ok so you've probably heard me banging on about my chronic hair loss and the miserable time I've had of it...i still feel broken and ugly....and although I've been on HRT for 3 months its still shedding away....not as much but there is significant t loss daily..
Ok OK i know i need to be patient....its difficult when its been over 18 months since this miserable episode hit me....borderline hypothyroid and menopause...yeah we women dont ever seem to get a break do we.....????
Anyway i was wondering if others here have suffered chronic hair loss and then managed to find some light at the end of the tunnel?
im 51 years old, Im still trying to get my meds sorted, last results were disappointing...but I'm sticking with it (I'm on NDT) and yes I'm on folate, iron, vitamin B12, Vitamin D, magnesium, zinc i also take probiotic and I'm HRT......im gluten free too....
nobody has tried harder than me to solve this misery.....the GP says theres nothing he can do for me....and that it doesn't notice would i like some counselling...or possibly some antidepressants to get me over this difficult time.........yeah cheers matey
I've written here before and I've read a lot about hair loss and done everything suggested...
its out of my hands I'm doing everything i can ...i just wondered how long it will take to recover and is there HOPE???
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Bioluminence
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May I ask if your t3 is good on ndt? Not everyone finds the levels of t3 and t4 suit so you can add a little in if need be. I ask because it wasn't until I added t3 (in my case it was added to levo) that I saw my hair come back. And yes, if I am not unusual there is hope. My hair came back almost as thick as it had been, though I still do get quite a lot of hair fall and it is always lots of different lengths now from continual regrowth. (And lots of grey, but that's another matter entirely.)
My mother had good results w minoxidil.
Good luck, I feel for you. It can be so demoralising.
Nothing you add to the outside of hair will make it grow. Hair is dead when it comes out from your hair follicles. So while you need good nutrition, balanced hormones and a good skin scalp condition which is mostly due to the first two factors, using special products to treat the hair that is already there is a waste of money. There are only a couple of products e.g. minoxidil that have been proved to work from outside the body but these work on the hair follicles not the hair.
Likewise drinking green tea to alkalize the body is a myth. The body balances it's pH itself otherwise you would be dead. In fact green tea contains caffeine which some people want to avoid.
It's OK giving people ideas to help with hair growth but loads of people waste tonnes of money on miracle hair supplements that are mainly vitamins and minerals, and external treatments such as castor oil that are just a con. Some oils are good conditioners but they don't make your hair grow, and if your hair is brittle they won't stop it breaking or falling out.
I replied as I was p*ssed off by the other comment as it continued the myth of things that don't work to stop female hair loss that you see commonly all over the internet, plus mentioned a debunked nutrition theory where one of the doctors pushing it aggressively on terminal cancer patients has now been imprisoned.
I tend to reply to hair comments pushing such myths in a hope to stop posters wasting tonnes of money because doctors especially GPs refuse to help at all, or even take it as a sign that something isn't right with your health.
Unfortunately the only person who could help is a tricologist or a dermatologist who specialises in trichology. You would have to see these privately and due to the fact you know a lot about vitamins, minerals, hormones and medication already I doubt there would be anything they can do to help you to get your own hair not to fall out. Some trichologists are also hair piece makers so they can help if you want to go down that route.
I feel you on this! My eyelashes were out and hair loss was leaving bare spots on my scalp. I can only say for me that I just noticed within the month that my scalp is no longer visible, but oddly enough the new growth is curly! So the time it took to turn around for me from the date of diagnosis has been 11 months. My first normal flood test just came back in January, so I guess it took a month since that test. Not sure how long the readings were normal, as my previous test was done in november and they were still off then. Its so hard to be patient but I believe vitamins and results of blood tests will put you on the right track.
I found that the addition of T3 helped to stop the daily handful of hair loss.. Now I have less hairloss however, it is at the moment very brittle.
In the past, Biotin N helped the condition of my hair and had the added bonus of strengthening my nails, I will be giving it another try.
Our hair is very important to us and when something is not right, it can affect our mental health and wellbeing. I have very fine hair which is really notacable when there is a problem, however, as it's not life-threatening, doctors in my experience, don't want to know.
I feel for you! I have had periods of hair loss since my mid twenties, so upsetting. Any recovery was temporary. I spent so much money on first perms, then high and low lights, hair thickeners, scalp tretments etc etc. I started being diagnosed (pituitary adenoma, hashimoto's, sjorgens, nutritional deficiencies, mild addison's, allergies and more) in my late fourties (am now 52). On T3 only for 18 months now. Major diet adjustmemts. Extensive supplement regime. And for a year now I have seen regrowth that actually stays and grows!
I also switched to all natural hair colour and care two years ago, so all regrowth is healthy.
Sorry for the long reply - I hope very much that your efforts pay off soonest!
Lupus with constant hair loss, to be honest I now just suck it up and refuse to let it get me down or impact on my life, it did once, the hair in the shower tray etc. Hair loss from my experience does not improve and will get worse. I wear good hair toppers for when I go out which are are a God send, because that's when I like to look good and when you need them, bit of a confidence boost, around the house I don't bother. It's a matter of mind over matter really if you're going to let it get you down it will, if you say to yourself the heck with it I'm buying toppers/wigs for going out which make me feel more confident then that's the way to go. Acceptence when you can't change things is the key to unlock and embrace your problem. Easy to say but the truth.
You're bang on the money with acceptance. Alopecia's like every other condition - you must embrace it or it will constrict the life out of you.
Could you share where you get your toppers from JanW ? I've been paying more than a grand a go for mine; retiring soon and will be downsizing for sure and although I have a few suppliers in mind, always good to know of others. Thanks in advance
I was lucky buying two human hair toppers from House of Fraser when they did them, sadly no more grr.
