It's official - anyone else experience thick to thin?

[Herb]

I feel kinda lame right now. In the summer, I had a solid 4 1/2 inch circumference, but now I have only 3 1/2 inches! It was real gradual, I didn't really notice until I had lost about 3/4's of an inch. Whenever I ran my fingers through my hair, a strand (or strands) would come out. I started losing more hair in the shower. Even through late November, my hair was doing fine, I estimate about 4 inches. And then in mid-December, my friend braided my hair in twin braids and they looked so thin. It wasn't normal.

Anyway, one whole inch seems a little drastic to be just seasonal, so I'm a little worried.

There's no real reason for so much to go away. I was sick for a little while in early November, but I didn't lose too much during the duration of it, and figured it couldn't have affected me too much. No dietary changes, however, I've been taking less vitamins since late November, but I'm not sure that that could affect it too much.

I won't take even my three inches for granted, but I'm a little disappointed that when I grab my hair now, my knuckles touch my neck instead of another layer of hair. It just doesn't feel healthy anymore. And ugh, some people called my hair thin when it was 4.5, they'll surely be calling my hair thin now. Sigh.
I'll upload a picture for you all later for comparison, since it's seven in the morning now. My ends seem so thin and tapering. They used to be blunt and ... not thin.

Enough of my whining.

Anyone else experience this? Did you ever find the cause? Did you recover? If so, how?

[Madora]

Anemia can cause hair loss! I found out the hard way and lost at least a third of my thickness, and it hasn't returned.

I needed several transfusions before returning to "normal".

visit a doctor and see if there's an underlying reason for your hair loss. Good luck!

[soobie]

Severe anemia caused me to lose a lot of hair, too. There are lots of things that could be the cause, like thyroid issues, birth control, hormones, etc.

It's best to go the the doctor, explain what you've experienced, get some tests done, and go from there.

[Anywhere]

Anemia can cause hair loss!
Severe anemia caused me to lose a lot of hair, too.
/threadhijack

That would most likely explain my thinning hair as well.. :eek:
/endhijack

I guess I third the anemia causing hair loss... unfortunately.

[leoninnu]

I agree with all the previous posters. That much hair loss sounds to me like good reason to visit a doctor because the reason could be an underlying health problem. You should go see the doctor even if you would feel completely healthy right now.

[LadyG]

I was sick with Bronchitis this summer (almost put in hospital) and lost 30% of my hair. It's growing back, but it was so depressing to see all that hair in the drain and my brush. I was pre LHC at the time. Now all that hair is about 3" long and I have a "halo" of hair. Impossible to to have a smooth hair do for now. It's growing back, so perhaps for you, if you can find what's causing it, you can correct and get the hair to grow back. I also noticed when I was diagnosed and placed on medicine for my high blood pressure, I had a lot of new hair growth. The medicine gave me increased blood flow. So, it was a wonderful surprise. Best of luck to you.

[SwordWomanRiona]

I'm sorry for your hair problem, Herb!
I'm afraid I cannot really help, though. I had slight anemia a few years ago (I'm still taking iron pills from time to time), but I did not really notice a big difference in the thickness of my hair. But then, as I said, it was slight anemia what I had. Maybe you should get a blood test to see if your iron levels are alright.
Hope it turns OK!

[x0h_bother]

I know your diet has not changed, but to echo the iron deficiency concerns, ever since I began eating right my hair shedding has decreased. My diet had been the same (poor) for a long time, which took its toll on my hair. Only when I changed my diet for the better did I notice a great difference in health. GL.

[UltraBella]

I am so sorry you are experiencing this :( I don't have any helpful info to provide, just emotional support :flower:

[Amraann]

I believe on another thread it was discussed that stress can also cause hair loss/thinning.
Also your diet.

I had a very stressful 2 weeks a couple of months ago and when stressed I do not eat well and if I do I throw up easily. (sorry if TMI)

The result of that was that about a month later I noticed that my hair was thinning very badly.
Just handfuls of hair on shedding out of my head.
It just now started to get better. I also switched back to suave and mostly co and only shampoo wash about once every two weeks.

[spidermom]

I've gone from iii to ii and back again several times, but I'm talking approximately 4.25 to 3.75. It could be a function of how you measured (how tight you pulled the measuring tape, etc), plus adding bangs or face-framing fringe that no longer reaches your ponytail, how many days out from washing you measured, etc; there are a lot of things to take into consideration.

[Herb]

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/8951/hairinjan.png (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/hairinjan.png/)
It's very stringy, now.

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate them very much. I will put effort into getting more iron in my diet. Anemia could be a cause. I know my mom is prone to anemia, and I might be, too.

LadyG, your comment was particularly interesting. This winter has been quite cold, and my circulation is poorer than usual because of it. I will bundle up and get more exercise and see if that helps.

Thanks for all your advice. I'll try to visit a doctor soon.

[Amraann]

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/8951/hairinjan.png (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/hairinjan.png/)
It's very stringy, now.

Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate them very much. I will put effort into getting more iron in my diet. Anemia could be a cause. I know my mom is prone to anemia, and I might be, too.

LadyG, your comment was particularly interesting. This winter has been quite cold, and my circulation is poorer than usual because of it. I will bundle up and get more exercise and see if that helps.

Thanks for all your advice. I'll try to visit a doctor soon.

Your hair is still gorgeous!

[Finoriel]

And it's the character of our hairtype to unforgivingly display changes in circumference.
I'm still a low iii, but recently gained the taper of hell during some months of shedding. For me it could be all of the top 4 of the hairloss causes hormonal, stress, thyroid and anemia.

No good advice from me, besides seconding what the others already said.
Just wanted to offer some more sympathy and hugs. :flower:


ETA: Okay, maybe some advice at least.
When you take iron, make sure to not take it with milk-products or close to eating them. Take it with water or better juice or some fruit. Vitamin C promotes the ability of our body to take up the iron, while calcium lessens it.

[Eolan]

I know how you feel, I'm in the same situation. I had a big shed about a year ago. My guess is it was due to a very aggressive outburst of psoriasis that I did not treat for several months, a big diet change and stress. Not the best of coctails. I am still suffering from thin hair, so today I'm getting a big cut to get rid of it.

Best of luck to you! I hope you find out why you loose your hair, so that you can recover.

[Anje]

I'd suggest getting some bloodwork done before you start taking supplements, particularly for iron. That'll tell you whether you're looking at anemia, thyroid problems, or perhaps a different deficiency (D? Zinc? Just about anything out of balance seems to affect hair). In the meantime, take a regular multivitamin/multimineral supplement though, and try to get heme iron in your diet. A balanced, healthy diet isn't going to hurt in any case.