Thin hair symptoms and conditions

Hi everyone. I am so glad i found this website. I am 26 years old and i got my mirena put in October of 2007. A few months after getting it put in i noticed my hair was starting to fall out, i was real moody, hot flashes. So i went to my obgyn and he said it was my hormones so put me on birth control on top of the mirena, don't know what point of that was. But me and my husband were debating whether or not to get it taken out, because i am really bad at taking the pill but after reading everyone's stories on here yall have made up my mind for me. I'd rather get it taken out and see if my symptoms stop. The hair loss has bothered me the most. I went from having a head full of thick hair to having real thin hair, my husband was amazed at how much hair i have lost. When i wash my hair at night it just falls out like nothing, i have a big ball of hair in the tub. I even went and seen a dermatologist and he didn't know what was wrong! Calling my doctor tomorrow to make an appt. to get this taken out!

I have been on apri for about two years now. I am 21 working college student and was happy with apri for the first year of taking it but in the past 6 months to the past year some side affects have became a problem. I am constantly overly tired and lazy with a complete lack of motivation. I have also had a serious hair loss problem to the point where my mom noticed overly thin hair all of the sudden. I am over all happy with apri but I miss having my normal daily energy. Apri has helped my periods-shorter and lighter with little cramping and my sex drive is fine. Mood swings have increased where I also get irritated way more dramatically over little/nothing things. I am thinking about going off of BC completely for two months to see how it will change me to see if its worth the hair loss, mood swings and complete lack of energy.

hi, i've read through this several times, and it is now 3am and i find myself reading them again.

i was on both effexor and wellbutrin (generic versions of both) for quite some time, but didn't have full-on hair loss like I have now 'til about earlier this year when I was on wellbutrin only and was taking 150 mg twice a day. I got off of it because I have always had thin hair so I started to freak out when I noticed hair loss.

Unfortunately I became so depressed that I simply HAD to get back on it; and made the biggest mistake of my life by going up to the full 400mg dosage of the generic wellbutrin.

It killed me. I have very very very little hair especially on ONE side of my head, the left, and can no longer wear my bangs forward like I used to.

I went to the dermatologist (who I think was pretty bad, actually, because I went in for my HAIR and he didn't even do a strength test by pulling on it or anything!) and he said I had male pattern-ish baldness which is even more disconcerting because I can't hide the hair loss, I have a huge bald spot near the front of my head -- and I'm only a 21-year old female, people! This is beyond depressing, really. I'm beyond angry at my psychiatrist for always always downplaying the hair loss risk. I loathe him for it, in fact. But anyway.

I am going to start on biotin, and probably some prenatal vitamins, and maybe even tail Rx (******).

Thank you for posting your experiences, it has been a huge comfort to me (I wasn't lying when I said I read this thread many many times before and am reading it again now, at 3am!)

I have been extremely happy with my Mirena actually. I had it put in after my second child in Dec. 2004 at my 6 week appointment. The cramping and bleeding didn't last that long actually but then again I was still bleeding after having the baby anyway so it was a good time to have it done. I stopped having periods after 3 months of having it in completely. That was the absolute BEST part. I haven't had to use a sanitary pad or tampon in almost 5 years!

Now for the other aspects...in hindsight I don't know if the issues I had during the first couple years with the Mirena were side effects of the device or postpartum. That's the problem with having an IUD put in right after having a baby. Side effects like baby blues, postpartum depression (in my case I was almost postpartum psychosis), hair loss, weight issues, etc. can all be related to post-pregnancy. My biggest side effect was the hair loss. I have fine, thin hair to begin with so it's VERY noticeable when I start to lose hair. However, this happens after birth. After 2 years it was such a problem I went for a physical and requested a blood work-up. Everything came back normal. I was told it could be aging (I was 31 years old then) or stress. I tried absolutely everything from changing my diet, taking tons of biotin pills, multi-vitamins, etc. Every year I kept noticing it getting worse. I went to dermatologists who said it could be age, stress, hereditary (I have NO female pattern baldness in my family) and so forth. I started taking Women's Rogaine last fall. Still no difference and I'm losing hair still. I've even lost 25 pounds and within excellent weight range, changed positions in my company to a less stressed job (since last year) and STILL have hair loss.

