HELP! Major Shed!

[carolinaberry]

I would like some advice on how to handle a major, unexpected shed.

I went from shedding 2-4 hairs per day to well over 100 hairs per day. It has gotten progressively worse. It was 2-4 hairs...then maybe 6-8, then 10, 20, etc...and now it is at an alarming rate. I know some people say they shed 100 hairs a day normally, but the thing that concerns me is the vastly increased rate.

Here are some facts:
In late Jan/early Feb, I did an egg donation cycle which required me to inject hormones for 3 weeks.

I take MSM, multi-hair-vitamin, multi-mineral, silica

We just moved from CO to WA at the very end of April. It was a stressful move.

The first time I washed my hair in WA, there were small white..chunks clinging to my hair, which judging by color and texture I thought was conditioner that didn't rinse out well, so I re-rinsed and they still clung to my hair. Now, I seem to always have this, though the chunks have gotten smaller...it looks like my scalp is peeling...kind of like dandruff, but not dandruff.

I haven't changed products or supplements in months. I did some Monistat treatments in April and 3 in the beginning of may. I did some MTG treatments in April. I haven't done any because we are settling in and was planning to resume in June.

I have *never* shed this much in my life, not even after the births of my children, which did increase shedding but not to this point.

I know it may be impossible to pinpoint the *exact* cause of the shed, but I would really appreciate any advice on how to stop it. I would also appreciate any input on if the egg donation hormones could have triggered it or anything like that. Also, with the weird "dandruff"-y thing that is going on...could it be the water here? Could the water also make me shed? I have looked for a filtering shower head and can't find one.

Thank you guys for the input!

[summerstarlet]

I live in Colorado and regularly visit Washington. The water in your area could be harsher than the water here in Colorado. I found that the humidity and temperature effect my hair in odd ways. I heard that monistat can lead to some shedding so you might want to look into that before continuing with your current routine.

[Silverbrumby]

I would like some advice on how to handle a major, unexpected shed.

I went from shedding 2-4 hairs per day to well over 100 hairs per day. It has gotten progressively worse. It was 2-4 hairs...then maybe 6-8, then 10, 20, etc...and now it is at an alarming rate. I know some people say they shed 100 hairs a day normally, but the thing that concerns me is the vastly increased rate.

Here are some facts:
In late Jan/early Feb, I did an egg donation cycle which required me to inject hormones for 3 weeks.

I take MSM, multi-hair-vitamin, multi-mineral, silica

We just moved from CO to WA at the very end of April. It was a stressful move.

The first time I washed my hair in WA, there were small white..chunks clinging to my hair, which judging by color and texture I thought was conditioner that didn't rinse out well, so I re-rinsed and they still clung to my hair. Now, I seem to always have this, though the chunks have gotten smaller...it looks like my scalp is peeling...kind of like dandruff, but not dandruff.

I haven't changed products or supplements in months. I did some Monistat treatments in April and 3 in the beginning of may. I did some MTG treatments in April. I haven't done any because we are settling in and was planning to resume in June.

I have *never* shed this much in my life, not even after the births of my children, which did increase shedding but not to this point.

I know it may be impossible to pinpoint the *exact* cause of the shed, but I would really appreciate any advice on how to stop it. I would also appreciate any input on if the egg donation hormones could have triggered it or anything like that. Also, with the weird "dandruff"-y thing that is going on...could it be the water here? Could the water also make me shed? I have looked for a filtering shower head and can't find one.

Thank you guys for the input!

If you start monistat and stop you get a catch up shed I've heard. It might be that.

I'd keep doing what you're doing. It's a good routine. Maybe don't do the monistat again for now and wait until you slow the shed down.

I can't believe you where only shedding that little. I mean did you braid at night then count the hairs in the comb the next day, rebraid and at the end of the night count again? I've done that a few times and my numbers are between 62 and 100 per day with 60's being ideal for me.

Here is a terminal length calculator FYI http://www.allvidzhaze.com/phptest/hairgrowth.html

My thought here is hormones and stress. And maybe you have changed something else in your routine? I noticed when I went from brushing with a BBB to just combing I started losing a ton of hair. Or so it seemed. It turned out it was more that in the BBB I didn't see the hair where as in my wide tooth comb you see everything.

[carolinaberry]

Thanks for the replies.

