*]

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 4 years ago and yes I had a bit of hair loss. Mainly around the center, as I have a center part. It all fell out. It was awful. I didn;t see anyone about it as it wasn;t to bad and it did grow back. Maybe you could see your GP and they can point you in the right direction.

[briggsy's girl]

i have PCOS related hair loss and, after seeing an endocrinoogist, he said basically the only treatment is to take androgen inhibiting meds - but until we'd finished our family, he wouldn't allow it as it was something that would be extremely harmful to any male child.... i've got the fairly bad hair loss, and hate it, so would do anything to stop it - but i am not prepared to do anything that might hurt our bubba's

some people find that PCOS symptoms will settle or go away entirely - some through weight loss, some through giving birth and having the hormones settle down again. i don't know what will help you (or me), but i'm hoping it's something that rectifies soon for both of us! i know how much it messes with your self image and self confidence when there is such an outwardly obvious side effect

take care hun

BG

[belle75]

Hi girls,

Thanks for your replies. I already feel better now knowing there are people who understand how I feel. Briggsy's girl: Yes it does mess with your self-confidence a lot. I feel that I am keeping more to myself now and avoiding going out in public. Even grocery shopping seems such a task. I feel that everyone in the supermarket is watching me and secretly laughing! I know, it's awful but i can't help feeling that way. I also am reluctant to use any meds until I have had my kids - they are far more important. I hope it happens soon though as we are TTC.

Thank you for your support and I sure do hope there's a "miracle" cure out there for us Like my DH says "Have faith - nature always finds a way"

xox

[krysalyss]

Hi Belle - I know I am not in your situation but as someone with a tendency towards low self esteem I wanted to send a hug your way.
I am unfortunately pretty lazy when it comes to looks and am a big believer in the hat to cover my greasy hair days or when I havent brushed it for a week. lol. Otherwise you can get busy with some other hair accessorys eg. a flat material head band (worn like a scarf) or some pretty clips to clip it back from your face. They will help draw any attention away and help build back your self confidence. I hope this helps.

[briggsy's girl]

i'm someone that tends to just tie my hair back and forget about it. never wear it out cos it's more obvious that way! i don't bother with head bands and things as i find they emphasise the problems. i find they draw attention to the amount of hair sitting behind it (my hair is fine as well as thin, so it sits funny kwim? i've hit the point where i just don't care any more, unless someone specifically draws my attention to it. i have much bigger worries in my life than what people think about the amount of hair on my head! they don't know my story (for all they know i could be going through chemo - and who the hell are they to judge), so i just get on with it

having said that, it's taken me a LOT of time to get to that point...

[belle75]

hi krysalyss,

Thanks for understanding . i will definitely try the scarf. i'm not really fashion concious or anything - usually tie my hair in a pony tail. but recently i've noticed that you can see my scalp with my front 2 and a bit hairs pulled back!! I try to be brave like you briggsy's girl, but some days (and people) can get me really down. That's when I feel the blues. I feel like i don't need this (nobody does) on top of the dieting, meds, charting etc while the biological clock ticks louder every minute!

Thanks for letting me vent, guys.

[briggsy's girl]

I try to be brave like you briggsy's girl, but some days (and people) can get me really down.

i don't know that it's bravery, just neccessity! i had to sit down and work out what was most important to me, and channel my energy into that, ignoring the rest of it! you're right about it depending on the day or person though - i'm fine most days, but when i have a hair cut, i get really self conscious (so SIL does it for me now)! my niece (who is 8) commented out of genuine interest as to why my hair was so thin, so we explained that i had a type of sickness that made my hair go thin like her daddy's, but that i was on tablets (met) to help (she stays over every few weeks, so she sees me take meds!). a childs innocence doesnt bother me. i've had other comments from people who should know better that have shaken me completely though...

[belle75]

Hi briggsy's girl,

You have a very mature, healthy approach to life and what it thows at you. Thank you for sharing your views. Hope it rubs off on me!

[briggsy's girl]

thanks Belle - it's taken a lot of heartache to get to this point - hope you don't have to go through all that!

[belle75]

Hi all,
just wondering if anyone has experienced increased hairloss after taking metformin??

[briggsy's girl]

i've been on Met that long that i wouldn't be able to say if the hair loss increased when i started it. technically, the Met is supposed to help alleviate some of the PCOS symptoms, so it should decrease the hair loss, but it really only focuses on the insulin resistance, so it might be doing squat for the hair loss - or making it worse!

i went to an endocrinologist just before i started on the Met - and he told me there are meds you can take to stop the androgens within your body (and the hair loss), but there's no way you can take it while you're still TTC as it would be highly dangerous to the development of any male child (sorry if i mentioned that already!) - so i take the hair loss as one of those things i just have to accept. i stopped coloring my hair after we got married as i hated the stained scalp and how obvious the loss was when i had darker hair, so i now just have my natural red... i guess i've started to do things to minimise the appearance, rather than trying to stop the hair loss kwim?

[belle75]

As far as I know met helps with other pcos symptoms but not hairloss. I have just read on other forums that metformin can make hairloss worse, though the product information does not state it as a side effect. I have certainly noticed my hair falling off by handfuls since I started on met.
It probably sounds like I'm obsessing, but I've literally got very little hair left. I work in a professional environment and it's very difficult to do my hair in an appropriate way because there is none! I too don't colour my hair and have cut it very short. Just makes you feel the worst though, with everything else that is going wrong in my ttc journey

Oh well, must soldier on - at least I have the support of you gorgeous BB ladies!

[briggsy's girl]

soldiering on is the only thing you can do sometimes!

i too work in a professional environment, and i have made a habit of keeping my hair not short, but not long - never gets past my shoulders by more than an inch, but never so short i can't tie it back. i figure if it IS worn out (very rare, only at home) i don't want weight making it heavier and more likely to fall out!