Re: Spiro and head hair for Angela
From: tera (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Sat, 8 Dec 2001 10:43:20 -0600 (CST)
Hi Angela!
Here are some quotes from http://www.wdxcyber.com. They contain info on the
connection between excess hair and on hair loss and spiro among other
things...Maybe some of the other ladies can chime in on this too --
"Why do some women with PCOS have a problem with too much hair while
others seem to go bald?"
"Both excess body hair growth in women and baldness can be due to too
much blood hormone testosterone, an androgen. The blood testosterone is
converted to a hormone called dihydrotestosterone which directly
stimulates the hair follicle to grow. Body hair grows in response to
testosterone much more so than does head (crown) hair. In the case of
baldness, the head hairs are actually sensitive to too much testosterone
and male-pattern balding is the result."
>From my understanding from this article and many others is that many
things can be effected by excess androgens - hair loss, excess hair
growth, acne, etc. Spiro is an anti androgen so it has been used to
treat some of the symptoms caused by PCOS caused by excess androgens.
Hair loss and excess body hair are both caused by excess androgens. You
should also keep in mind that spiro is used to treat specific symptoms
while Metformin is used to treat more of the source of our problems -
insulin resistance.
>From http://www.possa.surak.com.au/non-fert.htm --
"Prior to the 1990s PCOS was treated by seperating out the symptoms and
treating each individual one. Research has led to scientists focusing
on what may be the underlying cause of PCOS, insulin resistance.
Treatment of the underlying cause therefore benefits all aspects of PCOS
rather than the specific targetting of each symptom. Medications that
lower insulin levels in the blood may be effective in restoring
menstruation and reducing some of the health risks associated with PCOS.
It can also lead to the reduction of testosterone, thus diminishing many
of the symptoms associated with excess testosterone: hair growth on the
body, alopecia (hair loss on the head), acne, obesity and cardiovascular
risk."
I would also add diabetes as a risk. Also, I have read a few postings
that women have noticed a decrease in excess hair that they already have
on their bodies with spiro. I don't know if this is correct or not buy
my obgyn said that it may not help with hair that is already there but
it should help keep additional excess hair at bay. She didn't say that
it could "bring back" hair on my head that has been lost but that it may
help keep more hair from falling out. I know this is long but I hope it
answers your questions! Take care! God bless! Tera
At Sat, 8 Dec 2001, angela wrote:
>
>tera,
>
>I read what you wrote to jen and i am not understanding. I am on spiro
>100 mg a day (50 mg twice a day) my endocronologist says to stop my hair
>growth on my neck. How does it bring back hair and at the same time get
>rid of it. I used to have bad hair on my neck. I have been on spiro
>for almost a year and have noticed some decrease in the hair but not
>much. No changes eslewhere why is this.
>
>angie
>
>At Fri, 7 Dec 2001, tera wrote:
>>
>>Hi Jen!
>>
>>I think I've read in a few postings in the archives of a few women who
>>were able to get some of their hair back but don't quote me. You may
>>want to go through some of the archives yourself and take a look. If
>>I'm not mistaken the women were on both spiro and met for an extended
>>period of time. The archives are full of info and personal experiences.
>>As you know though everyone's pcos is different.
>>
>>I have a question for you - how much hair did you lose in the first
>>place? Was it all over or was it more concentrated in certain areas
>>(hairline, crown, etc.)? Has your hair stopped falling out? What is your
>>dosage? Are you taking any other medications such as metformin or any
>>other supplements? How bad was your excess hair and is it diminishing
>>any? Sorry for so many questions but my hair is falling out like crazy
>>and I just started on spiro a few days ago but only at 50mg. My doc
>>said she'd raise it if I needed her to. She thought that 100mg seemed
>>really high. Right now I'm taking saw palmetto, gtf chromium, biotin,
>>inositol and a good multi vitamin. Hope to start met soon.
>>
>>I don't know if this helps you out or not but I'm a cosmotologist and I
>>do know that hair grow about a half of an inch per month. You may be
>>able to measure your growth process using that info. Also, hormones can
>>make your hair fall out as we all know but they can also change the
>>texture of your hair. For instance, mine used to be really coarse and
>>stick straight. I couldn't get it to hold a curl for anything. Over
>>the past two years it has gone completely curly and has lightened in
>>color around my face and has become much finer - could be from the
>>miniaturization of my hair follicles. A welcome change I guess, this
>>curly hair because I think if I had my straight hair I'd be miserable.
>>The curly hair makes me look like I have a lot more than I do! The fact
>>that your new growth - if it is new growth - is sticking straight up
>>might show that the texture of your hair is changing. We learned in
>>school that hair texture can change with age, illness and if very
>>serious - stress. God bless and may you be healed! Tera
>>
>>At Fri, 7 Dec 2001, jen wrote:
>>>
>>>Hi!
>>>I have been on Spiro for a couple of months now. I had been losing
>>>excessive hair before as well as having hair in unwanted places. I have
>>>noticed that I now have tiny hairs on the top of my scalp that stick
>>>straight up in the air. Could this be new hair popping up or is it
>>>broken hair that has split off? Does Spiro help your hair to grow back
>>>in at all or does it just help prevent current hair from coming off? If
>>>anyone has experience with this, I would appreciate your response.
>>>Thanks.
>>>
>>>--
>>>jen
>>>
>>--
>>Tera
>>
--
Tera
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