[waddy41]

What would you do if you lost 90% of your hair in a 4 month period

23 y/o female...started losing a little bit of hair in NOV but the hair loss got more aggressive.....now in mid MAR the hair is almost gone.....when APR comes there'll none left...

blood test was normal and has been getting cortico shots in the head since JAN...

Questions:
Anyone experience(d) this or know anyone that has?

Would you shave your head and leave it OR wear a wig?

TIA

[Alphamale]

So the doctors haven't had anything to say or prescribe? There are Chinese/Herbal medicines that may help your cause. Other than that, I have nothing to offer.

[waddy41]

Western doctors are injecting cortico steroids into the scalp...which is the most common treatment for "random" alopecia (Hair loss at random spots, unlike "male pattern baldness", which is thinning of the hair in general)

[XtC_13aBy]

Yup I know of a close friend that have been getting injections on the scalp (in a dermatologist office) and said it was mainly because of stress.

[misteranswer]

Wig.

[Shun Izaki]

Girls can probably get away with a wig, or something similar... but then again... wearing a hat might work too. Since I wear a hat all day long, everyday, i'm pretty used to it..

[TekDragon]

Have you tried a second opinion from a different doctor? Maybe see about a specialist. I'm not sure what is out there, but it wouldn't hurt to ask your current doctor/second opinion doctor.

[Adsdeman]

Yeah id go see a specialist! stress?

[Girl]

I was going to say iron deficency but since your blood work is fine. Is there a change in lifestyle and you're under more stress? That could be it.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine they talk about a weak or deficeny in the kindeys. There's other symptoms too like loss of libido, dry mouth, dizziness, knee or lumbar pain, hearing etc. Any one of those symptoms can flare up.

Go and get a full physical, could be thyroid issues and that can't always be detected unless you specify.

[Ducdesmo]

90% of hair loss in 4 months is a serious issue..can probably rule out hereiditary. Most likely it's something deep down inside that requires further attention. Find the source of the problem instead of patching it up with shots.

[waddy41]

Stress level is normal..and nothing much has changed except in AUG I started working 2 PT jobs with weird shifts so my sleep pattern is not consistent...

weird....in SEP/OCT I applied to several accounting firms to pursue my accounting designation..that's when my stress level spiked....and oddly enough I noticed my hair starting to thin as I went on interviews..

Overall I'm pretty healthy...I eat proper, healthy, real homemade food....exercise at least 4x a week...drink moderately

But thanks for the advice, I will ask my doctor if I can get a complete physical

[eFx[A2C]]

Did your doc say anything about it besides taking shots? I had a patch since May last year and didn't get any shots or stuff done to it and it's almost back to normal. Are your nails pitting ?

[CRS]

I was going to say iron deficency but since your blood work is fine. Is there a change in lifestyle and you're under more stress? That could be it.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine they talk about a weak or deficeny in the kindeys. There's other symptoms too like loss of libido, dry mouth, dizziness, knee or lumbar pain, hearing etc. Any one of those symptoms can flare up.

Go and get a full physical, could be thyroid issues and that can't always be detected unless you specify.

If it is iron deficiency.. Which I don't think it is because red blood cells consist of 4 iron ions to bind to oxygen, just eat some cereal. Cereal will cure that iron deficiency like it was yesterday's flu.

[Berzerker]

My mom had this happen when she was in her late 20's and she did the whole shot thing and it worked for her. It was stress related and was cured fairly easily.

To answer your question though it depends on how YOU feel about your situation. People act oddly to females with no hair just because of society so to fit in at work and stuff a wig might be the best option but hanging out with your friends will be a different story and they should accept you for who you are not what you look like!

Berz out.

[Harvey Specter]

Western doctors are injecting cortico steroids into the scalp...which is the most common treatment for "random" alopecia (Hair loss at random spots, unlike "male pattern baldness", which is thinning of the hair in general)

I had something similar done almost 12 years ago. I started getting a weird bald spot on the back of my head and I think I had a few injections done and my hair grew back.

[waddy41]

Everything else is normal....diet is good...i guess it might be stress....and maybe long hours at work...

^Jah Al: was your hair loss stress related?

[Soundy]

A friend of mine started losing her hair like that a few years ago, late-20s/early-30s. Alopecia there as well. She fought it for a little bit, but then decided to just work it, shaved off all the remnants, and it's been great for her. She's a little thing, about 5'4", and she works security at the PNE, Coliseum, GM Place, etc., so the bald look makes her even badder. She's a metalhead too, so she's not out of place at metal shows - people think it looks really hardcore.

She has a couple wigs as well, that she'll wear in "dress-up" situations, but most of the time she rocks the skinhead, and everyone seems to dig it.

[Harvey Specter]

Everything else is normal....diet is good...i guess it might be stress....and maybe long hours at work...

