Women Hair Loss Forums - dermatologist appointment

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dermatologist appointment (Support Forum & Misc Topics)

posted by merle , NYC, 11.11.2006, 15:17

ť my derm did the hair pull test and scalp biopsy, i asked and she did it. I
ť just told her i wanted to find out what was going on. I guess it depends
ť on the doc.
ť
ť ť What do I ask the derm
ť ť ť about my hair loss? Can he/she do all the blood tests, or must these
ť ť be
ť ť ť done by an endo? Should I ask for a scalp biopsy and hair pull test?
ť
ť ť ť And, are these covered by health insurance?
ť ť
ť ť Yes, it should be covered by your insurance. Your derm (if she's any
ť ť good) will do a "pull test" - not really very scientific, but she'll
ť ť basically run her fingers through your hair to see how many hairs you
ť ť lose. Then she should look at your scalp to examine your pattern of
ť loss.
ť ť She should ask you questions about your loss, and questions about any
ť ť possible triggers (e.g. medications, thyroid symptoms, etc.) If it
ť looks
ť ť like TE (instead of AGA) they will likely order some basic bloodwork -
ť ť ferritin and thyroid. They might tell you to start on Rogaine for men,
ť ť since it works for both TE and AGA.
ť ť
ť ť What you need to do is come prepared. Do a hair count, and tell her
ť how
ť ť many hairs you are losing per day. Take a bag of your hair so you can
ť ť show her how many you lost (many people are hysterical and freak out
ť about
ť ť a few lost hairs, so showing the derm what you've really lost might
ť help.)
ť ť Do not wash your hair the day you are going in, so the pull test will
ť be
ť ť more valuable. Research the symptoms of the major causes of TE
ť (thyroid
ť ť symptoms, low iron symptoms, hormonal symptoms, etc.) and raise any of
ť ť those symptoms you might be experiencing in order to help her make a
ť ť diagnosis. Explain to her your history of hair loss, the pattern, any
ť ť meds you are taking, etc. The more info you give her, the more info
ť ť she'll have to make a diagnosis. Or more to the point - the more info
ť you
ť ť give her, the more tests she might do to confirm the diagnosis.
ť ť
ť ť She will not do a biopsy unless the symptoms are contradictory and she
ť ť can't tell if its TE or AGA. You can always ask for one, but she will
ť ť likely take a wait-and-see approach.
ť ť
ť ť Good luck!

I don't think dermatologists are any good when it comes to treating hair loss. The two that I went to just wanted to give me Rogaine...other than treating the symptoms rather than the cause they are useless. Then again I haven't found a doctor that is helpful in treating the cause. I've been to a nutritionist, acupuncuturist, a dr that believes in bio-identical hormones, an endo...my HL is probably due to perimenopause. Don't know if HRT would be helpful for the HL but unfortunately my body cannot tolerate the synthetic hormones. Has anyone had a dermatologist recommend any other course of treatment besides Rogaine???

merle is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: YES

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Complete thread:

dermatologist appointment - amy, 08.11.2006, 20:19
- dermatologist appointment - Shannon, 09.11.2006, 09:40
  - dermatologist appointment - nicole m, 09.11.2006, 12:31
    - dermatologist appointment - merle, 11.11.2006, 15:17
      - dermatologist appointment - amy to merle, 12.11.2006, 09:57
        dermatologist appointment - merle, 12.11.2006, 19:07
        dermatologist appointment - amy to merle, 13.11.2006, 16:27
        dermatologist appointment - merle, 14.11.2006, 11:08
        dermatologist appointment - amy to merle, 15.11.2006, 17:42
        dermatologist appointment - merle, 17.11.2006, 20:13
        dermatologist appointment - amy to merle, 18.11.2006, 19:35
        dermatologist appointment - marsnyc, 22.11.2006, 10:16
        dermatologist appointment - amy toi marsync, 25.11.2006, 06:40
        Dr Ash - marsnyc, 28.11.2006, 08:48
        Dr Ash - amy to merle, 03.12.2006, 20:54
        Dr Ash - Christine, 17.04.2007, 00:12