Did HRT improve your hair or make it worse?

[ALaughAMinute]

I was recently prescribed Elleste Duet 1 mg by my GP as I have been suffering from some very unpleasant peri menopausal symptoms including hair loss. I have been taking these for 12 days and so far feel fantastic! However, having done some research on HRT and hair loss I am concerned to learn that some progesterone-based pills, including those containing levonorgestrel, norgestrel and norethisterone, as well as tibolone, may induce or worsen hair loss and as the Elleste Duet progesterone tablets contain norethisterone I have decided that I don't want to risk taking them.

I have just phoned my GP and am waiting for her to call me back. I hope that she might be offer me Femoston as an alternative as it contains dygesterone which is the least testosterone derived.

So as someone who has been suffering from from hair loss even before taking HRT I am hoping that HRT is going to improve it.

I would be interested to hear about your experiences. Did HRT improve your hair? Did you see an improvement in texture and volume or did it fall out? if so which HRT were you taking?

Some progesterone is testosterone derived which I understand has an androgenic effect which can lead to or exacerbate hair loss.

Progestogens which can be used cyclically are of 3 main types:

Testosterone derived - Norgestrel, Norethisterone acetate and Levonorgestrel.
Less testosterone related - Medroxyprogesterone acetate(MPA).
Least testosterone related - Dydrogesterone and Micronised progesterone (Utrogestan).

www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/a8714/utovlan-norethisterone/
factmed.com/report-DYDROGESTERONE%20TAB-causing-ALOPECIA.php
menopausematters.co.uk/perimeno.php

Oops, that should be Kylataff

Hello
I took Elleste Duet 1mg for 3 months - I stopped taking it because the progesterone made me feel bloated and not great. However - my hair was amazing! The best it had been in years and I was delighted. I decided to change to Femoston and have been taking it for 6 months. The bloating went and I felt back to normal. But - after 3 months on it my hair started to fall out - at first I thought it was seasonal and didn't worry about. However it's still falling out and is getting thinner and thinner - I'm now really upset and feel I should stop. Femoston is not meant to make your hair fall out!! My gynaecologist wants me to start taking tibolone as I have fibroids - that definitely has caused hair loss in women so I'm reluctant to take it. It is the only option I have if I want to continue with hrt. Either that or have a hysterectomy in which case I can have oestrogen only. Feeling very fed up about it all. Has any tried tibolone and felt ok on it and not lost their hair?!

I’m on Oestrogel. I think it’s controlled my hair loss but I know without a shadow of a doubt the moment I stop taking it I’ll be in wig territory.

However much I love my hair though, sleep and the ability to function are important too. I know this misses the point but I’ve recently splashed out on some hair extensions which you cannot tell are extensions; done so well they don't show. With this in mind, I would go for the HRT which made me feel back to normal.

Hello, being at the end of my teather with menopausal symptoms for three years - hair loss at the front and temple areas, not sleeping, IBS, low mood.... I decided to search for others who had experienced the same and what their experiences with HRT were. I found your posts and read with interest. I went to my GP and she was happy to prescribe me Femoston, I’ve been on it less then a week but already my quality of sleep has improved. It’s my hair loss that bothers me the most though. It’s been around three months since your last post so I was wondering if you could share an update? Thank you!

Hi, I've been on elleste 1mg for 6 months now and my hair is exactly the same as it has always been. Before that I was on prempak for 5 years but it got discontinued.

Great news. I'm 61 and have taken HRT for 13 years now, presently on Kliovance. My hair really is my crowning glory and I can't help but think the HRT is partly responsible as it does really great things for your skin too.

Hello, this is a message for Dorje - I'm interested in the bioidentical hrt you're using, and wondered if you were prescribed it by your GP, or if you had to get it privately?

Also, ALaughAMinute, how are you doing on Femoston? Is your hair still growing back? I'm 54 too, post-menopausal - last period August 2012 - and have lost a lot of hair. I haven't used HRT yet (worried about more hair coming out, and also my mum had breast cancer, so it's a concern), but I've been suffering with menopausal symptoms for years now, and want to at least look into it.

Any advice would be really welcome, thanks,

Eirene

Been on femeston about 6 months now but its made no difference to my hair. Still thinning at the front and temples....maybe its not menopausal ??

I was on Femoston 1/10 for 3 months & my hair thinned dramatically.
I generally didn't feel good on it & my GP stopped prescribing it...

Back to sauare 1

Hi All
Been reading with interest about perimenopause and hir loss. I have spent so much money on Trichologists and hair products i am at my wits end. I had very thick red hair and now have lost at LEAST half of it over the last 2 years. Its horrible and makes me very stressed and anxious. Lost all my confidence and jsut am tryign to find out if its going to stop falling. I have recently asked for HRT - my doctor did not have a clue - didnt even know what a Trichologist was! Anyway i was given Elleste but thinking now about not taking it and going for Femostan instead - then i wonder even if it works will it all fall out again when i stop taking it - what a nightmare! No one can tell me what the hell is going on - i have to deduce all of this from what i have read online - i was on cerazette for a very long time and stopped taking it 2.5 years ago which definately coincides with my telegen effluvium. GP's shoudl tell all women about the side effects if coming off the pill suddenly. Sad times :(

@nokidsbutstillamum

I have very thick red hair which was always glossy and bouncy ..think kate middleton on steroids
but last 6 months become brittle dry and lost all bounce and curl...it is not thinning but this has definitely tied in with my peri-menopause

i am devastated and cry sometimes about it . My lovely hair was my best feature and now no matter what i do it looks dreadful.
I am wondering about HRT ...and wondered if you had decdied what to do.
I am thinking about the bioidentical hrt ...do most of you have it prescribed by your gp ?

