any experience with stress related hair loss

chew

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Hello, having read the boards for a few weeks it seems you all are informed, experienced, or at least worried about hair loss...so maybe a few of you have some thoughts on my problem.

Basically over the course of the last year my hair has gone from exactly as it always was (each hair is very fine and pretty oily, but there was a whole lot of it) to thinning all over my head. It is likely not noticible to anyone unless I point it out...but then objective observers do definitely notice the thinner head of hair.

At first I figured that it was/is the beginning of male pattern baldness and that the days of good hair are gone...I am 30 now. So I saw the doctor and after a casual look by the GP was perscribed Propecia. And maybe this is right, but a couple of things have caused me to second guess the diagnosis. At least one of them is the hope that I will keep my hair...in other words, denial.

But the legitimate concern is this.
1. it is diffuse thinning with no particular pattern or recession evident at this point.
2. I decided to keep count of the hairs that fall out...and yes this is a depressing endevour (sp?)...but I am losing 250-350 hairs a day. As I said I have always had a lot of hairs on my head, and thus I have always shed quite a lot...but 250-300 seems excessive.
3. The hairs all have the white bulb on them, they are not broken off.
4. They all appear the same thickness.
5. While it seems more evident on top of the head, I think this is because of gravity. The hair on top falls down and exposes the scalp, while the hair on the sides just falls down and blocks the scalp. When it is wet and combed in directions the thin-ness appears similar on the sides and top.
6. And I have been stressed out for the last year. I wont bore you with details or make this long post longer...but suffice to say, I have been way more stressed than usual.

So the question is. Beyond the non-commital nobody knows for sure....what are people's thoughts on stress related hair loss. In fact here are the specific two questions I have for others on this board:

1. Did any of you experience a ton of hair shedding like this that turned out to just be the beginning of male pattern baldness?

2. Did any of you experience something like this that turned out to be stress related and thus not male pattern baldness?

...and finally a note: the shedding started before taking any propecia. which I have only tried for a couple weeks...and if it isn't male pattern baldness, I'd rather not put extra stuff in my body. Though stress stinks, I kinda hope that's what it is. My genes look 50/50 bald or full head of hair--the family is half and half.

anyway, thanks in advance if you have thoughts. good luck to us all.
 

dirkdiggler

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Look man, you sound JUST like I did about a year ago. I went through very stressful times for 2 straight years. PM me and I can tell you about them. But, just when I started to feel good, about a month or two after I last let stress and bullshit beat me to the ground, I then noticed my hair starting to shed and thin.
Stress def causes some hair loss, Im not saying it doesnt.
I think maybe I didnt notice before or while I was going through a very bad 2 years because of the fact that I was so busy trying to live through every hellish day that I didnt give a sh*t about my hair, and never thought that i would start to lose it. In fact, I have one person in my huge family with hairloss. I have always had thick black italian hair. I won best hair in my high school 2 years in a row. I had beautiful Keanu Reeves sh*t going.
One day I noticed more scalp showing..... blamed it entirely on stress. One year later and I feel so bald. Without Dermatch I cant look like I used to. Its horrible. Propecia is working, but not as great as i would have liked.
I wished I jumped on it that day I first noticed, but denial denied me that chance. That day was 2 days after my 22 birthday....
It feels horrible to bounce back from depression and a horrible life only to quickly see your hair going, like "DAMMIT, what the f*** can possibly be next?!"
I have a theory that would get laughed at on this forum. It is, that I believe or think I believe, that those who are destined to be stricken with male pattern baldness are going to get hit with it someday in their life. BUT, I think it is possible that huge amounts of stress may cause that to "trigger" youre predestined badling fate sooner than it should. I dont know if that makes sense. Again ... people who are geneticaly supposed to go bald, WILL go bald... but unseen and large amounts of stress may affect something in your body (chemicals?...hormones?) and give that date a violent shove sooner in your life.... its crazy .... but I have heard worse.
But, I cant give you fact, only opinion. And that is, youre glory days are going. Get on and stick with a regimen now, or stick with denial for another year until you see how bad your baldness is progressing, AND then get on finasteride and/or minoxidil..... its up to you. good luck with what ever you decide. I hope for the best for you.
 

jambri

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Dirk, I totally agree with your theory. I personally consider the vast numbers of people with extreme stress followed by balding as proof.
 

chew

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so it does sound like the crazy all over shed can, and likely is, a precursor to the plain old male pattern baldness.

the brought on by stress idea makes sense to me too.

