NWR: Hair thinning and PCOS UPDATE

@FututeMrsFrench, and that's why you're marrying the guy

@futuremrsfrench - biotin by itself didn't help me but I've been thinking about pairing it with Rogaine because my hair does have a lot of breakage.

@AlmostBach I was thinking of doing that also, just waiting for the results from my blood work. Praying it's not what I think it is.

Girls... thank you so much for making me feel just a little less crazy the last 24 hours.

I got the blood test results back, and they tested for everything under the sun including increaded DHT which causes androgenic alopecia in PCOS patients and the only abnormality was Vitamin D deficiency. Based on my research thus far it appears that there is a link between the deficiency and hair loss so I'm being put on supplements for the next 3 months to help elevate my levels back to normal. Bringing the results to my endocrinologist on friday just to have a PCOS specialist review it, but fingers crossed that she echoes the dermatologists diagnosis and I can put this behind me before the wedding.

Thank you all for the support and kind words, you're all amazing.

Hooray! Glad to hear that!

Hooray! Glad to hear that!

I switched to baking soda for my shampoo and apple cider vinegar for conditioner along with coconut oil treatments and with in 2 months my hair loss had stopped. It helps stimulate the hair to grow.

@Cass I've read about that, but I also saw some reports that because of the Ph balances of the baking soda and the ACV people were frying their hair so I was always hesitant to try. Do you have B&A photos?

@AlmostBach I'm still pretty weary until the endocrinologist gives me the seal of approval on the reports, but I'm feeling pretty happy right now! The tingling of the scalp thing is what's making me most crazy.. wonder if it's all in my head? -_-

@FMF: Do please have your doc/endocrinologist keep an eye on thyroid function closely. D- and B deficiencies, as well as iron deficiencies are often caused by the decline of thyroid function, because it causes the body to stop absorbing and making these vitamins as well.

I'm glad you got some ideas though! I hope the supplements help!!

I'm glad you have some answers, good luck

Oops, I was walking around with my phone unlocked and may have accidentally flagged someone's comment I don't know how to fix this or who it was, so I apologize to whoever it was.

@mna I will definitely bring it up on Friday when I see her

I have pcos. Honestly, you should treat it. Your hormones are messing with your body and cause cancer among other things. I have tried multiple things to help and am still figuring it out, but if you should look into treating it. Or go in for a blood test, maybe you are vitamin deficient with b vitamins.

Eta: clearly i should have read things. Please note that if your endo gives you metformin it can mess with your vitamin blood levels for B. Good luck to you. Pcos sucks, but it is treatable!

There is also a potential link between PCOS and vitamin D deficiency. The research is preliminary, but there's a possibility that women with PCOS may be genetically predisposed to not generating as much vitamin D from a given amount of sun exposure. It is also thought that sufficient vitamin D levels can reduce the effects of PCOS.

I have PCOS and had a severe vitamin D deficiency. It's really good your deficiency was discovered, and I hope once you are treated, you feel much better. I don't have issues with hair thinning, so I can't speak to whether supplementation has changed that. I can tell you that my quality of life improved significantly once I got through the high dosage supplements (I was extremely fatigued and experienced a lot of pain).

@StepDep My levels were never high enough to require treatment since my cycle was regular, its just recently that the vitamin D deficiency was discovered. I'm still apprehensive that it might me androgenic alopecia just because of my typical luck and the lack of research and conclusive findings that vitamin D can be the main cause of shedding and hair thinning. I'm bringing the blood tests with me of Friday. I've been holding off on Metformin for as long as possible, I tried it for 2 weeks a few months ago and all it did was mess with my stomach every day that I took it -_-

@BlueHenBride that's what I'm reading, and I also recently just read that there is a link in a drop in Vitamin D after discontinuing B/C. I haven't been on B/C for about 2 years because it makes me crazy but I actually just read that yesterday. I'm hoping to get the vitamin D levels back to normal and get this shedding and hair thinning to stop. I won't be able to finally take a breath of relief until the endocrinologist signs off on it. I definitely notice a difference in my hair, I just want to get it solved. Glad to hear it's helped you!

I have PCOS but have never experienced hair thinning. I may have just never noticed because I take manetabolism vitamins. It has biotin but it is a complete multivitamin which helped because with the PCOS breakouts, pure biotin made it worse.

ETA: The vitamins may also help with the vitamin D deficiency