My husband started doing research on the Mirena since I need to make a decision on birth control in the next 6 months. We both noticed that other symptoms were "wearing" off. I have increased sex drive (a significant amount - let's face it...14 years in a monogamous relationship doesn't all of a sudden just start to increase in the sex drive area normally), started spotting a little bit when I guess would be my period (remember I haven't had a period for 4 years now since I had the Mirena put in post 3 months) and this last month I had a REAL period for a couple days. He thought the hormones were wearing off.

I made an appointment with my GYN to discuss but thought I'd share my experience.

Again I've been super happy with the no periods aspect of the Mirena. LOVE IT! But I don't know if the other symptoms I've been having over the past 5 years are related. And now I have to make a decision. My husband wants me to switch to the Paragard Copper IUD (we love the ease of the IUD so much) yet I hate the idea of heavy periods and cramping after a decade without either. Do I take the hair loss (if it's related) but have no periods? Decisions....

I'm on Wellbutrin since August and I've been loosing lots of hair lately. At the beginning of the loss I didn't give it much importance until about a week ago when pulling my hair back in my usual ponytail I notice that my hairline moved back noticeably, and that my already thin hair was barely covering my scalp...I thought it was stress or something, but I've never seen my hair weak and little like that. Then I thought at the meds I'm taking and googled "wellbutrin and hair loss". A super long list of web pages (including this) were talking about this side effect of Wellbutrin. Now I'm worried not just for my hair loss, but to the process of adaptation of my body to a potential change of medicinal. What should I do? My doctor is in Italy and cannot check on me personally.
Thanks for sharing
M.

I HAVE BEEN ON LOESTRIN FE 24 FOR 2 YEARS NOW AND HAVE THE SAME ISSUES BUT A LOT OF HAIR LOSS, ALL BLOOD WORK HAS CAME BACK NORMAL AND THE ONLY THING I CAN LINK TO THIS HAIR LOSS PROBLEM IS THIS PILL. AFTER REVIEWING MANY OF THE SAME ISSUES OF HAIR LOSS, NO LIBIDO, BLOAT, WEIGHT GAIN. I'VE COME TO REALIZE I NEED TO BE OFF OF THIS PILL.
I HAD A FULL HEAD OF HAIR AND NOW PRIOR TWO YEARS AGO AND NOW I HAVE THIN HAIR THAT FALLS OUT AND WILL NOT GROW.

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 recently noticed my hair was thinning, long strands coming out in the shower, and extremely dry. I had thin hair to start with, so can't afford to lose any hair. I read all these postings where others have had hair loss from Lisinopril. I started taking it the end of August and in the past few weeks have noticed the hair loss. I put in a call to my doctor and am waiting for his return call. Lisinopril has been keeping my BP's almost perfect, but what a trade off. I'm wondering if taking extra Vitamin E or Nioxin which promotes hair growth would overpower the effects of Lisinopril. I've also felt a vibration in my left thigh that comes and goes and my thigh heats up once in a while and goes away. Anyone had that side effect?

