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sibyl
November 5th, 2011, 03:20 PM
I've been shedding a ton (well, just feels like a ton because of confirmation bias, but I feel like counting them would make me even more neurotic!) for the past few weeks. I went to the doctor and my bloodword and thyroid came back fine, and I'm not on any medication, so I think it's either due to the season or due to the fact that I had some serious emotional stress a couple months ago. I didn't get my hormones tested because my doctor felt it was unnecessary without other PCOS symptoms.

Anyway, my hair doesn't look thinner and I'm a bit of a hypochondriac so I'm not sure if I should run back to the doctor for more tests. (: In the meantime, I'm wondering if you guys could recommend any supplements, oils, products, etc. that would help reduce seasonal or stress shedding? Thanks! I already take iron (used to be anaemic), B12, vitamin D and a general multivitamin. Does Biotin work?

Amber_Maiden
November 5th, 2011, 03:26 PM
If your taking a whole bunch of vitamins already it could be just a seasonal shed, it's if you shed a lot over several months that should start to worry.

curlytiff27
November 5th, 2011, 06:03 PM
Hello hair twin! Lol I say that because I am going through the same thing right now. I had an extremely emotional summer...which lead to finding out my dad whose fairly young has am incurable type of leukemia. It was such an emotional blow. I went days without eating, constant worry, you name it. And yes stress can cause hairloss called telogen effluvium. I'm shedding, but haven't lost a lot of volume. It typically let's up within3-6 months after the start. Plus right now is a seasonal shedding time too. I'm a hypocondraic when it comes to over worrying and analyzing the situation too.I personally haven't had blood work done yet, but am scheduled in Dec. I say try not to worry about it, but that is so much easier said then done. If you ever want to just vent/talk about it feel free to message me! I promise it will get better. Oh and take it from me, stay away from "Dr. Google".... He will convince you that your loosing your hair for good....trust me..I worry all the time.

curlytiff27
November 5th, 2011, 06:07 PM
Sorry, forgot to add, yes biotin and MSM both can help too. I take both and I think that is what is keepinge from losing more than I am right now.

Maraz
November 5th, 2011, 06:10 PM
Hello hair twin! Lol I say that because I am going through the same thing right now. I had an extremely emotional summer...which lead to finding out my dad whose fairly young has am incurable type of leukemia. It was such an emotional blow. I went days without eating, constant worry, you name it. And yes stress can cause hairloss called telogen effluvium. I'm shedding, but haven't lost a lot of volume. It typically let's up within3-6 months after the start. Plus right now is a seasonal shedding time too. I'm a hypocondraic when it comes to over worrying and analyzing the situation too.I personally haven't had blood work done yet, but am scheduled in Dec. I say try not to worry about it, but that is so much easier said then done. If you ever want to just vent/talk about it feel free to message me! I promise it will get better. Oh and take it from me, stay away from "Dr. Google".... He will convince you that your loosing your hair for good....trust me..I worry all the time.

So sorry to hear about your Dad. :(

Staying away from Google is good advice, it has convinced me of numerous things over the years regarding my health, most of it flat wrong.

I spawned fat hair bunnies all through October, with no extra particular stress, so maybe it's just that time of year for me, too.

sibyl
November 6th, 2011, 02:22 PM
Thanks so much, I feel much better knowing that I'm not the only one going through this! I tend to worry a LOT about my health so I never know whether I'm having a real problem or just being anxious, and with my hair there's the added problem of vanity. But worrying can't be good for my health or my hair so I'll try not to do it.

I'm definitely going to give Biotin a try though because I also have and have always had terrible fingernails and maybe it can help me out with that as well.

Sorry about your father, curlytiff, and best wishes to your family.

Kelikea
November 6th, 2011, 02:38 PM
Umm..I think if stressed caused shedding I'd be bald!
Ok, maybe it causes a little shed, but not much. Don't go to the doctor unless you notice either clumps of hair lying around or bald patches.
A good multi, biotin, MSM, and silica are also helpful with a healthy diet.

Justy
November 6th, 2011, 11:42 PM
Don't go to the doctor unless you notice either clumps of hair lying around or bald patches.
A good multi, biotin, MSM, and silica are also helpful with a healthy diet.
I'm not sure about waiting for bald patches to appear before going to the doctor. When I was going through my major shed I could skim hair balls off the top of my bath water and had hairs coming out in my hands throughout the day. It was never 'chunks' but was WAY more than normal for me. My hair thinned but didn't get bald patches.

It turned out that while my thyroid and iron levels were fine, my feritin level (which shows how much iron is stored in the body rather than in the blood) was *7* instead of 70-120. It's still only in the high 20s but I can already see new baby hairs growing back. It's important to know what is normal for *you* and to make sure all the relevant tests are done, not just the most common.

I had to add an iron suppliment and increase the amount of red meat I eat to make any difference. Taking a good multi-vitamin helps me stay healthy and not stress about my thinned hair as much though. :)

Purdy Bear
November 7th, 2011, 01:52 AM
The way to counter act hypercondria is education.

Yes stress can be cause shedding, so do some more relaxation things like meditation, yoga, sing, dance, have fun.

Most baldness or thinning problems come under the heading of Alopecia. You can get thinning with this, or patches or even no hair, but the Dr would be able to pick up on those. The patches are usually about an inch circular so pretty noticeable.

Any food with lots or protein, biotin and iron are good for hair growth. Stress can make one not take on nutrients as normal but your blood work has come back fine so no worries there.

