HI! I'm new here and have some questions

[mz lala]

Hi all, I just found this website and hopefully can find some of the answers I am looking for.

About 3 weeks ago, maybe a little less, I started losing a lot more hair than normal. At first I started noticing it as I washed my hair, as I washed the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair I noticed a lot of strands coming out. This continued on for about a week until it actually started frightening me so much was coming out.

At first I thought it was a hair product I was using, that had a pretty high silicone content. I thought maybe between that and using it with a hair dryer is was starting to damage my hair as I have never had the best of luck with silicones in my hair products.

I quit using the product and tho the condition of my hair did improve, the hair loss did not stop. And it has not stopped.

Last week I visited a doctor. She did little more than ask me a few questions and then send me to the lab for thyroid tests. Today I got the call back that my thyroid tests had come back normal (they were a 2.0 and I was informed that the normal for the lab was 2.25) She basically told me that my hair was probably just going thru a phase where I was shedding a lot and if I had anymore problems I could always come back. I felt very dissatisfied with her response. She did not seem completely sure herself and left it at that.

So now I am stuck on my own. I feel like she probably wouldn't have even done the thyroid test had I not insisted on it. I decided that I will give it another 2 weeks or so, if I see no improvement I will go back and demand more testing. I wish I could do something more right now but it is hard for me to do so when I have no medical insurance (I am only 19 years old, I have a parttime job but it does not cover me with medical insurance and since I am not currently in school I am no longer covered on my parents insurance)

I feel really at a loss of what to do. Sometimes I can just run my fingers thru my hair and tons will come out. Its very scary for me and I'm afraid of losing my hair. My hair has been sourta fine before this since I damaged it with a lot of hair dye and bleaching when I was younger, but even with all that I have never noticably lost this much hair, which makes the doctors response of "hair just going thru a phase" seem silly to me.

And since I was almost convinced it was my thyroid and it wasn't..I don't know what steps to take next...

Any advice would me so very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Vanessa118377]

Hello Mz Lala, glad you found us here.

It sounds like you may be experiencing a bout of Teleogen Effluvium. That's when a "shock" to the body causes an increase in shedding. You could experience 2, 3 or even 4 times as much shedding as you normally do. Try to think back 2-3 months ago...where you extremely sick? Did you have any surgery? Did you start/stop or switch birth control pills? Did you experience any type of mental or physical stress? Telogen Effluvium usually doesn't happen until 2-3 months after the "trigger" and can last another 3-12 months. Some chronic cases of Telogen Effluvium can go on for years. Telogen Effluvium can also trigger Androgenic Alopecia if there is a history of it in your family. If it is just Telogen Effluvium it should reverse itself in a few months. Try not to stress out about it too much because that will only make it worse and prolong it.

Keep us posted!

Vanessa

 

[Guest]

Hi Mz Lala,

I'm very sorry to hear about your hair loss. I too am only 19 years old. But you're doing a very good thing by researching and asking around for advice.

What Vanessa said about telogen effluvium is correct. If indeed you do have Telogen Effluvium, it will correct itself.

Aside from thyroid, many other hormonal and nutritional imbalances can cause hair loss.

Going to this page should help you out a bit in terms of what to ask for

http://www.heralopecia.com/guide/part3.php

Many times, women have an iron deficiency and do not know it. Having low iron and ferritin levels can cause shedding, by the way.

Are you on birth control?

Here is another page that gives you some more information on telogen effluvium, or hair shedding

http://www.heralopecia.com/guide/part2b.php

Come back and let us know how you are doing!

Laura

PS What brand of shampoo was it? Just curious.