Do I have telogen effluvium or aga from stop using birth control?

Question

I stopped birth control may 1st, in July I noticed my hair had thinned a lot. Within the next few months I have lost about half my hair. I have lost hair from all over my head but it is most visible in the temples and crown. I went back in birth control last month and noticed the shed slowed a. Bit but it picked up again in the last few days. I was told by one derm I have te and another aga?I am a 31 year old female and I am severely stressed about thiS, I'm sure the stress is adding to it

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

Without
seeing your scalp and getting all of the details of your medical history,
it’s impossible to say what’s going on. However, there’s a pretty good chance
that both of your dermatologists are right – and that you indeed have both telogen
effluvium and androgenetic alopecia. Let me explain.

Birth
control well are well known culprits to induce hair shedding (also known as “telogen
effluvium”). It’s important to understand that both starting and stopping birth
control pills can cause hair shedding. When does such shedding occur? Usually
about 2-3 months after starting/stopping the pill. So your timing is seems
right on.

Of
course, there are other reasons for hair loss, and a careful examination is
needed. Low iron, abnormal thyroid levels, diets, stress and a host of other
factors may be relevant too.  It’s
essential for you to not only have a detailed scalp examination but a panel of
blood tests.  Exactly what to order can
only be determined after examining your scalp and evaluating your medical
history.

Now
on to the genetic hair loss bit.  It’s
critical to understand that anytime a patient has shedding, it can speed up the
development of genetic hair loss. Suppose a patient is destined to develop
genetic hair loss by age 38. Well, if the patient develops shedding, the
genetic hair loss could appear a few years earlier, say in the early or mid 30s.  This is commonly encountered after the birth
of a baby, when some women note they don’t get all their hair density back. In
medical terms, we say that the telogen effluvium unmasks genetic hair loss –
just a fancy way of saying the shedding cause the genetic hair loss to appear a
bit sooner than it otherwise would.

Hair
shedding from stopping a birth control pill can unmask genetic hair loss in
some women. It’s not possible to say if this is your case, but it’s something I
see often.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Changing hormones in women can cause hair loss. Stopping your birth control pills if you were never losing hair, might cause hair loss

Do I have telogen effluvium or aga from stop using birth control?

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Do I have telogen effluvium or aga from stop using birth control?

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