Burning Scalp-Massive Hair loss in 6 months

[JaneJune]

Hello Ladies,

I am starting this thread to get a discussion going on hair loss. I am in my early 40's, faced significant stress as I moved from US to the UK 8 months ago (I am in UK for 3 years on a job rotation). I started experiencing burning + itchy scalp, losing loads of hair. My hair was beautiful 8 months ago and now I have a bald spot on the front and all along my hairline.
My Ferritin was a bit below normal so I am taking supplements, taking biotin, avoiding diary, my thyroids are normal. My GP suggested I try Oestrogen/Estrogen as this may be a hormonal imbalance. I also coincidentally, have become alcohol intolerant and my digestive system is not that good... I went to Gynaecologist and she has prescribed Glucobay + oestrogen... I have started Glucobay even though my HbA1c, fasting and post lunch blood sugar are perfect! Any advise ladies? I don't want the hair loss to become worse after taking HRT...I am desparate :(

Have you looked at skin conditions such as seborrheic dermatitis and tried shampoos containing ketoconazole/piroctone olamine/zinc pyrithione/salicylic acid? You don't have to have visible scaling like the pictures Google throws up, can be quite mild and still cause hair fall.
For me a flareup is hot/red scalp, soreness and sores, itchyness, rapid buildup (soo glam I know right). It's common for it to affect the hairline as that's a sebum rich area. I don't lose hair just during flareups but it really ramps up then. Luckily it's not usually scarring (unless you go through the cycle many times - if it's SD you'd be fine after just a year if you get it under control).
Sorry you're having to deal with this, hope you're liking the UK otherwise!

Sounds like stress related alopecia areata. I suffer the same, and usually find a patch of hairloss about 6 months after anything traumatic/stress related. Hair grows and fall out in cycles of 3/6/9 months, so you may have to wait 6 months before seeing any regrowth.

I would recommend going to Acupuncture for stress, it can also help the alopecia.

I'm sorry, no one person has the same results with alopecia, it's rather unforgiving. There is a group of Facebook called 'alopecia UK' which has some wonderful advice for helping to disguise patches, and just for general chit chat, I would recommend it

There is another Thread called something like Hair Loss Support thread which you may ind helpful - it's gone quiet recently but it's fairly recent. I am now a full time wig wearing after many decades of relapsing and remitting alopecia. My advice would be that you need a dermatology referral in the first instance, which oh get via your GP. Long NHS waiting list, unfortunately, but you will be seen very quickly if you can go privately. (Still need a GP referral).

It does sound similar to my alopecia areata, and I agree about a dermatology referral. Mine developed about 3 months after an extremely stressful event, got worse for about 6 months and then gradually reversed. I was prescribed steroid ointment by the dermatologist plus given lots of useful advice. In my case I have only had one, very minor recurrence since (it was 10 years ago) and have a full head of hair again now. I remember how very distressing it was though and still panic if my scalp tingles for any reason .

If it's sore could it be psoriasis?

Ladies -
Thank you so much for your quick responses!! @Velourvoyageur - I managed to get private insurance and went and saw a good dermatologist. She said I have sebherroic dermatitis. But what we couldn’t understand was that I had this similar issue 2 years ago (again a stressful time) where I didn’t have any flakes etc but still had a lot of burning on my scalp and then hair loss.

I am sure there is some stress related link - but what is the root cause - is it hormonal changes (hence should take HRT) or gut related issues leading to poor absorption (hence heal the gut, avoid inflammatory foods) or hypothyroidism as I also have cold
Hands and feet and total brain fog/memory problems (hence treat for thyroid issues)... My dermatologist also asked me to meet this very well known dermatologist in London who specialises in hair loss - he ran all these expensive hair and blood tests but came back with nothing. I am at my wit’s end as I want to solve this mystery! I went to the NHS doctor and she said she is seeing many women come to her with this problem but she refused to refer me to any specialist! That was surprising because I would have thought that she would’ve had some professional curiosity to solve this.

Could you dm me the name of the hair loss derm? I am trying to work out why my hair is thinning. Wonder if it is delayed reaction to leaving dv.

@Bloomed - I am so sorry I just saw your message. The dermatologist diagnosis wasn't really helpful as I have continued to lose hair... it is now 15 months and I can see shiny areas on my scalp at this point.
But there is some progress - basically, I went to another derm and they did scalp biopsy to rule out Alopecia Aerata. Their diagnosis is that I have Chronic Telogen Effluvium + androgenic alopecia. Anyway, that didn't help much. I also was started on HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) as my GP said that might be the cause of my hair loss. I recently went to Philips Kingsley in London and they have given me a topical solution (containing Minoxidil + Cyproterone + Estrogen etc...very small amounts of these antiandrogens) and these have really helped me. My Hair loss hasn't stopped but I can see it has become much less everyday and the burning has come down. So it appears my stress caused hormone imbalance that that was leading to free testosterone/DHT (or some such sh*t) going and attacking my scalp follicles as I happen to be one of those beautiful people whose hair follicles are extra-sensitive to androgens... I will keep you posted how this goes. Anyway, what an awful year 2018 was and I am hoping 2019 will turn things around for me. I wish the same for each and every person here - I know how hard this is.

