Hi all, as you know I've been suffering from burning scalp followed by excessive hair loss since starting HRT. I discovered that progesterone derived from testosterone like the oral tablet I was given contains such a progesterone. These androgenic types are as follows, norgestrel, norethisterone, and levonorgestrel they are androgenic and can cause hair loss. I will add a link for those of us that are suffering. The link includes several labs that can confirm the condition and rule of the thyroid link. The link notes that some people are very sensitive to androgens which can cause an inflammatory type of hair loss. I've added another link which describes another type of hair loss called cicatricial alopecia which I think is also important.
If a GP practice falls to recognize signs of the above and either doesn't treat or take symptoms seriously or treats with wrong product and causes permanent damage to hair follicles liable for damages and a lawsuit?
I already know this because I had the Mirena coil fitted years ago and my hair started to fall out because it contains levonorgestrel. Some of these artificial progestins are actually steroids and I also could not take the mini pill because it gave me acne.
I think my hair loss could be caused by my use of levonorgestrel for the past few years but does it get better when you stop it? I also have b12 injections but feel I should be getting them more often so that wouldn’t help.
If you follow the first link there should be an option on the bottom right to view other related pages were it also discusses that topic. As a quick reply you can get your androgen levles tested, if they are high maybe you could mention this to your GPs and ask for a non testosterone derived version of progesterone like medroxprogesterone and utrogestan.
It did get better once I had the mirena coil removed but then I started to develop other symptoms which my GPs thought were the menopause. I was offered HRT but refused to take it because my mother died from breast cancer in her 40s. Just to add I am now 60 and went through the menopause at 55. The symptoms I had with menopause were nothing in comparison to the ones I got with thyroid disease. I do know what some women do need HRT so I am not anti HRT but I couldn't risk taking it because of my family history. What I found interesting was that when I was researching the mirena coil because I was getting horrible symptoms and had to insist my GP remove it after 15 months was a lot of women in the US thought it had caused their thyroid disease. I don't know what the connection was but there were a number of support groups online for women for this. The coil caused me to have continuous bleeding and a inflamed cervix. I ended up having a uterus biopsy and cervix biopsy because of it and I wished I hadn't had it fitted. My husband actually asked the consultant who fitted it if he would let his wife have one and he said yes. Just to add the mirena does suit some women and my friend has had 2 and thinks it is wonderful.
Thank you Lora. I have just read Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden and it is eye opening to say the least. She has mentioned levonorgestrel as a cause of hair loss , she cites a study for the Mirena coil with women experiencing hair loss and my pill would have a much stronger dose which could well be the cause but I am getting my thyroid tested as well though this has been checked before and apparently normal. I will not be taking hrt if I can help it, this book has made me realise I need to question doctors and be my own advocate for my health. Doctors just prescribe drugs and don’t look at the full picture and give a diagnosis based on that but rather treat individual symptoms , so frustrating. And going by the research you found this pill may have also caused me thyroid issues which would explain a lot but makes me so angry! I am 43 and no idea if I am perimenopausal but going to stop the pill and try and figure my body out without synthetic drugs.! Thanks so much for your response.
You're welcome ... I haven't taken any hormones and I don't have any nasty symptoms now I am postmenopause. I do find my skin is a bit drier than it once was so I use coconut oil or coconut body butter from a well known shop. I have done this for years and first started to used coconut oil over 30 years ago to stop me getting stretch marks when I was pregnant. I didn't get any stretch marks after 2 pregnancies but that might just be because my babies were not that big.
The natural remedies are the best I find. If your skin on your face is dry marine collagen by bare biology is excellent and great for joints though is expensive. Coconut oil sounds it agrees with you though!
I did use holland and barretts which was good but they changed the formula and replaced the vit E with Vit C now its not so good. I will read up on that one and check out ingredients, thanks for the share.
I came across these versions, medroxprogesterone and utrogestan, which are not mentioned as increasing androgens. They are used in prempro, provera, cycrin, and premique.
norethisterone as I learned to my cost is NOT a progesterone. It is a progestogen which is some synthetic sh*t which 'mimics' progesterone. Pharmas won't make progesterone because there's no money in it, it's already there, like vitamins which medics also fail to prescribe.
Natural progesterone cream may help, whatever you're taking this for and may actually make your hair grow thicker.
The brand I used was Life-Flo Progestacare which is available online. Do not buy Wild Yam cream. Progesterone is dervived from wild yam but wild yam cream is not the same...I am at the limit of my remembered knowledge now. I was post menopause at 46, some 15 years ago. Best to you x
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