POSTED UNDER PRP for Hair Loss REVIEWS
Get a Scalp Biopsy First!
ORIGINAL POST
Hello all, I am a 36 year old female experiencing...
eguo4554August 3, 2017
$2,400
Hello all,
I am a 36 year old female experiencing hair loss. I got the recommended 3 PRP injections over the course of 3 months (total of $2400). I hadn't been noticing any difference by the second injection, so just before my third injection I made an appointment with a dermatologist. I wish I had gone to her sooner! She sent a scalp biopsy to the lab, and it turned out that I have a rare type of hair loss, called scarring alopecia (specifically lichen planopilaris). This means that the PRP injections are basically worthless, and possibly made things worse (although this is just a guess, PRP injections cause swelling which is good in some cases, but from what I've read, lichen planopilaris basically causes hair loss from an over-inflammation of tissue, so I think the PRP injections actually had a negative effect in my case.) I would suggest to any of you considering getting PRP injections to make sure you know what type of hair loss you have before you go in.
I am a 36 year old female experiencing hair loss. I got the recommended 3 PRP injections over the course of 3 months (total of $2400). I hadn't been noticing any difference by the second injection, so just before my third injection I made an appointment with a dermatologist. I wish I had gone to her sooner! She sent a scalp biopsy to the lab, and it turned out that I have a rare type of hair loss, called scarring alopecia (specifically lichen planopilaris). This means that the PRP injections are basically worthless, and possibly made things worse (although this is just a guess, PRP injections cause swelling which is good in some cases, but from what I've read, lichen planopilaris basically causes hair loss from an over-inflammation of tissue, so I think the PRP injections actually had a negative effect in my case.) I would suggest to any of you considering getting PRP injections to make sure you know what type of hair loss you have before you go in.
Replies (5)
I have bald patches above and behind my ears. My dermatologist suggested I try steroid injections, one per month, over four months. Unfortunately they have not helped so yesterday she took a biopsy as she thinks my hair loss may be caused by scarring alopecia. Guess I shall find out in around two weeks.
Has your doctor prescribed any treatment for the condition? Do you know what causes the over-inflammation of tissue?
I'm sorry for the late reply, I just noticed this! Have you heard back about your biopsy results? My dermatologist also had me do steroid injections at first, and now I'm using a mix of topical steroids whenever I feel itching, as well as Tacrolimus ointment, and I'm taking an oral immuno-suppressive (Plaquenil), also to target the inflammation. Unfortunately people aren't sure what causes this inflammation, and it looks like there are a lot of treatment options just because no one's really sure what the best treatment is. But the first line is steroid injections like you got.
I'm obviously not a doctor, so of course this may be a coincidence, but I did notice that things got better (i.e. less itchy/red) when I switched to Free and Clear shampoo, which you can get at Walgreens. Actually last week I was out of town and using the hotel shampoos, and after a few months of no itching, suddenly it got very itchy and red just after a few days of using these shampoos, so that might at least partially be contributing to the inflammation. But again, no one really knows what causes a lot of these scarring alopecias, so that could have been some other reaction on top of the lichen planopilaris. But it at least probably won't hurt if you try using a gentler shampoo.
Best of luck!