I have been taking Propecia for around 9-10 months. My hair loss started to taper off. Around month 5, my Dr and I added in low-dose estrogen (vivelle-dot) to try and counter my dysphoria. We have raised the dose twice, but each time it seems (especially at the beginning) my hair loss gets much worse. Besides the Fin, I am not on another AA. Has anyone else experienced this? Is it just my body adjusting to the new hormonal balance? Needless to say I hate finding a big wad of my wonderful (finally long) hair in the tub after a shower! :(
Fin can take up to a year to slow/stop hair loss. If you really want to stop hair loss, you need to get your T levels down.
My T levels are still pretty "normal" though lower than when we started. The fin was doing a pretty good job until the introduction of E, then things seemed to go south (hair-wise...otherwise it's been great). Though the loss always seems worse within a week of starting a higher dose.
My Dr asked at my last visit if I wanted to start Spiro, but transition isn't my current goal. I just want to get the dysphoria to a manageable level and continue therapy and see how all this feels. Sometimes this all feels painfully slow, others its like a whirlwind hit and I have found myself in Oz. I don't however want to go bald in the process. :)
Finasteride can cause hair shedding. What sheds will come back after the hair resting phase.
I do not think E causes hair shedding.
My T is 3 ng/dl so I stopped finasteride. Fin has some side effects that can be an issue, suicidal ideation. I did not need any help with that.
Dysphoria is from T. You need a sex hormone so E is then given.
When I started on the patch, my hormone levels changed a lot. I also shed a ton of hair too there for a little bit. Read somewhere, I believe, that drastic changes in hormones can cause temp hair loss; that was one of the first signs for me that hrt was finally starting to work for me.
If it doesn't go away in a bit id be concerned, heck I have a ton of hair, full head, and I was concerned still, but I think some hair loss is OK or normal at least.
Quote from: LivingTheDream on June 13, 2016, 01:02:05 AM
When I started on the patch, my hormone levels changed a lot. I also shed a ton of hair too there for a little bit. Read somewhere, I believe, that drastic changes in hormones can cause temp hair loss; that was one of the first signs for me that hrt was finally starting to work for me.
If it doesn't go away in a bit id be concerned, heck I have a ton of hair, full head, and I was concerned still, but I think some hair loss is OK or normal at least.
This was my guess too, though I can't seem to find any documentation saying this happens specifically. Initially on the Fin (only) I did shed more, but around month 3, my hair loss practically stopped and I started regrowing hair in my temple area (my loss area). Every time I up the E dose, around a week afterward I see a sharp rise in hairs coming out in the shower. I think it slowly tapers off, but still it freaks my out. I have quite a bit of hair too, but it's the first time in my life I have the long hair I have always wanted. I REALLY want it to stay around. ;)