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Questions about HRT and male pattern baldness.

Started by Mikaela, April 14, 2008, 11:39:08 AM

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Mikaela

Hey... I'm new here and I have some kinda complicated questions about hormone theraphy and hair loss. I don't know if anyone has any answers to this, but I thought I'd try.

I'm only 23 but I've already been having problems with hair loss. =( It's not that serious yet, but it is noticable. (Especially since my hairline was high to begin with) I am terrified that it will get worse, and that once I am done with my transition I'll have lost so much hair that hair transplants won't cut it, and I'll be forced to wear a wig for the rest of my life.

Anyway, what I am wondering is if the HRT will stop male pattern baldness. I assume SRS will fix the problem for good, but will I continue to lose hair when I'm taking oestrogen and androgen blockers?

Also, I've been thinking about using some of the treatments available for hair loss. (Minoxidil or Propecia) But the latter is very expensive and both of them only work until you stop using the product, at which point all regained hair is lost. But does anyone know if this still happens post SRS? That is, if I used hair loss medicine and stopped using them after I've had SRS would I lose my hair? Also, does these medicines mess up hormone replacement therapy? (Since they both seem to be androgen blocking to an extent.)

So basically I'm trying to think of the best way to keep enough of my hair so I can get hair transplants and scalp advancement surgery once I'm on hormones and living full time. Any answers or advice is appriciated.

Thanks a lot!

/ Mikaela
  •  

samanthawhalen

Hi Mikaela!  I really do not know much about this hair loss thingy and how to treat it, but from what I understand the best approach is to do whatever it takes to stop the hairloss until you have gone on HRT.  Once you are on HRT you can stop using the other products.  I do know for sure that MPB will be stopped if you chooose to have an orchiectomy (castration). 

AeronTG
  •  

April221

My understanding is that HRT will stop your hair loss.
  •  

Keira


The best stop for baldness is something like dutasteride, it stops
it cold and reverses it (if the hair folicle is not dammaged beyond help) which
at 23 should be the case.

Finesteride is similar, but slightly less effective.


You can get it from your doctor, no need to wait for HRT.

HRT, by diminishing the general level of free T, will only enhance
the effect of that medication.
  •  

NicholeW.

Agreed on the dutasteride. HRT will stop it as long as you get the testicles outta commission as well and the finasteride or dutasteride will do much of that, dutasteride with the DHT.

One common complaint men have with the treatments are "breast growth." ;)
  •  

deniz

I had a huge problem similar to yours.My hair had been falling A LOT.especially when i started HRT/.my endo told me that i should give my self some time because a) my body was reacting to the hrt b) that might had been a shedding phase before new regrowth.However, i couldn not risk waiting.. I am 23 as well so i had to do someting before my follicles get dead.I tried Propecia.A good product, but the results were not great.I have to admit that estro is responsible for some regrowth but if you do not stop the fall, then things are serious.AVODART(dutasterine) worked for me !!! after one week of taking it the hair loss stopped COMPLETELY. in compination with estro my hair was growing out again. I tried to stop avodart and after 1 month i started shedding again but not to the same degree i used.so my advise
start avodart(which has a long life action) and does not require high doses.in compination with estro antiadrogen thighs will go great.However there are a few more things you can try
1)micronised progesterone(it does help since it also blocks dht)
2)rogain 5% (great for regrowth boost)
3) ariol cream( in compination with rogain works A LOT BETTER)
4) follic acid
5) a multivitamin
6) this is based on my personal experience.I realised when i was eating carbs( sugar  spagetti etc) my hair was falling.with protein things were great:)
best of luck
  •  

samanthawhalen

Will THIS work?

Stop Hair Loss -> Remove Testicles

Regrow "lost" hair -> HRT & Dutasteride

Is this the most effective way?

Aeron
  •  

karmatic1110

For me personally (and I seem to just be the exception) Avodart has not worked.  My hairloss is still advancing and I have been on the medication for 9 months.  I wonder if the medication is having the opposite effect on me for one reason or if I am just super sensitive to DHT.  I do have genetic MPB though.

Overall I would say that it is something to look into an for everyone I know it has worked out wonderfully, however it is not 100 percent. 

Charlotte

almost,angie

I have been on Advodart for  2 months and HRT for 5 months  . I have no regrowth and no more loss.
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Mikaela

Thanks for all the helpful answers. =)

I haven't heard about dutasteride before, but it sounds promising. I looked it up however and it seems it's only issued to men with prostate problems where I live. (Sweden) Maybe it's still possible to get a prescription for it but it seems unlikely. =/ I'm going to check with my doctor, but it's a while until my next appointment.

Does anyone have any experience with stopping using dutasteride, finesteride or other hair loss drugs post SRS? As I understand it, the hair loss will come back if you stop using them when you still have erm... ick testicles, but it seems strange if the hair loss comes back if you stop using the drugs when... "those things" are removed.
  •  

HairExpert

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/viewforum.php?f=45&sid=a617bd4b88f9c141badc9aa9bb05c3a9

Above is a good place to get info about Avodart and its effect on many men taking it for hair loss.

