concerned about hair loss, what should i do

[ana1111]

so im 19 but i'll be twenty on October 31 and im already super terrified about male pattern baldness...my mom met my dad when he was 22 and she said he already started balding then and by 24/25 had lost a ton of hair but grew back a lot by going on finasteride...my moms dad was completely bald too and even women in my family are prone to significant thinning... I've always had a "guyish" hairline where its squared in the corners but yet ive always had super thick full hair and a medium to low hairline in the front...I swear over the past year my hair line is a bit higher I think and looks like the beginning of receding in the temples and I even see my scalp more at the part....im terrified...puberty was devastating enough and im so scared I could be losing my hair... I have an endo appointment tomorrow and im thinking about telling my concerns and asking for finasteride...im already on spiro and e and my endo is super conservative and has weird theories so im guessing she will tell me that spiro alone will stop hair loss completely but ive heard that's not true...so my question is, is there any chance im starting to lose my hair and should I add finasteride? Do endo's even prescribe finasteride or do I need another doctor also what if she refuses due to her conservative ideas (didn't prescribe spiro for a long time and kept me on low does e for a long time, was resistant to prescribing progesterone, against injections, etc) what should I do  I cant risk this!! I hate you t!!!

[Naeree]

Technically, if you are on anti-androgen and you constantly have low level of andro and you start hrt early age. You actually have less chance to get bald. So in case if you constantly control your andro low and you still really get bald it might come from other reason like your gene, or may be health concern. So may be you can go see hair doctor like dermatologist specializing in hair loss. And there are some treatment that you ca do at home to keep your hair thick like put the virgin coconut oil on your hair for 15 min before bath or some other technique you can just google it. Good Luck.

[Ⓥ]

Do endo's even prescribe finasteride

Yes, they can/do prescribe it.

Fin was the one med that my insurance wouldn't cover due to being "medically unnecessary" hehe.

[katrinaw]

Hi Anna,

With your age and already on HRT, its not likely that DHT would have set in, so MPB is very unlikely, however if hair thinning is a trait in your family genes for either male or female, as distinct from MPB, it may be something to consider later.
You can always check with your Endo and ask for blood tests and if possible check for DHT generation?

Katy xx

[mmmmm]

You have MPB in family... Everyone who have MPB in family NEEDS to take DHT-blockers, because DHT conversion still happens despite lowered testosterone levels. Unless if you want to wait and see what happens next... I suggest you research into this, and inform your endo. If they ignore you, it's time to look for a new endo...

[Zoetrope]

Well my Dad has MPB. But after 12 months of HRT my hairline has moved down a full centimetre, and it is thicker than ever.

I think I might have started hormones just in time ... :~o

I find a few strands of hair in the drain when I shower, but it's nothing I haven't seen my ex-girlfriends do. It's just breakage from the length, and being dyed so many times.

Since you're starting early Anna, you should get the full benefit ...

[herekitten]

I know how you must be feeling about the hair situation.  Up until my late 30's I had hair so thick you could not put a comb through it. I used to wish for thin hair that you could see through -- that's how thick it was.  Then my wish was granted. My family history of thin hair came to visit me in my early 30's.  In the past two years I have fought back to regain some of my thickness.  I do not know if it will work for you, but it has for me (and I have tried everything from sh*t to shinola). I am in love with my hair once again.  Here's my crazy routine:
1. I got a chlorine filter for your shower (I use the Sprite Filter from Home Depot) which my husband installed. LOVE the difference!
2. I wash hair with Acure shampoo and conditioner. Yarok's Feed My Ends before blow drying. I love Mukti from Australia but its hard to find. Acure ingredients are just as good.  I do not use any sulfates, parabens, no silicones, dimethicones, --no 'cones'.
2. I use Hair Vitality Serum from Truth In Aging religiously when I was my hair. I feel it has done what it states.
3. I take 1,500 mcg biotin and vitamins daily.

