Hello Board Members,
I am wondering what everyone’s opinion is on what to do in my situation?
My Story:
- I had a thick, dense head of hair all the way up until November 2013 at the age of 38.
- I had some stressful issues at work and I was diagnosed with stress and anxiety in December 2013 by the family doctor.
- In December 2013, I started to notice the sides of my hair decreasing in thickness and I was waking up with 30-50 strands of hair on my pillow (on top of whatever else hair I was losing throughout the day).
- The hair started to grow back but I noticed my hairline was receding a bit in the front and the temple.
- However, I was not only losing hair on my head, but also losing hair on different parts of my body (such as chest and lower legs).
- Based on how quick the shedding occurred, and the fact it was happening all over my body, I assumed it was Telogen Effluvium
- I did discuss this with the family doctor in December 2013 and because the hair started growing back, the family doctor diagnosed it as just being a ‘truncated hair cycle’
- I also visited the dermatologist in December 2013 and she said something along the lines of the same thing because it was growing back.
- Although the hair was growing back, it was growing thinner and thinner.
- However, believing that I had Telogen Effluvium, I just believed my hair would grow back because the hair on my body started to grow back. Plus, almost all of the hairs I saw on my pillow had the white bulb on the bottom, meaning it was a telogen hair (to correlate with Telogen Effluvium).
- Fast forward to mid-March 2014 and I noticed less hairs were having the white bulb on the bottom and the hairs were getting smaller.
- I also started experiencing itchiness and a ‘tingling’ feeling about 3 weeks ago.
- I visited the dermatologist last Monday (April 11[SUP]th[/SUP]) and she now says I have telogen effluvium and male pattern baldness occurring at the same time. She prescribed 5% minoxidil foam and Propecia (exactly what this website said the doctor would do with not other advice being offered).
- This week, I had another ‘telogen’ episode if you will and lost some hair in my eye brows, upper chest and in the shower was very easily able to remove a small handful of chest hair. However, the eyebrow hair has already started to grow back in a few areas.
- It is extremely frightening to go from a full head of hair in November 2013 to now seeing a quickly receding hairline and I can now see the thinning of crown. The hair in the temple area is completely gone on both sides now with the front line now rapidly receding a bit every week.
- At the advice of this website, I just bought NIzoral 2% shampoo (I can’t find 1% in Canada) and ordered the Revivogen system.
- I used the Nizoral shampoo this afternoon for the first time and although my crown is a bit red, I noticed an improvement in less itching and tingling already.
Questions to the Board:
1. Has anyone experienced such a rapid decrease in hair loss before? Or, having Telogen Effluvium along with male pattern baldness at the same time?
2. I am scared to take Propecia because of the horror stores, has anyone been successful in taking Propecia WITHOUT side effects? (all I am reading are side effects).
3. Can you use a conditioner after using the Nizoral shampoo?
4. I am thinking of adding a multivitamin with Biotin. Any opinions on that?
- Due to the rapid pace that I am losing hair, my fear is that I will lose all of my hair before anything will begin to work at re-growing it.
Thanks Everyone for reading.
I am wondering what everyone’s opinion is on what to do in my situation?
My Story:
- I had a thick, dense head of hair all the way up until November 2013 at the age of 38.
- I had some stressful issues at work and I was diagnosed with stress and anxiety in December 2013 by the family doctor.
- In December 2013, I started to notice the sides of my hair decreasing in thickness and I was waking up with 30-50 strands of hair on my pillow (on top of whatever else hair I was losing throughout the day).
- The hair started to grow back but I noticed my hairline was receding a bit in the front and the temple.
- However, I was not only losing hair on my head, but also losing hair on different parts of my body (such as chest and lower legs).
- Based on how quick the shedding occurred, and the fact it was happening all over my body, I assumed it was Telogen Effluvium
- I did discuss this with the family doctor in December 2013 and because the hair started growing back, the family doctor diagnosed it as just being a ‘truncated hair cycle’
- I also visited the dermatologist in December 2013 and she said something along the lines of the same thing because it was growing back.
- Although the hair was growing back, it was growing thinner and thinner.
- However, believing that I had Telogen Effluvium, I just believed my hair would grow back because the hair on my body started to grow back. Plus, almost all of the hairs I saw on my pillow had the white bulb on the bottom, meaning it was a telogen hair (to correlate with Telogen Effluvium).
- Fast forward to mid-March 2014 and I noticed less hairs were having the white bulb on the bottom and the hairs were getting smaller.
- I also started experiencing itchiness and a ‘tingling’ feeling about 3 weeks ago.
- I visited the dermatologist last Monday (April 11[SUP]th[/SUP]) and she now says I have telogen effluvium and male pattern baldness occurring at the same time. She prescribed 5% minoxidil foam and Propecia (exactly what this website said the doctor would do with not other advice being offered).
- This week, I had another ‘telogen’ episode if you will and lost some hair in my eye brows, upper chest and in the shower was very easily able to remove a small handful of chest hair. However, the eyebrow hair has already started to grow back in a few areas.
- It is extremely frightening to go from a full head of hair in November 2013 to now seeing a quickly receding hairline and I can now see the thinning of crown. The hair in the temple area is completely gone on both sides now with the front line now rapidly receding a bit every week.
- At the advice of this website, I just bought NIzoral 2% shampoo (I can’t find 1% in Canada) and ordered the Revivogen system.
- I used the Nizoral shampoo this afternoon for the first time and although my crown is a bit red, I noticed an improvement in less itching and tingling already.
Questions to the Board:
1. Has anyone experienced such a rapid decrease in hair loss before? Or, having Telogen Effluvium along with male pattern baldness at the same time?
2. I am scared to take Propecia because of the horror stores, has anyone been successful in taking Propecia WITHOUT side effects? (all I am reading are side effects).
3. Can you use a conditioner after using the Nizoral shampoo?
4. I am thinking of adding a multivitamin with Biotin. Any opinions on that?
- Due to the rapid pace that I am losing hair, my fear is that I will lose all of my hair before anything will begin to work at re-growing it.
Thanks Everyone for reading.