Is it normal to shed this much hair in the shower? (Warning: GROSS pic)

[JMSA]

Hi. I’m 51. Recently had my bloods taken by the GP as my energy levels weren’t as good as they could be. Everything came back fine, but indicated peri. I washed my hair in the shower this evening and as per usual, shed a load of hair. It sort of slides out from the ends, not my roots. I should add that earlier today I also brushed my hair, and the same amount if not more was left on the brush.
I’m not taking anything, except for Nutrigeeks vitamins and minerals. I find that I’m resistant to most of these things though. I find it nigh on impossible to find something that actually makes a difference.
I eat well these days and am on Mounjaro, but the hair loss occurred well before that. Thankfully I have a good head of hair and it is long, but I don’t know if it’s normal to lose this much. And it gets everywhere!
I admit that I don’t brush it every day, as it’s wavy, so this would make it frizzy.
Thanks for reading.

I can’t see the gross pic??

It’s still under review.

Can't see the photo OP, but I an early 60s with longish curly hair that I don't brush in between washing. I shed loads when I wash it.

Eta: can see photo now. That is more than I shed. But not massively more.

Ive shed tons of hair whilst on MJ, i've never had thick hair anyway so it is really noticeable. Ive had cycles of shedding previously (particularly noticeable whilst on gabapentin) but this is the worst its ever been so I feel your pain but I do think it's MJ causing it.

@FloridaCatthanks but bear in mind that I lost that much again earlier in the day when I brushed my hair.

Mine is like this. Having a haircut usually helps. Has it been a while since your last cut

@youalrightI last had it cut at the end of June.

Take B12 and iron

Probably not that then. Have you had covid or flu or anything recently its quite common to lose hair after illness

Do you tie it back while wet? I was watching a video that explained that can cause hair loss like you describe, breakage rather than shedding from the root.

I have hair loss due to low iron, patches on my scalp that are very sparse. I am trying to get my iron up and improve my nutrition generally to arrest it if nothing else. It's so upsetting. Best of luck.

What’s the bit at the top? Is that a clump of hair?

I probably shed similar to the hair in the rest of the pic, but if that thing is a bit clump, then yeah that is a lot.

i also don’t brush mine daily, so when I wash ids probably a few days worth that’s coming out

This is exactly what I shed constantly. Had bloods done and everything bar b12 was in the toilet so am now on vit d, c, e, iron, cod liver oil and calcium and magnesium. Finally I don't shed as much. I'm 39 and have wondered if I'm in peri as cycles are all over the shop

I’ve had varying degrees of hair loss over the years sometimes it seems alarming, other times I think I’m just more aware of it and focused a bit too much. Your pictures seems to show a fair bit of hair loss though. I shed a lot if I don’t wash my hair often or if I don’t brush it very often. I used to panic and stop brushing and washing because of fall out but then panicking because when I did eventually wash or brush a lot of hair came out in one go. We lose about 100-150 hairs per day and sometimes if I worry and see loss of hair I count the hairs that fall out.

I had Telogen Effluvium (TE) a few years ago as a result of dieting (VLCD) and the amount of hair loss was something you couldn’t ignore or presume was normal. I was leaving a trail of hair everywhere. My office chair looked as though a Yeti has been using, it there was so much hair on it after a day’s work. My hair came out in handfuls when I washed it and when I went to have my roots done (foil highlights) I cried because of the hair that was left on the foils as they were taken out. But it all grew back after a few months. The GP I saw told me to start eating properly and suggested some shampoo or another.

It might be TE if you’re losing hair with no other markers. There’s usually a small white bulb attached to the root to show that the hair fell out naturally, which is how TE works.

@JMSA sorry but that is roughly the amount that I started to lose everyday in the shower shortly before being diagnosed with alopecia!! I lost it all with 3 months!

God no, I don’t think that’s in anyway normal

I have very fine hair, but a decent amount and shed about 1/2 that, but it's short and I brush ut daily. My 10yo granddaughter has enough hair and some and she sheds that much after washing her hair. Like others say how often you brush, length, putting it in a hairband probably contributes to loss.

Have you been unwell 3 ish months ago? Mine fell out after food poisoning, the high temp triggered it basically. It was coming out in handfuls

if I don't brush my hair before a shower it would look the same.
similar age, not on any medication

I had REALLY thick hair. Tons of it. Always commented on by hairdressers. Started Mounjaro November. Didn’t notice much change in hair loss, always used to shed fair amount every hair wash. Washed hair always about 3 times in 2 weeks usually quite a lot to be cleared from shower!. Then got v bad dose of pneumonia in March. Then June my hair started SERIOUS fall out. Double the amount of your photo at least or 3 times every single day. Tried contacting hair clinic. Not much joy and didn’t want to see me or take my money (but I guess that’s good) and said it is fairly common about 3 months after serious illness. Dr was incredibly unhelpful. Did blood tests and no issue. Said it can happen with mounjaro and could offer no way to choose between pneumonia or mounjaro or unknown. Told me to make my choice. I’m now at target weight so on maintenance dose. Really don’t want to go back to previous weight and do need to continue. Apparently I do have some hair growth as small amount of hairs are growing. I’m using Regaine foam for women daily, foligain shampoo and conditioner and also daily hair growth serum with redensyl. I’m crossing fingers. I know I won’t know if all that is working for at least 6 months bearing in mind a 1 cm average monthly hair growth. Thankfully shedding has slowed. I have fairly pathetic amount now but I hope I’m not tempting fate by saying at least I didn’t lose it all. And for those that would say stop mounjaro, weight loss etc has been a long complex story. Having lost 4 stone and felt so much better, healthier and happier than I have done in decades I can’t go back. I’m using those tiny hair ties you get for babies in Claire’s! Very best of luck. It is incredibly scary.

I'm on mounjaro and its causing hair shedding for me.

If you're not brushing your hair regularly, there will always be large amounts coming out when you do and when you wash it - and the loose hairs will tangle and mat around healthy ones, dragging both out all at once, especially if you start at the top of your head.

Use conditioner and gently comb through, starting with the ends then working up towards your roots every day and it'll not look anywhere near as much.

OP won’t be brushing and washing it daily though, she said it’s curly/wavy
mine gets brushed only when I wash it which is every 4 days but I don’t lose that much now

I think it's probably peri, OP. My hair was very similar and was looking quite thin at the top and sides until I went on HRT. Now it's lovely and thick again.

Forgot to add that before peri, I always had super-thick hair! I tried all kinds of different supplements before HRT. Biotin seemed to help a little, but it was definitely HRT which helped the most.

Good luck -- I know how distressing this can be, and hope you get it sorted.

I still comb my curly/wavy hair every day? Otherwise it would get matted - as hers is needing to be sorted, rather than washing if that's too much, a spray of water and some leave in conditioner/serum would help stop that happening.