I have never lost my hair. Back in july 2017 i started HRT for peri symptoms ie low moods, dry bits, anxiety, no sleep, was put on femoston 1/10mg, then after reading about higher risks taking oral HRT i asked to change to gel after 2 months. All of a sudden in October i started losing my hair, lots of it, i probably lost a quarter and my curls went limp, with thin hair and itchy scalp. I was really worried, had a chat with meno lady who convinced me to persist, told me ladies came to her with this problem when starting new HRT , body trying to adjust. I persisted and 3 months later my hair stopped falling completely (there is a 3 month window between hair follicles sleeping and the state of re-start) so it made sense. Today my hair is re growing very fast, my curls are bouncy again, no itchy scalp, i have less but i know it will thicken once new hair is a bit longer, i am glad i trusted her experience, however if someone has always been prone to alopecia or has hair thinning in their forties i suspect they might not get the same result, i do believe my body was adjusting to HRT.

Hi! My hair improved with hrt but is still thinner than before. I will try a kinder progesterone after some months to see if it gets better.

im actually quite surprised that despite all the reading i have been doing about the perimenopause and bio identical hormones - none of it mentions hairloss? My hair i would say is less than half what it used to be and it scares me to death but i cant find anything about why its happening - ive just ordered some progesterone cream - i'll try anything - but in 2 years its shedding like mad but i cant see any regrowth. Saw a dermatologist yesterdy - she said its a normal head of hair. Its the biggest mystery of life and one i was not expecting :(

poor you - i feel for you so much
my hair was my crowning glory - it feels lame to say it when others go through awful illness but it really gets me down

That’s fantastic OP!

@Eirene I was prescribed it by my GP.
Called oestrodose or oestrogel for the oestrogen part
And utrogestan for the micronised progesterone part.

@nokidsbutstillamum
Did you look at your iodine levels? Low iodine and low thyroid function can cause hair loss.

My GP added testosterone gel to my regimen a few months ago and it’s also fantastic. I use one 10g sachet a month. So a teeny tiny blob every other day roughly. Great for stamina and libido.

No problems with hair loss and hair still bouncy.

Yes I've had all that tested just comes back normal - so frustrating trying to get HRT as we speak so hopefully that will work but GPs are not equipped for this stuff they don't have a clue - need an specialist really. You can't just lump a load of hormones on all women they are all different

Hi Dorje,

many thanks for this, it's really helpful. I've made an appointment with my GP to talk about HRT, so I'll see what she says. And what nokidsbutstillamum says is so true - we're all individuals, and the one-size-fits-all approach doesn't help. I had to do some quite extensive research to find out that hair loss can (quite commonly) be one of the symptoms of menopause, and that hormones can also affect it if they're not the right kind/dose. It sometimes feels as if the menopause is the poor relation in terms of the medical profession, when in fact it's the greatest change your body will go through. I just wish there were menopause clinics/specialists available as a matter of course. Ah well.

Take care,

Eirene xx

@eirene I did two separate full blood tests for the diagnosis. My FSH levels were through the roof and the oestrogen was low throughout the month.

I also went to meopausematters.co.uk site to list my symptoms on their symptom checker.

I armed myself with this information for my GP visit and coupled it with my own research and experience of the contraceptive pill and what chemicals suited me to get the prescription for hrt that was perfect for me.

I have yearly utterine and ovarian scans.

Hth

Thanks for this, Dorje, I'll discuss blood tests with my GP - I need to know what's going on before embarking on this, so that, as you say, I can find what's best (if anything) for me. I really appreciate your help.

Take care,
Eirene

Apologies, Dorje, I forgot to ask, did you have private blood tests? (I'm guessing you did, but just wanted to check). A while ago I asked my GP for hormone testing, including oestrogen, and she said they'd won't test oestrogen levels, for some reason.

Also, could you tell me what high levels of FSH indicate?

I'll definitely do the symptom checker on menopause matters, thanks.

Take care,

Eirene

@eirene

I did pay for a full blood count, including hormone levels like thyroid, and I asked especially for a female hormone panel: oestrogen progesterone LH and FSH, also testosterone.

I paid 60£ for it and it confirmed that my oestrogen and progesterone were low, my FSH was though the roof, and LH was low. I had two tests over a six month period, BUT if you’re experiencing hot flashes and any of the other symptoms, you don’t need a blood test to “prove” you are experiencing peri menopause. Go to menopausematters’ symptom check list and go into your GP appointment with that.

FSH stands for follicle stimulating hormone, and when it’s high it shows your body is overheating totally regarding trying to get an egg follicle in your ovary to develop for a last hurrah.

Be careful with contraception at this time... your body is desperate to release an egg!!

Hello,
I just started reading this thread. I moved to the UK 7 months ago for a 2 year work assignment, while my family is still back in the US. So lots of stress...I started losing a lot of hair, and itchy and burning scalp. I also have other peri-menopausal symptoms. My biggest anxiety at this time is hair loss as my lovely think hair are now reduced to a sorry whimpy thin tail and I am balding in the front and along my hairline. I am ready to try HRT but not sure which one will make sense. I also heard that bio-identical HRT is not regulated.

Ladies please advise!! I will get a full blood work done soon....

Many thanks again, Dorje, for this, and for explaining about FSH. I'm definitely post-menopausal (last period 2012) but my menopausal symptoms have lasted for many years - hair loss started in 2013 - and I want to look into anything that might help.

JaneJune, I'm really sorry to hear about your hair loss - it's very distressing, and I understand how you must be feeling. I hope you'll find advice here - you'll definitely have support!

Hello ladies - I was wondering for those of you who started HRT 6 months ago, how's your hair loss going?