The shedding slowed down to normalcy and my hairline is bursting with new hair growth. I cut about 1" from the ends monthly. I color to cover my gray with demi-permanent to avoid the ammonia.  I am on the hunt for an organic hair colorant (not henna).  It's worked for me.  By the way, your skin will benefit from some of the products in the routine.  Good luck! and I hope you find your magical combination of hair care.

[herekitten]

Just saw my crazy typing...   'installed in MY shower' -- not yours.  haha.  I did forget to mention one thing though and its an anecdotal observation.  Most all the girls that I've seen go on HRT seem to experience hair loss to some degree (due to the estrogen?) but it regrows softer and somewhat thinner individual hair strands. I began HRT so young that maybe I missed that effect -- who knows.

[Riley Skye]

Use minoxodil, you can get it at any pharmacy. Before transition I was balding and using minoxodil and finasteride bought my hair right back

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk

[runaway]

Well my Dad has MPB. But after 12 months of HRT my hairline has moved down a full centimetre, and it is thicker than ever.

I think I might have started hormones just in time ... :~o

I find a few strands of hair in the drain when I shower, but it's nothing I haven't seen my ex-girlfriends do. It's just breakage from the length, and being dyed so many times.

Since you're starting early Anna, you should get the full benefit ...

Hey Zoe, just curious, but did your HRT include finasteride?

Like you, I've had amazing regrowth, but I started on finasteride before transition, and stayed on it after being prescribed spiro and estrace.

My supply of finasteride is running out, and I'm wondering if I should stop finasteride, since my T levels are less than 10% of what they were pre-HRT.

I understand the average dose MPB dose for finasteride reduces DHT by about 65-70%, so my DHT levels now should be even lower than they were pre-HRT.

My endo seems to belief finasteride is unnecessary when on MTF HRT. I don't want to risk losing it, but I don't want to be taking extra pills for no reason either.

I only experienced some thinning on top and recession on the corners before I intervened, so perhaps I'm being paranoid?

[Jasper93]

so im 19 but i'll be twenty on October 31 and im already super terrified about male pattern baldness...my mom met my dad when he was 22 and she said he already started balding then and by 24/25 had lost a ton of hair but grew back a lot by going on finasteride...my moms dad was completely bald too and even women in my family are prone to significant thinning... I've always had a "guyish" hairline where its squared in the corners but yet ive always had super thick full hair and a medium to low hairline in the front...I swear over the past year my hair line is a bit higher I think and looks like the beginning of receding in the temples and I even see my scalp more at the part....im terrified...puberty was devastating enough and im so scared I could be losing my hair... I have an endo appointment tomorrow and im thinking about telling my concerns and asking for finasteride...im already on spiro and e and my endo is super conservative and has weird theories so im guessing she will tell me that spiro alone will stop hair loss completely but ive heard that's not true...so my question is, is there any chance im starting to lose my hair and should I add finasteride? Do endo's even prescribe finasteride or do I need another doctor also what if she refuses due to her conservative ideas (didn't prescribe spiro for a long time and kept me on low does e for a long time, was resistant to prescribing progesterone, against injections, etc) what should I do  I cant risk this!! I hate you t!!!

Spiro alone would halt hair loss lol.  I go to a trans-specialized clinic, and even they say this.  I mean, think about what's happening -- hair loss if fostered by DHT production crossing a certain threshold that is mediated by genetics.  The thing is that DHT really comprises only a minuscule percentage of free testosterone.  Given that months of spiro has dropped my free testosterone to what would be considered low, even for a female, there's really no way that my DHT would be above threshold.  Moreover -- just to alleviate your concern even further -- my initial HRT regiment did, in fact, comprise finasteride, and I wasn't even balding.  I started at only age 20, and my overseeing doctor told me that finasteride was very typical for an HRT regimen.  All has worked fine for me, so try not to worry, okay?

Ally

[Zoetrope]

Hey Zoe, just curious, but did your HRT include finasteride?

No finasteride here. I suppose I did have an anomaly though. The first of my bloodwork was taken before I began spiro. Those got to him after he had prescribed it. We were both surprised to see it was already in the higher female range.

I asked him quite seriously if it was because of tight underpants. He laughed so heartily ... cheeky fellow :~o