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[Maddie21]

My consultant recommended me stopping Evorel Sequi--I was on 50 and Evorel Conti, but two patches at once to give me a double dose--and switching to the Evorel 100 patch plus Utrogestan (2 capsules for 12 days of the month).  The main reason was my hair loss, which she suspected was caused by the Sequi.  I last had a Sequi patch on 27 days ago, but my hair is still going.  It might be slightly better than it was, but it's hard to tell as I've lost so much at this point it might be the same percentage loss as before.

How long would my hair loss continue, assuming that the patches were the cause?  I'm guessing that it takes some time for all the hormone to pass out of your system.  I don't want to get too discouraged yet!

At the start, even before I started HRT, I had hair loss.  It actually stopped growing altogether for 4 or 5 weeks as I was so ill at the start.  (I had a very sudden menopause in August after little or no perimenopause, and am not producing any of my own hormones anymore  ).  So it could be that my hair would be falling out anyway, but the loss did seem to get worse after I went on a double dose of HRT in December, so I'm hopeful that it's the patches.

[Iris67]

I guess you have probably done your own research but have you had thyroid/iron levels checked? You need to have a ferritin check as this indicates iron stores (which need to be 70+) which link to hair growth or loss. You can have enough iron circulating in your blood but apparently you need decent store to maintain hair growth. Could also be hypothyroid. All these issues have symptoms which are similar and makes it hard to tell.

I started losing my hair at 40/41 and did loads of research over the following years. Having said that the shock of having cancer at 41 may have been a factor. I said no to chemo and radio so that's not the issue. I tried iron supplements, lasers, Saw palmetto, you name it.

At the end of they day though I think hormones are the key. Have you been given any testosterone? Or DHEA?

[Maddie21]

Hi Iris, I was checked for both anaemia and thyriod issues when I first went to my GP (my weight had plummeted very suddenly and, although I could tell it was the menopause, she thought it couldn't be and I had everything checked!).  Is a ferritin check the same as what would have been checked with anaemia?  Anyway the blood tests all came back fine and it was the menopause.

It was the testosterone in the Sequi patch that my consultant thought might be the problem.  She said that it helps some women's hair to grow, but on others it has the opposite effect.  Apparently the hormone in Uterogestan is bio-identical so it doesn't cause hair loss.  But maybe my hair loss is just yet another menopause symptom.  I'd not even heard of DHEA--do people find it helpful? 

It's interesting what you say about the shock of cancer.  At the start, when I lost all the weight and my hair and nails stopped growing, I definitely felt that the cause was the shock to my body of suddenly losing all my hormones--I missed one period and the next month, all the symptoms started--it was that fast.  I thought I might be over the shock by now, though  . 

[CLKD]

Bump

[pollywollydoodle]

Hi Maddie21 - B vitamins along with ferritin levels are really important for preventing hair loss. Ask your GP if B12 and ferritin are on your tests, they should be at the high end of the range to feel well and prevent hair loss. Low b12 and ferritin can cause a range of symptoms and if you’re vegan or vegetarian and don’t supplement, there’s a higher chance you’re low. Also people who use PPI meds are more likely to be low. It’s worth checking as it’s an important vitamin and may be exacerbating  your hair loss, alongside low sex hormones.