To Silverbrumby...regarding the hair count: I don't braid at night b/c my hair is too short and layered. But, I am fairly preoccupied with my hair and pay a lot of attention to when I find hairs on my clothes, bed, floor, shower, etc. For a very long time (even before I decided to grow my hair out), I didn't have shed hairs on my clothes, bed, floor, brush...and in the shower was when the 2-4 would come out. Now, there is hair everywhere-I'm constantly picking hair off of my clothes, out of the sink, off the floor, on my bed...and when I shower, my fingers get completely covered in shed hairs...and I count them. When it first increased, I wasn't worried about it too much, but now it is bad. And I clean the hairs up as soon as I see them, so I'm not recounting them. I only did a week of Monistat in April and 3 the first week of May, and I wasn't really shedding much before the Monistat or immediately after. But, I will wait to resume that to see if this slows down soon.

[heidi w.]

Get ye to a doctor immediately and double check there's no issue with your health, such as no thyroid condition or otherwise. I know it's a hassle, but thyroid untreated can lead to a boatload of health problems. Thyroid affects the entire system. And there're two kind of thyroid conditions. Don't let him overlook a borderline case. You want that screen to come back a definite not positive for thyroid.

Stress can cause a lot of shedding hair. I had this happen once. It was alarming. I resolved the issue which in turn resolved the shedding. But it may take some time. A big move is a big deal. I know; I went through it. And may have to again, yet.....

Eat well.
Get plenty of rest.
See the doctor to rule out a medical condition of some kind.
Have your hormones changed, such as are you near the end times of menstruating. It seems you're not. Is your mensus normal?
How's the water in your area? Might it benefit from softening the water?
Hair roots show as a little thingy on one end of the hair.....often it's merely a fillament, a kind of what's a good word?..... um, wrapping of the hair follicle and not necessarily the follicle itself.
When you visit the doc, bring some of the shed hair with this white stuff on it for him/her to see.
Try to normalize your routine as much as is possible.

Just the time change can cause some friction. It took me a bit to get used to being in a new time zone. I now can't travel as easily as I once did from timezone to timezone. Much more than an hour difference pretty much wipes me out for a whole day. If it's 2-3 hours, I'm in real trouble. Sleep is the only solution for me.

I hope this helps. Don't poo-poo talking with a qualified professional about all this.
heidi w.

[heidi w.]

Thanks for the replies.

To Silverbrumby...regarding the hair count: I don't braid at night b/c my hair is too short and layered. But, I am fairly preoccupied with my hair and pay a lot of attention to when I find hairs on my clothes, bed, floor, shower, etc. For a very long time (even before I decided to grow my hair out), I didn't have shed hairs on my clothes, bed, floor, brush...and in the shower was when the 2-4 would come out. Now, there is hair everywhere-I'm constantly picking hair off of my clothes, out of the sink, off the floor, on my bed...and when I shower, my fingers get completely covered in shed hairs...and I count them. When it first increased, I wasn't worried about it too much, but now it is bad. And I clean the hairs up as soon as I see them, so I'm not recounting them. I only did a week of Monistat in April and 3 the first week of May, and I wasn't really shedding much before the Monistat or immediately after. But, I will wait to resume that to see if this slows down soon.

If you don't be sure to detangle the hair prior to a hair wash, and don't pile the hair on top of the head and scrub around tangling all the hair.

Is it possible that you're having a reaction to the Monistat? If your hair shred count declines during this off season and then you take up Monistating again, and the shed rate increases, that could be an answer. Be sure to do one change isolated by itself, so you can be sure of what the exact problem is.

heidi w.

[carolinaberry]

Thanks, Heidi. My mom actually has a thyroid problem, so if it's genetic, that could be it. I do only wash my scalp, don't pile my hair when I wash, etc. I will ask the doctor to do a work-up as soon as I am assigned a new PCM. I just hope it is someone who will take me seriously. And I'm sure it could be the Monistat. I can only rule that out if the shed stops and then I do another round of treatments and it occurs again. I'm thinking I should maybe just stick to wearing my hair up and doing basic stuff to my hair, and continuing the supplements, which I had cleared by my last PCM. Are humans supposed to have a "spring shed" like dogs? My dogs shed like crazy recently. One of them shed really bad during and after the move...like, I vacuumed the hotel rooms when we left b/c the floor was covered.

[Micayla47]

Get ye to a doctor immediately and double check there's no issue with your health, such as no thyroid condition or otherwise. I know it's a hassle, but thyroid untreated can lead to a boatload of health problems. Thyroid affects the entire system. And there're two kind of thyroid conditions. Don't let him overlook a borderline case. You want that screen to come back a definite not positive for thyroid.

