To think I am going bald!!!

[CoffeeAndBiscuitsPlease]

I am 27 and my hair is falling out in handfulls.

Now I have a 6 month old, and I know people have mentioned hair loss/hair thinning after pregnancy, but this just seems ridiculous.

Every day, every shower I have there is at least a handful of hair, hair all over the house, hair on my clothes, hair in the food (eww!!) (Yes I tie it back)

We have to cats, and I can't believe I'm the culprit for all the hair all other the house!

I have to check DD's hands all the time because she is always getting my hair caught up in her hands.

Am I going bald?! or did other people notice a stupid amount of hair loss postpartum?

two cats*

It's a long time since I had my children, but one thing I do remember is clogging the hoover up with the amount of hair I lost. It really worried me, but it happened both times and I never went bald!!!

Haha... thanks for the reassurance!

Yes stupid amounts, and yes for my healthy normal mummy friends BUT I also have / had thyroid and iron issues too. Can be worth double checking as both can occur post baby. You're probably fine though, just worth being aware. I think most of my hair loss was sooner than that.

I didn't notice my thyroid was getting low as actually I was so cooked up on adrenaline to get through I wasn't sleeping.

I lost loads too. I think you dont lose it when you are pregnant(?) so it looks like a lot after.

Somebody mentioned thyroid to me, as I have gone up about 3 dress sizes and I'm ALWAYS tired. But how do you approach this with a doc without sounding like a google diagnoser!?

If I went in and said my hair was shit and I'm fat he'd probably tell me to eat well and exercise. But If I go in and say "hair falling out, feel like shit, I'm a fatty, google tells me it might be my thyroid" I'll sound like a fool :/

A bit of hair goes a long way - you are probably not losing enough to show.

Hair falling out about six months after having a baby is very normal. One of the main reasons I got my hair cut really short after having DS2 was so it wasn't such a hassle because soooo much comes out. But with the other symptoms it's worth getting checked out.

I'm always just honest and go with something like, 'I know it's probably nothing and you shouldn't google these things but I thought it was best to get it checked out because I've got x, y, z and thought it might be .'

Low iron if it's proper hair loss. Not normal post birth hair loss - which it could be

There's a study somewhere which links low ferritin iron levels to hair loss in women. Try ferrous sulphate over the counter (cheap) and have it with orange juice for maximum absorption. Don't take with grains, egg or caffeine.

"I just want to double check there's nothing more going on, I've ballooned in weight, my hair is falling out a lot and I'm exhausted. I know it's probably having a baby but I just wanted to check there's nothing else going on"

Some mums keep extra weight on when bf (if you are).

Thyroid can also make you very constipated.

The hair loss from preg I think is slightly male pattern like; thyroid is all over.

But, pregnancy does so much crazy stuff to your body it could just be hormones etc.

Maybe edit to be less repetitive!

My ferritin has also been borderline and I noticed hair loss then too.

www.btf-thyroid.org/index.php/thyroid/articles/hair-loss-thyroid-disorders

It's unlikely, as hair loss is normal post baby, but not unreasonable to check a is ok.

I had an underactive thyroid after DD2, it wouldn't do any harm asking for blood tests.

Get some good quality vitamins and minerals.

I take vitamins everyday, My mum had pernicious anemia so I always aware of the symptoms, but every bloody test I've had has come back perfect.

You need a level of 50 to stabilise iron related hair loss. A level of 70 for growth. However gps consider anything above 10/12 to healthy

Yes, after both pregnancies I seriously thought I may be going bald, big clumps would fall out if I brushed it/washed it and loads throughout the day too.
It settled after a while (definitely longer than 6 months, more like 10-12) and I found having it cut as short as I dared helped too

Mustard, interestingly I had severe restless leg syndrome all over after ferritin was just above 50 for 2 years - post child considered normal so not addressed.

The 'normal' bit is odd as when my ferritin reached 80 the gp commented it was finally normal. The guidance doesn't seem to be very clear. My rls symptoms went when it was over 100.

Was the birth at all traumatic? I lost 75% of my hair a few years ago following a sudden, life threatening illness. The doctors put it down to trauma and said therewas nothing they could do about it.
It fell in clumps for about 2 months until I had to have the leftover hair cropped really short. A year later it was bob length and exactly as it had been to start with.

I started losing a lot of hair over the crown and the sides and had a lot of thinning after starting HRT. The GP sent me to a dermatologist who said my levels of 27 for ferritin and 39 for vit D were low to support hair health and said she wanted to get the ferritin up to 100 and the same with vit D. 18 months on, my hair is shedding far less and although it's extremely thin, it's not as see through as it used to be. It got pretty grim. If your blood tests are normal but under 100 for vit d and ferritin, it might be worth taking supplements to see if it helps.

popmimiboo

The birth was quite traumatic as a matter of fact yes, I'm still waiting for the midwife supervisors to arrange the debrief for me. But the hair loss has only started in the last month, and my baby is now 6 months old. I'll be honest though, I do think I am sufferring some kind of PTSD from the birth (or is that too dramatic a term?)

I'm skint at the moment but maybe I should save up for those "hair and nail" tablets you can get from boots/Holland and Barrett.

Sorry to hear that - it could be a delayed reaction, who knows, hair does seem to react to things. But, see what Dr says.

OP, no, not dramatic. Sorry to hear the birth didn't go well. The body can react in off ways so who knows?
I was taken ill in the January, out of hospital in the March and hair loss started in the May, so it could be connected.
I took the Holland & Barrett supplements. That and the drastic haircut (-I mean really cropped) seemed to stop it before I actually went bald.
Maybe the doc could prescribe you some vitamin supplements?

My hair is falling out at a unbelievably fast rate!!! My second baby is now 6 months old. It's showing no signs of stopping. If not getting worse! I've always had thinner hair but now I'm to scared to put it up as I don't want to put any strain on it. I've tried vitamins and thickening shampoos but nothing is working. My bloods are being taken this week but it's really traumatic. :-(