Have lost 50% of my hair in about 4 weeks

[ColoradoK]

I'm heartbroken and embarrassed and looking for some ideas to help (I'm calling my dermatologist on Monday).

I have been suffering from iron deficiency anemia for about 4 years now. My hematologist has never confirmed cause - he simply makes assumptions and then schedules me for IVs to try and refill my system. He's never managed to get my ferritin levels much above 40, and then in six months, it's all gone again. I assume menstruation loss and maybe ineffective absorption, but it's all a guess.

Another thing going on during this same time frame was severe stress. I had lost much of the hair around my face in patches, especially at my temples, due to severe stress at work for 2 years. My hair all grew back in long and thick after I left that stressful situation. So all was good until April of this year.

I have been losing my hair in chunks when I wash it. I have long fine hair, down to the middle of my back. It was thick and shiny. I only use the most expensive and best salon products because I was so proud of how healthy it looked. I used little to no hair products, no curling irons, no straighteners. I do use a T3 tourmaline hairdryer and a ceramic round brush to straighten it in the morning.

I cleaned out my bathtub drain last night as usual when I wash the tub, and I literally pulled out a har mass the size of a chihuahua. I sat down on the floor and cried and cried. The back of my hair feels very thin, men have recently commented to me that I needed a new hairstyle because "something just doesn't look right" (and they used to love my hair).

What's not been normal in my life during this past month:

1. layoffs at work. stress levels are very high for fear of losing my job and income. I have not been sleeping well.
2. iron levels have plunged again.
3. spironolactone raised to 50 mg in December of 2008 (3 months previous to hair loss) to control perimenopausal acne. I've been on 25 mg of spironolactone for a year previous to this
4. major crush on someone in my life and elevated hormone levels associated with it to a level I'm not used to
5. decrease in healthy eating habits due to stress and schedule (lost out on fresh veggies and red meat). I do supplement with vitamins and minerals from a high quality source, also biotin 8mg a day
6. I have been wearing a lot of ponytails for working out at the gym.

Does anyone have any ideas? I've NEVER lost this much hair at once in my life. I'm 38. I'm so afraid it won't grow back and that I'll have to cut what took me 6 years to grow. And being single, my hair is so important to attracting the guys I go out with.... it's reality, men love long soft hair.

I use Pureology and Aveda shampoos most days. My hair is generally fighting dryness these days so I use mositurizing products with a damage control protein product maybe twice to three times a month to help feed it. As I've said, my hair stylist could find no fault - she thought my hair was healthy as could be. Now she did just color it (highlights) for the first time in March as I am starting to go grey, but the hair loss is all down the back of my head. Where my ponytail usually sits. Do you think it's tension from the tight bands? I hope so.... that would mean it will grow back over the next couple of years (years, God.... what have I done to my beautiful hair.....)

[Angela]

Hi Hon,
I'm sorry you are going through such a stressful time. I know it can be confusing and often times we don't know where to turn for help. First, I'd like to say that if you are not satisfied with your current doctor, do a little searching for a new doctor. Its so important that you have a doctor that is on your side. Often hair loss gets pushed to the back burner with doctors because it isn't life threatening. Its emotionally devastating and it lowers the quality of our lives...that should be on a health care professional's mind, but more often than not it isn't. You will need to be your best advocate, and if you have a person near by, either family or friend, take them with you as support. Hair loss can leave us very vulnerable and when we get that dismissing "look" from a doctor, we can become so crushed. Having someone to help support us emotionally can really help us during those times. I don't waste my time anymore with doctors that just "poo-poo" my concerns. Why should we pay them to treat us like crap? We have legitimate concerns, and if they can not meet our needs, its time to stop paying them. I don't reward bad behavior with doctors.

Wearing a ponytail too tight can put stress on your hair. You might want to give a rest to straightening, blow drying and other hair processes. Sometimes a little break from it is all that is needed.

As far as your iron levels go, you may want to ask your doctor which vitamins or minerals work synergistically with iron for the best possible absorption. I believe that iron levels should be around 80 for hair growth, and its possible that you might need a boost of another mineral that works well with iron. Menstruation can also bring your iron levels down.
It must be so frustrating for you.
Just know that we are all here for you. I'm not a doctor and I don't know all your natural history, but I do know and understand the emotional effects of hair loss. Every woman on the Forum and the Network knows it all too well. You are not alone my dear and you are in great company. :>

[ColoradoK]

Thanks Angela for the support and the knowledgable advice.

Quick response to your points, just typing during a break at work so apologies for any abrutness or brevity:

This just started so I haven't even talked to my doctor yet. I discovered this when I cleaned out my drain after realizing I was losing a lot more hair than usual and it started freaking me out. I am usually known for having beautiful healthy hair because my diet is as near to perfect as any human's can get in 2009. (doctors wish they could prescribe my nutrition and exercise program to other people!!). However, my stress levels are off the charts with the layoffs and cost reductions at work, plus what's going in in DC these days. Throw in relationship issues and a thesis to be written, perimenopause and daily life, and I'm laying a lot on my body. While I am healthier than most people, I do have the chronic iron deficiency anemia with no known cause. Having ferritin levels of 4 for months on end because I can't tolerate most treatments is difficult (cannot have shots, cannot digest pills, now the IVs are reacting with my spironolactone).

