Literally, What Is Wrong With My Hair?

[Ikarus]

embarrasing

 

[random phone charger]

Bump

 

[Zach45678]

Dude I feel like I'm going through the same thing only I also have very poor healing of my wounds like even the smallest cuts become scars and they stay pink in color for a very long time I'm talking years. I also have breathing issues as well. I wonder if my calorie diet is what's getting to me as well but I have no idea if that's what it is or not.

 

[Unlucky93]

I wouldn't touch Accutane with a shitty stick.

 

[Unlucky93]

I think Accutane is a good medication, you just have to be careful with it and listen to your body.

It's great for acne don't get me wrong. Dermas love it. It's shitty for everything else though, especially your hair, liver and dick.

 

[Zach45678]

Its weird because I don't take any medication and ive never changed my diet. I luckily have a high metabolism but still. Idk its weird what ive been going through. However I can say I started to lose hair at 19 and 3 years later I experienced these issues.

 

[Zach45678]

Where are you losing hair exactly? Also, you should take supplements daily to support your body with hair growth, or skin health; I believe those can make a difference.

check out my post that I put on here it should be right up here with yours its the one that says "Please tell me where I'm at on the nor wood scale"

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

Male pattern baldness does not seem to run in my family, from my knowledge. Now, to give you an insight of when my hair loss begun: it started when I was 14 after crash dieting. I was eating around 300-800 calories per day, and I was swimming around 3 or 4 times a week. I had also fainted 3 times during this process. This was in the summer of 2014. Furthermore, during December of the same year, my hear began to shed in a mass-amount. It wasn't noticeable, especially since I began getting my hair bleached white-blonde which plumped the strands. Back to my diet, I got so used to eating less so I never went back to my usual intake which was around 2500 calories daily. I was eating around 1000 calories daily; I was too scared to eat above that, in fear of gaining weight again. The diet persisted for years to come, and my hair was continuously shedding and losing density. But again, it wasn't noticeable to others since my hair was plumped by the bleach. But then, during September of 2016 (16 years old), I got my hair dyed back to its original dark-brown colour, and my hair looked T H I N. My hair still appeared to be plumped by the dyes, but the contrast between my hair colour and my scalp made my hair appear thinner. So then, I decided to let my hair grow out, whilst gradually getting the colour cut off. This took around 6 months; the colour was completely gone from my hair, and my hair went to its original fine texture (March / April 2017). Furthermore, my hair looked so thin all over now my hair went back to its original texture. But, I didn't think of it much because I was so overly focused on clearing my skin. And to keep in note, I was still on this low calorie diet but it was even worse and harder for me to eat because I had cut out dairy and sugar. I was quite limited on what I could eat, without fear of gaining weight or getting acne. Since then, my hair texture and density has kind of remained the same, the density has decreased slightly but my hair still looks horrible nonetheless. (I'm now 18).

Now, I'd like to move onto other symptoms which my body was having. I had chronic fatigue, having low energy, bad mood swings, heightened anxiety (especially when I would wake up, I would feel severe anxiety for like no reason), feeling cold all the time and a very low libido (I would feel asexual some days lmao). I do believe I also have quite low testosterone levels.

I have been to a doctor, she said it's 'diffuse thinning' after doing a scalp examination, and she said that it's most likely due to my calorie restriction. (Keep in mind, the thinning is on the top and sides equally. I have noticed an equal density between the two. My hair line has remained the same since I was 13 or 14; my hairline is disgusting nonetheless and looks worse because my forehead is at least 10 inches big.) She did a blood test, and everything was fine besides folic acid levels.

Now, I do take supplements and have been taking them for quite some time. The supplements include saw palmetto (160mg), biotin (3000 mcg), and other ingredient which are good for your hair. I also take omega-3 supplements, along with iron supplements and folic acid supplements. I have been on Accutane for a week too.

Here is an image of my hair: https://imgur.com/a/gJn4g6a

At 14 years old you started crash-dieting, fainted multiple times, and a few months later, you began to shed in large amounts. Understanding this connection to your current state is vital. Aside from this, you were also bleaching your hair which can potentially cause hair/scalp damage. You even mentioned that your hair texture improved after you stopped bleaching.

You mentioned, "chronic fatigue, having low energy, bad mood swings, heightened anxiety (especially when I would wake up, I would feel severe anxiety for like no reason), feeling cold all the time and a very low libido."
Your diet could very well contribute to some of these but most importantly your doctor should have tested your thyroid levels.

I take different supplements but I don't substitute it for [healthy] food.

