My hair is falling out

[Grubber]

I am 26, and have always had thick, strong hair up until last year, when I went on anti-depressants. Since then, my hair has become thinner, and every time I was wash my hair I feel so mortified, because so much comes out.
When I wash my hair, I run my hands through and I see all the hair gathered up in my hand.

I literally cannot leave the bathroom without cleaning the shower plughole, and flushing all my hair from it down the toilet. I don't know what to do, its been a year now since I had any sort of medicine, but it all started then, and its getting noticeably worse. I would really appreciate other people's thoughts on this.

I get this when my iron levels get low, but it can be a sign of other deficiencies. Your gp should be able to do some blood tests. Could also be thyroid related.

I get this when my ferritin level and b12 are low.

Lots of gps will test your iron but it's your haemaglobin they normally test.

Your ferritin is your iron stores and when they get low you can get symptoms too. I struggled for 2 years before i got help with this. It was only after loosing a lot of blood after having my second baby that I got a call to say although my iron levels were back to normal the iron stores were very low. So was my b12 and folic acid.

I was fine for a bit but my hair has started falling our again when I wash it and have joint aches and pains and I am willing to bet I am low again.

Hope this helps x

Apparently hair lose can he a sign of thyroid problems.

I was put on anti depressants. Then was diagnosed with under active thyroid. One of the side effects is depression.

A couple of years ago I took medication that listed hair loss as a side effect.

I had almost elbow length hair so it was heartbreaking to lose so much of it. I ended up having it cut into a very short bob (Ear length) and that helped to disguise how thin it had become.

I found that Philip Kingsley Body Building shampoo and conditioner helped to make what little hair I had left look and feel thicker and I took a daily multi vitamin, liquid iron and zinc tablet and included protein in my diet (eggs and lean turkey) and I now have quite a lot of hair again.

Go and talk to your GP as a simple blood test could be all that's needed to find the cause.

Thank you for the replies, I'll definitely try that Philip Kingsley shampoo, I did buy some L'Oreal Fibrology stuff but its made no visible difference.
I will also consider making a GP appointment too, as low iron levels have been a problem for me before.

You need iron testing. They will say 12 is fine level wise but actually 70 is ideal for hair.

Thyroid tests - if you have a spare 100, blue horizon do at home full thyroid tests

Look at products with minoxidil. Women need a lower level then men. Boots sell stuff

Also D3 and B6 might need boosting

When taking iron, take it with vitamin c or orange juice. Avoid grains, caffeine, eggs which will inhibit absorption.

Ps it's likely your Gp won't do a full thyroid check - only part

Any meds you take can cause this. I took some meds for a stomach complaint and my hair started to fall out. It also falls out at certain times of the month. I also have to pull it out the plug hole, and when i get out the bath i can see the whole bath has hair strands all in the water, and it looks like there is so much its quite frightening, but its been happening to me for year and i have not gone bald yet :)..

Only start to worry when you can see bald patches, or your pillow is covered... Sometimes it looks a lot, but its not the case.

Years i meant to say.

I was going to suggest low B12 too. A friend has suggested I might have this so have a GP appointment Friday. I've had hair loss for years, along with other symptoms, it comes out in handfuls when I wash my hair and the carpet around my bed looks like it has a rug on it
Fortunately I have lots of hair so it doesn't really show too much but I do have obvious thin patches around my hairline and lots of short sticky out bits where there is regrowth. Whether it is this or what other people have suggested, I think blood tests are the answer rather than products.

I've heard that I should be washing my hair only every few days, so as to minimize the breakage, but surely this makes all the hair loss look a lot worse than if I washed it everyday? Hmmm

I read the opposite Grubber. I read that you should try to keep the hair clean as being weighed down with products, grease and dirt will not help your scalp and it's your scalp the hair is falling from.

I try to wash my hair gently. I don't vigorously scrub at my head with the shampoo and I don't brush the conditioner through so as to avoid pulling. When I go to the hairdresser I always ask the person that washes my hair to be gentle and to try not to pull it when then wring the water out.

However, if the hair is going to fall then it's going to fall and whether you wash it every day or twice a week it's going to come out. I think you need to find out what's causing the loss so you can take steps to rectify the problem.

As I said up the thread, cutting my hair really helped to disguise how thin it was as being shorter meant it was less heavy and that gave me volume on top which hid how sparse it was.

I would love to have my hair cut short again, but I would be too embarrassed at the hairdresser having to deal with all the hair coming out. I've just made an appointment with my GP, wish me luck!