I’ve been on estrogen full time now for about 4 months (I was on it before but had to quit.) I just started on Prometrium. Should it have any effect on hair growth? I don’t expect it to reduce body hair, but I don’t want it to make me grow anymore, either.
Any info?
No one?
The answer to your question is, yes, it can stimulate hair growth in hormonally vulnerable people.
Check out this chart that details drugs that can stimulate hair growth. It’s from Hair Route Magazine, 2004. Side Bar: Many of us electrologists are deeply disturbed by the lack of information as to whether our trade pub even exsists anymore. At least they still have a website, so maybe there is hope.
http://www.hairroute.com/subscriber/PDF/drugchart.htm
Prometrium is a great drug because it is a natural form of progesterone. The artificial progesterones, called progestins, can cause bothersome problems for some. Prometrium is great for women that have those “I’m so hateful, can’t stop crying, dishes flying PMS blues”.
Dee
Thanks, though I don’t know about that list of drugs. It also lists all estrogens, which of course I take (I am a transsexual) to REDUCE my hair growth. I take estradiol via pill and patch.
Ask any preganant woman about excess hair. Estrogen nutures her hair. Her estrogen levels are high at this time to sustain a pregnancy and she grows more hair, especially on her head. After delivery, the estrogen levels fall and she sheds a lot of hair for several weeks there after. So, estrogen can nuture hair and pills that have a high estrogen content may be more likely to cause hair growth as well. Too little estrogen can cause hair loss in women to the point of balding. Just the right amount can balance with the androgens present to keep hair calm. A lot of problems occur in people that a very sensitive to even just a little hormone, even when tests prove everything to be “normal”. This hormone stuff seems so contradictary. I know I try to think logically about this and sometimes it doesn’t make sense.
The information below is from another source, PDRhealth.com . I bolded out the word estrogen. As you can see, it is listed here as a possible cause of excess hair growth. It’s all about balance and sensitivity.
Dee
Table 1. Medications That Can Cause or Contribute to Excess Hair Growth
Drug Use
Sex hormones
Androgens and estrogens (varied) Combination of male and female hormones often prescribed for symptoms of menopause
Androgenic progestin (varied) Hormone used for a number of reasons, including regulation of the menstrual cycle
Contraceptives (varied)
Prevent pregnancy
Danazol (Danocrine)
Used to treat endometriosis, cysts in the breast, breast cancer, and hereditary swelling of parts of the body (angioedema)
Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS)
Prescribed in older people to help offset a decrease in lean body and bone mass.
Testosterone (Android, Testoderm, Androgel)
Male hormone sometimes used to treat breast cancer in women
Steroids
Anabolic steroids (Primobolan, Parabolan)
Prescribed to help rebuild tissue after a serious injury or illness, to treat some anemias, to treat some kinds of breast cancer in women, and to treat hereditary swelling of various parts of the body (angioedema)
Corticosteroids (varied)
Used to treat inflammation-based diseases like asthma and lupus, and to prevent rejection of transplanted organs
Medications affecting the adrenal or pituitary gland
Aminoglutethimide (Cytadren) Treats tumors that affect the adrenal cortex.
Corticotropin (Acthargel)
Stimulates production of hormones by the adrenal gland
Metyrapone (Metopirone) Used to test for proper function of adrenal glands
Anti-seizure medications
Acetazolamide (Diamox)
Used to treat glaucoma, some epileptic seizures, and to lessen the effects of climbing to high altitudes
Phenytoin (Dilantin) Treats epileptic seizures
Valproate (Depakote) Used to treat epileptic seizures and bipolar disorder
Miscellaneous medications
Cyclosporin (Ciclosporin)
Prevents rejection of transplanted organs, treats rheumatoid arthritis
Diazoxide (Hyperstat) Treats low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
Hexachlorobenzene
Pesticide that may be ingested with contaminated food, water or air. Although this is not a medication, when it is accidentally ingested it can cause hirsutism.
Metoclopramide (Reglan)
Treats symptoms of a stomach problem called diabetic gastroparesis, treats heartburn in patients with esophageal injury due to backflow of gastric acid, used to diagnose some problems of the stomach or intestines
Minoxidil (Rogaine)
Treats high blood pressure, and can be used to promote hair growth
Penicillamine (Cuprimine)
Used for treatment of Wilson’s disease (excessive copper in the body), rheumatoid arthritis, and lead poisoning. Prevents kidney stones
Phenobarbital (Luminal)
Prescribed for hot flashes and migraine headaches
Phenothiazine derivatives (varied) Antihistamines to relieve allergy or hay fever symptoms
Psoralens (varied)
Used, along with ultraviolet light, to treat vitiligo (a disease in which skin color is lost) and psoriasis (a skin condition characterized by red, scaly patches.) Sometimes used to treat white blood cells in a type of lymphoma
Hi, WeRNotAfraid.
One of my friends, who is a doctor, works with pharmacy residents at Ohio State. As we were sipping on our chocolate martini’s the other evening, I thought I would ask her about the estrogen only medications causing unwanted hair growth. My doctor friend said she does not believe that estrogen alone could be responsible, but she said she would contact some residents to do more research and get back to me. Below is the answer I received:
"Hi Dee,
I am the pharmacy resident working with Stephanie at UHC this year.
She forwarded your email to me. From what I found, estrogens do not play
a role in hirtsuitism. In BCPs, the androgenic component of progestins
can cause hair growth. However, I did not find any evidence of
estrogen alone causing this. I hope this helps!"
Well,it didn’t help too much, but I appreciate her response. It makes sense to me, but why do two different charts (pdrhealth and International Hair Route) list estrogen as a possible cause for increased hair growth (in non-pregnant women)??? If anyone would like to add to this discussion, that would be great. I think I will pose this question to the electrologist forum at the AEA website as well and see what I get.
Dee
Hi, WeRNotAfraid.
One of my friends, who is a doctor, works with pharmacy residents at Ohio State. As we were sipping on our chocolate martini’s the other evening, I thought I would ask her about the estrogen only medications causing unwanted hair growth. My doctor friend said she does not believe that estrogen alone could be responsible, but she said she would contact some residents to do more research and get back to me. Below is the answer I received:
"Hi Dee,
I am the pharmacy resident working with Stephanie at UHC this year.
She forwarded your email to me. From what I found, estrogens do not play
a role in hirtsuitism. In BCPs, the androgenic component of progestins
can cause hair growth. However, I did not find any evidence of
estrogen alone causing this. I hope this helps!"
Well,it didn’t help too much, but I appreciate her response. It makes sense to me, but why do two different charts (pdrhealth and International Hair Route) list estrogen as a possible cause for increased hair growth (in non-pregnant women)??? If anyone would like to add to this discussion, that would be great. I think I will pose this question to the electrologist forum at the AEA website as well and see what I get.
Dee
I guess if you took huge doses, it might convert to testosterone? I don’t know. I had to stop taking the Prometrium anyway since it started to give me migraines. I liked it, though; it seemed to give me more energy and helped me to sleep. Too bad I had to stop. By the way, natural progesterone is different from the “progestins” found in birth control pills, which can definitely be androgenic.