Women Hair Loss Forums - anyone pre-meno and supplementing with estrogen ?

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salis

31.07.2008, 15:58

anyone pre-meno and supplementing with estrogen ? (Menopause, Peri-menopause & Hair Loss)
Post reply

Hi all
would like to know if there are many of you out there who are supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I dont mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences.

much appreciated
salis

salis is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

nomoresheds

10.08.2008, 20:48

@ salis
anyone pre-meno and supplementing with estrogen ?
Post reply

ť Hi all
ť would like to know if there are many of you out there who are
ť supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I dont
ť mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences.
ť
ť much appreciated
ť salis

If you have a uterus and use estrogen, you should also be using progesterone as well.

I use progesterone only which is ok by itself.

nomoresheds is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

Holly

11.08.2008, 15:01

@ salis
anyone pre-meno and supplementing with estrogen ?
Post reply

ť Hi all
ť would like to know if there are many of you out there who are
ť supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I dont
ť mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences.
ť
ť much appreciated
ť salis

Salis, I've been using Vivelle Dot for 2 years without taking progesterone. If you still have adequate amounts of your own progesterone to have a regular period, you don't need to supplement it. At 46, I still have a regular period, although my P is declining (last test was 4.3). I'll add Prometrium only after I cease to have acceptable natural levels.

I started the Vivelle while still on bcp in 06 then quit the pill and upped my vivelle to .05. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed on the pill as I think it helped my hair by cutting my T down significantly.

Holly is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

salis

11.08.2008, 15:37

@ Holly
TO HOLLY FROM SALIS
Post reply

ť ť Hi all
ť ť would like to know if there are many of you out there who are
ť ť supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I
ť dont
ť ť mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences.
ť ť
ť ť much appreciated
ť ť salis
ť
ť Salis, I've been using Vivelle Dot for 2 years without taking
ť progesterone. If you still have adequate amounts of your own progesterone
ť to have a regular period, you don't need to supplement it. At 46, I still
ť have a regular period, although my P is declining (last test was 4.3). I'll
ť add Prometrium only after I cease to have acceptable natural levels.
ť
ť I started the Vivelle while still on bcp in 06 then quit the pill and
ť upped my vivelle to .05. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed on the pill as
ť I think it helped my hair by cutting my T down significantly.

hi holly
thanks for getting back to me. Can i just is it helping your hairless do you think ? i've just ordered some vivelle patches of 0.05 (but might start by introducing half a patch at a time and then slowly upping). What pill were you on before holly ? When did you start having problems with hair loss ?

thanks for the info holly
salis ;-)

salis is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

Holly

12.08.2008, 13:10

@ salis
TO HOLLY FROM SALIS
Post reply

ť ť ť Hi all
ť ť ť would like to know if there are many of you out there who are
ť ť ť supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I
ť ť dont
ť ť ť mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences.
ť ť ť
ť ť ť much appreciated
ť ť ť salis
ť ť
ť ť Salis, I've been using Vivelle Dot for 2 years without taking
ť ť progesterone. If you still have adequate amounts of your own
ť progesterone
ť ť to have a regular period, you don't need to supplement it. At 46, I
ť still
ť ť have a regular period, although my P is declining (last test was 4.3).
ť I'll
ť ť add Prometrium only after I cease to have acceptable natural levels.
ť ť
ť ť I started the Vivelle while still on bcp in 06 then quit the pill and
ť ť upped my vivelle to .05. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed on the pill
ť as
ť ť I think it helped my hair by cutting my T down significantly.
ť
ť hi holly
ť thanks for getting back to me. Can i just is it helping your hairless do
ť you think ? i've just ordered some vivelle patches of 0.05 (but might
ť start by introducing half a patch at a time and then slowly upping). What
ť pill were you on before holly ? When did you start having problems with
ť hair loss ?
ť
ť thanks for the info holly
ť salis ;-)

