Ok, let me first start by saying that I'm a 21 year old female and I've been on birth control pills for about 5 years. When I was a child and through my teens, I had very thick hair. I was put on BC pills when I was 16 because I had terrible cramps and my period wasn't regular. My gyno put me on Ortho-Novum 7/7/7. I took this for about 3 years, and then my cramps started coming back badly and so my gyno (a different doc than I usually saw) put me on Levora. I took this for a little over a year until my next doctors appointment. My gyno that I usually see could not understand why the other doc put me on Levora because apparently its a high dose pill and she thought at my age it was unnecessary. It was during the time I was on Levora that I started noticing that I was losing more hair than normal. Clumps and clumps everytime I washed my hair, brushed my hair, dried my hair, even just walking around hair would fall out an cover the front and back of whatever shirt I had on. I told my gyno about this on that visit and she took me off Levora and put me on the patch.....after a month on the patch I couldn't take the side effects anymore, called my gyno, and she put me on Mircette, a low-dose pill. I have been on that for a few months and feel great. BUT, I'm still having MAJOR hair loss! I don't know what to do anymore! There isn't hair loss in my family and the last time I dyed my hair was over a year ago so I can't still be dealing with side effects from that. I'm so confused. I want my hair back! What should I do??? :confused:

PS - After going off Levora, I did a search on the web and apparently that and 2 other BC pills have been linked to major hair loss. I've been off Levora for 4 months now....could I still be having effects from it or is it out of my system??? :confused:

I would have to say that I've know many youg females that have used birth control pills for many many years and have never had this type of problem.

my endo just put me on yasmin for hair LOSS due to hormonal inbalance. if you have high testosterone or similar levels go on yasmin, but in general its a great pill, very different from all other pills .

As soon as I started Yasmin my hair loss started! Going to make a doc appt to find out if its the culprit!

Me too! I have been on the pill for almost 2 years now and about 6 months after being on it, i noticed my hair falling out so much! My hairdresser even noticed it but didnt seem too concerned, she just mentioned it was thinning in certain areas. I have been stressed out for the past couple of years,but still, i think there is just too much loss occurring for it to be simply stress related. i did mention it to my doctor at my physical in May, but he didnt seem bothered either. From far away, b/c my hair is curly, it looks like i have thick hair, but if that wind blows, watch out scalp-city! Even when i am combing my hair after the shower, clumps come out and i can see my entire scalp!
Help! Should i go off the pill??????????? I want to start a family soon anyways.

People in the birth control forum might have some more answers. Good luck with your hair loss. I know how it feels b/c antidepressants I used to take did this to me.
~Katalina:)

I am thinking about going off the pill too, but I am not quite ready to start a family, maybe 2 more years. But I can't keep losing my hair!


Smartcookie- which pill are you on?

Hi there,
I am on Marvelon. What are you on?

I've been on Ortho Tri Cyclen and Yasmin. I am no longer taking either, but I noticed while I was on Yasmin that my hair would fall out more often. I am convinced that Yasmin started the whole thing and I wish I would have never taken it. It's weird because Yasmin seems to be linked to curing hair loss and also causing it, depending on the way your body handles it. Anyway, like I said, I stopped taking the pill a while ago. While I was on it and even after I got off, I realized my hair loss was continuing. A few months ago, I started noticing my hair is noticibly thinning right in the front. I've done a lot of research on this and especially for whoever mentioned irregular periods, you may want to look into this. PCOS or even just insulin resistance is linked to hair loss. There is a lot of information for this on the web. I suggest you look into it. Maybe stop taking the birth control pills and after a few months, go get your blood levels checked to see if you might be either PCOS or IR. If this is the case (or even if your levels come out fine - that happens sometimes), there are options you have to help with the symptoms (such as hair loss). Diet (aimed at keeping your blood sugar, insulin, and testosterone levels in check) and exercise are very important. Anyway, I've just begun this approach and when I stick to it, I'm noticing less hair in the shower drain. I just wanted to share with you something that may be the problem and what may be of help. Good luck.