^Jah Al: was your hair loss stress related?

Yes, that's what my doctor suspected because it was small patch on the back of my head and it wasn't really a spot on your head that you start balding from.

[Inaii]

A friend of mine started losing her hair like that a few years ago, late-20s/early-30s. Alopecia there as well. She fought it for a little bit, but then decided to just work it, shaved off all the remnants, and it's been great for her. She's a little thing, about 5'4", and she works security at the PNE, Coliseum, GM Place, etc., so the bald look makes her even badder. She's a metalhead too, so she's not out of place at metal shows - people think it looks really hardcore.

She has a couple wigs as well, that she'll wear in "dress-up" situations, but most of the time she rocks the skinhead, and everyone seems to dig it.

Hmmm, Soundy... are her initials BS? I think I know who you're talking about =p

[Soundy]

Inaii - hmmm, could be! How do you know her?

[Inaii]

She's been a co-worker and friend for years =p We work at the Coliseum together and used to work at the Commodore together before I was let go.

[Soundy]

Heh, good stuff. :) Talk to her recently?

Anyway, back to the OP: not saying that taking it all off will work for you too, but it might be worth a shot - they say that God only made a certain number of perfect heads; everyone else, He gave hair.

[eFx[A2C]]

I work at the coliseum too D: prob know who you are talking about.

[Girl]

Hey guys, lets keep this thread on topic. Feel free to talk about other things in the VLS Thread About Nothing (http://www.revscene.net/forums/vls-thread-nothing-t487386.html?t=487386&highlight=VLS+thread+about+nothing)

[q0192837465]

It sure sounds like stress is a contributing factor. It's really a catch 22. I totally understand how accting can be really stressful. But at the same time u can't quit ur job. I guess the only way is to deal with it and try not to stress urself too too much.

Try Chinese medicine. It's great for balancing the body's needs
\

[Good_KarMa]

My cousin works in retail and her co-worker losing her hair. I wonder if it's the same girl? I feel bad, must be hard, but If it were me, i would just shave my head. A lot of women have such beautiful facial features that it wouldn't matter if they had hair on their head or not. And that girl who works in retail, I've seen her before, she's got such a gorgeous, gorgeous face.

[jlo mein]

My sister had this exact same problem, but not as severe. She was 24-25 at the time, and she had an increasing bald spot on the top of her head (a round spot two inches in diameter with very thin amounts of hair). Doctors couldn't find out what was wrong, claimed it was stress related. she received several cortico shots which my sister believes didn't help.

Desparate, she went to see a Chinese tea doctor. He prescribed a special mix of herbal ingredients to make into a very poor tasting tea, which my sister had to drink daily for about 3 months. Her hair ended up returning and she believes it is because of the tea.

[waddy41]

Thanks for all the comments.

The shots are helping a little, but only in the specific areas where treatment was given. However, I then lose hair in other spots. Also, this hair loss has spread throughout my whole body and my hair is thinning here and there.

jlo mein: can you ask your sister which Chinese tea doctor she saw? Many thanks.

[Iceman_2K]

Keep in mind, with Chinese traditional medicine, the cure is not the symptoms themselves, but rather what causes the ailment. The teas that are made are to target specific internal organs to get them to function properly and to have the chi flow through them with no blockages. As well, it takes more than a few batches of the tea to get things right, and the tea is modified after a certain amount of time to make sure that if something is fixed, other things are looked at. Going off topic for a bit, but I never go see a western doctor, and will only go see a traditional chinese doctor, and i can tell you, the treatments take a while to go through. The first few batches you might see a big improvement, but it takes time and effort to completely clear things out.

[Alphamale]

Thanks for all the comments.

The shots are helping a little, but only in the specific areas where treatment was given. However, I then lose hair in other spots. Also, this hair loss has spread throughout my whole body and my hair is thinning here and there.

jlo mein: can you ask your sister which Chinese tea doctor she saw? Many thanks.

Hate to be a dick but look on the bright side, you don't got to shave no mo'.

I personally hate shaving.

[Hondaracer]

My sister had this exact same problem, but not as severe. She was 24-25 at the time, and she had an increasing bald spot on the top of her head (a round spot two inches in diameter with very thin amounts of hair). Doctors couldn't find out what was wrong, claimed it was stress related. she received several cortico shots which my sister believes didn't help.

Desparate, she went to see a Chinese tea doctor. He prescribed a special mix of herbal ingredients to make into a very poor tasting tea, which my sister had to drink daily for about 3 months. Her hair ended up returning and she believes it is because of the tea.

placebos are great

[jlo mein]

jlo mein: can you ask your sister which Chinese tea doctor she saw? Many thanks.

I asked and she was unable to recall the exact name of the doctor, sorry.

[refid]

ask your doctor about minoxidil 2% .. I think 5% is only for men

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

im starting to notice my hair is a lot thinner vs when i was a teen, now 24.

