Sudden hair loss?

[Touchitmoveit]

A month ago I suddenly shedding a lot more hair than normal. I have mid-length fine hair but a lot of it. I’d describe my hair as thick.

In October I noticed lots more hair coming out when I washed and brushed my hair. Serious shedding. My ponytail I’d say now is a third of what it was. I’m losing over 100 hairs by 10am from washing/brushing my hair. I’m noticing a lot of thinning at my temples and above my ears and hairline. My parting at moment looks OK. But my hair has no weight, it’s like candy floss.

I’ve reassessed my vitamins and now take an iron supplement, a Perfectil, Viviscal, Biotin, and a Vitamin D. Blood tests done this week show my ferritin at 72ug/L.

I had some serious stress in the summer with work but I’m not sure if this is a factor as I’ve previously dealt with a sudden death and stress in my life previously and never had hair loss.

I’m really panicking I’m going to go on and loose more. I can’t work out if it’s just seasonal shedding or it’s a knock-on from stressful events in the summer. I’m frightened to even brush my hair at the moment.

Has anyone got any recommendations or suggestions on what else to do?

I had booked an appointment with Philip Kingsley- bit lockdown happened...!

Go to your Gp get your bloods checked and ask for a referral to dermatology. There are many reasons for hair loss and a dermatologist can prescribe medications to help. Disclaimer: I work in dermatology.

@Drogonssmile I had my bloods done- they came back yesterday as normal! Not sure what I should be looking for in the results?

Bloods are to make sure it's not a deficiency or underlying condition that can be detected and a dermatologist would ask for them anyway so by having them done at GP first it saves time. So if you see a dermatologist now they can look into other causes and diagnose/prescribe treatment.

Did you have challenging times abs drop weight though? It’s the sudden weight loss that does it. It happened to me two years ago when I crash dieted, hair came back. I stupidly put the weight back on then lost it suddenly again over lockdown and I’ve got the same issue again.

Hi OP, when my hair was falling out I came across a really switched on locum who did a full thyroid panel. Although my thyroid function was normal, I had elevated thyroid antibodies which indicated the start of autoimmune thyroiditis (Hashimoto’s). 2 years later I was full blown hypothyroid. So in a thyroid panel you need to make sure they’re looking for antibodies as well as thyroid function (TPOAb, TgAb, TRAb). That will show whether your thyroid is under attack. A lot of doctors think that if your thyroid is in normal range you can’t have symptoms but that is not the case for me and many other patients. I also had periods of terrible brain fog, crashing fatigue, dry eyes and others. Your thyroid may be fine but it’s a good thing to check!

You have my sympathy, OP - I'm shedding massively right now too. I my case I'm absolutely certain it's down to a hormone medication I took a few months back. Just out of interest, are you using any Retinol skin care products? They can be related to hair loss in some people.

@NonsensicalHair what hormone stuff did you take recently? Weirdly I took Norethisterone for 2 weeks to prevent my period before a holiday. A google search tells me this could be a culprit but my doctor dismissed it out of hand.

I’ve used retinol for a long time and certainly haven’t used a new product recently enough to link it to loss.... but it really makes you think doesn’t it!

@Coffeeoverload I’ve booked an appointment to go back to doctor and discuss a full thrypid panel. Thank you.

@Touchitmoveit - for me it was Vagifem, used it for two weeks and hair started to shed and it was the only thing it could've been. I have a history of responding badly to hormonal medication! Re the retinol use, I believe that retinol products can contribute to hair loss in some people, something to do with an overload of vitamin A, the same can happen from ingesting too much vitamin A. It may well not be this in your case, but something to think about.

Re your doctor dismissing your suspicions about Norethisterone, it could well be that this caused the hair loss as you suspect. Often doctors are quick to dismiss our own observations of our bodies. My hair fell out when I took the pill and also on HRT, so there's little doubt that hormones can cause hair loss in many women. When did you take the Norethisterone? I believe it can take at least three months to stop shedding and then another few months to start growing again. Obviously, I have no medical knowledge but have been reading up a lot about this!

I do hope your hair settles down soon - I really do feel for you as I know how utterly miserable it can make you and how desperate we are to see an end to the hair fall!

@NonsensicalHair what made me consider the Noresthisterone is that I took it at the very beginning of September, and 8 weeks later the shedding started with avengence. Noresthisterone is also in HRT- which is where I saw it when looking at possible hair loss triggers. Seems weird I’ve never taken it before, and my normally thick hair just starts coming out in handfuls 8 weeks later. I don’t take any other medication; not even the pill. Just seems strange!

It’s been 5 weeks since the shedding started. Ok praying it stops soon. Some days I don’t shed much and then some days (like today) I’ve lost easy 200+ hairs (I count if I’m panicked!) it’s just so frustrating.

