Chronic Telogen Effluvium, Cannot Find The Trigger.

[onceuponatime]

Hey guys, a year ago i had an incident where i had injured my head which required stitches. My hair was fine after the incident but approximately 2-3 months later my hair fell out drastically and the texture of the hair completely changed to dry and brittle. I have since been consistently losing hair and it hair is really thin at the top of my scalp. i did research on the issue and self-diagnosed myself with "CTE" (Chronic Telogen Effluvium) as this has been going on for more than 6 months, I recently had a blood test done which came out satisfactory meaning i had no thyroid or vitamin deficiency problem. I noticed that some days my hair is completely fine and some days it is really thin, meaning there is a trigger but i really can't pinpoint it, I'm really at a loss. Is there anyone that has gone through the same sh*t, if so what advice would you give me?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[hopeforhappiness]

Does your hair loss have a pattern on the scalp ? Is it focused to any specific areas ?

 

[onceuponatime]

Does your hair loss have a pattern on the scalp ? Is it focused to any specific areas ?

Just the top and the crown, the hairline is still the same. The sides and back is completely fine.

 

[hopeforhappiness]

Just the top and the crown, the hairline is still the same. The sides and back is completely fine.

Assuming the injury and stitches occurred in the same area this could be shock loss, permanent or temporary. If you have telogen iffluvium brought on by such a thing it is not typical that the sides and back go unaffected. This would suggest it may be something else. Lots of people are diagnosed with Telogen Effluvium even by doctors and derms when they first discover their hairloss and then as time goes on it proves to not be the case.

Whether it’s Telogen Effluvium or early male pattern baldness or female pattern baldness (being a male does not make you immune) I think the obvious first step is minoxidil. You can get a 5% liquid or foam and begin applying it to the problem areas to see if this will show any improvement.

Change in hair texture can often be a sign of androgen related hairloss, unfortunately. If you are healthy and living in moderately healthy conditions with no underlying health concerns, it isn’t likely that you have chronic Telogen Effluvium with some hidden reoccurring trigger. It does happen. But such are freakishly rare cases, and we’d all love to be one of them.

That being said some photos of your current and prior situation would help to narrow down the cause and what your options may be.

 

[onceuponatime]

Assuming the injury and stitches occurred in the same area this could be shock loss, permanent or temporary. If you have telogen iffluvium brought on by such a thing it is not typical that the sides and back go unaffected. This would suggest it may be something else. Lots of people are diagnosed with Telogen Effluvium even by doctors and derms when they first discover their hairloss and then as time goes on it proves to not be the case.

Whether it’s Telogen Effluvium or early male pattern baldness or female pattern baldness (being a male does not make you immune) I think the obvious first step is minoxidil. You can get a 5% liquid or foam and begin applying it to the problem areas to see if this will show any improvement.

Change in hair texture can often be a sign of androgen related hairloss, unfortunately. If you are healthy and living in moderately healthy conditions with no underlying health concerns, it isn’t likely that you have chronic Telogen Effluvium with some hidden reoccurring trigger. It does happen. But such are freakishly rare cases, and we’d all love to be one of them.

That being said some photos of your current and prior situation would help to narrow down the cause and what your options may be.

The whole top portion of scalp is very thin meaning i would have to apply monxidil everywhere, would going on finasteride be a better option? As for the images, i will upload them sometime soon.

 

[Alphalete]

mind posting pics?

 

[hopeforhappiness]

The whole top portion of scalp is very thin meaning i would have to apply monxidil everywhere, would going on finasteride be a better option? As for the images, i will upload them sometime soon.

No rush for the images but most people on here would want them before suggesting anything that may help you.

If your hairloss is androgen related finasteride is one of the best options. You’re going to want to do some research about this drug to be sure it’s right for you. There are loads of threads of here where you can read about the drug itself and user experiences but do take some reports with a grain of salt as everyone responds differently.

Are you experiencing miniaturization ? The hairs falling do they vary in diameter at the root versus the end ? Is there a typically a white or pigmented bulb at the root ? If not this would suggest breakage. Are you experiencing any scalp irritation ? How severe ? Redness ? Rashes ?

 

[Jhair123]

I’ve been dealing with this for awhile and honestly it can be so hard to talk about. I found that maintaining a positive attitude is really important, but at times I felt there was no hope. This video helped me better understand my situation, and gave me hope, and some tips for maintaining a positive attitude through all this. Maybe it can help someone else too:

 

[onceuponatime]

No rush for the images but most people on here would want them before suggesting anything that may help you.

If your hairloss is androgen related finasteride is one of the best options. You’re going to want to do some research about this drug to be sure it’s right for you. There are loads of threads of here where you can read about the drug itself and user experiences but do take some reports with a grain of salt as everyone responds differently.

Are you experiencing miniaturization ? The hairs falling do they vary in diameter at the root versus the end ? Is there a typically a white or pigmented bulb at the root ? If not this would suggest breakage. Are you experiencing any scalp irritation ? How severe ? Redness ? Rashes ?

Sorry for the late reply!!

The hairs falling do they vary in diameter at the root versus the end ? - No, i believe they are consistently the same diameter.

Is there a typically a white or pigmented bulb at the root ? - Nope i dont see any bulbs, normally i feel a full hair strand or broken hair.

Are you experiencing any scalp irritation? - I did at one point feel a lot of irritation on my scalp and noticed that it was really red, i don't think they were rashes tho. This occurred for like a week and i no longer get the itchiness.