[Jansen83]

Hello. I was on birth control for about 10 years, taking generics of Ortho Tri-Cyclen, most recently, Tri-Previfem. I went off the pill this past October... and over the past few weeks I've noticed a great amount of hair loss. It's mostly after I shower and as I'm styling my hair, but it's a lot of hair. A few years back I went through the same thing when I briefly stopped birth control. I ended up going back on it for this exact reason, too much hair loss. I don't want to go back on it this time, as my husband and I are possibly hoping to start a family soon. I asked my doctor about his before I went off the pill, and he suggested taking a multi vitamin. I've been doing that since September, along with taking extra Biotin. Obviously, it's not working. What can I do?? My hair is thin enough without losing all this extra!

[Little]

Get pregnant fast. Poor advice, right? But it's all I have to give to you - this same thing will probably happen after you give birth too. Hormones interrupt the natural falling-out of our hair, and when we stop taking them (or they stop being produced in high quantities, like after having a child,) all the hair that should have fallen out months ago decides it's time to go.
It will slow down/stop eventually, and in my experience other people didn't notice; it was just ME feeling insecure about having thin hair. It takes a few months, but the thickness of your hair will come back with new growth!

[Ashlee T.]

I experienced the opposite : tremendous hair loss while ON the pill. I would recommend paying particular attention to your vitamins and nutrients. Be sure you are getting what you need. Add Biotin to your daily vitamin regimen. Make sure you're getting good sources of vitamin E.

[Jansen83]

Thanks for your replies & advice. It's great to know I'm not the only one who is dealing with this. I increased my Biotin intake to 6000mcg per day. I am hoping that helps a little. I am also hoping the shedding doesn't last for long. I read about Vitex on another board. Is anyone familiar with it?

[ItsASecret]

I increased my Biotin intake to 6000mcg per day.

May I ask what the label on your Biotin says about the daily amount and the dose of one pill? The average adequate intake of Biotin is about 35mcg a day, so I am naturally curious as to why you are taking 6000mcg/day.

[Jansen83]

Whoops, I meant 3000mcg. Here is what I'm taking (1000mcg per pill, 3 times a day) [link removed by admin - outbound links never allowed]

[ItsASecret]

Yeah, red flag an online drug store. 1000mcg per pill is a lot, 3000mcg a day is a lot and online drug market stores are often lying about what they put in their product. I strongly suggest you do not take online products of any sort. Right now you are taking about 100 times the dose that is listed on legitimate medical sites (most are going to list 35-100mcg/day). A safer approach would be to go to the pharmacy and ask the pharmacist which brand they recommend, if it is one at 1000mcg pills at least you know it is a safer bottle than that of online sources.

[Jansen83]

Oh no, I didn't buy it from that online store. I bought it at a local drug store in my town. I just googled it to get a picture of the bottle so you could see it.

[Jansen83]

I believe these pills are sold at most local drug stores, Walgreens, CVS, etc. So I didn't think there was any harm? I saw several different brands...the lowest mcg being 1000.

[Little]

If it's a green bottle with yellow/orange labeling, I have only seen it go up to 1000mcg. You should really ask your OB or GYN about a high dosage before beginning TTC. It may be harmless, but better to arm your doc with ALL your symptom and supplemental info. You may even be able to just phone in this info and question, since you'll be emptying your pockets into the OB Bill Fund soon enough.