Women Hair Loss Forums - scalp DHT level and HRT

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Kai

05.09.2008, 23:21

scalp DHT level and HRT (Androgenetic Alopcia (AGA) Female Pattern)
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My girlfriend is perimenopausal and has been losing hair steadily for a few years. Some of this we theorize was caused by stress, but the largest hair loss has come since her endo threw off all of her hormone levels with too much HRT (including testosterone). She has since gone to a new endo (8 months). Her hormone levels seem to have normalized, but she is still losing hair. Is it possible that DHT levels raised by her old HRT regimen are still active in her scalp? Will DHT levels fall in a perimenopausal woman with low testosterone?

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

delilah

06.09.2008, 13:38

@ Kai
scalp DHT level and HRT
Post reply

ť My girlfriend is perimenopausal and has been losing hair steadily for a few
ť years. Some of this we theorize was caused by stress, but the largest hair
ť loss has come since her endo threw off all of her hormone levels with too
ť much HRT (including testosterone). She has since gone to a new endo (8
ť months). Her hormone levels seem to have normalized, but she is still
ť losing hair. Is it possible that DHT levels raised by her old HRT regimen
ť are still active in her scalp? Will DHT levels fall in a perimenopausal
ť woman with low testosterone?

It's really scary when these doctor's add testosterone to HRT. I don't think they realize what it does to the hair and so many women who are in peri ask for it bc their libido goes down. Usually their hair starts to fall out from both the testosterone and dropping estrogen.

Your friend might need more E and an antiandrogen at this point.

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

Kai

06.09.2008, 16:12

@ delilah
scalp DHT level and HRT
Post reply

ť
ť It's really scary when these doctor's add testosterone to HRT. I don't
ť think they realize what it does to the hair and so many women who are in
ť peri ask for it bc their libido goes down. Usually their hair starts to
ť fall out from both the testosterone and dropping estrogen.
ť
ť Your friend might need more E and an antiandrogen at this point.

Well, her testosterone level now is 12. So, there isn't much of it to suppress. We're just wondering if DHT could still be wreaking havoc in her scalp even with testosterone so low?

And yes, I'm here on this forum only because losing her hair has been so traumatic that she can't bring herself to deal with it. To see it break down her confidence has been devastating.

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

delilah

06.09.2008, 18:59

@ Kai
scalp DHT level and HRT
Post reply

ť ť
ť ť It's really scary when these doctor's add testosterone to HRT. I don't
ť ť think they realize what it does to the hair and so many women who are
ť in
ť ť peri ask for it bc their libido goes down. Usually their hair starts
ť to
ť ť fall out from both the testosterone and dropping estrogen.
ť ť
ť ť Your friend might need more E and an antiandrogen at this point.
ť
ť Well, her testosterone level now is 12. So, there isn't much of it to
ť suppress. We're just wondering if DHT could still be wreaking havoc in her
ť scalp even with testosterone so low?
ť
ť And yes, I'm here on this forum only because losing her hair has been so
ť traumatic that she can't bring herself to deal with it. To see it break
ť down her confidence has been devastating.

It's not that low and still high enough to cause problems for her hair.

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

Kai

06.09.2008, 19:26

@ delilah
scalp DHT level and HRT
Post reply

ť
ť It's not that low and still high enough to cause problems for her hair.

We were led to believe by the docs we'd seen that a total testosterone of 12 was low. So, this sounds high enough to cause a problem? Maybe she should look into taking a low dose of Spironalactone?