Hi Salis,

My hair loss started after I took a DHEA supplement recommended by an unscrupulous doctor who neglected to tell me that I was taking an androgenic hormone, that in women, raises T levels up to 200%. This nightmare started in mid 05. I went on the pill (Desogen, then Ortho-cyclen) in the beginning of 06 and stayed on it for 9 months. Unfortunately, I was duly influenced by a few vocal anti-pill members of the hair boards and went off just when it was beginning to help my hair. Immediately after stopping the pill, I upped my vivelle dot dose to .05, hoping to mitigate a dread shed from going off the pill. I thought I escaped relatively unscathed because 2 months later my hair was looking really good, so I also dropped my spiro dose down a bit too (because it was drying my skin). But, at 4 months off the pill, the shed from hell commenced. Ugh, apparently I made ALL the wrong decisions!

Anyway, I've been on vivelle .05 + 100-137.50 mgs spiro and Prox-N for 2 years and it's been o.k. for me. No major regrowth of what I lost, but perhaps I am maintaining. (although I just had a shed from May thru July this year) I'm "lucky" in that my loss is greater on the sides and in back of my ears than on the top, although I'm definitely thinner all over. At this point I can hide it.

It's really hard to calculate just what's doing what, but I would guess that the vivelle is helping me keep my E up, while the spiro blocks the androgen onslaught. I know that I am unfortunately in this for the long haul because any major drop in E now will most likely cause a humongous shed. I'm fearful what I'm going to stir up when I do eventually add Prometrium.

Starting low with the vivelle is good because you really don't want to supplement more than you need. If you can manage at .025, you should. Hopefully, you have a good gyn to work with you, as all this self medicating that we all do can screw us up. Whatever you do, know that any increase/decrease in hormone supplementation will cause a shed, but ESPECIALLY a decrease. Our bodies want very stable, adequate levels to maintain our hair. Easier said than done, I know!

good luck!

Holly

Holly is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

nomoresheds

16.08.2008, 16:25

@ Holly
TO salis
Post reply

Salis, I am probably the exception since so many people lose their hair from loss of estrogen. I did not get any worse and had a huge drop in estrogen.

nomoresheds is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

megan

12.09.2008, 16:57

@ salis
TO SALIS from Meg
Post reply

Hi Salis,
Just wondering if you tried vivelle and if you've noticed a difference.

