Some people have asked what are my 5 failed hair loss treatments I made mention of in a previous post.
Important to note, everyone is different and some of these medications do actually work for other people, for me they were a no go.
There are actually a few more than this, but these are the main ones.
I separate them into two categories, ones I took, but didn’t have a negative impact on my life really, so I didn’t regret it.
And then there are the others I took that I regretted.
The three I didn’t regret and I took within the first two years of my hair loss, approximately 1999-2001:
- Nioxin
- Rogaine
- Finasteride (Propecia)
The two I do regret, and took from approximately 2000-2013:
- Ortho Tri-Cyclen
- Aldacone 200mg (Brand name of Spironolactone)
If I had a do-over, I personally would never have gotten back on the pill, the birth control pill caused my hair loss and although the one that kicked it in was considered a high androgen index birth control pill (Loestrin FE), I also personally don’t believe there is such a thing as a “hair-friendly” pill. I know this because of the amount of women I have communicated with over the years, many of whom cited the “Hair Friendly” ones as being the cause of their hair loss, including the one I was put on.
The Aldactone I can explain another time.
Again, there are women that DO benefit from the things I didn’t, but this is what didn’t work for me.
Side note, I am wearing a wig in this video below in case that isn’t known by anyone, although I think most people reading this on my site do. I have had hair loss for 22 years and I have worn wigs for 9 of those.
Share your thoughts and comments, would love to hear from you.
Sending Much Love To All,
XOXO
~Y
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Can you tell me why you regret taking Spironolactone? I am taking Spironolactone 200mg a day. I don’t think I see any improvement in my hairloss but when I told my dermatologist she recommended that I still take it. She told me that if I stop taking it I might see my hairloss speed up.
I have tried everything minoxidil, minoxidil compound, Spironolactone, laser comb and PRP. My once very thick hair is now thin hair and getting thinner and thinner. As you know it is torture seeing your hair disappear before your eyes. I do not see a lot of hair fall out it just disappears. Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Judy –
The answer to this could be a video in itself or a post, but to summarize, and this is just my personal feelings and experience, I never felt good about taking a high blood pressure pill when I was 22 approximately) – I didn’t have high blood pressure. The amount I was put on was HIGH, it was 200mg, and I was told that by the doctor , that was the only amount where efficacy could be seen, any less less was pointless basically (according to him). I was young, desperate and scared about what was happening. So I took it. I cannot say I ever saw results from it to my knowledge, and the reason why I say it in that way, is because the truth is, I have no way to know how my hair loss would have progressed had I not taken It. But I can say my hair continued to massively decline. I would experience lightheadedness which I’m sure was due to taking a diuretic high blood pressure pill at an age my body didn’t need it. I felt trapped on this because I knew that there was a risk of shedding if I STOPPED taking it, and I didn’t feel I could emotionally sustain that. So I was stuck on Aldactone for approx 13 years, regretting it the WHOLE way through, wishing I never took it, and kicking myself for every taking it. Just what we need when we grabble with hair loss. I only felt strong enough to risk the shed and get off of it AFTER I started wearing wigs. I honestly felt I was compromising my health and I also wasn’t seeing any visible notable gain. Hence I ended up starting to wear wigs in 2012. With all that said, I have heard from women who have indicated they did feel they saw benefit from it. This is just my thoughts and experience. You can definitely have shedding from stopping Aldactone, also any benefits (IF ANY) received from the usage would also disappear if you stopped taking it, that’s true for any hair loss treatment.
XOXO
~Y
I too take Aldactone. My hair is still falling out. Why did you stop?
Hi Joann – I just answered above 🙂 xoxo
Hi,
Thank you so much for your reply to why you regretted taking Spironolactone. I didn’t know if you might have had a bad health issue from it. You cleared that up for me in your explanation. Thanks again! I can justify taking Spironolactone because I do have high blood pressure and I am older. My dermatologist recommended that I take it for hairloss and high blood pressure, but my regular doctor does not recommend it. The sad part is I have no way of telling if my hairloss will speed up if I stop taking Spironolactone. I also will never know if it is helping my hairloss. We have so many decisions to make with hairloss, and yet we will never know if it was the right one. That is just one of the unfortunate situations we have to face with hairloss.