I’m actually ready to shave my hair off I can’t cope with this.

I lost a lot of hair after several very stressful life events and then constant illness culminating in pneumonia last year. It was coming out in handfuls, I had bald patches, and what was left was so dry and damaged.

It's only in the last 2-3 months that my hair has actually started to thicken up a bit, and actually grow. Also my nails, how are your nails?

I had all the blood tests, and they found nothing. So things I did as I've no idea what actually helped!

• I changed my shampoo and conditioner - I use Kin Kind solid bars, the protein one Give Me Strength and one for damaged hair Give Me More
• I found a collagen that suited me - I use Wild Nutrition
• I massage my scalp daily
• I take Solgar Skin, Hair and Nails vitamins
• I also take a really good quality Omega oils supplement

I'm not sure if this helped, but I have IBS and this helps that.... but who knows?! I take a mushroom supplement. The one I take is called Rainbow Dust, which sounds dody AF but is actually really good.

I was going to ask about a autoimmune condition. I had a massive flare up and had similar hair loss. It did grow back. I spent a fortune on private consultations, which I don't think made a difference.

@Deebee90The friend I mentioned in my previous post also has IBD and her hair loss looked exactly like yours.

I thought it was related to menopause but I also have IBD, Ulcerative Colitis. I never thought it could also be that.

Exactly the same happened to me after a bad IBD flare combined with anaemia.

My Dr reckoned it was TE and it would grow back and he was right in my case. I lost about 50% of my hair, but it is all back now, possibly thicker than ever.

Cutting it shorter helped with the regrowth, I went from bra strap length to a bob.

I can clearly remember how distressing it was, so keeping my fingers crossed you have a good result in the end too.

All my hair fell out just over 9 years agonwhen I was in my mid 20s a few months before our wedding. I made the decision to shave it before it got too sparse. Eyebrows and eyelashes also fell out. I ended up having my eyebrows tattooed on.

It only started growing back this year when I started methotrexate (for an unrelated reason). Also you won't be able to take that if TTC.

There is some fabulous wigs out there op.
I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Sorry to hijack but this sounds like Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia (I have it.) Have you spoken to a dermatologist about it? I’m taking hydroxychloriquine which was stopped the inflammation and hence no more hair loss…

Have you seen your results though? I only say because mine were literally on the line between normal and under and my GP was trying to tell me they were normal. Their baseline is just an average figure from data, not specific to your own body. My bloods now come bar with an indicator arrow, so even if they GP rattles off everything is "normal" I can see I'm low on X and Y and get a supplement to push it to the middle a bit more.

You could try hair & me - including info on TTC on your application. I’m using it & find it better than topical minoxidil alone. It’s a prescription so they take into account your specific medical needs (I double checked this as was unsure). If you’d like a discount code pls DM me.

What's your autoimmune condition and are you under a specialist for it? It's probably related. It could be TE from the anaemia in August or it could be chronic and linked to your autoimmune condition.

I'm so sorry, I know it's very distressing. My best friend had a very distressing episode of alopecia totalis (losing all hair on the head and body) due to a mystery autoimmune condition. She saw a private dermatologist and is now on jak inhibitors, which have treated the issue. The other option was methotrexate. These are pretty nuclear options and not suitable if you are ttc, I'm afraid.

I agree, hair toppers are fab and will give you confidence

I know you said bloods were done but did they check your B12? I had similar when I was low of B12 and started paying for my own injections at the pharmacy near me. They said a lot of women use them regularly because the NHS often refuses treatment so women pay for it out of their own pocket.

This looks like classic telogen effluvium. I have the chronic version and have been shedding on and off for 4 years, it's miserable but I'm not bald yet. Like you all my bloods were normal, unlike you I had no obvious trigger and still don't. I saw one of the uks leading consultant dermatologists who confirmed that ll serums, shampoos, wonder products etc are essentially snake oil so don't waste your money.
Hopefully your TE will resolve as it normally does when there's an obvious trigger

Hi OP from another fellow sufferer here :(
If you are looking to disguise it while you figure out why it’s happening, I can recommend hair toppers! There’s a group on FB called hair toppers for volume/coverage which has lots of advice.

Possibly telogen effluvium after an illness. You need to see a derm really rather than a gp. Could you pay privately ? I’ve had the same. The good news is it’s only for a few months then hair starts to grow in again. I cut mine shorter then grew it out again.
in the short term I’d suggest those coloured root sprays for grey hair as they help blend in bare patches, look at styling nice scarves or consider a hair piece if you really hate not having thick hair.
I started wearing a baseball cap and now my hair is ok I still love wearing it !

Can you get a private appointment with a tricologist in your area that specialises in hair loss?

Alopecia is also an autoimmune condition, so I think I’d be talking to your doctor about whether your hair loss is linked to the condition you have. Autoimmune conditions can attack hair follicles.

My friend has an autoimmune condition and has also experienced sudden hair loss linked to it.

Could it be a catch22 where you are extremely stressed about it which then makes it worse? So hard to not stress about it though as it’s a traumatic thing to go through.
ask for your folate levels to be checked as that can cause hair loss too. How is your diet as eating 1g of protein per kg of body weight is crucial for hair

This is how much I was losing every time I washed it

It could well be telogen effluvium after the anaemia
basically your body focuses on important stuff like being alive, blood, organs etc and hair like nails isn’t important so it stops it in the wrong phase which is why the shed starts about 3 months after (that’s basic but google will say more!)

i lost a lot of hair exactly 3 months after campylobacter and remember sobbing in the shower over it because it was handfuls. It slowed and then went back to my normal loss and regrowth started
it started very suddenly and when I say handfuls, I have photos and it really was alarming amounts
the GP did bloods and confirmed it was TE