Stopped birth control pill after 5 years...losing hair...link?

[david'sgirl]

I recently stopped taking birth control and for the past few weeks have noticed an increase in my hair falling out. I have naturally thin hair and thinning spots due to genes, but I am getting worried that too much hair is falling out. Does this have to do with my stopping the pill and if so, is this going to be a permanent problem?
Anything will help, Thanks!

[beth2004]

I have a slightly different story.  I am not sure if BC is what's causing my hair loss or not.  I have been on the pill for about 12 years stopping for a little over a year in between when trying to get pregnant and having my son.  I went back on the pill in beginning of 2009.

At the end of 2011 I noticed my hairline receding somewhat around the temple area.  It bothered me but I got over it and it seems to have stopped where it's at and not gotten worse.  Well then in May of this year I started shedding horribly.  At first I thought I just noticed more hair b/c I am growing it out for a wedding I am in in August.  Normally my hair is pretty short.  It is now almost to my shoulders.  But as time went on I know it's not from it being longer and more noticeable.  I actually started counting hairs and am losing around 150 to 200 just by washing it and styling it in the mornings.

I had my thyroid tested in May and it came back normal.  I had a pap in June and mentioned the shedding to my ob/gyn.  She said it was the BC and told me to take a vitamin E supplement every day and give it a month to see if there was any change.  I thought it did seem to slow down a bit but just the other week picked back up.  I called my ob/gyn and she had me get blood work done to check my hormones (estrogen and FSH).  I am supposed to call this afternoon to see what the results of that are.  I have a feeling they will come back normal though.

I know most of this post is about women who started the hair loss after going off the pill so I'm wondering if there's anyone out there like me who is experiencing the hair loss while still on the pill.  I haven't had any major stressful events lately either other than normal stress.  I am in school, I work part time and I also do part time work from home on the days I don't work out of the home plus I have a 4 year old who definitely likes to push buttons and aggravates me to no end!

I am really scared about my hair.  I know I could have much worse health issues than this, and am thankful I am healthy but just thinking of my hair falling out like this makes me want to cry.  It's like I've become obsessed with running fingers through my hair to see if any hairs come out (which usually they do) and researching online.  Most of the online stuff scares me with the AGA female pattern baldness stuff.  I don't have hair loss in my family on either side.  Well my dad's dad was bald but that's it.  My dad and uncles and grandparents on my mom's side all still have their hair.

Ugh....this is so annoying!

[luna872]

My dermatologist has told me that it's not unusual to start losing hair around 3 months after going off the birth control pill. (It's similar to losing hair 3 months after giving birth). The hormone change is a shock to the body and the hair roots prepare for the hair to fall out, which happens arounds 3 months later. (This can also occur 3 months after a stressful event). For me the hair loss then went on for almost 3 months, now it seems to level out and grow back. It's been depressing but it's worth it because I had SO many side effects from the pill: migraine, hot weather sensitivity, depression, painful breasts, frost nip on my toes in winter, red veins in my eyes, cellulite. All of those are gone now.

[Omy799]

I feel like there is no hope for me.  I stopped taking BC (Ortho-Tri-nessa) of May 2012 and it is now July 2012 and my hair is falling out in clumps, especially when I wash it.  I do not know what to do.  According to the doctor I'm as healthy as an Ox.  I used to have medium to thick hair, healthy (no splits ends) down to my bottom with high volume and in just two months I had to cut my hair shoulder length and limit the amount of times I wash my hair down to once a week.  I knooooooow its kinda nasty but I'm afraid of losing ALL of my hair.  I counted my hair loss in one day and it amount to approximately 368 strands.  The following day I lost 532 strands (that was after I washed it).  I'm okay with losing 100 strands a day but 500 is not okay...it is scary.  Its ashame that there are so many women on this site/blog and the pharmaceutical companies have not made any comment concerning this issue.  I'm sure of this, if we would have known that certain birth control would cause women hair fall out, not too many of us would have opted to take them.  Birth Control pills make these pharmaceutical companies billions of dollars.  They do not care about people like the women on this site/blog (some of which do not even have medical insurance) who are worried about their hair loss.  By the way, my mom and grandmama's have a head full of hair.  Ohh yeah, I forgot to mention that I tried Rogaine for women but the side effects (extreme facial swelling) cause me to stop using it.  I recently visited a Vitamin shop and purchase several supplements to attempt and stop or minimize the amount of hair from falling out.  I will hope and pray it stops.  My husband has told me not to fret but we have to admit that it can become a psychological and emotional problem that can range from stress to anxiety to depression to strain on the immune system.  Soo please, it is not fair for someone to say that it is a cosmetic issue.  By the way, we should all inform the physicians that prescribe the birth controls (BC) of the side effects post BC.  Let our voice be heard.  I will keep you posted on the outcome of the supplements I will take to help my hair grow back and prevent hundreds of hair strands to fall out.  Another thing, wish me the best.  My husband and I are going to try to have a baby.  Be well.