I hope your shedding stops too. Fingers crossed it’s just a phase! Also I’ve read somewhere autumn is THE season for shedding with it peaking in October, so maybe that’s it! Everything conspiring against us

It might take another few weeks before your hair starts reaping the benefits of the supplements. It can be quite a slow reversal.

@Flowerblue I am hoping so. I’ve been taking supplements for about a month- being using the Philip Kingsley drops etc for 2 weeks. Some days I shed lots, some days not much. Today for instance- I reckon normal shedding amount. But yesterday was horrible and lost loads. Feeling very down about it today.

It will get better soon. Have you got new hair growing healthily? Dd lost hair for about six weeks and it started looking thinner, but she had loads of new hair coming through.

I think so- lots of baby hairs round the front. But weirdly so hard to see any shorter hairs in my parting. It’s so hard looking and figuring out what’s new and what’s just snapped hair! But a lot of baby hairs round the front which fluff down when I pin my fringe back!

I have some good news! I was washing my hair today and I always massage my scalp with oil first and work the oil through my hair to the ends. This helps moisturise it and also stops the plug from getting blocked when I rinse my hair in the bath. Anyway as I was brushing it I could see all these baby hairs sticking up. They have to be about 1.5 inches long, so I've never seen them before as I have sticky-out-hair naturally.

I assume that’s a couple of months hair growth? It would make sense as I can feel the thickness in my heir has gone when I dry it. You kind of know the weight of your hair in your hand. But it’s growing back!!! Yay!!

Hopefully it might give others hope ♥️

@Drogonssmile can I jump in and be a pain and ask you if dermatology appointments are going to be running like before Covid anytime soon? I've got suspected alopecia areata (from what I've read on the web- no in person GP appointments available), was referred a couple of months ago to dermatology but was then told all appointments are up in the air :( meanwhile my hair is shedding daily and I'm beside myself. Thanks for reading if you see this!

@goldielockdown2 I’m sorry to hear you’re having a rough time. Have you tried to speak to a GP? Derm appointments should be running as usual. Why do you think it’s alopecia arreata rather than just overall shedding or hair loss?

@Touchitmoveit thank you, I'm sorry about yours too. It is just awful isn't it.
Mine isn't shedding generally, it's a small (well it was) patch that is completely bald now and gradually getting bigger. The shedding today was one of the worst mornings I've had. I tie it up out of the way as I can't bare the loose hairs just falling out.
GP referred me to dermatology but when the letter came through to ring up and book my appointment, I was told it's all on hold atm because of Covid but that they would be in touch. I waited a couple of weeks but was so upset that I again rang the doctor's but because I've already got a referral, there's nothing they can do in the meantime. I'm just sitting and waiting, seeing my hair fall out before my eyes and feeling sick with worry.

Can't bear* unintentional ironic typo!

@goldielockdown2 could you go private, is that an option? Philip Kingsley is doing zoom consultations but you might be better trying to find a private derm? I’m so sorry, it’s just awful isn’t it. Have you had any blood tests yet? How big is your bald patch? Do you have any history of this in your family?

It's not really an option atm although I haven't looked into it properly. I'm getting desperate now so will weigh up my options.
I didn't know PK dealt with hair loss, I buy their brand hair products. My hair was my pride and joy.
I've had two sets of blood tests, one came back that my vit B12 was low so I had a course of tablets and last week all my bloods came back fine. I've always taken iron supplements as I was low as a teenager and have made a conscious effort not to get low on that again. When I asked about my blood results, queried if my thyroid was included and was told yes- all fine, normal.
No family history of this, but (if this is alopecia which I can't see what else it would be), there are other autoimmune illnesses in the family like arthritis.
The patch when I noticed it was just a bit smaller than a 2p coin at the start of September and now it's almost 4cm round. Tbh I'm surprised it's not even bigger going by the amount coming out daily. It seems like a huge amount

@goldielockdown2 our derm appointments are fairly back to normal time wise at the moment. New referrals are getting an appointment within 4 weeks which is usually unheard of! I'm sorry you're having no luck getting an appointment, could you ask your GP to expedite your appt to derm? They can send a letter advising that
your symptoms have worsened since first referring. Granted most appointments are by video or telephone for reviews but there are more and more face to face appointments happening too now. Fingers crossed you get yours soon 🤞🏻

Perhaps phone dermatology if you can google their number and ask to speak to one of the secretaries too. That might also help.

Thank you @Drogonssmile

Look at thyroid uk website to see if you have other thyroid symptoms. If you do then I'd recommend a full thyroid panel which your GP is unlikely to agree to but you can do it privately with Blue Horizons or other providers.