Aromatherphy has been shown to have good results and Iv found massage to be beneficial.


PS: I have a form of Alopecia so thats how I know what it looks like. Usually the skin goes very pale, with no root seen under the skin

Rockmoss
November 7th, 2011, 09:54 PM
I'm working on my thesis for school right now and the stress has my hair falling out all over the place. I hate the feeling of a loose strand of hair on my skin, so it must look funny with me brushing off my arms all the time. That or looking down my top to see if one's caught in my bra >>That can't just happen to me, right? If it's not coming out in patches then I wouldn't worry.

On another note, I just found out from this thread that humans have shedding seasons!

sibyl
November 10th, 2011, 12:06 PM
I'm not sure about waiting for bald patches to appear before going to the doctor. When I was going through my major shed I could skim hair balls off the top of my bath water and had hairs coming out in my hands throughout the day. It was never 'chunks' but was WAY more than normal for me. My hair thinned but didn't get bald patches.

It turned out that while my thyroid and iron levels were fine, my feritin level (which shows how much iron is stored in the body rather than in the blood) was *7* instead of 70-120. It's still only in the high 20s but I can already see new baby hairs growing back. It's important to know what is normal for *you* and to make sure all the relevant tests are done, not just the most common.

I had to add an iron suppliment and increase the amount of red meat I eat to make any difference. Taking a good multi-vitamin helps me stay healthy and not stress about my thinned hair as much though. :)

Ferritin 7? Wow. I had Ferritin 11 about a year ago and I seriously felt like I was dying, I could barely breathe and my heart was pounding like crazy.

Luckily it was mostly due to poor vegetarian diet, I started taking supplements and I'm up in the 50s now.

sibyl
November 10th, 2011, 12:17 PM
I'm working on my thesis for school right now and the stress has my hair falling out all over the place. I hate the feeling of a loose strand of hair on my skin, so it must look funny with me brushing off my arms all the time. That or looking down my top to see if one's caught in my bra >>That can't just happen to me, right? If it's not coming out in patches then I wouldn't worry.

On another note, I just found out from this thread that humans have shedding seasons!
I'm always checking myself for loose hairs too! I think once I've noticed them coming out I've gotten paranoid and I'm looking for them constantly.

What does make me feel better, as creepy as it sounds, is looking at other girls on the bus, etc...you can see a lot of them will have a hair or two sticking to their clothes too.

slo2gro
November 10th, 2011, 02:06 PM
I have been shedding more than usual too lately. :( I guess nothing too major but still enough for me to notice and its making me paranoid. Then a friend of mine says the other day WOW your hair has really grown BUT it looks thinner are you losing hair.... I WAS LIKE OH GOD gee thanks lol :(

iszolda111
November 10th, 2011, 02:18 PM
Several months ago I was in a crisis time of my life. I was so stressed out that I, for one, grew new body hair all over me, little black ones, terrifying; and secondly, lost so much hair that my hairline was noticeably receding. It was still growing, but I shed a large amount. I wanted to hide away forever. It's been around 10 months now of feeling better, still in stress always, but much better, eating normally again and sleeping, and my hairline is completely normal again, and my hair as thick as it was before. Also, all those horrifying little black hairs have fallen out, slowly but surely. They are all gone now. Stress can do crazy things to your body, scary things, but those things are not permanant. The best medicine, I believe, is to not think about it, not to stress yourself out more about it. It will heal as you heal.

sibyl
November 10th, 2011, 04:49 PM
I have been shedding more than usual too lately. :( I guess nothing too major but still enough for me to notice and its making me paranoid. Then a friend of mine says the other day WOW your hair has really grown BUT it looks thinner are you losing hair.... I WAS LIKE OH GOD gee thanks lol :(
Your hair looks so thick in your signature, though! I wonder if it just looks thinner because it's longer.

sibyl
November 10th, 2011, 04:52 PM
Several months ago I was in a crisis time of my life. I was so stressed out that I, for one, grew new body hair all over me, little black ones, terrifying; and secondly, lost so much hair that my hairline was noticeably receding. It was still growing, but I shed a large amount. I wanted to hide away forever. It's been around 10 months now of feeling better, still in stress always, but much better, eating normally again and sleeping, and my hairline is completely normal again, and my hair as thick as it was before. Also, all those horrifying little black hairs have fallen out, slowly but surely. They are all gone now. Stress can do crazy things to your body, scary things, but those things are not permanant. The best medicine, I believe, is to not think about it, not to stress yourself out more about it. It will heal as you heal.
Oh wow! I heard about stress-related hair loss but I didn't know it could have such a dramatic effect. I'm making an effort to take better care of myself right now and hopefully my hair will follow. It's hard not to get worried everytime I find a hair sticking to my sweater but my friends insist my hair still looks the same!

BlazingHeart
November 10th, 2011, 05:03 PM
It is possible to lose hair from stress, sure. But it's easy to monitor for it, too. Every couple of weeks, pull your hair back in a ponytail and measure just below the ponytail holder. You will get the most reliable results if you do it the same number of days after a wash, compact it tightly, and use similar ponytail holders.

SugarFang
November 10th, 2011, 06:31 PM
Every Spring and Fall I have a massive shed. My bath tub was covered in hairs after washing my hair today. I don't loose a noticeable amount thickness, and this has happened all my life so I'm used to it. Before I figured out that it was a seasonal thing though, I would freak out really bad. I remember crying to my mom as a teenager that I was going bald!

Also, when I go through stressful times I can always expect a good shed about two or three months later.