the emotional toll of shedding

[Theobroma]

I've been there, so I know what it's like. When I started shedding heavily I had no idea what was causing it, so it was all the more frightening that it went on and on until I'd lost at least a third of my thickness. It stopped eventually, and much later it dawned on me that it must have been severe protein deficiency. (I'm mostly vegetarian and had discovered I was wheat intolerant about four weeks before going on a summer school in Rome. Ended up spending six weeks with no opportunities for self-catering, trying to find wheat-free, meat-free stuff in Italian restaurants that I could eat; the end result was pretty much salads and gelato the whole time. Not exactly a balanced diet.)

At least you know up front what's causing it, and while I know that it isn't any fun either way, you do also know that it'll stop once your body adjusts! Take comfort from my experience -- I too cried over the wads of shed hair, but apart from myself not a single other soul even noticed that my hair was thinner!

[Silverbrumby]

I've had 3 times in my life where I faced heavy shedding, the worst being before my thyroid condition was detected. It hurts and I've cried. This community has helped in so many ways. Looking around on the fine threads and seeing beautiful hair. Hearing everyones stories and how they coped.

A couple of things. I remember and have noticed that many women in their mid twenties do have a major shed. I recall reading that this can occur for some women as a hormonal shifting around. I had this happen when I was 26. I have fine hair but did have a lot of it. In my mid twenties I had a major shed then it settled into a new density. It stayed that way until I had my thyroid issues. The last shed was when they discovered I was low in iron and vit. D which I've now adjusted for. I think that was 3 months ago and I 'think' I've slowed down on the shedding.

I have read here that some people who oil the scalp get heavy shedding. I know I did and stopped doing it, instead going back to oiling the length. Does anyone remember this? I'm wondering if you should stop oiling the scalp.

I'm still shedding between 60 to over 100 on my bad days but have come to terms with my 'new' hair.

[vindo]

I lost mine after going off the pill too. I was trying to wait it out but failed to have my hormones checked.
When I finally did, it was an easy fix. My prolactin levels were too high due to a pituitary tumor (the pill might have kept this at bay), and after one week on meds it completely stopped.
Regrowing was a pain in the butt, I never cut but the regrowth drove me mad. It looked so frizzy.
I am going through the same thing again, loosing 250 hairs a day currently. It might be a postpartum check this time, or may be the prolactin again.
I went off meds to be able to breastfeed. I know this can mean I will loose my hair and have to cut or worse, but my baby is more important than my hair and his smiles and cuddles make me feel better.
I do tend to get teary eyed about the loss though, especially since I had invested SO SO much patience in regrowing.
I'm sorry your going through this, I hope it ends soon ((hugs))

[Theobroma]

amantha and Mai Glöckchen, that's interesting about the iron deficiency. Were you or your doctors able to identify what caused that?

I wonder about my own iron levels sometimes, as I'm still mostly vegetarian (see above; started eating fish after the protein-deficient episode), but the only time I was tested my levels checked out perfectly normal.

[Annalouise]

Hi, I can sympathize. I lost a major amount of hair when I did water only.

My hair is recovering so I can give you HOPE. I switched to a vegan diet last summer and I started taking vitamins. And I keep my scalp clean at all times. And its gone back to a ii.

Your hair will grow back. I have one book written about thinning hair and how to make it grow back and the author says to wash your scalp daily. You don't want oil or dirt to clog the pores as this can lead to hair loss.

Also, use oil treatments on your scalp before washing. Don't leave oil on your scalp. And scalp massages to stimulate blood flow are also good.

She recommends briskly rubbing the towel on your scalp to stimulate the hair follicles when you get out of the shower. I do this and I LOVE it. But I know that would make some people cringe.

Your hair will grow back, don't worry ok.

[amantha]

amantha and Mai Glöckchen, that's interesting about the iron deficiency. Were you or your doctors able to identify what caused that?

I wonder about my own iron levels sometimes, as I'm still mostly vegetarian (see above; started eating fish after the protein-deficient episode), but the only time I was tested my levels checked out perfectly normal.

