I was diagnosed with PCOS in 2017 due to horrible acne, irregular cycles and painful cycles. Was put on birth control (which I regret doing). Stopped birth control in 2019 due to reading how horrible it is for the body and this kickstarted my hair thinning/loss.

Family med refused labs (vitamins and minerals, hormones) stating it’s “expensive and unnecessary.” Gynecologist only did CBC and everything came back “normal.” Went to see endocrinologist and she ran the same tests and very few hormones and only 1 or 2 thyroid tests. Everything came back “normal”, despite my testosterone being at 70 and ferritin 14-24. This was back in 2020/2021.

I was told to get back on birth control but I refused. Went to see a dermatologist and she did a scalp biopsy and ran a minimal blood panel. It came back “normal” despite the same readings. Biopsy came back “inconclusive” but she still diagnosed me with Androgenic Alopecia? She started me on 5% minoxdil topical and spiro 50mg oral. Neither worked. She titrated my spiro to 150mg and it did nothing.

It was a slow loss overtime and it’s still happening. I’ve been extremely stressed in the last 6 months and as of this month, my hair is falling out A LOT. I’ve also been eating poorly due to depression. I tried researching what to do but there’s SO much information (as well as conflicting information) on the web, that it makes me not want to do anything.

I do know that cortisol can be a huge factor in hair loss. I’ve tried ashwaganda but I don’t think it’s the pure kind and idk where to get the pure kind. There’s a bottle of Mary Ruth’s vitamin liquid but I haven’t been consistent with that and idk if that would even help any

So I just want to start small, and figure out what labs I need to request and what does each one look for? Despite it possible being “normal,” what are the OPTIMAL levels that these labs need to be in?

I was taking Three Arrows Heme Iron supplements but they were getting expensive and its protocol required me to take several at a time. I don’t want to be overwhelmed with a strict diet and strict timeframe of when and how many supplements to take. My mental health is already pooped enough.

I feel like my providers weren’t advocating for me when I asked for a full hormone panel, as well as the vitamins and minerals. I’m the one paying for the labs, why refuse me that?

-Meditation is hard for me. I can’t bring myself to empty my mind due to my ADHD. Idk how people can achieve it

-Dieting is hard, I am bodybuilding and trying to get in as much protein but these past 3-4 weeks, I’ve been eating crappy foods. This is due to stress, depression, and many other things. Meal prepping is mentally exhausting, another thing to add to my list of mentally exhausting things. I’ll down a couple of Fairlife 42g bottles along with some eggs, chicken breakfast sausages, something like that