Fertility medications causing hair loss????

[ddel]

I have been going through fertility treatments for the last year and a half-intensely for the past 6 months.  I have been on many injectable and non injectable medications including follistim, Novidril, Lupron, and numerous progesterone supplements.  I have been having hair loss  for the past 6 months which is getting worse and worse.  I have about 50% of the hair I had before.  My scalp is itchy and sore and it is driving me crazy.  I have been to numerous doctors and no one can give me an answer.  I have had my thyroid and testosterone levels checked and both were normal.  My reproductive endocrinologist tells me it is not from the medication.  He says I should continue with the fertility treatments because getting pregnant will stop the hair loss.  I am terrified if I continue with the treatments that I will go bald.   I am anxious and stressed.  Has anyone else experienced this or know anyone who has experienced hair loss with any of these medications?  My gut tells me it is due to a fluctuation in hormones but the doctors are telling me I am wrong.  I am terrified that I will go bald and this itching is driving me crazy.

[Nearlywas]

It's a long time since you posted, I hope you are now fully recovered and more. This is my first post but I too have been taking medication since October last year as the egg donor at the time only had 7 eggs and we were eggs sharing, which I do not recommend, so all the eggs went to the top of the list and I was told to come off meds.  Then I had a break, about 2 months before another donor was found this time it was agreed I would get all of the donors eggs.  She produced 5, 4 reached fertilisation but only one was put back after 5 days.  The other 3 didn't make a full blastocyst but started strong.  They only keep the eggs for 5 days, so only one was transferred and the other three were not to be even though I kept thinking another day may have been a benefit. Anyway, none were frozen and only one which reached full blastocyst was inserted.  I passed the two week wait and got positive pregnancy but due to all the drugs 4 progesterone and 2 cyclogest a day thought it could be a possible hcg level reading rather than a positive pregnancy.  Parter the test I bleed for 10 days once it stopped I did two tests negative one a digital clear blue. I called the hospital and picked up a test from the consultant this was Also negative.  So basically I was 6 weeks pregnant according to nurses but in my mind I wondered if it was a chemical pregnancy as I began to bleed straight away after a positive.  Anyway, my breast have gone from 32 dd to a 32f and they are so store and hard to touch and my hair has lost up to 5o percent being very brittle and very fine, which I will be pulling back for a while.  Today is the first day of my recovery and I feel not only a terrible loss but look terrible as well.  The side effects I'm quite convinced are the result of bloating, thickness of mid drift and hair loss and tender stomach pain, lucky I booked an appt in advance of negative test result so will visit my local gp today.  Would be interested to know anyone similar symptons?

[Jenny5]

The fertility meds definitely do some damage for any women. I  had a bad hair loss when i had my first IVF. I ask my Re and he said that the meds don't cause hair loss cause are the same meds that women have. Women may have this hormones but not on the levels that they go when you go on treatments. They mix all the other hormones. He also said that is caused by stress. I certanly didn't believe him. I knew better than that. As the stress of getting pregnant wasn't enough i had the one for losing my hair. And the hair loss stopped as soon as i finished the injections. So it was from the meds.
Take some break so your body relaxes, and also your stress. Good luck

[ddel]

Thank you so much for you response.  I have been taking 5000mcg of Biotin and also a hair, skin and nail vitamin from vitamin shoppe.  

I am a nurse and everything I have read about hormones and hormone levels makes me believe it is  the medications.  It is amazing that 2 RE told me that they have never seen hair loss from the medications.  The thing that got me mad is that instead of investigating the cause of my hair loss they just told me to get pregnant.  If it was only that easy, I wouldn't be taking these medications for so long and probably wouldn't be losing my hair.  I am definitely taking a break for a while.  I am hoping that the hair loss stops soon.  Not only do I now have the anxiety of infertility but now I am so anxious about my hair loss too.

[nina2249]

Hello I'm a hair dresser of 20 years. Let me say that the Dr telling you that its not the Meds is a liar.. Any time you take a hormonal drug it has the potential for any one person to loose hair. They are toying with your hormone levels they go up and down when on these medications. I think its time for you to take a break so to let your hormones level out a little. Take a supplement called BIOTIN its for skin,Hair,nails. Helps them grow..

I Can't believe your Dr would tell to keep going its not the Meds.. My Re told me flat out you will lose some hair if you loose to much we will back of for a little. But you have been on it for  a year..

Well hope this helps.. research the drugs your on see  to side effects.