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To eb (Yasmin)

posted by eb, 07.01.2008, 15:39

ť ť Peridot, sorry for the late reply, I was out of town this week and I
ť guess
ť ť by now you started your new pack of pills already. All the advice Holly
ť ť gave you is correct. I go to Holly for hair advice! One month isn't
ť long
ť ť enough, and it's wishful thinking to rely on that as 100% accurate.
ť ť Remember labs are just one snapshot in time, too. It's more the overall
ť ť trend that matters.
ť ť
ť ť In one of my previous posts, I told you labs don't tell the whole story
ť ť because a lot of problems occur at the peripheral level which is
ť ť unmeasurable as far as I know. However, that's only partially correct.
ť The
ť ť interesting thing is that for PCOS women, labs ARE very accurate,
ť because
ť ť it's more of a systemic than a local problem. But for non-PCOS women
ť like
ť ť me, labs don't tell you everything.
ť ť
ť ť I just saw a holistic gyn who was much more interested in my "probable
ť ť PCOS" than in the problem I was seeing her for, but I don't think I
ť have
ť ť it... she thinks there's a "spectrum" of PCOS and you can have it "a
ť ť little or a lot." I don't know if I believe that, since right now the
ť sina
ť ť qua non of PCOS is anovulatory cycles, and I never had that until I
ť took
ť ť spiro.
ť ť
ť ť It would helpful overall to know whether you have PCOS, but again, the
ť ť treatment *in terms of hair* is the same...sooooo...
ť ť
ť Hi eb: Well, the PCOS test I took last summer came back negative, but of
ť course, the pill ensured it would, so it was kinda pointless. But my gyno
ť said the exact same thing your gyno did and thinks I have some form of
ť PCOS.
ť

Peridot, sorry for the delay. I've been so busy lately.

Which test did you have for PCOS? There is no one test that definitively diagnoses PCOS...it's diagnosed via process of elimination.

I think my holistic gyn is wrong about my "mild PCOS" because a sina qua non of PCOS is lack of ovulation. And since I have ovulated every month since I started my period 17 years ago, except for the year on spiro, by definition I don't have PCOS. But what she says about a "spectrum" makes sense...women with PCOS can "induce" ovulatory cycles by exercise and watching what they eat. It's very multifaceted.

Your situation may be different because maybe there was lack of ovulation if you didn't get your period. But maybe you were just programed to start really late.

ť Here's my feeling: I don't think the pill could really be a factor b/c
ť I've been on it in one form or another for 20 years, and the HL didn't
ť start until recently. Since it doesn't seem to be the main culprit, and if
ť I do indeed have some form of PCOS and/or I'm entering perimenopause, then
ť Yaz could help, right?
ť

Sounds like the hair loss was genetically programmed to start regardless of the pill. Yaz could and should help, but everyone is different.

ť I did start this next pack of pills (Sprintec) yesterdat since my doctor's
ť out of town for the holidays anyway. I assume that means I have to wait
ť another month to get retested and/or start on Yaz or Yasmin.
ť
ť With my current regiment being this:
ť 1) Rogaine since June, yielding no real results. Shed is as rotten as
ť ever. I do see regrowth but it's the crappy kind.

Ugh, well that's doing better than me, the shed is worse now (since in retrospect spiro was doing the bulk of the work), and no regrowth (not even sickly regrowth, not that I need that type)! Been on it same amount of time as you, since June.

ť 2) Spiro since Nov., starting at 50, changing to 100 in early Dec. &
ť bumping up to 150 this week. Yielding no real results thus far. I'll give
ť it a few more months.
ť 3) BCPs
ť

Spiro took probably 5-6 months to slow my shed noticeably. I was quite alarmed when, by month 3 (one hair cycle), I didn't see ANY results while other women were blessed with decreased shed WITHIN a WEEK! Give it time. You wouldn't want to be on 200 when 100 is sufficient. It can be a tough drug for some.

ť I guess my plan is this:
ť 1) to get retested on day 3 of my cycle in late Jan., knowing it's
ť probably useless, but just so the gyno can look for anything wildly
ť different than the last time I got tested, since as Holly says having
ť results you can compare over time might be helpful.

This is a good idea anyway, it may be useless, but it may be helpful in the sense you can test while ON the pill and keep comparing (pill against pill)? I haven't tried this, but seems somewhat plausible.

ť 2) To at that point start Yaz, if it seems like a genuine possibility,
ť which I'm still debating about, OR stay on my old BCP and start Avodart.
ť
ť I haven't heard about the kinds of sheds on Avo. that I have other stuff
ť though, which makes it tempting. Have you? I could have just overlooked
ť them. You're still thinking about starting it right?

I am, but it really scares me, and I'm aware that it's AT BEST a temporary or band-aid "fix" until HM or gene therapy comes along (if it ever does, I'm skeptical, and even if it is made commercially available it will be a looooooong wait in line to get it done and you might starve trying to pay for it). I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but you must understand that right now, there is still no way of altering your genes. These treatments "stave off" hair loss...but they don't reverse it, not permanently, because they do not change your genetic material. And sooner or later, genetic destiny catches up.

I'll probably be 60 by the time something "easy" like that is available to the average person with average means, and if at 60 I still care so damn much about my hair... shoot me.

Keep me informed what you decide and good luck.

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

Post reply

Complete thread:

To Alli: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - peridot, 13.12.2007, 11:57
- To Alli: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - Sadie, 13.12.2007, 18:01
  - To Alli/Sadie: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - peridot, 14.12.2007, 11:24
    - To Alli/Sadie: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - alli, 21.12.2007, 10:20
      - To Alli/Sadie: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - peridot, 27.12.2007, 10:43
      - p.s. To Alli - peridot, 27.12.2007, 10:54
    - To Alli/Sadie: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - Sadie, 21.12.2007, 11:37
      - To Alli/Sadie: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - peridot, 27.12.2007, 10:58
- To Alli: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - eb, 21.12.2007, 17:02
  - To Alli: what defines a good candidate for Yaz/Yasmin? - Sadie, 21.12.2007, 17:22
  - To eb - peridot, 27.12.2007, 10:53
    - To eb - Holly, 27.12.2007, 11:19
      - To Holly - Sadie, 27.12.2007, 14:51
        To Holly - Holly, 27.12.2007, 15:34
        To Holly - Sadie, 27.12.2007, 16:15
      - To eb/Holly/Sadie... - peridot, 28.12.2007, 09:47
    - To eb - eb, 30.12.2007, 14:21
      - To eb - peridot, 30.12.2007, 15:10
        To eb - eb, 07.01.2008, 15:39
        To eb - peridot, 07.01.2008, 17:34
        To eb - eb, 07.01.2008, 18:09
        To eb - peridot, 08.01.2008, 14:40
        To eb: Decision '08! (also posted on AGA board) - peridot, 08.01.2008, 18:32
        To eb: Decision '08! (also posted on AGA board) - tc, 08.01.2008, 22:15
        To tc/eb: Decision '08! (also posted on AGA board) - peridot, 09.01.2008, 10:52
        To tc/eb: Decision '08! (also posted on AGA board) - tc, 09.01.2008, 14:00
        To tc/eb: Decision '08! (also posted on AGA board) - peridot, 09.01.2008, 19:13
        To peridot: Decision '08! (also posted on AGA board) - tc, 10.01.2008, 09:08
        To peridot: Decision '08! (also posted on AGA board) - delilah, 10.01.2008, 11:24
        To Delilah - tc, 10.01.2008, 21:04
        To Delilah - delilah, 11.01.2008, 07:06