[madi407]

HERE is my story... I was on yasmin for 8 years and I stopped taking it almost 7 months ago. Right after I stopped the pills, my hair started to fall. I was losing about 300-400 hairs a day and I was absolutely terrified, especially because I had all the blood tests I could have had and there was nothing wrong with me. I cried every time I brushed or washed my hair and I was clueless on what I had to do to stop it. My hair became very thin, oily and seemed worse on the front of the scalp and on the temples.
My doctor said that it had nothing to do with pill and it was caused by stress, but there was no stress for me other than the fact that I might be going bald. I know now that what she said was rubbish and most doctors really do not see this as a real problem since it is not life threatening.
I took tons of vitamins, I used all the products on the market that promised to help but my hair was still falling and it seemed there was no way to stop it.
The only hair product that helped, but not as much as I expected, was minoxidil and the problem with it was that little hairs were growing back on the temples, only to fall back again by the time they got to a 3 cm (about 1 inch I think) length.
Only now, after 7 months, it started to get a little better, I`m still losing more than 100 hairs on washing but only 20 to 30 on daily brushing.
I`m still taking vitamins and I`m still using minoxidil and the hair that grows back does not seem to fall as fast as it did. I`m on a vegetarian diet, I`m eating all the food that is known to be good for the hair, like fat free yogurt that contains live ferments, carrots, salmon, kidney beans, apricots, honey melon and other foods high in potassium (not quite indicated for those with kidney disease), I`m adding less salt in my food and drinking more than 2 litters of water a day.
This is what I do now when it got a little better for me, I`m not saying that this might be the reason why I`m now losing less hair or it just might be due to the fact that time has passed and maybe the organism got rid of some of the toxins that I`ve been popping in for 8 years.
Sorry for my bad english, but I hope this helps you or even gives you a little hope that this will go away with time.

[skye907]

Hi everyone. I read this thread over a month ago when my hair loss got the best of me. A lot of people asked someone to come back and post if the hair loss eventually stopped. Well, for me it did finally stop. Thank God.

I stopped Zovia and Sprintec BCP in Nov 2011 and about a month later the hair loss began. It was so upsetting. It didn't occur to me that it was due to hormones until last month when I was researching the terrible mood swings and depression I was having.

Last month I cut off about 10 inches of hair to help with the massive amounts of hair I was finding all over the place. Then I discovered this thread. I went out and bought Fo-Ti like the above poster and I noticed a difference a week later. I can now brush my hair and run my fingers through it without a ton falling out. It's definitely worth a shot. Either my hormones have finally balanced (my mood swings have MUCH improved) or the Fo-Ti is working. Either way, I feel a lot better.

Thanks for sharing and I hope things have improved for everyone who posted.

[deb062019]

To all the ladies experiencing hair loss...hormones drive our bodies. The hormones are driven by the birth control pills. Please note however that hormone levels do not DIRECTLY make your hair fall out. That is attributed to stress (to make it shed) and regrowth is possible but directly related to blood circulation and feeding the capillaries at the scalp so that your hair grows. Plain and simple. So, at the root of the problem is a circulation and blood deficiency of some sort, perhaps directly related to the liver (maybe or maybe not). Now for treatment idea, that has worked for me. As a referral from my acupuncturist, I started taking Fo-Ti in capsule form (Solaray). The first two weeks my eyesight improved and everything seemed clearer. After 3 months my hair started to grow. After the first year my hair was growing (only on the scalp BTW) about a half an inch every six weeks. I have never had a head of hair like this in my life. After two years the Fo-Ti cured my Von Willebrand's disease. My good cholesterol is over 100. The maximum capsules I took each day for 2.5 years was 3. About 9 months ago I switched to a liquid tincture Fo-Ti made by a local health food store. I am still working out my dosage. But all in all liquid or capsule, this herb saved my life and my sanity, it is so stressful to lose your hair....I wish I could tell the world about my findings so if you would pass the word and definitely Google Fo-Ti (domestic name for it) and the Chinese name is Ho Shu Wu. Good luck to all of us!! :)