Hi everyone!
I'm new here and to the world of hair loss. I'm 33/male.
I've read all of the basic info available online about androgenic alopecia as well as the medication/medical options available. However my case is note exactly straightforward so I'm hoping I can get some help. Sorry in advance for the length of this, I just need to be 100% sure without a doubt because I can't afford to live in denial anymore.
My main obstacle until now has been denial. But since I can no longer deny what's happening, I need to take action, get informed, and make an action plan.
Long story short, I have an auto-immune (Crohn's) condition that, when it flares, is severe and life threatening. The only way to treat it is to take high dose prednisone, which is a synthetic and MUCH stronger form of prednisone. Eventually when the flare is over, I stop the prednisone, and my hair gets super thin. The reason is that when cortisol is super high, hair grows more lush, and then when the cortisol plummets the hair goes dormant. There could also be some telogen effluvium PLUS androgenic alopecia happening, because the flare was at its most severe point 3-4 months ago. However, the male pattern aspect is undeniable (see attached pictures).
I also lose all my bodily iron and my hemoglobin drops extremely low, into the 70s (7.0), so I become very blood deficient. I am still anemic as I write this but better than I was. I get iron IVs once a month since I can't absorb iron orally. I also have nutrient deficiencies across the board that I'm now correcting.
This year, there is a new variable. I started taking 50mg pregnenolone and 25mg DHEA to help me get off of prednisone because that drug is utter hell and destroys your body. Prednisone shuts down all adrenal function, including androgens, so you start to look like an elderly person. It gave me osteoporosis. Anyway, I feel great taking these, but recent hormone tests show elevated estrogen (not above normal, but elevated for me), above normal testosterone (and in turn DHT), and above normal prolactin (which happens when estrogen is too high). I suspect that my hormone replacement is doing this. I'm seeing an endocrinologist soon to get it all sorted, but I need to act fast.
But now, either due to the hormone treatment, the low iron, or just the general shock of recovery, the crown of my head has lost more hair than ever before. I have been thinning on my crown for years now, but very, very slowly, in a way that I could accept. Once my blood levels get back up to normal, my hair usually gets thicker and I can hide it -- but not so anymore. I'm of Irish descent so my hair is naturally thin in the first place, but now it's REALLY thin back there. Also as you can see the corners of my hair line are receded, but that has also been happening for a long time. All the male cousins on my mother's side who are around my age or older have completely lost their hair, almost 100%. So I may be doomed. However, my dad's side shows no hair loss, and my father had none.
I do notice hair coming out in the shower, but not handfuls like some people mention. The sides and back of my head don't shed hair at all in the shower, but any time I move my hand through my wet crown, there is always hair, even if it's just 1 or 2 at a time. There's never none.
My questions:
- can iron deficiency anemia cause or accelerate what we're seeing here?
- can nutrient deficiency in general cause this?
- if the hormones I'm taking are accelerating this, could stopping them recover the lost hair?
- can the lost hair be recovered in general or am I screwed?
- what kind of doctor would I see to figure out exactly what's happening? a dermatologist?
- what impacts does finasteride have on the body long-term? can it harm the liver? I heard of something called post-finasteride syndrome that scares me a bit. I also don't want my libido or energy level to be messed up
Thanks for reading, I am very grateful that a forum like this exists. I checked out Raypeat and while I do really appreciate alternative thought, thread after thread of endless academic hormone talk started to get too confusing and I couldn't figure out what to do anymore.
I'm new here and to the world of hair loss. I'm 33/male.
I've read all of the basic info available online about androgenic alopecia as well as the medication/medical options available. However my case is note exactly straightforward so I'm hoping I can get some help. Sorry in advance for the length of this, I just need to be 100% sure without a doubt because I can't afford to live in denial anymore.
My main obstacle until now has been denial. But since I can no longer deny what's happening, I need to take action, get informed, and make an action plan.
Long story short, I have an auto-immune (Crohn's) condition that, when it flares, is severe and life threatening. The only way to treat it is to take high dose prednisone, which is a synthetic and MUCH stronger form of prednisone. Eventually when the flare is over, I stop the prednisone, and my hair gets super thin. The reason is that when cortisol is super high, hair grows more lush, and then when the cortisol plummets the hair goes dormant. There could also be some telogen effluvium PLUS androgenic alopecia happening, because the flare was at its most severe point 3-4 months ago. However, the male pattern aspect is undeniable (see attached pictures).
I also lose all my bodily iron and my hemoglobin drops extremely low, into the 70s (7.0), so I become very blood deficient. I am still anemic as I write this but better than I was. I get iron IVs once a month since I can't absorb iron orally. I also have nutrient deficiencies across the board that I'm now correcting.
This year, there is a new variable. I started taking 50mg pregnenolone and 25mg DHEA to help me get off of prednisone because that drug is utter hell and destroys your body. Prednisone shuts down all adrenal function, including androgens, so you start to look like an elderly person. It gave me osteoporosis. Anyway, I feel great taking these, but recent hormone tests show elevated estrogen (not above normal, but elevated for me), above normal testosterone (and in turn DHT), and above normal prolactin (which happens when estrogen is too high). I suspect that my hormone replacement is doing this. I'm seeing an endocrinologist soon to get it all sorted, but I need to act fast.
But now, either due to the hormone treatment, the low iron, or just the general shock of recovery, the crown of my head has lost more hair than ever before. I have been thinning on my crown for years now, but very, very slowly, in a way that I could accept. Once my blood levels get back up to normal, my hair usually gets thicker and I can hide it -- but not so anymore. I'm of Irish descent so my hair is naturally thin in the first place, but now it's REALLY thin back there. Also as you can see the corners of my hair line are receded, but that has also been happening for a long time. All the male cousins on my mother's side who are around my age or older have completely lost their hair, almost 100%. So I may be doomed. However, my dad's side shows no hair loss, and my father had none.
I do notice hair coming out in the shower, but not handfuls like some people mention. The sides and back of my head don't shed hair at all in the shower, but any time I move my hand through my wet crown, there is always hair, even if it's just 1 or 2 at a time. There's never none.
My questions:
- can iron deficiency anemia cause or accelerate what we're seeing here?
- can nutrient deficiency in general cause this?
- if the hormones I'm taking are accelerating this, could stopping them recover the lost hair?
- can the lost hair be recovered in general or am I screwed?
- what kind of doctor would I see to figure out exactly what's happening? a dermatologist?
- what impacts does finasteride have on the body long-term? can it harm the liver? I heard of something called post-finasteride syndrome that scares me a bit. I also don't want my libido or energy level to be messed up
Thanks for reading, I am very grateful that a forum like this exists. I checked out Raypeat and while I do really appreciate alternative thought, thread after thread of endless academic hormone talk started to get too confusing and I couldn't figure out what to do anymore.