Hello everyone
I've been losing my hair since I stopped taking the pill (Microgynon) in 2012. Apparently I'd also gone through the menopause while on it, and didn't have any further periods when I stopped. I'm 53 now, and post-menopausal, and suffering from a lot of menopausal symptoms still. My hair loss only started a year after stopping the pill, probably because I tried ProGest progesterone cream, and has got worse and worse, more rapidly over the last couple of years.
I went to a private clinic (Philip Kingsley) two weeks ago and they diagnosed me with female pattern hair loss. I feel devastated. I've lost so much hair already, although it used to be so thick you couldn't really tell. Now I've lost it at the temples, and the hairline - you can see my scalp there - and my parting is widening. I also suffer from a really itchy, burning scalp and have for a long time. I'm very sensitive to any shampoos (even the organic unscented one I use makes my scalp itch). I tried bio-identical hormone therapy briefly in 2015, for a month, but more hair came out, so I stopped.
At the clinic I was offered drops containing minoxidil (up to 5%) and oestradiol valerate (0.004%). I haven't ordered them yet because I'm really worried they'll make my hair loss worse - apparently more hair can come out initially, and I feel demoralised enough already. I'm also reluctant because of my scalp sensitivity. And, if you start, you have to continue because if you stop your hair loss starts again (and that's assuming it works in the first place...) Does anyone have any experience with these drops (they're called PKT3 and are only available through the clinic)? And does anyone have any ideas of anything else that might help? I have ME and Fibromyalgia, so I'm mainly housebound, and to have this on top of everything is very difficult.
Thanks, and sorry for grumbling,
Freya