Re: GLUCOPHAGE IS NOT THE CAUSE OF HAIR LOSS
From: Sonnet (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Fri, 28 Dec 2001 23:16:30 -0600 (CST)
It doesn't necessarily have to be the glucophage, especially since you
yourself said that you've been on it for 3 months now and the hair loss
just started. It could be stress. (Sometimes your body just reacts
differently to a stress you'd previously consider normal.) It could be a
vitamin you're taking, herbs, or any other change in diet, including
something unusual you could have eaten even at a restaurant without even
knowing it. It could be the weather change - many many women lose hair
when winter finally hits, as it did just about 3 weeks ago. There could
be something going on with your thyroid. (My hair loss was totally
related to thyroid problems no one diagnosed until a year or so after my
PCOS diagnosis.) There are lots of reasons!
Read the whole thread on this subject - you'll find that not everyone
agrees that glucophage can cause hair loss. There's no logical reason
that it should. It is POSSIBLE that glucophage would start a major
weight loss, which can lead to some hair loss from a fluctuation in
weight, but in itself it shouldn't cause your hair to fall out.
Glucophage is so, so important in treating your PCOS, I cannot stress
this enough! Please try and figure out what else could be causing your
hair loss before going off the glucophage.
At Fri, 28 Dec 2001, anonymous wrote:
>
>I don't know whether to be happy or sad! I have been on glucophage for
>about three months now - and for about three weeks, I have been losing
>massive amounts of hair. I have done nothing but cry because of it. I
>got on the internet to do some research and came across these comments.
>I am calling my doctor first thing Monday morning. I am on nothing BUT
>glucophage so it HAS to be that. Now what??!!
>
>At Fri, 9 Nov 2001, anonymous wrote:
>>
>>At Fri, 9 Nov 2001, cindy wrote:
>>>well i don't want to start an argument, but, sorry...glucophage does cause the hair to fall out - whether its directly related or indirectly. i don't know the exact reason, but, i think its when the insulin becomes too sensitve and gets too low and whether it eats up other nutrients in your body for the hair, or throws something out of whack, it does do something, and, I am living proof that it was the meds, my insulin got way too low (3) and thats when the problem happened, the problem stopped almost immediately after i stopped taking the medicine...i've been off the med and not one hair has fallen. I researched this for 1 month - when i stopped for 2 wks the hair loss was immediately decreased, when i restarted the med it was coming out at a fast pace and i've been off now and not one hair has fallen - interesting, don't you think. not everyone will experience this happening to them, especially the women with truly high insulin. you are right about the tesosterone, but this is
>
>>related to frontal hair loss, mine was not frontal...there is another womans doc here who does have it medically documented that this can happen. as soon i find out how or where to access the info, i will be more than happy to show it to you. I can't wait to show it to my doctor...i loved glucophage and it has worked truly wonders (35 lbs), so far i hope to maintain my low insulin on my own, so far so good. if it starts to climb again, i may have to go on something else, or maybe an extremely low dose of that, between my diet/exer it could be making my insulin too sensitive...i only think this because i've been communicating w/another pco person w/the same thing and her insulin was lower than mine when she 1st started, i think (8) mine was (12), and hers started to fall out immediately after starting the med, mine took a year and a half, but it took that long to get my insulin down from 12 to 3... i don't know if this will make you rethink the matter, and you are entitled to your
>o
>>pinion. i haven't changed anything else in my life/diet, etc...it had to be the meds . right now, my body is doing really good on its own, i'm actually losing more weight even w/out the med for the 1st time in a long time, right now it appears my blood sugars and insulin are working properly. there are alot of women who are experienceing the same thing and i guarantee you, should they try and go off even only temporarily they would seet their problem stop. my tester...by the way is normal..
>>
>>>I wanted to post a quick message after seeing Dr. Glueck
>>>here in Cincinnati who specializes in treating PCOS said
>>>that Glucophage DOES NOT cause hair loss. The PCOS is
>>>what causes the hair loss and that is due to too much
>>>testosterone which can cause what they call (male pattern baldness)
>>>he said by staying on the Glucophage within 9-12 months you should see
>>>your
>>>hair coming back and getting better. So if any of you have noticed
>>>over the last several years esp. before being diagnosed with PCOS
>>>that your hair is either falling out or just thinning out, it is
>>>due to the PCOS. Give the Glucophage time to work.
>>>
>>>I write this because I have seen many posts where women are attributing
>>>the Glucophage to hair loss and that is not the case.
--
Sonnet Fitzgerald, PCOS Association, Online Community Liaison. Email: sonnet@pcosupport.org
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