Giving Birth a Year Ago or NuvaRing Causing Female Hair Loss?

Hello Dr,

I am writing to you today because I am desperate. I am a 26 yr old woman. For as long as I can remember i have had thin hair. It runs in my family. I had a baby oct 1st of 2007 and noticed that my hair started falling out more than usual a couple of months ago. I don’t know if it is because of giving birth or because i started using the birth control NUVARING. I believe one of the side effects is hair loss but i am not quite sure. I am going crzy because as days progress my hair keeps falling and i don’t know what to do. I have not taken anything because i don’t know what to take or what shampoos or treatments are good for you. I don’t have insurance and i don’t have a lot of money where I can afford a visit to a dermatologist or even a doctor. I have been doing research and I came across alopecia areata (i think) and I actually think i might sufffer from that or maybe it’s the childbirth or even the birth control or even a combnination of all! Please advice me in what i should do. Thank you so much

We have discussed the NuvaRing birth control causing hair loss (see NuvaRing and Hair Loss). I can not advise you on what you should with with your birth control treatment, because if I tell you to stop using something which may be the cause of your hair loss, I would be taking on the role of your doctor (which I am not). Alopecia areata is probably not what you have here, unless you have distinct bald spots. There is no substitute to seeing a good, caring doctor.

We are both in California and you indicated that you live about 50 miles from my office. I see women for hair loss, and still do this free of charge (I do not expect to charge for these visits at least for the remainder of the year). I’d be happy to examine your hair to see if it is alopecia areata, at the very least.