Pls Help -- Female Hair Loss For Months

[MoonDay]

Hi all, I need your help as my hair is falling out so much and It's driving me crazy...

My scalp is very itchy and full lengths of hair with kind of clear looking solid dry acne like thing attached to the root of the hair, like it directly came out of scalp. The itch usually starts in second day of hair wash and i wash my hair about twice week. (sometimes 3). And the itching it causing dandruff like flakes. I seldom style my hair with hot tools these days so there is almost no breakage caused by heat.

I am in my early 30's and it feels like almost 1/4 of my hair has gradually fell out for last 12 months. (i have loose curly hair so it looks almost normal until i feel it). Similar thing happened to me when i was in my mid 20's but i didn't have the itching symptoms that i have now and it finally recovered on it's own after using couple phyto and furtherer products i recall.
For this one I've tried Head & Shoulders, Phyto thinning shampoo and Pura d'or thinning shampoos with coconut oil, avocado oil as hair mask but no use. Now i have Nioxin System 3 shampoo and conditioner on the way and hope it works.

Here are some things that i did that might have caused the shedding:
1.Prior to my hair shedding i used to use dry shampoo quite a bit for few years.
2. When i hike i was exposed to wind and sun for hours, These are 14,000ft + mountains so takes like 8-15 hrs exposure to sun and wind in a day depends on the mountains and i usually had little itching (sun burn) in where i parted my hair at the end of the day but it recovered on its own after few days.
3. I wonder if Nexplannon birth control implant has causing it as it has been 2.7 years since i have implanted it in my upper arm.
4. I have silent reflux (LPR) i wonder if there is connection between them but hair falling started way before my LPR recognized.
5. I dye my hair every 4 months, usually used loreal at home for years that thing smelled so strong and watered my eyes, but since the hair falling started i only dyed once with naturtint hair color, it smelled much much milder than loreal and seems less toxic.
After started using Puro d'or for few months it seemed to slowed down the shedding and almost felt recovering a bit until i went for a hike about 2 months ago and after that hike my scalp turned very red and itchy, really looked like sun burnt. I guess i have lost so much hair gradually for months that my scalp wasn't as protected as before.
I looked close into my scalp and there are some redness here and there but not bleeding. I think that's probably caused by me itching it so much. I looked up and it most likely to be some kind of scalp dermatitis but i can't afford to go to dermatologist as i spent so much money on doctors recently due to my LPR. I'd appreciate your advice. Thanks!

 

[Blossom]

I'm suspicious of the birth control implant being the primary cause. I could be wrong but that's the first place I'd look. It's a synthetic progestin which can actually be estrogenic according to Peat. Have you checked or considered checking your prolactin levels?

 

[Ella]

Blossom is spot on. The standout culprit is nexplanon. You are not Robinson Crusoe here, as >18,000 females have reported hair losss on it. What we don't know is the number of women who fail to report this side-effect. It has androgenic and glucocorticoid activity. I would also check cortisol levels.

I would investigate safer birth control methods. The convenience is simply not worth the potential health risks.

Will you have Hair loss with Nexplanon - from FDA reports - eHealthMe

Be sure to lodge an adverse report with the FDA in order for more women and drs to be informed of this information.

https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport/ucm053074.htm

 

[ecstatichamster]

yes indeed. I would also probably guarantee hypo thyroid.

 

[MoonDay]

I'm suspicious of the birth control implant being the primary cause. I could be wrong but that's the first place I'd look. It's a synthetic progestin which can actually be estrogenic according to Peat. Have you checked or considered checking your prolactin levels?

No, I never had that done before and actually this is the first time i heard about it. What does it look for?

 

[MoonDay]

Blossom is spot on. The standout culprit is nexplanon. You are not Robinson Crusoe here, as >18,000 females have reported hair losss on it. What we don't know is the number of women who fail to report this side-effect. It has androgenic and glucocorticoid activity. I would also check cortisol levels.

I would investigate safer birth control methods. The convenience is simply not worth the potential health risks.

Will you have Hair loss with Nexplanon - from FDA reports - eHealthMe

Be sure to lodge an adverse report with the FDA in order for more women and drs to be informed of this information.

https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport/ucm053074.htm

I reported it to FDA. Thanks!
It's expiring in few months and i can't wait to get this out of my body. But i don't what to do next in terms of birth control. Do you have any other healthier suggestions? I've had depo provera shots and pills in the last and i liked neither of them. Pills were the worst and made me sick right after taking it.

 

[Blossom]

No, I never had that done before and actually this is the first time i heard about it. What does it look for?

It's the lactation/molting hormone and can sometimes reflect if the estrogenic burden is too much. I'd probably not worry about testing it though if your implant is about to expire. If once it is out for a bit if you continue with the same level of hair loss (which I don't think will be the case) then it might be worth checking.