Stress can cause a lot of shedding hair. I had this happen once. It was alarming. I resolved the issue which in turn resolved the shedding. But it may take some time. A big move is a big deal. I know; I went through it. And may have to again, yet.....

Eat well.
Get plenty of rest.
See the doctor to rule out a medical condition of some kind.
Have your hormones changed, such as are you near the end times of menstruating. It seems you're not. Is your mensus normal?
How's the water in your area? Might it benefit from softening the water?
Hair roots show as a little thingy on one end of the hair.....often it's merely a fillament, a kind of what's a good word?..... um, wrapping of the hair follicle and not necessarily the follicle itself.
When you visit the doc, bring some of the shed hair with this white stuff on it for him/her to see.
Try to normalize your routine as much as is possible.

Just the time change can cause some friction. It took me a bit to get used to being in a new time zone. I now can't travel as easily as I once did from timezone to timezone. Much more than an hour difference pretty much wipes me out for a whole day. If it's 2-3 hours, I'm in real trouble. Sleep is the only solution for me.

I hope this helps. Don't poo-poo talking with a qualified professional about all this.
heidi w.
heidi, if you can answer my questions i'd appreciate it. how do i know if i have hard/soft water?which is better? how can i "fix" my water if it's too hard/soft?

[spidermom]

Amazon.com has filter shower heads. I bought one this year to see if it would relieve my issue with split ends.

The water here in western WA is soft; few minerals. I don't know about eastern WA. And I don't know where you are.

[ravenreed]

I think it might be related to the hormones you took. Even so, unless you are seeing a drastic reduction in thickness, I wouldn't worry just yet. When I had a surgery to remove an ovary last year, I lost about a third of my hair. I think it was because it affected my hormone levels. My hair is happily growing back and the new growth is between chin and BSL. It is awkward to grow out, but oh well.

I have very hard water where I live. The easiest way to tell if you have hard water is to look at your faucets and shower heads. If you see a white crusty substance built up around the faucets, that is from minerals in the water and indicates hard water. The way I counteract that problem is to do a vinegar rinse every time I cleanse my hair.

[carolinaberry]

Amazon.com has filter shower heads. I bought one this year to see if it would relieve my issue with split ends.

The water here in western WA is soft; few minerals. I don't know about eastern WA. And I don't know where you are.

I'm in western WA. I live on an AFB in an old house...we got a warning about lead paint in our lease (like, there is some in the exterior of our house...apparently been "sealed" and painted over inside)...so I wonder if there is an issue with our pipes. By contrast, I don't know what kind of water was in CO Springs. I'm going to the doctor and am going to ask for a "full work-up"as far as blood goes, to look for vitamin deficiencies, thyroid, iron levels, etc. Of course, most doctors hate being asked to run specific tests, so I'll see how that goes.

I am definitely going to purchase a filtering shower head though.

[carolinaberry]

I think it might be related to the hormones you took. Even so, unless you are seeing a drastic reduction in thickness, I wouldn't worry just yet. When I had a surgery to remove an ovary last year, I lost about a third of my hair. I think it was because it affected my hormone levels. My hair is happily growing back and the new growth is between chin and BSL. It is awkward to grow out, but oh well.

I have very hard water where I live. The easiest way to tell if you have hard water is to look at your faucets and shower heads. If you see a white crusty substance built up around the faucets, that is from minerals in the water and indicates hard water. The way I counteract that problem is to do a vinegar rinse every time I cleanse my hair.

I looked up some of the hormones I took and one of them is known to cause shedding by terminating the growth cycle...which I guess would be the right timing for it to be in the shedding stage now. Two of the meds I remember taking are Gonal-F and Clomid.

As for the hard-water test...now I know we definitely had hard water in Colorado...we had stalactites on all the holes in our shower head that I had to clean off once a month or so.

[carolinaberry]

I finally got to see the dr today. She found nothing upon examination and ordered blood tests for Monday. The blood tests are "fasting tests" so I couldn't get them done today. One thing she suggested is that, coming from the harshly sunny CO to the filtered light of WA, my vitamin D production may have plummeted...whereas in CO I was getting plenty of exposure just by walking to my car, to the store, even driving, here I would actually need to purposely sit outside for 15 minutes with no sunscreen. I burn that quickly, so we will see. So, Monday I'll be checked for thyroid problems, liver function, kidney function, vitamin deficiencies, and iron.