@JaneJune, just wondering how you’re getting on? I have the exact same thing. I have spent a fortune in dermatologists and trichologists with no luck. The burning is driving me insane because I know it’s causing the hair loss. 🙁

When I was going through early menopause I suffered several bouts of this type of hair-loss, the last being very severe. My experience:
*It was severe telegen effluvium, fast, diffuse hair loss
*Each episode lasted ~3 months.
*It was caused by oestrogen levels falling low periodically
*I lost 25-30% of my hair in a few weeks, losing 600-1000 hairs daily
*Each episode appeared to commence 8-12 weeks after a major drop in oestrogen
All my hair recovered after starting HRT and I've had no repeat in years

Important to note the last point because when I was desperately researching at the time I found very few success stories. But then, people rarely revisit hair loss forums to update if their problems resolve. So take heart.

I have some hair-loss now that is very different in pattern, not TE. Thinning, wispy, shorter hair around my ears and temples. In my opinion this is thyroid related, because it's so different to the massive hair loss from my low oestrogen days.

Thanks @Barracker. I’ve actually experienced TE before, after having both my kids, but this is different because of the horrendous burning. I’m really glad yours rectified after starting HRT. I hope you can get your thyroidism under control very soon. x

One of the very useful points the trichologist made to me was the 8-12 week time lag.
Whatever trigger is causing your hair to be shocked into going into telegen phase prematurely, it will only become apparent 2 or 3 months later when the hair begins to fall.
Whatever date your hair loss starts, the trigger was weeks ago, and whatever causes it to resolve, results won't be seen for months.
I had the itching/burning too.

It's horrible, not knowing when or if it's going to stop. But TE is one of the types that can resolve once the trigger is identified and fixed.

Sounds like alopecia. I had it when I was around 13. The only thing that worked for me was a prenatal, betnovate, and nizorale shampoo.

JaneJune I am another regular on hair loss,threads. mine started with itching scalp , earlier this year, also had a very very stressful 2 years really, but my Dr gave me steroid lotion, which has done nothing, then he gave me HRT which he said would help because oestrogen is good for hair,
Unfortunately the one he gave me had a very harsh progesterone in it which can cause hair loss and loads more fell out,it seems to have calmed down a bit, but i have several bald patches which run into each other so basically bald from one end of my scalp to the other from side to side, so can't even disguise it now
I have to wear a hat when i go out
This has been from about february possibly longer that i didn't notice,as my hair above it seemed to be ok, and looking at me from the front,no one would guess what it's like at the back,from the crown down, no baldness at the parting,just a little thinner,
I have got every vitamin under the sun, and had tests all normal apparently
There are quite a few hair loss threads on mumsnet,seems to be a big problem

Forgot to say,i have recently found out that one of the Drs at my surgery is also a dermatologist,so seeing him 1st of October

Just realized this is an old thread,hope some of you are still around

Any updates on anyone suffering with hairloss?

Burning scalp and hair loss. Please read it, it had great reviews, but I doubt know how to order it. Does anyone?

www.handmadesoapuk.org/taoist-soap-for-accelerating-hair-growth/

Meera8 i have been chatting to you on the thinning hair thread, just looked at this website,
The soap is £32 a bar even if you could still get it.
I think it will be no better than the shampoos to stop the DHT from the scalp
Do you mind me asking which HRT you are on
I am giving this Regaine,[minoxidil] up after this bottle,it is doing no good and is very expensive,which I would manage if it worked
As said in previous comments,if stress related it should grow back eventually,
Which is what my dermatologist told me
Life is very stressful at the moment though for everyone,so might take while

Hi PTM,

We can now chat on both sites, lol.

Have you heard of rosemary/lavender and peppermint essential oils to be Good? I heard it on a few chats and saw some good results in YouTube. Maybe you should look into that?

I'm on bio HRT. Estrodot patches (was in 50mg now 100mg and from next month 150mg) and utrogeston 100mg.

I have realised that the scalp is more irritated and more hot flushes when I'm going to be on my period and does calm down after my period ends.

Hope you had a great Christmas.

Hi Meera8 i wrote quite a long post last night but computer froze and it didn't go, so here goes again,
Thank you had a lovely day with my daughter and her partner,
We dropped some dinner and presents into my twin sons who would be alone in each of their homes
Hope you had a good day too
I did get some Rosemary oil last year but didn't try it
The assistant at Holland and Barrat looked it up and said yes it is recommended for hair loss
I am definitely finishing with the Regains after this bottle is finished
I tried an HRT patch called Evoral Conti as my Dr thought it might be hormone related but much more hair literally just fell out,
I will have anoth look on youtube,Ashwagandha is supposed to help with stress and hair loss connected with it,so looking into that now

Hi PTM,

Glad you had a good Christmas, as did we but more chaotic with 2 little ones, a 5 year old girl and 2 year old son.

I've started Rosemary, and will update you in a couple of months.

Ashwagandha is aryudvedic from India, I think ì may have it, or get my cousins in India to send it. I've heard about it.

I've heard many say that Evoral Conti has high progesterone hence the hair shed, maybe you should try bio HRT patches and progesterone.

Hi Meera8 glad you had a good Christmas, the days of little ones here at Christmas are are right Evoral Contis Progesterone is very strong,
Also seen on another forum today some using Turmeric with black pepper is having great success and hair is thickening very well
I don't think my Dr would give me anything different re Hrt
I am taking Livial which are quite androgenic, I have stopped them before but started again a while ago,I am going to stop again after this month is over
I will look into the Hrt you are taking,but my deratologist swears mine is not hormonal,
Strange thing is I had no hair loss during or after pregnancy, or at all until the age I am now
My daughter is suffering hair loss too, she is just post menopause, she was given EC too and lost handfuls of hair
I am going to look into the Ashwaganda and the turmeric
Wishing you a happy new year,and hope it turns out better for all of us after 2020

M sorry a few typos in my last post, cat on my knee distracting me