Hi Theobroma! No they never definitively figured out the cause of my iron deficiency. But my regular doctor said about 90% of the time it's caused by excessive menstrual bleeding in women my age. I personally think it was a combination of things. First, heavy menstrual bleeding. Second, a poor diet. Third, being on metformin for my PCOS reallllllly upset my stomach ALL THE TIME. While metformin itself does not cause iron deficiency, since it upset my stomach so much, anything I ate was...erm...out of me within an hour. I don't think my body had enough time to absorb proper nutrients from the food I ingested. My endocrinologist said I could take a break from it, so I did and the iron is creeping back up (with the help of supplements).

[HelloKitteh]

But my regular doctor said about 90% of the time it's caused by excessive menstrual bleeding in women my age.

Blood my a**!!! It's such an easy way to get out of explaining or looking for real answers. Nature's done that to us, I think we would know by now if that was such an issue per se.

I personally think it was a combination of things. First, heavy menstrual bleeding. Second, a poor diet.

This, I can agree much more already!

Third, being on metformin for my PCOS reallllllly upset my stomach ALL THE TIME. While metformin itself does not cause iron deficiency, since it upset my stomach so much, anything I ate was...erm...out of me within an hour. I don't think my body had enough time to absorb proper nutrients from the food I ingested. My endocrinologist said I could take a break from it, so I did and the iron is creeping back up (with the help of supplements).

Arg, this is bad. You are in my position here. Glad it's getting better without that drug. But can you find out what it does to your stomach, does it change the stomach's pH? Look on alternative sites maybe, like curezone.org (I think, or .com) as well as 'regular' 'trusted' health sites, and let us know.
In this case, I am again going to talk about green smoothies lol! Or a good quality juicer would also be excellent. The principle is you remove a lot of the effort involved in digesting the food by pulverising (Vitamix blender) or crushing (masticator juicer - Champion. Oscar). An alternative to this is to chew your food very
well, and take time to eat.
You should consider taking digestive enzymes. They're available OTC - although stronger types will be available on prescription, but not sure most doctors consider it's important, so you might be laughed at if you mention this.

The ph in your stomach needs to be very acidic for proper digestion to take place. If that medication happened to raise the pH, you'd have the same symptoms as someone who needs antacids, but you actually would need acid. HCL is also available OTC for this.

Research a bit all this, I'm not a doctor and I'm just telling you what I do for myself. If you find something else that works for you when on that med, please let me know as it might help me as well!

[Mai Gloeckchen]

amantha and Mai Glöckchen, that's interesting about the iron deficiency. Were you or your doctors able to identify what caused that?

Yes, we found out. It was very easy. I have difficulties with my digestion, so it is impossible for me to get enough iron from food, even after adjusting my whole diet. That is also why I got injections and no iron-pills (we tried pills, but my stomach became really angry and painful).
For years my body was able to compensate, but last spring I stopped taking the pill (I took it in a way that I had no period) and after I started to bleed again every month, that was too much. I lost more, than I could refill, it is an easy calculation.

[Theobroma]

For years my body was able to compensate, but last spring I stopped taking the pill (I took it in a way that I had no period) and after I started to bleed again every month, that was too much. I lost more, than I could refill, it is an easy calculation.

Ouch. Yes, I see! :S Well, at least it was an identifiable problem with a relatively simple solution, though regular iron injections don't sound like much fun!

[HelloKitteh]

Ouch. Yes, I see! :S Well, at least it was an identifiable problem with a relatively simple solution, though regular iron injections don't sound like much fun!

Oh to anyone inthinking they lack iron, please please make sure that you get checked before you get yourself iron OTC. This supplement can be dangerous/detrimental to health, there are many forms of iron and most don't have any positive effects. If only because too much iron could discolour your teeth.
If you want to self-medicate get iron from juicy meats (blood) and liver, the heme-iron they contain is easily assimilated and the body will apparently take what it needs, so you can't overdose on it.