 

[Ella]

If you have a regular cycle and are proactive and have a partner that is willing to take responsibility, then the most non-invasive and healthy alternative is natural contraceptive methods. It is a shame drs are not educated to offer this alternative.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-the-billings-method-906793

Natural Birth Control: Click for Types & Effectiveness

 

[Blossom]

@MoonDay, as far as birth control (which is a highly personal and individual choice) I remember there was a discussion here a few years ago and the combination of a diaphragm coated in progest-e was mentioned as a safe option. I'll see if I can find it.

 

[General Orange]

I think you have a reaction of excess estradiol, that increases activity of certain Cannabinoid receptors in the skin and affect hair follicle.
An easy thing to try is a water extract of licorice root, this can block estradiol on the scalp.
So basically you can apply tea from licorce root, steeped for 5 minutes, on the scalp 3 times a day.
Also if you can find it, go for Centella asiatica / Gotu kola cream, it has an anti-inflammatory and skin healing effect.

edit: you could also cook the licorice in a pot to evaporate excess water, thicken it to your liking, filtering out the root and put in a spray flask or something.

 

[Blossom]

@MoonDay, as far as birth control (which is a highly personal and individual choice) I remember there was a discussion here a few years ago and the combination of a diaphragm coated in progest-e was mentioned as a safe option. I'll see if I can find it.

Here's the post I was referring to:

First, the topic is delicate, so the expression here is cautious. To be clear, NO form of contraception is 100% effective. The possibility of conception exists with intercourse, and participants should keep that in mind even if probabilities "seem" small. There are lots of views about birth control, intercourse, and conception. Only anecdotal methodology is discussed here.

For background, though progesterone is named to be "pro" "gestational", progesterone would seem to have a role in preventing further conceiving after one implantation. That is, women who have intimate relations during pregnancy do not have overlapping pregnancies.

I do not have experience with huge oral/transdermal uses of progesterone for contraception. IMNHE, huge amounts of progesterone are not frequently needed a main metabolic support. As Lanthir mentioned, using huge doses of progesterone for birth control beyond supportive amounts might bring impairing sedation/sleepiness/anesthesia among other concerns.

The idea, as Blossom mentioned and Dr. Peat described, is applying Progest-E gently through the vagina to the cervix region. It has been a while since this maneuver-my recollection is the volume of drops is 3 to 6 drops. As mentioned in some posts, some batches of Progest-E have a thicker consistency than others. When necessary, a small bit of coconut oil was used to help Progest-E spread across the target area.

The application was done shortly before intercourse (less than a few hours, not necessarily just before). In serious comedy, I recall that one application was used per evening session, but the number of performances was in the single digits...

Though, as with any topical application, there is the possibility of systemic effects, no side effects like sedation, accelerated metabolism, or other things were noticed. Occasional use of Progest-E in this way did not seem to alter the pattern of individual menstrual cycles.

The general approach was discussed with Dr. Peat, though I do not recall asking about barrier methods in combination. All couples, sharing the concern of additive effectiveness, used Progest-E plus a barrier method (condom or diaphragm). Keep in mind that the sample size here is quite small: less than two dozen couples besides myself and partner. With some humor, I'll say that I have no data about the total number of sessions each couples used the application.

There were no unwanted pregnancies with this combined Progest-E/barrier method. Of the several couples who later wished to conceive, all successfully had healthy babies (and uneventful pregnancy and delivery) after discontinuing contraception.

Again, the sample size was small so not necessarily representative, and all those involved understood the responsibilities if conception took place. Even beyond the usual forum disclaimer, this is NOT medical advice and is for discussion purposes only.

 

[General Orange]

edit -removed. never mind

 

[MoonDay]

Here's the post I was referring to:

Thanks for finding it for me i appreciate that. I've decided to remove the implants next week and do natural birth control like diaphram and cyclotest and get to know my body. These hormone based birth controls have made me so lazy and i think it's time to listen/learn my body's cycle. The other day my scalp was soo itchy and i have almost shaved my head but i couldn't of course. lol

 

[Blossom]

Thanks for finding it for me i appreciate that. I've decided to remove the implants next week and do natural birth control like diaphram and cyclotest and get to know my body. These hormone based birth controls have made me so lazy and i think it's time to listen/learn my body's cycle. The other day my scalp was soo itchy and i have almost shaved my head but i couldn't of course. lol

Congratulations! I hope you start feeling better soon.

 

[MoonDay]

Congratulations! I hope you start feeling better soon.

Thanks! :) I will report back in a few months if it makes any improvements.

 

[Nikki]

I reported it to FDA. Thanks!
It's expiring in few months and i can't wait to get this out of my body. But i don't what to do next in terms of birth control. Do you have any other healthier suggestions? I've had depo provera shots and pills in the last and i liked neither of them. Pills were the worst and made me sick right after taking it.

Let your hair fall out (don't address thyroid) and you won't need BC

But seriously, BC implants/injections just have to be a bad idea. IUD is the only long-term BC I would consider but it isn't a good option if you may ever want to be pregnat since it can cause scarring. IUDs can also fail. My friend just told me she got pregnant while she had an IUD. They removed the IUD and the fetus survived.

I would like to know how your hair is doing and what you think was the cause/solution.