Hair regrowth symptoms and conditions

Hi, about seven years ago I complained to my doctor of noticing a little thinning at the top of my head. They referred me to a dermatologist who thought it was female hair pattern loss. It was minimal and he said that he rarely saw it get much worse in women. He suggested minoxidil. A year later, I relocated and the doctors at the health clinic noticed my blood pressure was slightly elevated. They put me on HCTZ. I am into healthy organic eating and was disturbed by the need to be on medication. They said HCTZ was a mild diuretic and never mentioned that hair loss is associated with it. After five years on HCTZ my hair loss is severe. I have lost half my hair and it is dry and brittle, no matter what styling products I use. I had long beautiful thick glossy natural hair, but the texture of my hair has totally changed. A few days ago, frustrated by the continual hair loss, I began searching for my own answers. In my first web search, I pulled up many connections to HCTZ and hair loss, including this site. As others have said, I am mad at myself for not taking my health care into my own hands sooner. I have stopped HCTZ and my blood pressure is being controlled by diet, exercise, and drinking plenty of water. What I would like to know-- is HCTZ hair loss reversible? Are there any reputable natural solutions to hair regrowth. (And minoxidil has been disappointing.) Thanks for your comments. They have helped immensely. GG.

gonna make this short and sweet. Thank god i am not crazy... I am having all of these side effects. my main concern is my hair loss. please if there is anyone out there that has gotten this thing out that has seen improvement and hair regrowth please let me know.. It will give me hope.. i am calling my dr. tomorrow!!! thanks so much for everyones imput. it has really helped

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, age 53. I had excellent medical care at NW Cancer Specialists, Dr. D. G., Portland, Oregon. I endured Chemo (8 treatments) I had a lumpectomy and 36 radiation treatments. I also took Arimidex from 2004 - 2009. My doctor suggested exercise would lessen the side-effects and he was right. I followed everything my doctor told me to do, it was very difficult at times, but we are talking about my life and the quality of my days, his suggestions worked. I began a regime of walking, up to 3+ miles a day, water aerobics 3 times a week and I joined Curves. I also took vitamins: Costco multiple vitamin, vitamin E & C, Calcium + D(Viactive), Melatonin (natural sleep aid), probiotics, and fish oil. I also drank up to 6 glasses of water a day. I am now "cancer free" and not taking any RX.

Hi all,
I have spent the last 2 days on the Internet reading about Mirena; as a matter of fact, I had mine removed 2 days ago. For the last 10 months, my life has been horrible. I had the Mirena inserted in November of 2007, I was also coming out of a divorce, so I (and my doctor) was attributing my extreme depression, anxiety attacks to it. I started noticing that my hair was falling out and it just kept getting worse and worse. I went to see my doctor again and she said I had anemia (I was having very heavy periods and bleeding through my periods). Doctor said anemia causes hair loss. I went through different tests, saw a dermatologist, I always mentioned I had the Mirena, but no one seem to relate that to anything. I actually went on the Mirena site a couple of times, but the side effects listed there were very mild so I discarded the thought that the Mirena was causing my depression and my hair loss. There is no mention whatsoever about hair loss. Months went by, I kept seeing different doctors since my hair loss was getting worse and worse, my once beautiful, thick hair had become extremely thin, I have two holes on my scalp. I continued to bleed heavy and my ob/gyn said to give it some more time. My life was a complete mess, going to work was a struggle, dealing with my kids was a struggle, some days I would just lay in bed and cried for hours, I started to believe that my life had no purpose or reason. I was truly in agony, I am sure those of you who have gone through this know exactly what I mean. Anyway, I can't believe in all this months it never occurred to me to google mirena and hair loss....or mirena and suicidal thoughts, etc., etc. I thank you all for sharing your stories and I hope we can figure out a way to let all of those mirena users out there suffering that the answer to their agony is simply to have the Mirena removed. I look forward to my new life, new hair. It has been 2 days and I don't know if it is a state of mind, but I feel so much better already.
Thx
Jessica M.

I have been on Loestrin 24 for 2 years!! And I am finally getting off... and so happy to find this site! I have had to be put on Topamax because my migraines became so bad, which helped my weight gain (that I attributed to my own depression that I thought was my own fault!) I didn't even realize bc could cause depression but it all makes sense! I came on here to find out if Loestrin has been the cause of my SEVERE HAIR LOSS over the past year and a half! When I started taking it, I was also going through a stressful situation and thought that was the cause, but have now realized that my life is back to normal that something else must be causing it. I tried to get my Dr. to take me off of Loestrin about a year ago due to the EXTREME nausea, dizziness, headaches and fatigue that it was causing and he decided that I should just be put on Topamax because I was just a Migraine sufferer! What a nightmare. I can't wait to switch tomorrow!!

I've been taking Yasmin for a year and a half now and have been suffering so many side effects I thought I might be imagining them. But now I know I'm NOT! 2 months after taking Yasmin my hair started to fall out in clumps, and has been falling out for over a year now. As if that wasn't bad enough, I've been moody, weepy, anxious, feeling ringing in my ears and vertigo, tiredness and so many other side effects described by other women on this forum.

I felt not myself for so long now and put it all down to the stress of a moving to a new country. But I know better now and only wish I made the connection sooner. I am going to stop taking Yamin immediately, but am worried about losing even more hair. Have any of you had similar experience, and most importantly - will it grow back?

I suffered from alopecia areata (patchy to complete hair loss) since I was 13. From time to time I would go to a dermatologist to see if there was any new treatments for me. Finally a derm. began giving me pin-prick type injections of Kenalog in the scalp on a weekly basis. After a month. I had 100% hair regrowth. Boy, was I happy. Then he told me I couldn't have the injections more often than monthly, as he was afraid of overuse. The hair began falling out again. The monthly treatments weren't enough. I have the problem to this day. I wonder if I could start again on a weekly basis?