Hi everyone,
I started at college as an 18 year old freshman last September, and since then, I began to shed huge amounts of hair diffusely. I often wake up with a pillow covered with hair, and over just a couple months my head hair is now noticeably thin. My hair is dark and used to be exceptionally thick - I had to part my hair tightly to see a narrow line of scalp. Now, my scalp is nearly always visible in some place regardless of a person's perspective, particularly on the sides of my head where I sleep. When I get out of the shower, I can see the outline of my scalp fairly clearly. I am terrified that this is happening to me at such an early age. I haven't brushed my hair for weeks because the loss is so bad, and every time I look in the mirror, there are long hairs hanging out the back and sides which are detached. Further, my studies are starting to suffer as a result.
Although my father's side of the family has a history of hair loss, their loss followed male pattern baldness, and he has maintained hair on the sides of his head all his life since he lost the top at age 24. Furthermore, his hair is very fine, and mine isn't. What can I do? The hair loss isn't slowing down after a few months, and it is very hard dealing with a bad day of loss after a good one. I keep hoping it will slow down or go away, but it isn't. Is there anything I can do to slow down and reverse this terrifying process?
P.S. Since starting at college, I have also experienced significant weight loss, going from 186 to 166 in two months, and also losing another 8 pounds between the beginning of December and now. I am also experiencing symptoms of fatigue, and a sore throat that hasn't gone away for almost four weeks now. I have seen a doctor, and thorough bloodwork has come back negative for everything including thyroid problems. This is in response to some replies which suggest that the problem is likely male pattern baldness - my doctor believes my hair loss has something to do with these other symptoms, and therefore it should halt and reverse once we find the root of the problem. My problem is, we haven't found it yet.
My heartfelt thanks to anyone who replies.
I started at college as an 18 year old freshman last September, and since then, I began to shed huge amounts of hair diffusely. I often wake up with a pillow covered with hair, and over just a couple months my head hair is now noticeably thin. My hair is dark and used to be exceptionally thick - I had to part my hair tightly to see a narrow line of scalp. Now, my scalp is nearly always visible in some place regardless of a person's perspective, particularly on the sides of my head where I sleep. When I get out of the shower, I can see the outline of my scalp fairly clearly. I am terrified that this is happening to me at such an early age. I haven't brushed my hair for weeks because the loss is so bad, and every time I look in the mirror, there are long hairs hanging out the back and sides which are detached. Further, my studies are starting to suffer as a result.
Although my father's side of the family has a history of hair loss, their loss followed male pattern baldness, and he has maintained hair on the sides of his head all his life since he lost the top at age 24. Furthermore, his hair is very fine, and mine isn't. What can I do? The hair loss isn't slowing down after a few months, and it is very hard dealing with a bad day of loss after a good one. I keep hoping it will slow down or go away, but it isn't. Is there anything I can do to slow down and reverse this terrifying process?
P.S. Since starting at college, I have also experienced significant weight loss, going from 186 to 166 in two months, and also losing another 8 pounds between the beginning of December and now. I am also experiencing symptoms of fatigue, and a sore throat that hasn't gone away for almost four weeks now. I have seen a doctor, and thorough bloodwork has come back negative for everything including thyroid problems. This is in response to some replies which suggest that the problem is likely male pattern baldness - my doctor believes my hair loss has something to do with these other symptoms, and therefore it should halt and reverse once we find the root of the problem. My problem is, we haven't found it yet.
My heartfelt thanks to anyone who replies.