No one has been able to identify any nutritional deficiencies outside of probably needing to boost my calcium a bit (started taking Citrical) due to my age. No history of hair loss in my family for at least 2 generations - all men kept their hair until death, all women as well. I'm guessing it's stress related as I do not process my hair, I do not use styling products, my hair style comes from the cut alone (long, layered). My hair usually gets moisturizing conditioner daily, left on for 30-60 minutes. It's always gleaming with health.

This is all just shocking - last time I lost hair from stress, it was around my temples and looked like my hairline was receding. This time it's entirely from the middle of the back of my head, fortunately covered by the remaining hair (my hair is about 2 feet long, I'd guess)

[Angela]

Thanks Angela for the support and the knowledgable advice.

Quick response to your points, just typing during a break at work so apologies for any abrutness or brevity:

This just started so I haven't even talked to my doctor yet. I discovered this when I cleaned out my drain after realizing I was losing a lot more hair than usual and it started freaking me out. I am usually known for having beautiful healthy hair because my diet is as near to perfect as any human's can get in 2009. (doctors wish they could prescribe my nutrition and exercise program to other people!!). However, my stress levels are off the charts with the layoffs and cost reductions at work, plus what's going in in DC these days. Throw in relationship issues and a thesis to be written, perimenopause and daily life, and I'm laying a lot on my body. While I am healthier than most people, I do have the chronic iron deficiency anemia with no known cause. Having ferritin levels of 4 for months on end because I can't tolerate most treatments is difficult (cannot have shots, cannot digest pills, now the IVs are reacting with my spironolactone).

No one has been able to identify any nutritional deficiencies outside of probably needing to boost my calcium a bit (started taking Citrical) due to my age. No history of hair loss in my family for at least 2 generations - all men kept their hair until death, all women as well. I'm guessing it's stress related as I do not process my hair, I do not use styling products, my hair style comes from the cut alone (long, layered). My hair usually gets moisturizing conditioner daily, left on for 30-60 minutes. It's always gleaming with health.

This is all just shocking - last time I lost hair from stress, it was around my temples and looked like my hairline was receding. This time it's entirely from the middle of the back of my head, fortunately covered by the remaining hair (my hair is about 2 feet long, I'd guess)

You mentioned that you are healthier than most...may I ask what your daily intake of food consists of?
Minerals are often hard to get absorbed into the body and if they are too big in size sometimes they can collect on major organs and cause toxicity. Have you ever heard of Angstrom Minerals? I believe that angstrom minerals are the best thing for our bodies. Our cells love it because they are so tiny. Here is a link to a protocol of different minerals by a man called David Wolfe:

http://www.sunfood.com/buy/1/35/457/Mineral-Program--Gamma/2034.aspx

The link will take you to the actual page where you can read about angstrom minerals and why they are important. The protocol however is sold out right now. But you can read up on it anyway.
I took this protocol when I was a raw foodist. I loved it. You just put the minerals (which taste like water) under your tongue and they go right in. The only one that has a strange taste is the silver. Anyway, I believe that mineralization is one thing that is most overlooked in even the healthiest of diets. The soil has become weakened by over processing, even with organic farms. I didn't think I needed them when I was raw, being that I was on one of the healthiest diets imaginable, but I was wrong. I felt much better after starting the protocol.
Check it out sometime. :D

[ColoradoK]

Interesting information, Angela, I'll look into it some more. Because I have a natural inability to handle sodium in my body, I have to eat many foods in their natural state or cooked by myself. I don't eat processed foods, I don't eat in restaurants, I don't eat additives or substitutes for real whole foods. I do a little bit of raw, but am not completely a raw foodie. All of my grains are raw, I have a lot of nuts and fruits (organic of course), and I eat elk and buffalo for red meat to get what iron I can. Hemp seed is a staple of my diet, and I drink young coconut juice, herbal tea, and water only There's more, but I think you get the concept :-) I work out 4-6 times a week, (guided by a trainer who continually changes things up), and do a different routine each day mixing Pilates, balance, resitance, cardio, and agility work.

I am thinking more and more that stress is the primary reason for the loss and the current return to a low ferritin state is the enabler for the hair to fall out. I had a 3 hour fight with my BF the other night, and a small chunk of my hair fell out the next morning (I counted 20 hairs over a foot long each), where it had been stable for a while.

[Angela]

Well done on your daily diet! If you are having an issue with stress you could have your adrenals checked to find out what your corisol levels are.

[finaleofseem]

ColoradoK,

I think all the theories you and Angela have discussed are really good ones. But, I did want to add that this could be a side effect of perimenopause, or at least the shift in your hormones could be exacerbating the loss.

From what I've read, a drop in estrogen is not good for the hair follicles. With less estrogen around to "protect" the follicles, testosterone/DHT are more able to act on them, causing thinning.

I'm not saying this is necessarily what is happening to you, of course. But when you said you were in peri, I thought I would at least bring it up so you could ask a doctor about it.

[Dara]

Hi Coloradok,

I think stress has also caused my hairloss. All of a sudden, my eyebrows fell out. Then I noticed I was losing hair. I think I was losing hair even before my eyebrows fell out but it was so subtle I didn't notice.

My hair loss started about 6 months after my brother was diagnosed with brain cancer. I think that is what started it. Then my grandson died, then my brother died. I have an extremely rocky relationship with his widow and I think that is why my hair loss continues.

Are you in Colorado? Have you found a good doctor? I am in Colorado and have been to several doctors and have had lots of lab work done all of which has come back normal (except I've not had a cortisol level done).

Dara L

[unwritten]

Especially if the thinning is on the outersidesm, towards the ears