For me, Rogaine led to better results than Avodart or Propecia.
  •  

Keira


Rogaine only really affects the crown hair.
Best thing is a combination treatment, most people
in hair group use all the tools.

Dutasteride takes a minimum of 4 months to start regrowing hair,
but could take much longer
It should at minimum work as good as rogaine (through rogaine
seems quicker at transforming vellus hair to terminal hair).
  •  

pebbles

Quote from: AeronTG on April 15, 2008, 09:17:15 AM
Will THIS work?

Stop Hair Loss -> Remove Testicles

Regrow "lost" hair -> HRT & Dutasteride

Is this the most effective way?

Aeron


No thats not how it works... Guys loose hair in that pattern due to DHT a derivative of testosterone. T as we know is made in the testicles, It's then metabolized in the hair folicals and prostate into DHT... DHT "damages" the folicals susceptable to it causing them to shrink and eventually become... useless, and "non-hair" as it's so short and weak it's not even peach fuzz that pokes out of the skin.

Durastide inhibits the levels of produced DHT, but some is produced anyway despite the inhibition. if you got rid of your testis the effect would stop dead, because there is then no significant level of T in your system to turn into DHT to begin with... if you loose your testis for whatever reason you SHOULDN'T take anti-androgens. Even if you are not taking estrogens.

Both methods would have the results of slight regrowth hair but the effect IS ***NOT*** SYNERGISTIC and hair lost over 6 months ago will not return... They are irreparably damaged.

  •  

Keira


Actually, hair loss, doesn't happen instantly so I don't really know what you mean
by after 6 months  its over.

The folicle gets smaller and smaller under DHT action, more DHT and susceptibility to DHT (some are actually not susceptible to it at all) makes the folicle get smaller quicker (even in women, that's why many women have thin hair after menopause).

So, the recovery, its speed depends more on how small the hair shaft is when you suppress DHT and how susceptible you are to it. In my case, I've got very dense hair everywhere but my two temples which started to lose hair at about 18. So, I've got a 0.75x1 inch area on both sides with no recovery (not a very big area thank god) (I'm 40). But, elsewhere, from that area to the middle, a 0.75x1.5 inch area (Call it upper temples), where hair was lost gradually from 25-38, it has already half recovered in 2 years. Some of those hair, I couldn't see at all 2 years ago, and where almost an inch from my pre-HRT hairline. So, it seems, its not 6 months, it more.... It depends...


So, someone could be losing hair for a very long time, but still have salvageable hair if it hasn't become too small.

As for T not existing post testes being removed, it does exist, from the adrenals, like in women.

If your highly susceptible to DHT, you should continue using it even post SRS or your hair will thin out from the T -> DHT transformition of adrenal's T.

a general Anti-T, like spiro, serves another purpose post SRS, allows continued and quicker demasculinisation by blocking the adrenal T (specially good for those who do SRS 1 year after starting HRT).

Remember, we start with potentially a greater muscle mass and central fat deposit than women (both influenced by T), so we need all the help we can get getting it down faster.




  •  

Kate

Quote from: Keira on April 25, 2008, 02:55:49 PM
If your highly susceptible to DHT, you should continue using it even post SRS or your hair will thin out from the T -> DHT transformition of adrenal's T.

Are males more likely to be susceptible? Or after SRS, are we basically at the same exact risk as GGs?

~Kate~
  •  

Mikaela

These posts have been very helpful, thanks a lot everyone. (Especially Keira, you seem to know a lot about everything related to transitioning ;) )
Apparently hair loss is a lot more confusing than I ever could have imagined though. =O

Like Kate, I am wondering what it is that makes a person more susceptible to DHT, especially post SRS. Are all former males more susceptible, or does it depend on how severe the hairloss has been before the transition?

Unfortunatly for me, it doesn't seem like Avolve (Avodart) is prescribed for hairloss in Sweden, only for prostate problems.Propecia would be my only option, and it seems a lot less effective, which really sucks.

I take comfort in the fact that it's not an emergency... I haven't noticed my hairloss getting worse for quite some time, but it could still be happening.
  •  

Keira

Same risk as GG's.
Or maybe slightly higher, since
you probably have lost some density through DHT thinning
by the time you started HRT.
Some of course have lost a lot of hair prior to HRT.
You get the same risk as a women with the same amount
of hair and size of hairshaft as you.

Some women get very thin hair as they age,
especially past menopause when estrogen goes down.
That could be avoided with a DHT blocker.

There's a reason why some older women have short permed hair,
they have to do that because their hair is so thin.

Propecia is less effective, but that's most important if your
very sensitive to hairloss. Its still blocks 2/3 (I think, I didn't check),
of DHT. Its also dirt cheap since 1/10 doses are 75% as effective as full doses.




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