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

mauri

07.09.2008, 10:56

@ Kai
scalp DHT level and HRT
Post reply

Mine was 10 on one test and 9 on the other and I had a problem with it due to the DHT and my follicles. When my T serum was taken it was 34 outo 76 on an earlier test. My free was .50 Now about 9 months later my total is 6 and my free is .6 but I guess that fraction higher is due to taking the spiro. Im on 5mg finasteride and 200/daily spiro plus HRT. Dr. Redmond never said my test was high at all but he did mention my sensitivity to it due to lowered E.
Mauri

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

Kai

07.09.2008, 16:56
(edited by Kai, 07.09.2008, 17:06)

@ mauri
scalp DHT level and HRT
Post reply

ť Mine was 10 on one test and 9 on the other and I had a problem with it due
ť to the DHT and my follicles. When my T serum was taken it was 34 outo 76
ť on an earlier test. My free was .50 Now about 9 months later my total is
ť 6 and my free is .6 but I guess that fraction higher is due to taking the
ť spiro. Im on 5mg finasteride and 200/daily spiro plus HRT. Dr. Redmond
ť never said my test was high at all but he did mention my sensitivity to it
ť due to lowered E.
ť Mauri

Thank you delilah and Mauri. I appreciate your responses.

Mauri, Has this regimen worked for you?

My gf and I have been completely perplexed. We were told over and over that her total Testosterone of 12 was low and that DHT would therefore not be an issue. But, a year and a half ago -- when her hair loss first became an issue we wanted to actively deal with -- we went to an endo who spiked her levels. He sent her Estradiol to over 900 and her Testosterone to 25. She's no longer seeing this doc, but we may be dealing with his DHT legacy?

The only thing that we were able to confirm up to this point with a doctor was that her Ferritin level (24) was low... so we started supplements a few weeks ago. Her Estradiol level is 127. We're told by docs that this is fine, but maybe this needs to be higher for hair growth too?

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

mauri

07.09.2008, 19:23

@ Kai
scalp DHT level and HRT
Post reply

Yes it has worked for me pretty much. I had a small setback this summer due to sweating with the patch, at least thats what I think happend. My hair is trying to get better again. I started all this in Feb of this year. My estrogen is higher and I think it really should be lower but my hair responds to 160 so Im trying to monitor everything and have regular check ups. We dont know what my estrogen level was when I was 35-40 which was when my hair was fine. This all started about 2 years ago and Im almost 51. My shed dropped from 200+ to 20-30 3 months after I started all the meds. I fluctuates up to 60 but its hard to say when it was affected again. Most likely a drop in estrogen.
Mauri

