help! Is telogen effluvium a significant factor??

[astral week]

I'm not blind to reality to the point where I don't think I have male pattern baldness to some degree; slightly less than half of the men in both sides of my family have male pattern baldness, and my temples have been slowly receding for 2 years or so (I'm 19), and my crown is now thinner than the rest of my hair. HOWEVER, I've been significantly stressed for about a year and a half, all the way back from Hurricane Katrina, which greatly affected my life for a while. The last year and a half I've experienced acute depression at times, and going without any food for up to 30 hours was not unusual, even 2 days a couple of times. I haven't been continually stressed, but there were months-long periods when I was very stressed and depressed, and it would sometimes peak, most notably losing 15 pounds in under 2 weeks when I only weigh 130 pounds anyway. Of course the discovery of hair loss (receding of temples) last august didn't help much. The reason I bring up T.E. again (I thought at first this might be the answer, but later disregarded it as a false hope, I'm a realist), is because after many many hours of researching hair loss, I think it is a possibility because ALL my hair has SIGNIFICANTLY lost volume and gotten softer, front, crown, sides, back, everything. A year ago I could stick my hair up with my hands and be able to stick pencils and stuff in my hair, not anymore. My belief is that prolonged stress and really crappy diet has sped up and exacerbated my normal male pattern baldness, which was definitely on the slower side. I've been on propecia for 4 months now, and if anything my OVERALL hair has gotten thinner. Most information about Telogen Effluvium say that hair returns about 3-4 months after the stressful event, but will persist if the stress persists, which mine definitely has. Let's just say it's been a rough period for me.

So is this possible?? The more I research it, the more possible it seems. And believe me, I am not normally an optimist.
thank you all so much, this forum is a godsend.

 

[Far Too Young]

Nothing's impossible, but it's generally agreed that the only sort of stress that will cause hairloss is something along the lines of being stuck in a Nazi prison camp for a year. We've all got our own varying levels of depression. My pattern loss definitely manifested itself in a telogen effluvium that I believe was triggered by a debilitating stomach bug that had me passing everything I ate for weeks. Doesn't mean the pattern isn't still there. Treating it can only help reduce stress. The old, "well at least i'm doing something" can be more a effective for stress relief than you would believe.

 

[astral week]

I realize that the actual pattern of male pattern baldness won't go away, but if I could gain back all the hair i've lost due to stress, I think I'd have a pretty thick head of hair again. The only reason I think stress has a big part to play is because of the circumstances and the fact that I've lost a LOT of density on the back and sides, not just the front and crown. And I don't think propecia does anything for stress-related hair loss, but I could be wrong.
It also seems reasonable that the effect that stress has on your hair varies from person to person, particularly people with male pattern baldness.

 

[sphlanx2006]

Actually being a victim of a hurricane (from what i got you are one) is one of a very stressful situation, enough in my opinion to cause some hair loss. Anyway, whay i got is that you also suffer from male pattern baldness, so getting on med is an one way solution. If some of your lost density is due to stress then you will most likely get them back soon, but reallizing that genetic hair loss is your actual problem soon is very important.

Anyway, in general, i think stress can have much greater effect that we think. My aunt's husband, has a full head of hair but when he and his family moved out to a bigger house and had all this stress about extra spendings, loans etc, all his hair went grey in just a 2 month period.

I ve heard stories (though not confirmed myself) of hair going white in 1 week period after extreme socks.

 

[jj_24]

I went through a similar situation. Extreme stress, stomach flu like you wouldnt believe and lost 20 lbs in a month or two due to stress. My hair started falling out like 4 or 500 a day. 1 year later I am on finasteride for 4 months and havent seen much improvement yet.

 

[Far Too Young]

I think that there are many cases where someone is predisposed to male pattern baldness already and that something triggers a Telogen Effluvium, which effectively kickstarts the male pattern baldness. Probably earlier than it would have fired up otherwise.

 

[jj_24]

I agree the Telogen Effluvium can accelerate male pattern baldness because a cycle that would have taken years happens in months.

 

[astral week]

well in addition to the stress i was probably eating an average of 1000 calories a day for MONTHS, and some sources say that eating less thatn 1500 calories a day for a while can trigger Telogen Effluvium (most people get about 2500 calories a day). i just starting eating very healthy, and with finasteride I think I should at least gain back most of what I lost due to Telogen Effluvium. Most of what i read indicates that the hair lost from Telogen Effluvium returns, unless male pattern baldness is extremely aggressive, and mine wasn't, at least not yet. Got my fingers crossed! And actually, it makes me feel better to think that I can really do something more to fix it, and it may really have an effect.