My hairstylist first noticed it, because before i had shit load of thick hair. And always need thinning every 3-4 weeks. Now not anymore, and im starting to worry about it. Any guys notice their hair starting to thin out after their 20s??

is this normal? i havent seek a doc yet, but it is definitely starting to worry me. its not that bad just i had really thick hair. And now its like...wow where did some of my hair go lol

[dark0821]

i am gettin that too.. but i dun think its thinner to a point where i need to wry abt it

[Revive]

Neither am I, but I want to tackle the problem before it gets out of hand. Can anyone recommend a good traditional chinese doctor this?

[Nocardia]

ask your doctor about minoxidil 2% .. I think 5% is only for men

Minoxidil is unsafe in women of child-bearing ages because it is teratogenic. Women post-menopause have seen some good results using it, however, it is only useful in androgenic alopecia.

Since this young lady appears to have something they state is random alopecia, I would think this product may not be as effective, and even if it were, it is just not safe for her.

[Nocardia]

im starting to notice my hair is a lot thinner vs when i was a teen, now 24.

My hairstylist first noticed it, because before i had shit load of thick hair. And always need thinning every 3-4 weeks. Now not anymore, and im starting to worry about it. Any guys notice their hair starting to thin out after their 20s??

is this normal? i havent seek a doc yet, but it is definitely starting to worry me. its not that bad just i had really thick hair. And now its like...wow where did some of my hair go lol

One of my friends actually has been using minoxidil and he is only 26. If you get a handle on it early, generally, you will have a higher success rate.

[impactX]

1) Wig;
2) Go see a derm.; and
3) Is she losing hair on other parts of the body as well or just her head?

[Spartacus]

Anyone else losing hair in the shower? My hair isn't thinning but im finding hair all over the place.

[waddy41]

1) Wig;
2) Go see a derm.; and
3) Is she losing hair on other parts of the body as well or just her head?

I'm pretty bald now...losing around 75-85% of my hair in all places..

BTW guys this is different from male pattern baldness....

[Spartacus]

Is your scalp dry/oily? I read that people with oily scalp should wash their hair more often.

[death_blossom]

I'm pretty bald now...losing around 75-85% of my hair in all places..

BTW guys this is different from male pattern baldness....

Wow, I only found out about this thread on Alopecia sufferers. waddy, go to your family doctor and ask to see a skin/hair specialist by the name of Jerry Shapiro. He is a world known skin specialist on this topic. He has a few experimental treatments on battling Alopecia as well. The odds aren't 100%, but it doesn't cost much for treatments and it is definitely worth a shot. I gave it a try, but it didn't work out for me. I'm a guy, so I just brushed it off. But I can only imagine how a girl must feel. :(

edit: Oh yeah, I see some guys who are worried about their thinning hair. If you are worried about it, go see your doctor as soon as you can.

[waddy41]

^ hey..if you don't mind sharing...can you let me know what kind of tests he does and/or what treatments he uses?

I have an appt. with him but in OCT....what a waitlist...
but i have a feeling that my hair loss could be a cause of a food intolerance....not sensitive enough to make me have a stomach ache...but overtime it builds up in your body....
eventually the food you eat become the protein in your hair....then if your body is intolerant then your immume system will try to kill the antigen (aka your hair)

[604EL]

Obviously we can't figure out your condition without seeing you in person and having a close look at your hair, and possibly a biopsy. But from what you've described so far, it sounds like a condition called telogen effluvium. Read up about it.

Like others have said, your doc should check your iron and thyroid levels. And given your age, it's probably reasonable to screen for connective tissue disorders like lupus also.

The bald patches that some people have talked about is alopecia areata, which is different. Although it's true that there can be a severe form which causes diffuse loss, but it's much more uncommon.

And yes, Dr. Shapiro is THE dermatologist to go to for hair related problems.

[Gt-R R34]

some of you guys seems like doctors/pharmacists.

Should fast track this girl!

[swagdeep]

edit

[Girl]

I say do a Sinead O'Connor look

[hc529]

i had a customer with hair loss. after taking the supplemental i had, she stopped losing hair and getting the natural shine again

[waddy41]

what supplement was that?

[FS1992EG]

get a nice wig like lady gaga in her video love game

[impactX]

^ hey..if you don't mind sharing...can you let me know what kind of tests he does and/or what treatments he uses?

I have an appt. with him but in OCT....what a waitlist...
but i have a feeling that my hair loss could be a cause of a food intolerance....not sensitive enough to make me have a stomach ache...but overtime it builds up in your body....
eventually the food you eat become the protein in your hair....then if your body is intolerant then your immume system will try to kill the antigen (aka your hair)

Screw the waitlist... ALWAYS call and see if anyone cancels his/her appointment so you can get moved up!