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

Kai 05.09.2008, 23:21	scalp DHT level and HRT (Androgenetic Alopcia (AGA) Female Pattern) Post reply
	My girlfriend is perimenopausal and has been losing hair steadily for a few years. Some of this we theorize was caused by stress, but the largest hair loss has come since her endo threw off all of her hormone levels with too much HRT (including testosterone). She has since gone to a new endo (8 months). Her hormone levels seem to have normalized, but she is still losing hair. Is it possible that DHT levels raised by her old HRT regimen are still active in her scalp? Will DHT levels fall in a perimenopausal woman with low testosterone? Kai is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
delilah 06.09.2008, 13:38 @ Kai	scalp DHT level and HRT Post reply
	ť My girlfriend is perimenopausal and has been losing hair steadily for a few ť years. Some of this we theorize was caused by stress, but the largest hair ť loss has come since her endo threw off all of her hormone levels with too ť much HRT (including testosterone). She has since gone to a new endo (8 ť months). Her hormone levels seem to have normalized, but she is still ť losing hair. Is it possible that DHT levels raised by her old HRT regimen ť are still active in her scalp? Will DHT levels fall in a perimenopausal ť woman with low testosterone? It's really scary when these doctor's add testosterone to HRT. I don't think they realize what it does to the hair and so many women who are in peri ask for it bc their libido goes down. Usually their hair starts to fall out from both the testosterone and dropping estrogen. Your friend might need more E and an antiandrogen at this point. delilah is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
Kai 06.09.2008, 16:12 @ delilah	scalp DHT level and HRT Post reply
	ť ť It's really scary when these doctor's add testosterone to HRT. I don't ť think they realize what it does to the hair and so many women who are in ť peri ask for it bc their libido goes down. Usually their hair starts to ť fall out from both the testosterone and dropping estrogen. ť ť Your friend might need more E and an antiandrogen at this point. Well, her testosterone level now is 12. So, there isn't much of it to suppress. We're just wondering if DHT could still be wreaking havoc in her scalp even with testosterone so low? And yes, I'm here on this forum only because losing her hair has been so traumatic that she can't bring herself to deal with it. To see it break down her confidence has been devastating. Kai is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
delilah 06.09.2008, 18:59 @ Kai	scalp DHT level and HRT Post reply
	ť ť ť ť It's really scary when these doctor's add testosterone to HRT. I don't ť ť think they realize what it does to the hair and so many women who are ť in ť ť peri ask for it bc their libido goes down. Usually their hair starts ť to ť ť fall out from both the testosterone and dropping estrogen. ť ť ť ť Your friend might need more E and an antiandrogen at this point. ť ť Well, her testosterone level now is 12. So, there isn't much of it to ť suppress. We're just wondering if DHT could still be wreaking havoc in her ť scalp even with testosterone so low? ť ť And yes, I'm here on this forum only because losing her hair has been so ť traumatic that she can't bring herself to deal with it. To see it break ť down her confidence has been devastating. It's not that low and still high enough to cause problems for her hair. delilah is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
Kai 06.09.2008, 19:26 @ delilah	scalp DHT level and HRT Post reply
	ť ť It's not that low and still high enough to cause problems for her hair. We were led to believe by the docs we'd seen that a total testosterone of 12 was low. So, this sounds high enough to cause a problem? Maybe she should look into taking a low dose of Spironalactone? Kai is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
mauri 07.09.2008, 10:56 @ Kai	scalp DHT level and HRT Post reply
	Mine was 10 on one test and 9 on the other and I had a problem with it due to the DHT and my follicles. When my T serum was taken it was 34 outo 76 on an earlier test. My free was .50 Now about 9 months later my total is 6 and my free is .6 but I guess that fraction higher is due to taking the spiro. Im on 5mg finasteride and 200/daily spiro plus HRT. Dr. Redmond never said my test was high at all but he did mention my sensitivity to it due to lowered E. Mauri mauri is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
Kai 07.09.2008, 16:56 (edited by Kai, 07.09.2008, 17:06) @ mauri	scalp DHT level and HRT Post reply
	ť Mine was 10 on one test and 9 on the other and I had a problem with it due ť to the DHT and my follicles. When my T serum was taken it was 34 outo 76 ť on an earlier test. My free was .50 Now about 9 months later my total is ť 6 and my free is .6 but I guess that fraction higher is due to taking the ť spiro. Im on 5mg finasteride and 200/daily spiro plus HRT. Dr. Redmond ť never said my test was high at all but he did mention my sensitivity to it ť due to lowered E. ť Mauri Thank you delilah and Mauri. I appreciate your responses. Mauri, Has this regimen worked for you? My gf and I have been completely perplexed. We were told over and over that her total Testosterone of 12 was low and that DHT would therefore not be an issue. But, a year and a half ago -- when her hair loss first became an issue we wanted to actively deal with -- we went to an endo who spiked her levels. He sent her Estradiol to over 900 and her Testosterone to 25. She's no longer seeing this doc, but we may be dealing with his DHT legacy? The only thing that we were able to confirm up to this point with a doctor was that her Ferritin level (24) was low... so we started supplements a few weeks ago. Her Estradiol level is 127. We're told by docs that this is fine, but maybe this needs to be higher for hair growth too? Kai is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO
mauri 07.09.2008, 19:23 @ Kai	scalp DHT level and HRT Post reply
	Yes it has worked for me pretty much. I had a small setback this summer due to sweating with the patch, at least thats what I think happend. My hair is trying to get better again. I started all this in Feb of this year. My estrogen is higher and I think it really should be lower but my hair responds to 160 so Im trying to monitor everything and have regular check ups. We dont know what my estrogen level was when I was 35-40 which was when my hair was fine. This all started about 2 years ago and Im almost 51. My shed dropped from 200+ to 20-30 3 months after I started all the meds. I fluctuates up to 60 but its hard to say when it was affected again. Most likely a drop in estrogen. Mauri mauri is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO