Wheel's Story - ( tragic event caused my loss )

[wheels]

I am desperate for help. I don't have a lot of money for anything drastic. Here is my story.

In 2004 I was in an accident and became paralyzed from the waist down. With this for a while my digestive system shut down and they tube fed me for three months. I had the halo on the whole deal.

Well a little bit after the second month hair started falling out at an extreme rate. I could shake my fingers through my hair and a lot would come out. I don't know if this was from the stress from the accident or from the tube fed diet. Up until then there was no problem, my hair was full and thick.

Fast forward to now and it appears the hair has no longer fallen out. It is what would be considered the most common loss where if it went complete I would have the bald on top and ring of hair around the rest of my head.

Along or besides the hair loss my hair seems to be thinner now, meaning each strand is thinner.

This might make you laugh but I can hid the thinning completely with a black sharpie marker of all things. Out of desperation I colored my scalp and it hides the thinning even in bright sun. Which creates all sorts of worries with me. If I sweat will it run, is it dangerous to my skin and will it do damage to my hair in the long run.

What I am looking for which searches on the net isn't helping is a product that will slow, stop and possibly reverse what has happened.

The product could be a foam, pill or even vitamins as long as it works.

This really hit me hard. At 42 now everything has changed for me. I am self conscious because of the chair, losing muscle control my posture is horrible and no trunk muscles has caused me to now have an extremely large midsection.

Putting all of this together has really caused extreme mid-life crises. Seriously, everything hit hard and a couple of years back I took over 200 pills trying to end my life. The next morning my wife said I started gasping for air and when I didn't respond to her she called 911. The whole nine yards. Heart stop, no breathing. They performed CPR, used the defibrillator and after 16 hours they were able to stabilize me to where I could breathe on my own. I spent 8 days in ICU and then a couple of weeks in the mental care unit.


A lot to take in. I don't know if anybody is still with me. I laid it all out so people would know I am serious about getting help.

All of these problems will compound if I am losing my hair and being in the chair everybody looks down on the top of my head.

Can anyone help with a treatment of anything from foam, pills, vitamins or shampoos? Thank you for any and all help to anybody who can help.

 

[wheels]

Re: I think a tragic event caused my loss

Don't know if it is clear in the above post but my hair has stayed the same it appears for years. No more loss or no gain of hair.

 

[Smooth]

Hey wheels, sorry about your story man, good thing that you hand in there, stay strong friend and welcome to the forum!

anyways, you came to the right place, and there is a lot you can do if your lose didn't progress much (the lower the hair line the better) , get on big 3 (nizoral and finasteride are your best bet) and check out the success section, go throw the regimens.
about the costs, im not sure since i im not on the big 3 myself im allergic to nizoral and had some sides from propecia, but people here would gladly tell you, and its not very costy.. i think a few tens a month.

its amazing that after all you gone throw hair loss bothers you too, only proves that this is a real epidemic with serious effects on us!

best of luck and dont be shy to ask people about the costs of their regimens!

 

[Vanzzzz]

Ur hair loss sounds like male pattern baldness. The best is to get on the big3 ASAP. The most important component is propecia or the cheaper alternative, proscar.

However, given your current condition, I am not sure if it is advisable for you to spend money on cosmetic medication. I hope your current medical bills are covered by insurance and affordable by you.

 

[wheels]

I am lucky to have health insurance so this won't effect my medical bills. I will look into the big three. Thanks for the words of advice guys.

 

[Starscream]

It is hard to understand if yours is male pattern baldness or not.
There' s a friend of mine that had serious health problems too (he needed a kidney trasnplant) and started thinning out. After several years he has the same thin hair all over his head, the same density, the same shape from 2003. His hairline is straight and he has the same (low) denisty all over his head so he is not suffering from male pattern but from some health-related hairloss. You have to determine what you have first. Treatments for male pattern baldness are very different from treatments for hair loss not related to genetic male pattern.

 

[wheels]

Not sure what mine is although it is only thinning on the top. The sides, back and even the very front are thick. That is why I think it has something to do with male pattern but the fact it only did it in the months following my accident makes me think it might have been sped up do to stress and/or diet.

I know to some people they might say that with everything the hair shouldn't bother me but it does. I guess it is just one more thing to remind me I'm not who I was.

After the accident I love the car, take the handicap placard off the mirror and I can drive, girls can't see my belly that has became big and I look like an able bodied person. The hair is just another reminder something is different about me now.

I have to search to find out what the big three are and what they will cost. I imagine it is rogaine and propecia and one other.

One thing I do is I wear a back brace/binder at times, this helps my posture and holds my stomach in. When you have no trunk muscles you can't even suck in your gut. Also going over bumps causes my stomach to jiggle. An embarrassing thing.

It's hard mentally to have all of this and look at my wife who stayed the same. She says all the right things but that doesn't stop me from feeling self conscious.

 

[Starscream]

I' m sorry I can' t help you for the other problems you have.
About the hair I suggest you to go to a dermatologist (if it's the same as in Italy) to have a diagnosis. If your loss is related to male pattern you can start minoxidil and fina, otherwise you have to follow other treatments.
Is your hairline perfectly straight like when you were 15 or it is starting to be V-shape?

 

[wheels]

Pretty much perfectly straight. I am Italian American. Have my father's thick wavy Italian hair just recently had this happen. The hair itself is fine for the first time. So not sure if it is falling out only or if it the hair is getting fine so appearing to be falling out.

I tried thickening shampoos. Of course nothing.

 

[Starscream]

Pretty much perfectly straight. I am Italian American. Have my father's thick wavy Italian hair just recently had this happen. The hair itself is fine for the first time. So not sure if it is falling out only or if it the hair is getting fine so appearing to be falling out.

I tried thickening shampoos. Of course nothing.

Post some pictures if you can. If your hairline is straight and the thinning is diffuse maybe your loss is not caused by male pattern baldness. Thickening shampoo is useless, you have to see a doctor (dermatologist I think) to have an accurate diagnosis.

I didn' t understand this part:

Have my father's thick wavy Italian hair just recently had this happen. The hair itself is fine for the first time.

Take a look here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telogen_effluvium

Telogen effluvium is characterized by massive hair loss as a result of early entry of hairs into the telogen phase.[1][2] Emotional or physiological stressful events may result in an alteration of the normal hair cycle. It may be due to a variety of causes, eating disorders, fever, childbirth, chronic illness, major surgery, anemia, severe emotional disorders, crash diets, hypothyroidism, and drugs.[1][3]

 

[wheels]

I didn' t understand this part:

Have my father's thick wavy Italian hair just recently had this happen. The hair itself is fine for the first time.

I meant that I have the same hairline. It has always been thick. This happened in a matter of weeks just a little bit after my accident.

The shock of the accident, physically my neck snapped and mentally, not being able to walk and realizing my whole life will forever be different made me think this wasn't a male pattern baldness or hereditary more of the result from the accident.

It stayed thick throughout the bottom part of my hair (back and sides) but just thinned out on top. As I said too each hair shaft appears to be thinner.

Luckily it seems to have stopped and not gotten any worse though. At times I debate shaving my head but I do hesitate that out of fear of how it will look.

I'll try to get pics but the hairline hasn't changed. I even have the little point in front like Eddie Munster. The hairline is the same as when I was a teenager.

 

[Starscream]

I dunno maybe a male pattern starting from the crown (pattern 3 in the image I posted) or something related to the post accident shock. You must visit a doctor about this.