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any success stories just on spiro/bcp (PCOS & Hair Loss)

posted by V, 08.10.2007, 09:48

Here are a few...there are some more, but i can't post all of them in one post. Keep in mind...all these girls had PCOS...no AGA.

Hi all.

Wow, another March 29th - this means I've been on treatment now for 3 years.

I don't post on here anymore as I've put my hairmare behind me, but for those of you who don't know, I have PCOS, and lost about 60% or more of the hair on my crown, and of course, like many of you, I was devastated, and searched high and low for answers. HairSite was the only forum I posted on in those days and I spent an unbelievable amount of time on here chatting and asking questions. Back in that day, there were a few who had successful regrowth so they became my support system, and I can't even express to HairSite enough how GRATEFUL I am for having a place where I could interact with those who had been through it. It was a lifesaver for me. Of course I hung on the words of every success story, and reading that someone else had made it through seemed to give me the strength to carry on. As you ladies know, there are days when hairloss can completely consume you.

So... my update is that I have almost all my hair back - I'd say 95% of it, and I look totally "normal" now and feel great. I hated the side effects of the Spiro and Met but they do wear off, so hang in there if you can.

Some fear that Spiro may lose its effectiveness over time - for me that is completely untrue. I have nice long hair now and the texture has improved over the past year or so.

I still swear by my Nizoral shampoo every day as a scalp treatment.

The best advice I can give any of you is to do your reasearch, find a doctor who will work with you to develop a treatment plan and stick with the treatment plan. OOOHHH I sooooo wanted to throw my meds in the garbage so many times - they made me sick at first wiht nausea, diarrhea, bed spins, etc. I felt terrible for the first 3 months and then my endo increased my meds and I felt like poo for the NEXT 3 months (in which time I did not see any regrowth and looked worse than when I started because I had a horrible dread shed at the 3 month mark) and had it not been for the ladies on HairSite who'd lived it and were able to clearly articulate their experiences to me, those meds would have been in the garbage can!!! HAHA!!

Many of you will have heard or read somewhere that it takes Spiro a year or more to really show results and this is so true. I had some sprouts around the 6 - 8 month mark, but by a year I really had a fuzzy halo going!!! By 2 years I was looking very normal and now at 3 years I actually have "NICE" hair again that I am proud of.

Also, my sprouts all came in clear!! I never had the "stubble" syle regrowth, mine came in clear and then turned terminal as they started to grow in longer (i.e. the first 2 inches of my hair looked vellous, but after about 6 months of growth the follicle seemed to awaken and make a fully pigmented terminal hair again). Of course I was devastated at the time, seeing CLEAR sprouts, and I was convinced that they were all vellous and that I was doomed, but no, my Spiro, Met & Nizoral combination did the trick and all is well - it just took a LLLOOOONG tme, which, when you're living the hairmare, seems like FOREVER!!!

Anyway, hope this all helps.

Good luck and good hair to all of you.

Love Jenn

Hello all,

I was diagnosed with PCOS in April of 2006, after approaching my doctor regarding my hair loss. My hair loss issues were not taken at all seriously by the medical professionals I dealt with. One endocrinologist told me not to brush my hair when it's wet, and to stop dying it in order to prevent my hair loss.....sage medical advice, I'm sure.

However, I was aggressive in seeking treatment, and by June, I was finally put on 100mg of Spironolactone and Diane 35. As early as December, I was seeing results. My shed has now slowed significantly (to the point where I haven't counted in months - I was losing about 300-500 hairs per day in April '06), and I have substantial regrowth. I am no longer self-conscious about my hair, and I no longer have panic attacks when I feel a hair fall on my arm. My hair is still thinner than it was before the PCOS hit, but I don't think most people would ever identify me as having an issue with hair loss.

For all of you ladies with PCOS....be aggressive! PCOS is not widely understood, and you may have difficulty in getting proper treatment. It was the hardest few months of my life, being constantly dismissed by doctors, but it certainly has been worth it, particularly as I had a number of other medical issues that I had no idea were related to the PCOS, which have now subsided.

From: Shauna
Date: 27 Oct 2005
Time: 19:35:49
Comments
Hi, I have never posted before, but have read a lot of posts on this site, it really gave me hope. So thank you. I have PCOS and about 2 years ago I noticed this sides and the back of my hair thinning. I was shedding like crazy, I mean it was just falling out in handfulls and I have pretty fine hair so I was freaking out. I researched and started Spiro 100mg twice a day, after a year, my hair still looked the same, but it wasn't getting any worse. Well, after a year I asked my doc to increase me to 200mg a day, he was cool with it after I brought in some articles that said that the only way to see results was with 200mg twice a day. Well I did go thru the 3 month shed, like Jenn said, so I didn't panic too bad. Then it subsided and I sort of forgot about the hairloss thing since it wasn't falling out or seeming thinner. Well now I am noticing tons of new hairs, especially in the front and the sides have filled back in to almost normal. I just know that women out there need hope, I did, so I am back to let you all know that hairloss is not ruining my life anymore, I actually don't really even think about it that often. All I know is the cocktail of drugs I take everyday is finally starting to pay off.
Yasmin - birth control (skip the placebos for 3 months in a row) so that I am not letting up every month, get period every three months isn't bad too. Doc said that was ok.
Spiro - 200mg twice a day, once at 10 in the morning and again about 10 pm.
Metformin ER - The extended relief, 3 horse pills every day, 2 in at 10am (with breakfast) and 1 and 10pm.
Nizoral - shampoo, I used to use it every day, now I alternate between Nizoral and Nioxin.
I wish you all the best, I know this is what worked for me. I will check in again soon.

Complete thread:

• any success stories just on spiro/bcp - nice, 07.10.2007, 08:49
  • any success stories just on spiro/bcp - V, 08.10.2007, 09:48
  • any success stories just on spiro/bcp - Sadie, 08.10.2007, 10:31
  • any success stories just on spiro/bcp - Ona555, 09.10.2007, 16:13
    • any success stories just on spiro/bcp - alli, 10.10.2007, 09:42
      • any success stories just on spiro/bcp - Ona555, 10.10.2007, 10:50