Regrowth symptoms and conditions

I am so grateful to have found this site and to everyone who has posted. My 20-yr-old daughter received her first dose in Feb. 09. About a week later she began feeling extremely fatigued and weak. She was diagnosed with mono even though the mono test came back negative. She recovered from the fatigue and weakness prior to the 2nd shot in late April/early May. Soon after that she began complaining of hair loss. She was diagnosed with alopecia areata and our doctor put her on a different oral birth control pill. Her hair loss has continued, she has a fairly large bald spot on the back of her head just below the crown and her hair is very thin all over, especially just above her forehead. She will NOT be having the 3rd shot. She is starting to get some regrowth just above her forehead, regrowth on the bald spot on the back of her head is much slower. The hardest part is not knowing if or when her hair will regrow. I had not considered Gardisil as a potential cause for this until after I watched the ABC News story on Aug. 18, 09. I hope that all of you girls and young women will fully recover from your symptoms, and thanks to all who have posted here. Sincerely, B. C, Tualatin, OR

I have been on and off advair for the past few years and yes, it does seem to take the wheezes away....it was prescribed to me as a result of what was diagnosed as a GERD symptom altho I didn't feel breathless, just wheezy. The wheeze did go away, but I have also suffered hair loss, which my GP brushes off as menopause which does not make me happy. So having read all the preceding posts I think I shall ease off the Advair and see how I am without it (GERD seems better controlled with diet changes), and switch to Flovent I think it is...the old inhaled steroid. I did ask for that and was given the prescription. I didn't find these asthma like symptoms bad enough to warrant a strong drug like Advair - I think it would be fantastic for severe asthma that needs it. Wonder if the other inhaled steroids affect hair too? Just praying it all comes back! Nothing worse than getting old AND losing your hair as a woman!!! I see some regrowth so fingers crossed.

i had the mirena inserted after my third child, may 2006. the hairloss started right away, but i did not contribute to mirena.the first year was great. everything the doctors and pamphlets said it would be. no periods, birth control thats inserted and you forget about it.my mom always said if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is! after the first year, symptoms were so gradual. the depression,moodiness,low libido,weight gain, muscel and joint pain,and the hair loss. it never stopped. my hair was always really thick and much longer. now with every trim, it gets shorter and thinner and thinner and shorter. i had it removed 3 weeks ago. im not hearing a lot about regrowth with the hair.im hoping women are having their hair grow back and too busy being happy about it to get on their computers.anyone having regrowth of their hair, please update. how long did it take to have a normal period again?

I just started my first pill of loestrin24fe and am very scared from some of the comments i read on this site like worse acne, no sex drive, hair loss, weight gain, etc. My gyno put me on this pill because of my endometriosis. But I have hormonal acne and I really don't want it to get worse.

I set out this morning to do some internet research on women's hair loss and I am SO glad that I ended up here. My hair has been thinning slowly but surely - most noticeably right at my hairline and I'm pretty distraught. I have no history of baldness on either side of my family and I know this isn't a genetic issue. Anyway, I ended up on the American Hair Loss Association website which lists birth control as a culprit (never considered this - I'm 28 and I've been on the pill for 12 years). This made me decide to look into the side effects of my birth control which just happens to be...AVIANE (I didn't even know the name - that's how aware I was.) This is starting to sound like beating a dead horse, but I was on Alesse for 10 years with NO problems whatsoever. From 2006-2008 I was put on a generic form because I was under military healthcare. They basically gave me whatever generic they had "in stock" that day so I didn't even stay on a consistent generic birth control, which is bad news. I just thought I was turning into a crazy, emotional bitch who hated life because I moved away from my home and family for my husband's military career. I actually learned to make peace and manage it...until the hair loss. Call it vanity but that's where I draw the line. This part is key: I didn't see the consistent hair loss until I got on a steady stream of AVIANE. Once my husband got out of the military, I went to a regular obgyn but opted for the generic form of Alesse (so the say) just to save money (at the time I still haven't put it together that it's the bc that's been making me unhappy.) I've been on just AVIANE since July 2008 and started noticing hair loss around September 2008, have seen no regrowth and I think it's getting worse. That search led me here and I am so glad it did - on top of the balding, the last few months I have been moodier than normal, have small fits of rage (that fade quickly, thank god), have been mildly depressed and unable to really enjoy life, I've gained about 5 pounds without a lifestyle/diet/exercise change, I've had more cystic acne (although daily exfoliation has helped this immensely) and lo and behold, 2 days into the placebo week and I feel GREAT. I have one more week on this month's pack - I'm making a doctor's appointment on Monday and I am DONE with AVIANE.

I have been asked about my Wellbutrin experience by another member and want to post my answer to the group in case it is helpful to others. I originally posted some of this information earlier in the year. Here is my answer.......

It is the most difficult drug reaction I have ever faced but slowly the hair started growing back. It may not be quite as it was before (I have always had fine thin hair but I did have hair!!!) but it is so much better than when I finally realized what was happening to me while I was on the meds. The top of my head and temples had thinned alarmingly. I have been off of Wellbutrin since March 2008 and the regrowth started within a few months time. It is a slow process but at least you can feel hopeful when it begins.

Be sure to take the Biotin available from health food stores and shampoo and condition with Nioxin products and use the foam treatment every day no matter how tiresome it seems. I went with the starter kit. See description for products at http://www.folica.com/brands/nioxin_183.html

And to help you right now, I can offer this advice. While I was waiting for the regrowth, I used a hairpiece which helped to heal my spirit a little faster. There is also a scalp make-up product called ShaBo that helps to disguise bald spots amazingly well and Bonnie, the inventor, will personally work with you to get just the right color. Check the website for more information.
http://www.shabocosmetics.com/

Best of luck and yes it will get better!

I have been taking this since March and I have lost half my hair, it is so depressing. I only realized this evening that the Wellbutrin is maybe causing it. I am so upset. I can see my scalp, and it is so bad, I canceled my vacation home to see my parents who haven't seen me for 2 years - what on earth will they think? My question is:

Did your hair grow back after stopping the drug? If so, how long did it take?

I am taking 300 mg XL.

I have also noticed that my eyebrows have thinned.

I am a 22 year old, healthy female and received my fist two shots last September. By November, I began to notice my hair falling out, which became more excessive in December, prompting me to receive blood tests for thyroid problems, nutritional imbalances, etc. Everything came back negative and I self diagnosed the problem to be a hormonal imbalance caused by my birth control (which was hard to believe being that I had been on it for two years with no hair loss). I stopped the pill the end of January and my hair loss coincidentally stopped as well. I received my third shot in April, and sure enough the same devastating hair loss began two months later, which is classic with drug induced alopecia (hair loss). I am CONVINCED that Guardasil has caused this devastating reaction that has caused me to loose half my head of hair. It is October and I am still experiencing significant hair loss. This vaccine has caused me nearly a year of emotional turmoil over my thinning hair.

A plastic surgeon injected Kenalog in two places underneath my chin to dissolve small spots of scar tissue. The result is a disaster. I have a dent on one side and a large burned looking, atrophied area on the other. He did not advise me that there was any possibility of this drug eating my healthy tissue -- said it would probably not do anything. I did this on the spur of the moment and am angry with myself for not researching the drug first.

Has anyone who has had these "dents" had their atrophied area fill back in?

I am 30 years old and have been put on Depo Lupron after a laproscopy to help with endometriosis. I am 2 months into a 6 month course (one shot every 3 months) of Depo Lupron and my life has drastically changed. I started feeling life altering hot flashes and night sweats two days after the first shot and nearly drown myself in sweat 24 hours a day. I experienced a little postpardum depression after giving birth 6 years ago but have found myself sunk into a sinking hole of depression and anger like I've never felt before. I bawl at McDonald's commercials and become enraged if the dishwasher isn't loaded properly! I am ecstatic one minute and severely depressed the next. I have even had thought of suicide since being on this shot. I am normally a very outgoing, athletic, cheerful, happy person - but since taking this shot, I have become a stanger in my own head. I tell my family all the time that I need to "go stick my head in the freezer" to cool off because of the horrific hot flashes. I have to carry a handheld fan with me 24 hours a day and sleep with ice packs to keep cool. Since the shot started 2 months ago, I have lost all sexual drive, am thoroughly exhausted by 9am and find myself crying at my desk at work by late afternoon because I am so tired. My family thinks I am going crazy and I've never fought more with my husband. My daughter has gone to grandma's for awhile because I'm just so tired and irritable that I feel like an awful mother. Migraines have also come full circle since the onset of the shot as well as blurred vision and shaky hands. I'm a little achy throughout the as well. I know that everyone responds to medication differently, but I'm finding a lot of people with the same side effects as myself and have to wonder why the doctors don't warn patients about these types of problems before prescribing medications such as Depo Lupron. I don't think I'll be going back for the second shot. Could it get any worse?

I've been taking Wellbutrin on and off for several years now. It works for me and my depression and doesn't cause weight gain. Unfortunately, a lot of my hair was gone before I researched it and found that this seems common with many users. I stopped taking it for several months and my hair loss pretty much stopped. Some grew back in around my hairline and my head felt better, but not a significant regrowth on my crown. It definitely stopped coming out like it was. The improvement took about 3 months. I started taking it again and within 2 months I noticed that I was again loosing hair. I use Nioxin shampoo which slows it some, but will stop taking it again. In my research I found that some vitamins, scalp massage or yoga where your head is down and you increase blood flow helps. Hair color also helps for several reasons. I found, however, that while on Wellbutrin my scalp was very sensitive and sometimes had a burning sensation. My dose if very low at 75-150 mg per day. What a shame this side effect it is because this is a very effective medication! However, I have no doubt whatsoever that it's causing my hair loss.

I took Yasmin for 2 years and about 6 months after starting Yasmin I started getting migraines at least 3 x per week and sometimes 5 x per week (before not even really getting many normal headaches). I thought it might be my birth control and saw my OB who referred me to a Neurologist who put me on a medicine for migraines. About another 5 months later I noticed I had a small bald spot in my hair line. Saw a Dermatologist who diagnosed it is alopecia. I immediately stopped Yasmin and migraine meds and decided to get an IUD (GREAT CHOICE!) My migraines stopped almost immediately, however my hair loss continues to progress. I now have 3 additionally bald spots on my head and areas on my scalp that are very thin. I feel great otherwise, no headaches, no depression (other than losing my hair), no anxiety, appetite is normal. I'm so desperate to find someone else that has had this specific problem as no one believes the hair loss is connected to Yasmin. I just pray after awhile the hair will grow back. Please if anyone has experienced this same situation please post what might have helped you get through it and if it does ease up! One more thing - I have scalp pain, like burning on the front and top and back part of my scalp, wide spread, not only in the bald areas.

Hi, I was on yasmine for 4 months then switched to ortho tri lo. A month arfter taking yasmine I started loosing large amounts of hair. I had long hair with long layers down my back and now I have extremely short layers and shoulder length hair without ANY hair cuts. I came across this site and see that alot of people on yasmine has had the same problem. I'm going off all birth control to see if I can get my hair back to normal. Has anyone had any luck regrowing there hair?