I have had the Mirena implant for over two years now and I was so happy at first to find a way to have sex with my boyfriend without a condom or the risk of pregnancy. How many times and in how many ways must we realize that we cannot have our cake and eat it too? Sex was once something that almost always resulted in pregnancy. Now that we have the technology to have sex any time anywhere without the consequence of guaranteed pregnancy we forget what a striking contradiction this behavior is to the biological purpose of sex. Of course sex is incredibly enjoyable but, despite the theme of excess encouraged in our modern life, we must really consider the cost of employing these methods that allow us to have it irresponsibly. I speak from experience that my motivation to get the Mirena was not to have sex with anyone anytime anywhere but to have the freedom to do so, within the relationship that I was in, was something I found liberating. Now, two years later, I'm looking down at rapidly shedding hair on the keyboard as I write this. I have always had thin hair but in much more abundance. This, however, was not my first concern, nor was the acne, or itchy scalp. My first concern was that I stopped having my period completely within months of getting the implant. I made an appointment to see a Gynecologist at Planned Parenthood, where I had the IUD implanted for free, to discuss my apprehension that this was an unnatural side effect. She proceeded to define for me what "natural" was by retracing the history of woman and childbirth and how before birth control woman spent most of their childbearing and sexually active years in some state of pregnancy and so suffered this rather than regular periods. Surely I was thankful that this was not the case with my life and readily accepted her definition of "natural' as one who does not experience monthly periods. She went on to say that the body is exhausted by the duty of expelling unused egg after unused egg month after month. I left feeling that much more convinced I was doing the right thing for my body and my sex life.
Of course I was skeptical of her ulterior motives, working at a free clinic, her social responsibility is to get every woman that walks through her door on some form of birth control. Like every other pleasure we have the opportunity to enjoy in excess, condom free sex can become addicting. I do not look forward to using prophylactics in the future, what I do look forward to is having the drive to seek a mate. My sexual motivation has become as paper thin as my hair after two years with the device. I must admit that these side effects, along with acne, dry scalp, and depression, have not asserted themselves until now. One year ago I was in a very sexually satisfying relationship and cannot say that at the time I was lacking sex drive due to the implant. However, I was also not losing hair by the handful at that time. Is it my fear of going bald that is expediting the process of my IUD removal or is it that I truly believe the hormonal repercussion of suppressing my ability to become pregnant is directly related to my loss of sexual/romantic ambition? Surely it’s both since my chances of finding a mate as an asexual bald woman are highly unlikely, regardless of my ability to offer condom free sex. If my theory is correct and my drive to seek a mate with whom I can share the great human gift of physical and emotional intimacy returns along with my hair, after removing the Mirena device I will have to explore the alternatives to birth control. There is the cycle method where you map out the times of the month you are most and least likely to become pregnant. I hear there’s a male birth control out there, though I wouldn’t wish the side effects, such as woman experience, on them. The suppression of male sexual ambition might lead to the very collapse of civilization. And of course I will have to embrace the condom and I’m sure they’re getting thinner and more effective every day, or at least I hope so.

I am also experience hair thinning while on Wellbutrin. I have had blood tests and there is no other detectable cause. The dermatologist said that she was only able to diagnose as possibly hereditary. However, I began noticing it shortly after starting 300mg of Well XL and then noticed increased thinning when I went up to 450mg. I don't take any other medications at all.

I searched the Wellbutrin prescribing information (a pdf on the official Wellbutrin website) and this is all I can find:

Other Events Observed During the Clinical Development and Postmarketing Experience of Buproprion

Adverse events for which frequencies are not provided occurred in clincial trials or postmarketing experience with bupropion. Only those adverse events not previously listed for sustained-release bupropion are included. The extent to which these events may be associated with Wellbutrin XL is unknown.

Skin: Rare was maculopauplar rash. Also observed were alopecia, angioedeme, exfoliative dermatitis and hirsutism.

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Alopecia is hair loss. All that means is it was reported and they didn't do a study that would have produced data with which they could measure the likelihood that it is a Wellbutrin side effect. In other words, people said they were experiencing it but they can't confirm it.

I just dropped down to 300 mg and I'm contacting my shrink about tapering off completely - I feel like dealing with scalp showing through and feeling horribly self-conscious and unattractive because of it is not going to help my depression and self-esteem issues any.

I'm a woman by the way - the number of reports of hair thinning in women seems significant to me. I have no family history of thin hair on the female side that I know of.

Help me! I have stopped taking Yasmin for about 4 or 5 months because my husband and I want to conceive. I AM STARTING TO LOSE MY HAIR! I am so worried about this as I am losing at least double the normal amount everyday and this has been happening for about a week now. I have noticed the difference as my hair is not very thick. My husband has noticed. My friend says she can't tell, but if you look in my bathroom and my comb you would think I was undertaking radiotherapy. I went to my doctor two days ago and she thinks it could be thyroid or iron problems. She thinks it could be ceasing the pill but is unsure......PLEASE, is there ANYONE who has experienced this? And if so will it stop? I am so distressed about it.

I am 28 and have lupus, I was put on 10 mg of methotrexate last week weekly. Im expierencing some really weird side effects, atleast I think there side effects. My lower abdomen became very sensitive, I couldnt even touch the area where my uterus is, and now my breast have enlarged by a whole cup size and become very, VERY sore. Like the sore you get when you first get pregnant but I had a tubal ligation 6 years ago so pregnancy is out of the question. My heart beat is irregular and caffene seems to realy make it worse. I am soooo tired too, omg. I can't believe how tired I have become. And my hair is falling out, every time I shower it falls out in handfulls. Has anyone else experienced any of these symptoms? If so please share!

PLEASE REPLY! ok i wrote on this board about a month ago, and i was complaining about all the horrible side effects i was having.....however things have gotten much much worse since then, and i must admit that i have been bad. very bad. i am secretly winging myself off of the steroids b/c I cannot handle the depression and not being myself anymore... I've been on Prednisone for a year now and started winging myself from 15mg when I last wrote on here to now 10 mg... my hair is falling out in HUGE clumps, and I am NOT overexaggerating when I say I am going bald... does anyone know if this could be from tapering the drug, or would you say it is probably because of my condition possibly returning from tapering the drug too low???? I just want to know if IMMENSE hair loss is affiliated with steroids...I have not seen anyone else mention anything.

Hello Yasmin Sufferers out there, I have currently been taking Yasminfor four months exactly, I started my cycle today which means that I would start to take my new pack of pills come this Sunday, except I have most definately decided that I am going to stop. Especially after reading all of these posts and have come to the realization that all of my health problems seem to be Yasmin driven. I will now list the long list of symptoms that I have expierienced over the last four months:

Water retention, dry mouth, dehydration ( also note: drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day), blurred vision, shaking, headaches, backaches, crying at the drop of a dime, moody, irritable, constipation, nightsweats, coldsores, breast tenderness, as well as numbness in legs. I also have naturally thin hair, but have noticed that my hair has become thinner. I have also gained 10pds.

I am 24 years of age and have been taking this pill for four months. When I was younger I took Ortho Tricyclin for years and gained approx: 60pds. I went off of that pill and dropped the weight almost immediately along with changing my nutrition completely. So, it wasn't just the pill. I then stayed off of the pill for years, and was absolutely fine. Last year I tried to take Yasmin, I went on the pill for one month and withing the 1st week gained 8pds, I stopped taking it after one month, because I am so weight conscience because the pill had made me gain weight in the past.

I tend to have moderate adult acne. I went to my Dr. for an acne treatment, and he suggested the Birth Control Pill. He suggested Yasmin because of the water pill which is in it. This time my Dr. convinced me that I did not give the pill enough time last time and should give it three months minumum.

So, I have given it four months and the symptoms seem to be getting worse as well as the weight gain, and irritability.

I have also felt depressed and wondered if have been depressed which I have never had thoughts of in the past.

One thing that Yasmin has done well for me has been clearing up the acne, which was what I wanted to stop, but after enduring all of these other symptoms, I would rather have adult acne in trade for all of these.

Like I mentioned above I took my last pill last Saturday because that was the end of my pack and I do not plan on starting a new one this Sunday. I can only hope that I do not get any negative side effects when coming off of the pill.

I hope that this helps you ladies out there looking for info and highly recommend researching a birth control pill extensively before taking it.