I have started using the 5%xandrox and every other day propecia now...but i don't want to take stuff/spend money if it is not necessary...

do either of you know if there is a test to see if it is in fact dht causing the trouble...or do you just try to rule out other things and then figure dht is the most common and likely remaining cause?

by the way, thanks for the responses and more personal experience or thoughts is definitely appreciated.
 

TheBaldingMenace

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I would have to say that it isn't the stress that is getting you to loose your hair. Rather, it is the way that you are choosing to respond to the stress that is doing it. Believe me, I've had enough stress to last a lifetime in the last five years and thankfully am on a hairloss treatment that is working for me. I'm slowly learning how NOT to let the stress in my life control me and weird me out. Just an idea.
 

hairfin

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well im in ur boat, was under stress, only 20 but noticed hair thinning thought it was stress related but now stress has gones its still thinnign so on 1/6 proscar for 7 weeks
 

chew

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hairfin, how long has the stress been gone. cause i would guess it would take a while to get back to normal...or maybe it just doesn't go back.

and balding menace, does dealing with the stress differently work? or at least is it working for you to stop hair loss?
 

chew

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i've moved my updates over to another topic:
male pattern baldness or something else---Look at PICS
so if anyone was following any of this, check that one out.
 

chew

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here is the exact name of that topic
male pattern baldness OR SOMETHING ELSE? *PICS*
 

truking10

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Chew im in the EXACT same postition and its pissing me off!!!!! everyone saying its probably Telogen Effluvium turing into male pattern baldness but your not suppose to use Propeca with Telogen Effluvium sooo what do we do
 

chew

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i'm stumped too.

it isn't too bad now, but if it keeps up like it is now, it will get worse. knowing what exactly was going on would help to figure out the best way to deal with it...and unfortunately derms don't really seem to have very many answers to diffuse thinning...

i'll keep gathering whatever info i can and posting it on here. i may see a hair specialist...it'll cost more than a derm on the insurance, but maybe i can at least get some info from someone who might have seen diffuse thinning before.
 

truking10

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well chew i saw a specalist at UCLA hes only like 1 of 7 in the US and hes the one who said i had Telogen Effluvium and the biopsy came back as Telogen Effluvium also. The only thing is wether or not my hair will regrow in the mbp areas
 

chew

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did the ucla specialist have an opinion as to whether he thought it was likely to grow back or be male pattern baldness...and how did you find a hair specialist?
 

TheBaldingMenace

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chew, well my mo is to try to respond to the stress in my life. Though I'm starting to see more and more of it on a daily basis I know that I can only deal with the stuff that I can change. That cuts half of my stress down by 50% 8) But I'll be honest about this, I wish that I had handling stress under my belt but that just isn't the truth. At least I've got a plan of action for when stress comes knocking at my door. You know, I've seen enought stress in the last five years to last five lifetimes.
 

chew

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balbing menace,
has trying better ways to deal with the stress seemed to show an appreciable difference in you hair?
 

JayB

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guys, im in the same situation as all of you...and i just live my life saying stranger things have happened for people. Who knows if we will grow all our hair back, i sure hope so with all my heart...but in the meantime try to make things as good as you can.

Maybe in the future we'll be able to deal with stress much much better and then after an extended period of time (ie: a year) without stress we can analyze it much better. I know that its been a year for me with no lightening up of stress/anxiety attacks. I dont shed much but ive had no regrowth in the areas that were hit hardest. or at least none that i can really see. Some areas have filled out alot better, those were the areas not hit hard from Telogen Effluvium, but the ones hit hard, the vertex and the patches going down the whole back havent recovered. I havent given them a chance to recover. So im usin minoxidil at night before i go to bed. If I learn to control stress, which means taking as much xanax as I feel like and some sh*t to help me sleep at night, and use the minoxidil to wake these guys back into anagen cycle, maybe..just maybe they will come back with patience. Stranger things have happened!!
 

Gilgamesh

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dirkdiggler said:
I have a theory that would get laughed at on this forum..

you theory is 100% correct: and this mysterious possible hormone you speak of is CORTISOL
 

JayB

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chew said:
what is cortisol? and where is dd's "laughed at" theory?
Cortisol is that nice little hormone you feel when you think that you are about to die, literally.
 
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