26 and losing lots of hair! HELP!

[flipgirl95]

I'm 26 yrs old and have been loosing hair for the last year. I used to have thick curly hair that I could barely twist a rubberband around twice around my ponytail. Now I can easily twist a rubberband around 3TIMES! I went to my doctor about 6 months of losing my hair and she examined my scalp and said it was healthy and that my blood tests came back normal. Because I had so much hair to begin with most people don't notice that I've lost a lot of hair. My doctor told me it was normal to lose hair and I shouldn't worry about it. 6 months later I am still losing a lot of hair and next week when I have another dr.'s apt. I am demanding her to refer me to a dermatologist. I have been using Nioxin for the last 4 months and I have notice a decrease in my hair loss, but it's still a lot of hair falling out. Sometimes I'll have a few hairs fall out in the shower, but most of the time I have a considerable amount of hair fall out. I also notice when my hair is wet you can very easily see my scalp, especially on the back of my head and on top. I work full-time and go to school full-time and have been under a great amount of stress the last 2 years, could this be a reason for my hair loss? I have 2 more years of school and I'm afraid if stress is the culprit I will be bald by the time I graduate from college. Does anyone have any advice or questions I should ask my dermatologist? Thanks!

 

[laura00783]

Hi Flipgirl95,

Did you go and see your general practitioner?

Are you on any medication or birth control? Pregnancy? Have you had your thyroid checked? Going to an endocrinologist would be helpful in ruling out endocrine/hormonal problems.

How long has your hair loss been for, and is it an overall thinning/shedding?

Answering these would be helpful in terms of figuring out what type of hair loss you have, and then being able to assess your treatment accordingly.

Good luck with the derm appointment, let us know how it goes.

Take care,

- L.

 

[browneyes]

I hear you...

I'm 22 years old, I had thick curly hair and could barely twist a rubberband around it twice! I noticed my hair falling out, but I was too embarrassed to do anything about it. Now I can see my scalp and Its driving me nuts! I went to a doctor and had the all the tests that this web site said I should have done:

» Hormone levels (DHEAS, Testosterone, Androstenedione, Prolactin, Follicular Stimulating Hormone, and Leutinizing Hormone)
» Serum Iron, Serum Ferritin, TIBC (Total Iron Binding capacity)
» Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
» VDRL
» Complete Blood Count (CBC)

I found out that im REALLY anemic (Iron) and something was off with my CBC, But I don't know that that is what is causing it, so im seeing a derm the first of November. Do you have any history of hairloss in your family? I know I do, and thats what worries me. Ive been stressing out a lot too. I hope that all goes well with you and your hair. Let me know what your Doctor/derm says.

Stay strong.

 

[flipgirl95]

Thanks for the list of tests I should get done. I plan on asking my dermatologist to give me all of the tests. I had the thyroid test done and my regular doctor said that it came back normal. My mom has always had fine thinning hair but at 64 years old she still has a good head of hair. My dad has the thick curly hair and I guess my mom's genes are kicking in now. I'm not on any meds, never been pregnant. So I'm determined to find out what's causing the hair loss. My sister who is ten years older than I am is also losing her hair. We started losing our hair around the same time. We've been brainstorming trying to figure out what's common between us (besides our genes) that would have caused the hair loss. But haven't came up with any ideas. We plan on seeing our derm on the same day. I'll keep you guys posted!

 

[totaldispHAIR]

Lori, your iron deficiency is most likely the cause of your hairloss, it's one of the first flags dermas check when you complain of hairloss. If you're not already taking supplements, get your doctor to prescribe something to you *now* and get your levels up. You should be able to recover completely from the hairloss and have regrowth if you treat your anemia, but be patient as it will take several months to see regrowth.

flipgirl, if you've ruled out all possible hormonal/thyroid imbalances, stress could be the culprit. Make sure you do the full thyroid panel, don't rely on just a TSH or T3 to give you all the answers you need. And, make sure you get your thyroid antibodies tested. Presence of these indicates Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune situation where you body attacks your thyroid. These antibodies will show up before any hypothyroidism shows up in your TSH/T3/T4, etc., test results. Now, I know the jury is out, and a lot of people don't believe that stress can cause hairloss, but it seems to be a big case in my situation, and I know of two other women who had excessive hairloss until they learned to manage their stress.

Good luck to you both.