Ok, let me first start by saying that I'm a 21 year old female and I've been on birth control pills for about 5 years. When I was a child and through my teens, I had very thick hair. I was put on BC pills when I was 16 because I had terrible cramps and my period wasn't regular. My gyno put me on Ortho-Novum 7/7/7. I took this for about 3 years, and then my cramps started coming back badly and so my gyno (a different doc than I usually saw) put me on Levora. I took this for a little over a year until my next doctors appointment. My gyno that I usually see could not understand why the other doc put me on Levora because apparently its a high dose pill and she thought at my age it was unnecessary. It was during the time I was on Levora that I started noticing that I was losing more hair than normal. Clumps and clumps everytime I washed my hair, brushed my hair, dried my hair, even just walking around hair would fall out an cover the front and back of whatever shirt I had on. I told my gyno about this on that visit and she took me off Levora and put me on the patch.....after a month on the patch I couldn't take the side effects anymore, called my gyno, and she put me on Mircette, a low-dose pill. I have been on that for a few months and feel great. BUT, I'm still having MAJOR hair loss! I don't know what to do anymore! There isn't hair loss in my family and the last time I dyed my hair was over a year ago so I can't still be dealing with side effects from that. I'm so confused. I want my hair back! What should I do??? :confused:

PS - After going off Levora, I did a search on the web and apparently that and 2 other BC pills have been linked to major hair loss. I've been off Levora for 4 months now....could I still be having effects from it or is it out of my system??? :confused:


Hi:)

I know this post is old, but if you're still reading I wanted to tell you what happened to me. I started losing my hair about 3 years ago due to stress and my thyroid(you may want to have that checked). It was falling out just like your's was. I would find my hair all over the place. I finally talked to my doctor and he told me it took about 6 months for the hair to start growing back and get into it's normal routine. He also told me to go to the store and get what is called AG Pro Tabs. I took those tablets and slowly but surely, my hair started growing back. I just bought another bottle because my hair is thinning again because my thyroid is flarred up. I hope something helps you:)

Chantel

i wonder if simply being depressed can make your hair fall out? B/c your body isnt 100% healthy when you are depressed, thats why one is more succeptible to colds/viruses. Hmm, i wonder.
Its gotta be a combo of alot of factors. I have changed shampoo, started taking vitamins and it still falls out alot. Mind you, i am eating more "fatty" [-> not enough fruits and veggies, to clarify].....so i dont know. I just want my nice head of hair back and not have bald patches by the time i am 35!

Soltice, what kind of antidepressant were you on? My daughter is experiencing hairloss and her body hair has almost stop growing entirely. She's only 28. She is also on BC pills. Her hair is very thin and getting thinner and hardly grows. She is on Welbrutrin.

What are AG Pro tablets/ What kind of store do you buy them at? Health Food Store?

warmbreeze,
I was on several anti-D's throughout a period of 4-5 years, switching many times, so I can't blame it on just one, but throughout that time, my hair wasn't growing and it was falling out. Wellbutrin was one of the drugs I was on, but I also took Paxil for long periods of time, Neurontin, Celexa, BuSpar, Effexor, and Prozac for mini-periods of time (They caused me side effects so I got off of them pretty quickly.) There are probably a few more, but I can't remember anymore. I wonder if it's the BC with your daughter? I hope not, b/c I am going to get on BC soon- the progestin-only "mini-pill" and I've actually never been on hormonal BC before, so wish me luck with the hair loss.
~Katalina

So has anyone felt that their hairloss was slowing down in the last little while? See, mine was really bad for a few months, and now it still falls out, but not as extreme as before. ANd what i have noticed is when i wake up in the morning, my hair is split in a section of my hair and it just wont cover the scalp! LIke, no matter how much i tease it together, or spritz it with some water, it just wont cover the scalp! Its not like my hair is dirty ( i could even have washed it the night before and it does this!).
Does this happen to anyone else? I cant wear ponytails to work every day of the week!

