Finasteride "Propecia" for hairloss in woman......

Hi, everyone..... Im three and a half years out and I have never recovered from my hairloss.... I used to have long medium to light thickness in hair, and now my hair is chin length with just strands hanging down..... and still falling out I have to put what I have left on top of my head with a little knot at the end.... "the knot" used to be a small bun..... but now I would give anything to have that small bun... They say woman have been having success with Finasteride at five milligrams a day.... I was wondering if there are any others out there that have tried this or what your experiance with it has been...... thanks....

Coming from a man so discount the advice as appropriate:

You probably are not eating or absorbing enough protein in your daily nutrition plan. The less your body gets, the more it will take it from your hair. My dermatologist provided me a prescription for Finasteride (Propecia) last year but after having it filled, I did not actually take it. I was concerned about introducing more meds into my daily routine. I also felt it was too expensive for me to commit to long term. If I was going to spend that much every month, I probably would have a hair procedure instead so it would be a one time cost. 

 

The first question that came to my mind was your nutritional health, too.  If you're malnourished, no hair loss drugs will help you in the long term.

As someone who dealt with hair loss long before I had wls, I hope I can provide some insight. I have taken Finisteride, and its much more potent cousin, dutasteride. They are both dht inhibititors. You may have an overabundance of DHT, but you may not. If you do not have excess levels of DHT, these drugs will not work. You can get your DHT levels tested to see, and I recommend that you impress upon your doctor that you want your DHT levels checked, they will usually only test your testosterone. High testosterone usually indicates high DHT but people with normal testosterone levels can have high DHT. 

That said, the fact that you indicated your hair loss began when you had the D.S. and has not remedied itself since does indicate it is probably a nutritional problem. 

Also, I have worked in hair, I know a lot about it, and if its something you are that upset about, I recommend researching supplemental hair, it can give you back your confidence. 

But, if this is a symptom of some sort of nutritional deficiency that may be causing other health problems, please get that checked first. 

I have had problem in the past when i would diet before getting the ds.... It was what I was worried about when I decided to get my ds... Before I had the ds, the one thing that unexpectedly really helped was when I started taking the hormone replacement patch "vivelle dot" patch. It uses bioidentical hormones.... It was my doctors choice after my hysterectomy. My hair got thicker and longer..... it was amazing.... since having my ds, I switch to kaiser insurance because they cover cost of follow up after having bariatric surgery.... Well they wouldnt cover "vivelle dot" patch so they put me on just the regular generic one..... uhg....

Hormone imbalances are also known for hair loss.  Once you rule out a nutritional deficiency, it may be worth reevaluating that.

If a generic patch isn't working, many insurance companies can be petitioned to get a prior authorization for it.  Kaiser may not (I have never worked with Kaiser so no clue) but it is worth calling and asking if you can get an authorization for the brand name.  Some conditions require brand name hormones because for brand names the dose is ALWAYS identical.  For generics, the pharmacies always buy the cheapest hormones, and so the formulations are, sadly, not always identical.  Even for thyroid hormones, if you are super hypothyroid it's best to buy the name brands for this reason.

Also, having had to take hormones for many years because my ovaries repeatedly try to assassinate me, oral hormones are almost always more effective than patches.  There are also injections and rings which are bioidentical, too.  A lot have come out recently.  Definitely see if they can try something else!

Thank you so much for your take on this..... I really do need to see my doctor and check my levels.... I truely believe its a little bit of both........

I have always had crappy hair and the DS didn't change it one way or the other.  The only thing I ever found that helped but didn't correct the problem completely was a combination of the gold bottle Pura d'or shampoo blended with about 1/3 2% ketoconozole shampoo(you can get a prescription or buy on e-bay).

 

If your problem is nutrition, this won't fix it!