Wishing you all the best of luck, thank you all for voicing your symptoms as I didn't even realize that these were all pointing to one problem.YASMIN.

I started taking Fosamax the morning of the 13th of April and this is the evening of the 15th. I have been having bouts of nausea and stomach discomfort since yesterday afternoon that are becoming more frequent and now accompanied by flatulence. My appetite has changed because I feel so yucky.
I was prescribed it because of a bone density exam that says I have severe bone loss in my femurs and moderate in my spine. I am an otherwise healthy 55 year old woman, very active and energetic, daily dog-walker at moderately brisk speed.
After reading this site I am even less keen to take it than I was....I have always bruised easily and I was born with thin hair.

Hey,
I have been on Yasmin for over a year now, and four weeks ago I noticed that I had numbness on one side of my right foot and around my lower right leg, and the side of my left toe was also numb. I thought I might have MS, but after reading this site, I think I will stop taking the pill and see if the numbness goes away. I am scared to stop though, because the reason I am on it anyway is because of a hormonal imbalance that is causing me to lose my hair and grow facial hair. I have read so many people here saying that they have started losing a lot of hair, and for someone who already has thin hair, that is a scary concept. There is only one side effect that has not touched me, and that is the loss of sex drive. I am not having sex because I am waiting for marriage, but let me tell you, there are plenty of times that I wouldn't mind it! Oh well, I guess everyone has their own experience. Thanks for all of the posts; they have really helped me to not think that I have an incurable disease.

I started on 50 MCG of Levothyroxine last late May, due to a slightly underactive thyroid. The sides effect I am experiencing that is troubling me the most is that my hair is thinning dramatically. No bald patches, just thinning, and I had thin hair to begin with, so that makes it even more bothersome. I've also noticed that hair has completely stopped growing on my lower legs and upper thighs, and my eyebrows have thinned also. According to my doctor, my latest blood tests indicated that my thyroid levels were in ideal range now, and thinning hair isn't a side effect of the levothyroxine. I've read that it is, unless my thyroid levels still aren't ideal..and the levothyroxine is making my hair thin more than usual when in conjunction with the hypothyroidism. I'm also taking 25 mg of toprol to control tachycardia. If anyone could give me some advice, I'd really appreciate it! I'm at my wit's end as it my hair.

I have been on Levoxyl for several years, and it is the only medication I can't live without. I can give up my oral diabetes meds by going low carb, my allergy meds and suffer the hay fever, but Levoxyl is my friend. My levels are low normal, borderline if you will, but I have had muscle fatigue since I was a teenager. When I started the med, I could climb stairs without aching, style my hair without my arms trembling. My thin hair filled in and though it is fine, it is full of volume. The pharmacy switched me to the new generic and within three months, I was aching, my hair was thinning, I was 35 and felt 88. Switched back to the brand name, and am well again. The only negative is I have to drink a LOT of water to stayhydrated, but have to do that w/ the diabetes anyway. Alot of the sideeffects I'm reading here sound like dehydration problems. The anxieties, the fatigues. If you aren't drinking your 64oz of water a day, try it and see if it helps.

I have had severe chronic asthma for over 20 years. Started Advair 500/50 4 years ago and my asthma is completely under control--almost never need to use my abuterol. But I have gained 50lbs, and I exercise 5x a week and eat a 1200 calorie diet, and I still gain 1-2 pounds a month. I have several cushing's like symptoms. Excessive weight gain in abdomen and breasts while my arms/legs are thin. Hair loss. Severe stretch marks on abdomen and thighs. Blurry vision, headaches, severe cramping in my calves and strange rash-like bumps on the backs of my arms. Not to mention chronic tachycardia and constant thrush in my mouth. Also my thyroid quit working a year ago and I am on synthroid now. Now it appears I may have an adrenal gland problem. I never had these problems before the Advair. When I mentioned my concerns to my pulmonologist he actually laughed at me. I wonder if Glaxo gives kickbacks to Dr.'s who prescribe their drug.