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Original poster

hairloss/alopaecia/regain

12 replies

lingle · 31/08/2011 11:06

I've got it, right at the front of my head - fringe is now as thin as a rake and parting is starting to fork Sad

Anyone want to moan with me?

I'm off to buy some regain for women - but when I tried it before it seemed quite impractical as putting it on first thing in the morning made my hair look greasy. When are you supposed to wash you hair?

OP posts:
Original poster
lingle · 31/08/2011 11:06

also, a trichologist years ago said it was hormonal and would get better through pregnancy - which it did.

Does this mean I'll be begging for HRT when the menopause strikes?

OP posts:
CharlieBoo · 01/09/2011 20:40

My mum is having this at the m

CharlieBoo · 01/09/2011 20:42

Sorry, bloody phone... My mums having this at the mo... Do you dye your hair? She thinks it could be this and has stopped dying it. She went to the dr and he told her she has loads of hair, but like you her fringe is so so thin.

JellyBelly10 · 02/09/2011 20:16

I am going through this right now...am SOOOOOO depressed about it! I'm 43 and usually have fairly thick, naturally blonde hair that people often compliment me on...it's about the only thing about my appearance that I generally felt confident about! But for the past couple of months it has been coming out so much, handfuls and handfuls when I wash it (which is every day as it looks so crap if I don't wash it, and anyway when I tried not washing it it just fell out twice as much when I washed it the next day!) and falls out all day (but the worse part is definitley straight after washing it). Have been to doctors for blood tests and they have come back negative (they were checking for thyroid or other hormone problems or a lack of iron). It is so bad now, my hair loks like I have less than half of what I used to have and the scary thing is there's no sign of it stopping yet. What the hell will I look like ina few more weeks/months!? Sad
The only thing I can think about that may have started it is that I went on a diet in early May, not a weight-loss diet but a dairy-free diet where I stopped all milk/cheese/butter/yogurts etc and had soya products instead. I was doing it to help improve my skin (acne rosacea!)...which incidentally it did help....but then the hair-loss started. So I'm not sure if that's just co-incidence or whether it had something to do with it. The thing is I'm now totally anxious and upset about the hair-loss to such an extent that I think my constant worry about it is actually causing it! It isn't slowing down at all and I now have noticeably thin hair and a really thin fringe and you can really see the scalp at the front. I've been back onto dairy (ie I abansoned the soya diet!) for about a month now but that hasn't helped at all and I'm getting more and more depressed and anxious about it....it's literaly all Ican think about! It's even started me having panic attacks and breathlessness...I sound like a total fruit-loop!!!! I just want it to stop falling out! I could deal with the fact it's so thin if it would just stop falling out any further. So fed up with it! I know there are worse things that could happen and it's not life-threatening etc but it's hard to think of that when you're going through it! So....in answer to your original post, I have no advice to offer! Just wanted to say that I totally sympathise.

Foxinsocks · 02/09/2011 20:22

I have suffered from terrible hair loss this year. Turns out I had a severe vitB deficiency but even taking supplements has only slowed it down. I also think the stress of losing it makes it worse. I have about half the hair I had a year ago and my hair was v fine anyway!

It is frustrating. I am also suffering from it being v greasy. Have you checked you haven't got a skin condition on your scalp? I get a form of dermatitis on there which I think is making it worse. Definitely worth getting someone to check out the scalp, especially if your hair is v greasy.

JellyBelly10 · 02/09/2011 21:00

Foxinsocks how did you find out it was a Vit B deficiency? Was that via a blood test? Also, to both of you, is there any history of females in your family losing their hair? I was looking at my mother last weekend (who is 80!!) and was surprised at how much hair she has, my dad also has all his hair (at 84!) and my grandmothers both had no sign of obvious hair-loss when they died...so I'm trying to comfort myself that this hair-loss now might be reversible (I'm 43) as opposed to it being something that will just progressa nd progress until I'm totally bald!! It's little comfort at the moment though to be honest....
I'm interested in your dermatitis/greasy thing too Foxinsocks as my hair has become much greasier and almost feels still greasy straight after it's washed! I can't see any flakiness or any inflammation on the scalp though. What are you doing to treat your dermatitis? Can you see any signs of re-growth? It's so depressing isn't it! Sad

chipstick10 · 02/09/2011 21:13

JellyBelly i would take comfort in the fact that their is no history of hairloss in the family. Also loosing handfulls is not usually associated with female pattern baldness.

JellyBelly10 · 02/09/2011 21:23

Thanks chipstick10, I'm trying to be happy about the lack of family history....but am wondering if I'm just going to be the first in the family!! When I said I'm losing handfuls, I don't mean clumps from one area, I mean it's coming out diffusely all over, but when I comb it through after washing it I end up with handfuls and handfuls of hair if that makes sense. So it's an all over thinning, not patches. Does that make a difference? Or did you mean that female pattern balding would be more gradual, not all happening over a couple of months so rapidly?

chipstick10 · 02/09/2011 21:31

Female Pattern happens extremely gradually, like over a three year period before you even notice a thinning. Hair that comes out diffusely isnt usually associated with pattern baldness, which is genetic. Diffuse hairloss is i think treatable.

bigwombat · 02/09/2011 22:35

I have something called frontal fibrosing alopecia where my hair is receding from the front hairline backwards. A dermatologist has diagnosed this and I'm using a steroid liquid called Betacap. My hair quality has really improved since using this and I think the hair loss has slowed down. I have also lost my eyebrows and most of my body hair! I have antibodies which show an auto-immune condition - my body is basically attacking my hair follicles. It seems to run in the females on my Dad's side of the family.

I'd recommend a visit to the GP for blood tests and possibly referral to dermatologist, especially if you're losing handfuls of hair.

Foxinsocks · 03/09/2011 20:34

There is no female hairloss pattern in my family

The vitb deficiency was diagnosed by a gastro consultant. They wrote to the GP who, can you believe it, never told me. I randomly went for an appointment a year later and they sheepishly mentioned it and did another test and the levels were v v low (think b12, b6 and one other. Was also anaemic).

My hair feels like that too - greasy after I have washed it. I think I have seborrhoeic dermatitis. I haven't been to the doctor yet but started using coal tar shampoo and my hair loss has slowed down. It makes your hair feel rubbish but I could honestly scrape the grease off my hair and scalp before I started using it. And it definitely feels better having used it for a week.

It worries me though (am telling myself not to as I'm sure worrying makes it worse!)

Let me know what the GP says if you go.

Terri507 · 28/09/2017 21:35

Hi there

I know this was a couple of years ago , but how did you all get on with the treatment (betacap) and did the doctors try anything else which worked ??

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