Hey everyone,
Just thought I would post information about my case in the hopes that someone may have answers. I am looking for information and help, Anyone who wishes to come at me with the stories of how dangerous steroids are etc please save it. I am fully aware of the dangers. Here is my story.

I have a full time job in sports, It pays well and I have always enjoyed it, However when competing at the top level I realised that steroid use was huge amoung the top guys. It finally got to the point that I could longer climb the ladder in this sport without using steroids.
I first used steroids in early 2009, I injected testosterone for 8 weeks at 600mgs a week. After I stopped use of the steroids I was advisted to take tablets to make my body produce natural testosterone again, which I did. Around 2 months after I had stopped all use I noticed that I no longer grew facial hair, Also Hair on my arms stopped growing. I never thought anything of it at the time since I had been lucky when using the steroids and had not suffered any side effects. I had no other hair loss. In early 2010 I used steroids again, The dose was a little bigger and longer 800mgs per week for 12 weeks, At around the 5th week I noticed a bald patch at the back of my head. I continued the dose I was taken and when I finished the injections the patch grew back very quickly, Within the space of 3 weeks the patch was almost 90% gone. I once again took pills so my body would begin to re-produce testosterone again (the pills are nolvadex). I woke up one more to see that Patch that was almost gone was starting to re-appear, It was getting bigger by the day, I also noticed a patch on my chest, Over the next few weeks I was losing hair all over my body very quickly. Within 6 to 8 month I had developed alopecia universalis. I remember checking my body, I could not find one single hair. I went to the doctor (I have seen many doctors and must admit that 90% have been really bad in dealing with this condition, Almost like you are wasting their time) I had my bloods check and all came back as normal. I then got an appoinment with the top doctor dealing with auto-immune conditions. He also took my blood samples and informed me that my body was showing no signs of an autoimmune disease (is this normal for people with alopecia ? )



This is the part of my story were I would be interested in finding out peoples opinions. I was not convinced that the steroids had caused my hair loss, I had scannned the internet looking for similar cases but found nothing. I went to another doctor who told me that high amounts of testosterone can make your hairline reced, However he did not think it would cause AU. In late 2010 I used injectable testosterone again. The does was 600mgs for 12 weeks, After 3 weeks I noticed hair growing on my face, By week 5 it begain to grow on my head, I couldnt understand it. I was going through one of the most stressful times of my life and my hair was growing back very fast (white hair that started to get darker with time). It got to the point that after 9 weeks I had to shave my face again. By 12 weeks I had to also shave my head, I was growning hair all over my body. After I stopped injecting testosterone, The hair slowly stopped grown, within 4 weeks I was back to were I started, AU. I decided to see a doctor who delt with hormones and testing. I explained my history and also how my hair grew back with testosterone injections, He took blood samples and check all of my hormone levels which came back as normal. He explained to me that testoterone has no function on hair growth and that he could not see any link between injecting testosterone and hair regrowth. I wanted to get to the bottom of all of this, My bloods were showing no signs of an autoimmune disease. I would spend hours upon hours looking for answers on the internet. I have not found anyone who has lost their hair from steroid use. I decided to try again. I injected testosterone for 10 weeks at 600mgs per week. Once again my hair started to regrow. I have since stopped and so has the growth of my hair so there is a link between testosterone and my hair. If anyone out there has any help for me I would love to hear it. If people want to come on and talk about the dangerous of steroid abuse please save it.

Thank you all in advance

Andy

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Hi greg thanks for info, at the moment just doing the waiting thing to se if the docs can sort something out. They have admitted that the tablets I was taking for cholesterol are a major factor in the hair loss but they are unwilling to try anything, preferring the waiting game. The only other details they have of anyone relating to the statins was a person who took them for a couple of months noticed the hair loss stopped taking the tablets and it took 6 months for hair to start growing back and several months before full growth. Unfortunately I took the tablets for several years with small hair loss due to not sticking to the regime, then in 2010 (May) took the tablets (strongest available for those of asian origin as the statin seems to stay in the blood etc) as prescribed (hair loss rate increased) stopped taking them in September and by December had lost almost everything on my body, and head. Hairs are attempting to grow but struggling, I wait and see.
Just wanted others to know that there has been a big push in docs prescribing statins for cholesterol and other ailments and these tablets have had varying effects an different people I know taking some version of the tablet none of them good.


Hey, nice to hear of compliments, shows everyones view is different and that we should avoid prejudging ourselves and others as we don`t necessarily know what someones thinking when they look at us.

take care
I was at one time taking an estrogen blocker as a workout supplement, thats when i developed my first spot. I've always thought that hormones do play a role in some people's alopecia. I hoped that getting off the supplement would reverse the balding but my alopecia has slowly gotten worse over about a year.
Hi Mike,

Would the estrogen blocker and creatine have similar effects boosting (either directly or indirectly) the levels of testosterone?

I'm still quite sure that mine is related to my training / creatine.
I've heard that by blocking estrogen you are indirectly raising your testosterone. I'm not so sure about creatine though. I'm always on and off creatine. i usually go on for about a month then off for two weeks. I've always wondered if maybe preworkout shakes could be a cause(they are pretty harsh on my stomach). My family thinks so.
INot sure about the preworkout stuff, that's mostly protein and amino acid stuff right?
I know some of them have creatine, others have stimulants....
Can't see them having a hormonal effect other than the indirect test boost as mentioned.
Although if they are harsh on your stomach, that can't be good!
I'm a non-dairy guy so don't use the whey powder protein shakes...
If you were to ask me, I'd say a regualr protein shake would do no harm, in fact boosting your protein is good for your hair/skin ight?
Alot of the preworkout supplements out today are usually pretty high in caffeine with some creatine and a whole list of other ingredients that are supposed to increase your workout effectiveness. I know that by lifting heavy weights you are naturally increasing your test a little bit, i doubt by much though. I sometimes think i might be non-dairy, seems like everytime i have cereal my stomoach is always bloated. I should probably go to a food allergist doctor; i've heard of people treating their alopecia by eliminating foods they are allergic too from their diet.

As far as protein goes, it is supposed to make your hair and nails grow faster because they are essentially dead protein( or something like that). I noticed that when i do take in a lot of protein my nails do grow quickly.

I still think hormones have something to do with alopecia in our cases. I was 21 years old and had a really thick head of hair, I started taking a somewhat powerful estrogen blocker(Novedex xt- which is recently banned now...) and i start noticing spots on my head two weeks later. I think i might setup an appointment to see what my hormone/thyroid levels are at.
No harm having your bloods taken for sure.
Hi everyone,
Just to add, I have read that taken estrogen blockers can seriously effect your immune system. When taken steroids your body's estrogen production goes up. When you come off steroids it is important to take estrogen blockers (nolvadex etc) to lower the high amounts of estrogen in the body so it can begin to produce it's natural testosterone production again. I now feel that taken these estrogen blockers after the steroids is the reason I lost my hair. I started to lose my hair a week after I started to take the estrogen blockers. So yes, messing around with estrogen in the body can cause hair loss IMO. Maybe a reason why girls can become AU while going through puburity

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