Thank you Solstice, I sure hope my daughter's problem is her bc instead of her anti depressants. She doesn't do well with out her meds.

I am 24 and have had hair loss for a little over a year and it seems to coincide with taking Wellbutrin; even more hair loss 4 months after higher dose. However, I also discontined taking birth control pills around the same time but my hair has not ever grown back. Sanity is more important, however and I can't stand the other side effects of SSRI's. Good luck!

Im currently on Yasmin, but I was on Lexapro for about a month and a half about 2 months ago. So I dont know which caused it, but It is starting to really freak me out. I quit taking the BC pills, and hte lexapro and it is still ahppening, how soon will it stop? Uhhh. I have tried every kind of conditioner in teh world if anyone has any suggestions please post them!

Im currently on Yasmin, but I was on Lexapro for about a month and a half about 2 months ago. So I dont know which caused it, but It is starting to really freak me out. I quit taking the BC pills, and hte lexapro and it is still ahppening, how soon will it stop? Uhhh. I have tried every kind of conditioner in teh world if anyone has any suggestions please post them!


Hi there:)

I went through a bout of hair loss about 2 years ago and it actually started from stress. My doctor at the time told me it would take up to 6 months for my hair to start growing back and in the mean time he told me to try an over the counter pill called AG Pro Tabs. You can find them in any Wal-Mart store and I'm sure you can get them at a pharmacy. I tried it and it helped tremendously. It took a few months, but little by little I started seeing my hair come back anf it even made my nails grow. Talk to your doctor first before taking it, but I had no side effects at all from it. It looks like a vitamin. I'm not sure what's in it, but it worked for me. Hope this helps a little.

Chantel

I experienced hair loss when I switched pills. I went from microgestin to desogen. Desogen is low androgen so I thought it would be better. Turns out I do better on a medium androgen pill where as most women do better on low androgen. Everyone reacts different to different pills. I recommend trying different pills. Chart how YOU do on the pill, not how doctors say you should be doing and when affects it has had on the masses. I can NOT take Ortho Tricycline. It makes me moody and have heavy periods. When I was on microgestin I did not have hair loss. On the desogen...it is falling out daily. I think I will switch back and just realize that my body needs something different than other women. We are our best judges of our bodies. Listen to what yours is telling you.

Me too!!! I have just been noticing it also. I have been on ortho tri cyclen lo for about a year and a half now. I thought it was due to me being anemic, so I started taking iron, and it didnt help the hair loss. I thought I was just going crazy, but I think its the pill causing it. Craziness. I may have to just go off the pill and get pregnant! ha ha. No, I have heard from a lot of people that the pill has caused hair loss. I guess you just have to decide what's important to you.

i have heard that if you stop ur bcp when you are having hair loss, it will lead to more hairloss, so apparently it is almost always better to keep going with the bcp until the normal hair growth and slough pattern resumes.

There are lots of helpful information on hair loss and birth control pills, so hav a look around on the internet. hopefully it can help you.

BC pills with HIGHER estrogen levels tend to carry a side effect of hair loss..a friend of mine went on dianine 35 for her acne and because shes hairy and she thought that it would be beneficial. Her doctor told her the hair loss would occur after 6 months..(not hair on head but just general hair loss)

Other pills to avoid are the ones that are high in androgens. This is a male hormone and while it's good for the sex drive, it can be brutal on the hair.

I'm on Yaz and my hairloss just started a couple months ago. I've been on it for 7 months. Did you switch bc? Did your hair grow back?

Hi,

I was on Depo and had major hair loss and got off of it and i didn't go back on any BC. It's been about a year off of depo and i do see new hairs growing but it's not growing as fast as i would like.

I just ordered the Miller Pharmacal Group - A/G-Pro, 180 tablets
from Vitamin Shoppe. How long did it take for you to notice a difference. The bottle recommends 2-3 tablets/day. Thanks !:)