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Re: Thanks for info on BCPs, now what about all the hair?From: Tanya (anonymous@obgyn.net)Fri, 30 Nov 2001 21:53:41 -0600 (CST)
At Tue, 27 Nov 2001, jodi wrote: > >Well... it depends on which you care about more - the hair or having a >family. > >There are medications that help with the excess body hair - >spironalactone (aldactone) is most widely used in the US. These work by >blocking the effects that androgens have on the skin, and thus lessen >hair/acne problems. the drawback to these meds is, they are thought to >interfere with the development fetuses, male fetuses in particular, >because a certain level of androgen is needed for human development. So >most people consider them a no-no when you are trying to conceive. >(Studies have shown birth defects in animals, no human studies have been >performed... ethics and all... I can't help but note the irony that >too much androgen is making life hell for us, but too little could make >life hell for our children!) > >Many studies claim that metformin alone - by reducing insulin and thus >lowering testosterone levels - will improve hirsuitism in women. Not >all women notice a significant change in body hair on met alone, >though... which is why many still take spiro. > >One really annoying thing about the hair issue is that once a hair >follicle is stimulated by androgens to go from being just a soft >unnoticable hair to a pigmented, coarse icky hair... it takes very >little androgen to keep that hair growing that way. so even if you >lower your testosterone levels, the hair keeps growing. fun! > >so i have read that aldactone does nothing "for the hair that's already >there." what I don't quite get it... does that mean, the actual hair >you can currently see/feel? or the hair that could potentially grow out >of that follicle? does that make sense? I have read it can keep new >hairs from coming but won't affect hair that's there. but i'm not sure >how to interpret it. lots of women do report finer regrowth... > >one other option is laser or electrolysis. jerry sinefeld described >electrolysis as "giving your hair the chair..." tee hee :-) in my >opinion, this option should be reserved until you have tried medical >methods and a. seen that they were not enough and b. gotten the >hormones under control somewhat. otherwise... well, i think >electrolysis when you're hormonally a mess is kind of like playing that >bop-the-weasel-with-a-mallet game they used to have in arcades... think >about it. :-) > >so... if you want to have a family, anti-androgen meds are out >temporarily. metformin might help with the hair, though, and restore >fertility. laser or electrolysis is another option, but i wouldn't give >it a go without using medical methods as well, be they metformin alone >or met plus aldactone... > >- jodi > >At Mon, 26 Nov 2001, Tiffany wrote: >> >>Thanks for all the response. I just was diagnosed and this is hard to >>handle since I just got married and we were wanting to start a family >>soon. Maybe it will happen. What to do about all the hair. It is so >>dark and course. A never ending battle to have to bleach, pluck, shave >>and cover up. >>Tiffany >> >>-- >>Tiffany Williams >> Tiffany, Hi! I understand where you are coming from! I am in a similar situation myself. After trying many things, spirnolactone, etc. I just did the laser hair removal and I am very pleased with the results. I don't have to worry about the hair anymore and I can focus on other things. I want to take as few chemicals as possible. I am trying a combination of traditional medicine and natural remidies. Take Care! Tanya
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