Hair loss/regrowth for women- any suggestions?

Hi, I am a 25 year old female. My hair used to be fairly thick and started falling out when I was 16. I used to wear it in a ponytail all the time, but when this happened I got it cut short. Around the same time as I noticed the hair loss, I was taking doxycycline for acne and had been using it for 2 years- one of my friends also used it for acne and noticed he had a lot of hair loss when he was taking it. I have had all kinds of blood tests- ferratin, iron, vitamin, thyroid, hormone- the only finding was that my DHEA hormone levels were abnormal: my testosterone was a little high but not abnormal. The dermatologist told me I have male pattern baldness (no one, not even the men in my family do!), the endocronologist told me to try taking spiranolactone for hirsutism (which I don't even have!) Rogaine didn't work for me either. So I tried taking saw palmetto which made my hair loss worse. Now I am trying maca root and DIM (to metabolize estrogen and balance out hormone levels), Nizoral, and B-vitamins, and my hair loss seems to have slowed down dramatically. It is probably now normal. However, my hair seems finer than usual. It grows long very fast but the thin spots (on top of my head from forehead to crown) show no signs of growing back. I have lost probably half of the hair I once had. It is very embarrasing and difficult because I have to arrange it in different ways so people can't always see patches of my scalp! Is there anything I can do to make my hair grow back thicker on top?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For the hair fall, causes could be due to stress, fungal infections, alopecia aereata, hormonal imbalance (overproduction of dihydrotestosterone and thyroid hormones irregularities),malnutrition, telogen effluvium and sebum plugs on skin.
Telogen effluvium is nonscarring alopecia characterized by diffuse hair shedding, often with an acute onset. There is a chronic form also which persists for a longer duration and starts with insidious onset. Chronic telogen effluvium is hair shedding lasting longer than 6 months. Treatment consists of medications like Minoxidil, surgical approach(hair transplantation) and improvement in diet.

I would suggest you to consult a dermatologist and get these possibilities evaluated.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.