Depo-Provera and Hair Loss

[emilia83]

I got the birth control shot, Depo-Provera, three months ago and for the last month I have been dealing with increased hair fall. It's terrifying. I've always considered myself to have a lot of hair, so I kind of had some to spare, but now when I run my fingers through it it's noticeably thinner (not thin yet, but definitely thinner).

I've talked to my doctor about it and she recommended biotin supplements at first. I told her I've tried biotin but it makes my skin break out really bad, and I have acne-prone skin anyway so it gets pretty crazy. She said prenatal vitamins should help. I've been taking them religiously. I'm going back on the pill, so hopefully this nightmare will end soon, but I wanted to ask LHC for some reassurance.

Has anyone else experienced this? Should I take the biotin and just deal with the acne until my hair is better? Will it slow down? Grow back? I'm being a little irrational, I don't really think I'm going to go bald, but when I see those giant clumps of hair in the shower I get so anxious.

[Firefox7275]

As someone working in lifestyle healthcare, many doctors are woefully lacking knowledge in nutrition and dietetics. Acne from biotin is a sign that the dose you are taking is putting the body under stress, that clearly is not healthy.
http://igorsbelltower.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/infamous-biotin-rant.html
Hair loss is a known side effect from Depo-Provera and it should grow back absolutely normally, I'm not sure there is anything that will be effective whilst you the hormones are still in your system, some of the hairs have now gone into the dormant state.

Really the best solution is not prenatals because these can worsen any imbalances in your diet, but really focus on keeping stress to a minimum and cleaning up your diet and lifestyle. Are you physically active on a daily basis (at least 10,000 steps)? Do you eat a nutrient dense, varied, anti inflammatory wholefood diet (esp. long chain omega-3s and magnesium for stress, fibre to flush excess hormones out of the body)? Do you practice stress management/ relaxation techniques? Stress is pro inflammatory, acne is inflammatory, there are links between inflammation and some types of hair loss, Depo can mess with insulin levels IIRC which might affect skin or hair.

[Panth]

I got the birth control shot, Depo-Provera, three months ago and for the last month I have been dealing with increased hair fall. It's terrifying. I've always considered myself to have a lot of hair, so I kind of had some to spare, but now when I run my fingers through it it's noticeably thinner (not thin yet, but definitely thinner).

I've talked to my doctor about it and she recommended biotin supplements at first. I told her I've tried biotin but it makes my skin break out really bad, and I have acne-prone skin anyway so it gets pretty crazy. She said prenatal vitamins should help. I've been taking them religiously. I'm going back on the pill, so hopefully this nightmare will end soon, but I wanted to ask LHC for some reassurance.

Has anyone else experienced this? Should I take the biotin and just deal with the acne until my hair is better? Will it slow down? Grow back? I'm being a little irrational, I don't really think I'm going to go bald, but when I see those giant clumps of hair in the shower I get so anxious.

Prenatal vitamins won't help unless you are deficient in the vitamins. Many people think that they cause the thicker, nicer hair often seen in pregnancy but in fact it is the hormones of pregnancy that cause that.

Equally, with biotin there is no reason to think that supplementation will assist in hair growth unless you are deficient. (Which it is very rare to be as your gut flora makes plenty enough biotin, plus it is present in many foods.) If you are getting acne, it is definitely a sign that you are overdosing and your body is not happy. The best idea would be to stop!

If the shed is only due to the depo provera (and not stress, dietary deficiencies or undiagnosed illness) then nothing will prevent it or slow it except stopping the depo provera. Equally, as soon as you do stop the problem should be fixed and your hair should start to go back to normal. As most stressors don't cause hair fall per se but rather cause hair to stop being in the anagen (growing) cycle you may not see hair improvement for at least 3 months (as once anagen stops, the hair follicle must go through catagen (~3 wks) and telogen (~3 months) before the old hair falls out of the follicle and a new one starts growing). However, if you remove the stressor (in your case maybe the depo provera) you should not have any permanent damage, just a little wait before things start going back to normal.

[emilia83]

I admit, I haven't been making the best choices nutrition and exercise-wise. If I'm honest, I've been eating too much ice cream and sitting on my butt waaay too often. Also full-time job + full-time school + extracurriculars are not good, especially on top of my already exciteable personality. I probably should have made the diet/stress-hair connection myself. There's so much on here that says that hair is tied to health, but I wasn't really paying attention to it amid the myriad treatments and hair regimens.

Thank you, Firefox, for such a thorough response! Perhaps my priorities aren't quite in line, but I think my hair is the motivator I need to make better lifestyle choices. Though this is LHC, so maybe my priorities aren't so unusual. :)

Panth, I appreciate the reassurance! I was starting to freak myself out, so I'm happy to hear such sensible advice. I just need to be patient.

So I'm just going to eat right, exercise, and practice my stress management. It looks so easy when it's typed out, doesn't it? :shrug:

[Firefox7275]

I admit, I haven't been making the best choices nutrition and exercise-wise. If I'm honest, I've been eating too much ice cream and sitting on my butt waaay too often. Also full-time job + full-time school + extracurriculars are not good, especially on top of my already exciteable personality. I probably should have made the diet/stress-hair connection myself. There's so much on here that says that hair is tied to health, but I wasn't really paying attention to it amid the myriad treatments and hair regimens.

Thank you, Firefox, for such a thorough response! Perhaps my priorities aren't quite in line, but I think my hair is the motivator I need to make better lifestyle choices. Though this is LHC, so maybe my priorities aren't so unusual. :)

Panth, I appreciate the reassurance! I was starting to freak myself out, so I'm happy to hear such sensible advice. I just need to be patient.

So I'm just going to eat right, exercise, and practice my stress management. It looks so easy when it's typed out, doesn't it? :shrug:

Sorry to hear you are so pressured. That does sound like the perfect recipe for systemic inflammation and a body under stress.

I see clients with aesthetic goals all the time, it doesn't phase me because it's a motivator to get them in the door. It does worry me when the aesthetic goal is put ahead of general health, dangerous starvation or fasting diets for fast weight loss for example. Your doctor should have suggested what I did, to take care of your physical and mental wellbeing and healthy hair growth should start taking care of itself. Or referred you to a lifestyle healthcare professional for a targeted regime. There is nothing stopping you getting the basics of a nutrient dense anti inflammatory wholefood diet in place, then manipulating it slightly to take in more nutrients you might particularly desire - long chain omega-3s and magnesium for mental health/ stress, biotin for hair say.

Baby steps: do what you can, maybe make one change a week. Make eating healthier easier and eating unhealthier more challenging. Have nutritious relatively easy to prepare foods in the home at all times and preferably in your car/ desk drawer/ purse, do not keep junk in the house, be disciplined once a week or so when you go to the grocery store (on a full stomach with a shopping list). Avoid 'triggers' like a certain drive through/ corner store/ vending machine - literally walk or drive a different route so you cannot see it or do not carry money you don't need (only on days you need gas say), sit in a different chair at the time of day you usually crave ice cream, maybe an uncomfortable one so you think about standing up and doing something.

It sounds simplistic but it does work, both for smokers and for people eating badly. Hopefully you will get support from your partner or housemate or co-workers, impress upon them you are getting sick, your hair is shedding and you really don't feel good in yourself. Maybe someone will do a pedometer challenge with you?

HTH!

[Panth]

I admit, I haven't been making the best choices nutrition and exercise-wise. If I'm honest, I've been eating too much ice cream and sitting on my butt waaay too often. Also full-time job + full-time school + extracurriculars are not good, especially on top of my already exciteable personality. I probably should have made the diet/stress-hair connection myself. There's so much on here that says that hair is tied to health, but I wasn't really paying attention to it amid the myriad treatments and hair regimens.

Thank you, Firefox, for such a thorough response! Perhaps my priorities aren't quite in line, but I think my hair is the motivator I need to make better lifestyle choices. Though this is LHC, so maybe my priorities aren't so unusual. :)

Panth, I appreciate the reassurance! I was starting to freak myself out, so I'm happy to hear such sensible advice. I just need to be patient.

So I'm just going to eat right, exercise, and practice my stress management. It looks so easy when it's typed out, doesn't it? :shrug:

It is always difficult to make good lifestyle choices (I'm as bad as anyone at it!), but it will help for you to have a motivator and it's fine if your hair is that motivator. Of course, as Firefox has said, the proviso is that you should not make choices "to help your hair" if it will be damaging to your health. Biotin supplementation (particularly in the doses often recommended by enthusiasts on the LHC) can do precisely that - acne, headaches and (in one case) early stage renal failure are the side effects that members here have reported. Your doctor should have given you proper advice (though lifestyle advice is often ill-taken as it's difficult and requires effort) instead of just suggesting pill-popping.

(I'd still consider ditching the depo provera, if you have other contraceptive options. I personally keep it low on my list of contraceptive options because it has been associated with cumulative and possibly irreversible bone loss. Considering that it is estimated that 1 in 3 women over the age of 50 will develop osteoporosis, I personally choose to avoid something that would increase that risk. Have you considered a IUD (hormonal or copper?).)