I'll be honest, I don't agree with how your doctor's appointment went. Your doctor should have given you a more conclusive answer by running more tests, especially a thyroid test. The first thing that came to mind when I first seen your pics and read some of the things that you mention is that you have chronic telogen effluvium. You just have so many things going on at the same time. Try making changes now and see your doctor or another for a second opinion if things don't improve. Good luck.

 

[Questions]

the chronic fatigue, acne, dieting, anxiety, and feeling asexual sometimes (before I started any meds though, it’s from depression) sounds just like me. All I can say is that I don’t trust accutane. It seems like it accelerates hair loss for anyone that is prone to it once they stop the course of meds. Just get on finasteride to be safe, and to have peace of mind.

 

[Pephair]

With wounds healing slowly, that could be due to you having thinner skin? I hear that's common with people who are on medication such as Accutane. But, I do believe calorie diets can have an impact if you also have the other symptoms mentioned, because those are just classic signs of your body telling you to stop. But, I was too stuck in the mindset of 'I'm going to turn fat', or 'I'm going to get acne if I eat this', which lead to me eating around 1000 calories a day.

What my point is, if you're going on a calorie diet, please be careful. My calorie diet seems to have stunted my growth, which is the worst part.

I would highly recommend stop getting that fade haircut. The best cut for you would be a high fade military cut:

 

[Pephair]

Also would recommend exercising. I know your energy is low. But that would combat a lot of your issues, especially the depression.

I really encourage you to watch this 5 minute clip. Dr. Andrew Weil and Joe Rogan might give you some motivation. (I tried linking youtube but it won't let me. Just go to youtube and type the below in. I know it talks about xanax but it hits your topic throughout)

Dr Andrew Weil: Xanax Addiction is Worse Than Opioids

 

[Jeju]

I would focus more on your eating disorder, not your hair and skin. You were eating 300-800 calories a day? Wow.
congratulations on getting your calories up to 2000 a day @Ikarus, however you must have caused your entire body serious damage eating so few calories for such a long time - even 1000 is very low.
If you’re still concerned about the amount of food you’re eating, I’d see a therapist. Seriously bro.

 

[CrownBalding]

Where are you losing hair exactly? Also, you should take supplements daily to support your body with hair growth, or skin health; I believe those can make a difference.

I’ve seen enough stories on here of people claiming that accutane started their hair loss to believe it. In my opinion hair is more important than acne and if was prone to bad acne and hair loss I’d opt out of accutane. At least acne isn’t permanent.

 

[Unlucky93]

Hair loss on Accutane is a rare side effect, and is apparent to be dose related. If you're taking lower doses, such as 20MG, it would be unusual to experience hair loss. The stories on this website do not state the dose they had taken, which is an important factor. However, a vast amount of people can take 80MG without experiencing hair loss; my male friends who took doses around that amount did not experience hair loss. But they did tell me they experienced a change in hair texture, which is due to them not producing natural oils (I'm guessing that can be combated with an extensive hair care routine).

I'm guessing you've already tried all the different types of antibiotic to help your acne?

 

[Jeju]

@Ikarus Glad to hear you’re gaining weight.
Out of curiosity, how tall are you?

 

[Jeju]

Nice work. Keep making those food gains and I’m sure your hair will improve.
You said earlier that you were cutting out sugar and dairy (can’t remember exactly) don’t be so preoccupied with eating “healthy” foods, because apparently everything is bad for us now - gluten, meat, sugar, dairy, too much fruit even lol. Trying to eat healthy but believing everything is unhealthy is how eating disorders begin. Specifically orthorexia.
Just eat a balanced diet bro, and a lot of it right now.

 

[dupapls]

dude, i was about to make a duplicate copy of this thread because i have the exact same type of hairloss as you and share many of your symptoms, most notably fatigue and persistent anxiety which comes around for seemingly no reason. my average temperature is also on the low side, getting as low as 96F in the morning. i was SURE i had hypothyroidism but my blood tests came back fine... my stress hormones seem to be out of whack too. i have LOW cortisol in the morning and very high at cortisol at night, making it difficult to fall asleep and wake up. i never seem to get a good night's rest and always wake up tired as hell and only start feeling fully awake much later in the day. i generally eat quite healthy and exercise regularly, so it doesn't seem diet related.

do you have scalp inflammation issues, like redness/itching/dandruff? i've had skin issues for a while and also tested positive for elevated candida antibodies in my blood, which i will attempt to treat.

are you also losing hair in the back of your head (donor area)? if so then you have dupa (diffuse unpatterned hair loss).


as you can see there's minimal recession in the front and diffuse all around the scalp loss. classic dupa. which seems to be bad news cause i've yet to come across a post of someone successfully treating theirs, and i've just about exhausted every single thread on the internet. seriously, if you're someone who's managed to reverse dupa, do lets us know, lol.


also can confirm short fade cuts are the way to go