Thanks Megan

megan is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

salis 31.07.2008, 15:58	anyone pre-meno and supplementing with estrogen ? (Menopause, Peri-menopause & Hair Loss) Post reply
	Hi all would like to know if there are many of you out there who are supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I dont mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences. much appreciated salis salis is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
nomoresheds 10.08.2008, 20:48 @ salis	anyone pre-meno and supplementing with estrogen ? Post reply
	ť Hi all ť would like to know if there are many of you out there who are ť supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I dont ť mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences. ť ť much appreciated ť salis If you have a uterus and use estrogen, you should also be using progesterone as well. I use progesterone only which is ok by itself. nomoresheds is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
Holly 11.08.2008, 15:01 @ salis	anyone pre-meno and supplementing with estrogen ? Post reply
	ť Hi all ť would like to know if there are many of you out there who are ť supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I dont ť mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences. ť ť much appreciated ť salis Salis, I've been using Vivelle Dot for 2 years without taking progesterone. If you still have adequate amounts of your own progesterone to have a regular period, you don't need to supplement it. At 46, I still have a regular period, although my P is declining (last test was 4.3). I'll add Prometrium only after I cease to have acceptable natural levels. I started the Vivelle while still on bcp in 06 then quit the pill and upped my vivelle to .05. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed on the pill as I think it helped my hair by cutting my T down significantly. Holly is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
salis 11.08.2008, 15:37 @ Holly	TO HOLLY FROM SALIS Post reply
	ť ť Hi all ť ť would like to know if there are many of you out there who are ť ť supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I ť dont ť ť mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences. ť ť ť ť much appreciated ť ť salis ť ť Salis, I've been using Vivelle Dot for 2 years without taking ť progesterone. If you still have adequate amounts of your own progesterone ť to have a regular period, you don't need to supplement it. At 46, I still ť have a regular period, although my P is declining (last test was 4.3). I'll ť add Prometrium only after I cease to have acceptable natural levels. ť ť I started the Vivelle while still on bcp in 06 then quit the pill and ť upped my vivelle to .05. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed on the pill as ť I think it helped my hair by cutting my T down significantly. hi holly thanks for getting back to me. Can i just is it helping your hairless do you think ? i've just ordered some vivelle patches of 0.05 (but might start by introducing half a patch at a time and then slowly upping). What pill were you on before holly ? When did you start having problems with hair loss ? thanks for the info holly salis salis is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
Holly 12.08.2008, 13:10 @ salis	TO HOLLY FROM SALIS Post reply
	ť ť ť Hi all ť ť ť would like to know if there are many of you out there who are ť ť ť supplementing with just estrogen and not progesterone (or both, but I ť ť dont ť ť ť mean the pill) and if so what are your experiences. ť ť ť ť ť ť much appreciated ť ť ť salis ť ť ť ť Salis, I've been using Vivelle Dot for 2 years without taking ť ť progesterone. If you still have adequate amounts of your own ť progesterone ť ť to have a regular period, you don't need to supplement it. At 46, I ť still ť ť have a regular period, although my P is declining (last test was 4.3). ť I'll ť ť add Prometrium only after I cease to have acceptable natural levels. ť ť ť ť I started the Vivelle while still on bcp in 06 then quit the pill and ť ť upped my vivelle to .05. In retrospect, I wish I had stayed on the pill ť as ť ť I think it helped my hair by cutting my T down significantly. ť ť hi holly ť thanks for getting back to me. Can i just is it helping your hairless do ť you think ? i've just ordered some vivelle patches of 0.05 (but might ť start by introducing half a patch at a time and then slowly upping). What ť pill were you on before holly ? When did you start having problems with ť hair loss ? ť ť thanks for the info holly ť salis Hi Salis, My hair loss started after I took a DHEA supplement recommended by an unscrupulous doctor who neglected to tell me that I was taking an androgenic hormone, that in women, raises T levels up to 200%. This nightmare started in mid 05. I went on the pill (Desogen, then Ortho-cyclen) in the beginning of 06 and stayed on it for 9 months. Unfortunately, I was duly influenced by a few vocal anti-pill members of the hair boards and went off just when it was beginning to help my hair. Immediately after stopping the pill, I upped my vivelle dot dose to .05, hoping to mitigate a dread shed from going off the pill. I thought I escaped relatively unscathed because 2 months later my hair was looking really good, so I also dropped my spiro dose down a bit too (because it was drying my skin). But, at 4 months off the pill, the shed from hell commenced. Ugh, apparently I made ALL the wrong decisions! Anyway, I've been on vivelle .05 + 100-137.50 mgs spiro and Prox-N for 2 years and it's been o.k. for me. No major regrowth of what I lost, but perhaps I am maintaining. (although I just had a shed from May thru July this year) I'm "lucky" in that my loss is greater on the sides and in back of my ears than on the top, although I'm definitely thinner all over. At this point I can hide it. It's really hard to calculate just what's doing what, but I would guess that the vivelle is helping me keep my E up, while the spiro blocks the androgen onslaught. I know that I am unfortunately in this for the long haul because any major drop in E now will most likely cause a humongous shed. I'm fearful what I'm going to stir up when I do eventually add Prometrium. Starting low with the vivelle is good because you really don't want to supplement more than you need. If you can manage at .025, you should. Hopefully, you have a good gyn to work with you, as all this self medicating that we all do can screw us up. Whatever you do, know that any increase/decrease in hormone supplementation will cause a shed, but ESPECIALLY a decrease. Our bodies want very stable, adequate levels to maintain our hair. Easier said than done, I know! good luck! Holly Holly is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
nomoresheds 16.08.2008, 16:25 @ Holly	TO salis Post reply
	Salis, I am probably the exception since so many people lose their hair from loss of estrogen. I did not get any worse and had a huge drop in estrogen. nomoresheds is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
megan 12.09.2008, 16:57 @ salis	TO SALIS from Meg Post reply
	Hi Salis, Just wondering if you tried vivelle and if you've noticed a difference. Thanks Megan megan is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO