As women approach menopause, they often experience changes in their bodies, including hair loss. The American Women's Association estimates that 30 percent of women experience some form of hair loss or thinning as they go through menopause. The hair loss can leading to concerns about how long the loss will last and whether they will be left completely bald. Hair loss following post-menopause can be attributed to several factors, and while it can be alarming, for most women it does not last forever.
Thyroid
According to to the American Thyroid Association, the most common cause of hair loss in women during the post-menopausal period is a low functioning thyroid. Symptoms of a low functioning thyroid include fatigue, dry skin, weight gain and hair loss. These are also symptoms of menopause, which leads many women to attribute their thinning hair to menopause without getting their thyroid levels checked.
If the hair loss or hair thinning is caused by a low functioning thyroid it will not stop until the underlying cause is addressed. Checking thyroid levels is done through a simple blood test, and if the levels are low, you will be placed on a daily synthetic thyroid medication pill. Once your doctor determines the correct dosage, which can take several months to achieve, your hair thinning and loss should significantly slow or stop all together.
Hormones
In addition to thyroid issues, a change in hormone levels can also cause significant hair loss in women who are past menopause. A woman's hormones fluctuate, sometimes widely during the period of menopause leaving the woman with a decrease or increase in many elements, including testosterone. If a woman has a large increase in her testosterone levels following menopause, she may experience hair loss or thinning much in the same pattern that a man experiences as he ages.
A blood test can determine the level of male and female hormones in the body, and medication can be prescribed to adjust those levels so that hair loss or thinning is reduced or halted.
Hormone replacement therapy does carry some risks, so it is important to discuss it with your doctor and determine whether it is the right solution for you.
Stress
Another significant factor in hair loss for post menopausal women is stress. It can take several months for a stress factor in someone's life to trigger hair loss. Therefore, when seeking the cause of hair loss or thinning, it is important to look back over the previous 90 days. If a friend or loved one died, a divorce occurred, a job was lost or some serious factor happened, the hair loss could be a result of stress. Each person handles stress differently, so it can sometimes be difficult to determine whether hair loss and thinning is being caused by stress or by an underlying medical issue.
Medications
Medication can trigger hair loss in women who are past menopause. Several heart medications, as well as medications prescribed for other issues, have been known to create hair loss in some women. If it is found that your medication is the underlying cause of your hair loss, your doctor may be able to prescribe a different medication that will address the problem without causing your hair to fall out. As soon as the medication is changed the hair loss should cease.
Genetics
For some women, hair loss after menopause is heredity, meaning not a lot that can be done to stop it. For women who suffer from genetic hair loss, the length of time it will occur depends on how long it lasted and how severe it was for other women in their families.
Time Frame
Menopause affects each woman differently, and the problems and issues that come along with it can be varied. If you are experiencing hair loss or notice that your hair is thinning you should make an appointment with your doctor to determine the cause and see if it can be addressed through medical intervention.
Tags: hair loss, hair loss, hair loss thinning, loss thinning, your doctor, your hair
