New and confused. Dermatologist says pcos does not cause hair thinning?
 

Hi! I am new to here. I am 20 years old with pcos. I have been experiencing hair loss for about a year but I've noticed much more loss and thinning the past 3 or 4 months after stopping my birth control pills (could this be the cause?) anyway I went to the dermatologist and she told me that pcos does not usually cause hair thinning and shedding... Am I crazy or something all I read in books and online is that hair loss can be a symptom of pcos. She did a biopsy of my scalp because I also have scalp pain. No results yet but has anyone else had a biopsy done and got results back? I'm just wondering what it could be or if it's even related to pcos. Thanks so much!

PCOS causes extra hair on the face and body. Often women get thicker and darker facial hair and more hair on the chest, belly, and back.
Thinning hair on the scalp is sometimes another symptom.

A dermatologis is not going to know nearly as much about pcos and it's associated symptoms as an endocrinologist.

Because hair loss is a common symptom of endocrine disorders, I would HIGHLY recommend you see an endocrinologist.

As for birth control, it mimics pregnancy to some degree and during pregnancy women hair loss is inhibited, resulting in temporarily thicker hair. When the pregnancy is over all the "saved up" hair is lost. It seems likely that stopping bc could have a similar effect.

I do not have a pcos diagnosis, but rather metabolic syndrome, a different source of insulin resistance. A woman can have both pcos and metabolic syndrome.

As I understand it, pcos can exacerbate pattern baldness (bald or thinning spots at the crown and forehead hairline). Pattern baldness is usually genetic and in women is usually recessive (if the men in both sides of your family tend toward male pattern baldness, you may have inherited the genes).

I was adopted, so I don't know if my thinning hair is genetic or a result of the metabolic syndrome or some other endocrine issue like hypothyroid.

I am borderline hypothroid and have lost most of my eyebrows to thinning as well, which is a classic symptom of low thryroid as is my low body temperature.

I agree with Kaplods that you should see an endocrinologist. I lost hair due to low thyroid hormones also. Other symptoms of low thyroid I experienced was edema and leg cramps. The endocrinologist ended up having to adjust not only the amount of hormone that I needed but the type.

I have pcos and was losing a lot of hair and it was thining at an alarming rate. However, I had a vitamin D defciancy and once it was corrected then my hair stopped falling out by the handfull and has grown back in nicely. So yeah I agree with everyone here see a endocrinologist or at the very least a doctor who specializes in these types of disorders.