Since I've bought an Ellen Willie on line, and others from a local shop that are very good.
Trial and error with toppers sometimes. I see on YouTube there are ways of turning a wig into a topper so going to give that a whirl. Hate wigs found them to wiggly.
Yes I've thought about buying a bespoke topper something I'm interested in, matter of finding a good outlet, checking whose best. If you know a good one let me know. I am the same as you newly retired its great.
So not just for you JanW but anyone interested in getting on with their lives, accepting their alopecia and forging onward...
Where I used to go. With Christine Watts for ten years, maybe longer wattzinternational.co.uk/re... Christine is very experienced with many types of hair loss and also a trichologist. You''ll be aware that you need two toppers if you're wearing them all the time outdoors and at more than a grand a pop I can't justify the expense any longer.
These are people I've looked at and done a little investigation with but taken things no further. Hair4All are very friendly and my number one to approach when my three custom pieces become just too ratty to wear anymore ( I'm more relaxed about that, these days- ppl see hair and that's as far as they look, when you're our age ). hair4all.com/
I wonder if Simply wigs Lacey topper could be customised to meet my requirements
Hi Rapunzel, some great tips there thanks, will check out those links in a bit.
I know what you mean I'm damned if I will let hair take over my life, but after many years of wearing my H.O.F. toppers washing/conditioning them they are starting to look a bit worn, they've been good to me over the years though even been able to colour them. Agree a thousand is a lot for a good topper but I might be tempted to treat myself if it was the right one, depends how far I'd have to go, I'm in Devon and a lot seem to be in London, and as you say verrrrrry expensive, I wouldn't go more than a thou.
Yes, the older you get the less you bother so much with your appearence - bonus.
One topper I really love is getting a bit thin on top, hubby always says hang on I'll get the comb round it but to be honest these days I usually say don't bother if it's just a trip to the shops etc, a lot of woman my age - almost 64 look nice and natural with a bit of scalp showing. I like a good topper on though if I'm going somewhere special, don't want to look like a rat caught in a drain pipe...
Sad to say it seems to be the day and age we live in where people get far too hung up and stressed about their appearence, particularly the young obsessing about nails, hair, make up etc, feel sorry for them it's the world they are born into, alien to the one I was, and you I bet.
Let's rejoice in our often scraggy hair and be proud we're still around to see - what's left of it....(~)
What about Nanogen on the sparse bits ? That should be OK. I've bought some Olaplex ( that's prohibitively expensive too grr ) and will let you know if it's any good once I've let it loose on my hair babies...
Indoors I wear Christine headwear bamboo viscose turbans...I must have twenty by now and they're soo soft and lovely and come in so many pretty styles and colours
I thought the same about covering my sparce bits up so bought some Wow Colour Root Cover Up (good reviews) but had a bad reaction to it so stopped using. Not keen to chance other brands after that but great for people who can get on with them, also the small boxes of dye's they've bought out just for sparce bits - businesses cleaning up on hair shedders like us, don't blame them.
A soft turban sound like a good idea, perfect for unexpected callers to be able to whip one on, I'm going to buy one and will check out your link.
B.T.W. Simply Wigs are very good I bought a Rene of Paris hair topper off them years ago, my first it was ok for a first topper. They have a good reputation so if you bought one and didn't like it you could return it no problem.
Hi anxiety can bring on hair loss if your constantly anxious the cycle goes and over and results in more hair loss I took the offer of anti D's for 6mth and my hair is fine now mainly my anxiety was not helping the situation. Refuse Prozac as that causes hair loss the one that helped me was Ciralopram and it's not hard to reduce and come off either it's worth a try and it's not for a long period of time. I didn't want to but in the end had no choice as I was misera me and anxious all the time 😊
No-one has mentioned Mane. It comes in a few shades, in an aerosol spray can (which I bought) or a small tub of fibres that you shake/tap on.
After I bought a can my confidence soared through the roof. I felt like myself again immediately after trying it for the first time and I was happy to face the world once more without feeling as if everyone was looking at my head.
Hello Bioluminence,,,losing your hair is depressing,,but having to accept it is even harder,,I am down to a fine layer on the top of my head,,,there was more hair in the shower trap than there is on my head,,,,I have tried some supplements intended to improve my hair growth,,but keeping up with them is a financial stretch,,,,and yes there are vitamins and minerals that you can combine to help improve your bodies resources,,,but if you take B group and you get bright yellow wee,,,you are losing the best of the supplement,,,so eat foods that are high in B group ,,,,I look at the problem,,this way,,it has gone thin, broke off,, and my scalp is showing through,,,and stressing about it can make it worse,,so when I remember I take some supplements,,,maybe feel better,,,but know that I will have to keep remembering to take them for donkey's years,,,,don't stress out,,,,and just live with it and keep nice and relax,,,maybe calm and rested will help improve things and what ever plan you take to improve your bodies reserves will start to help,,,,ttfn from karen.
My hair has never been thick, I lost about half of it when I had my thyroid out 15 years ago.
Last year it went a lot thinner,I was taking multi-vits and didn't realise they had iodine in them,so I stopped them.
Now I am using something called "Plantur 39" which is supposed to "help the scalp protect itself from the consequences of declining estrogen levels" and "encourage stronger hair growth after the menopause".
Well I have to say it has helped me,not much falling out now and new regrowth. It took about 6 months before I saw any improvement, so you have to persist with it.
It comes in shampoo, conditioner and tonic.
I use the tonic on the roots as you don't wash it out. It can dry your hair a bit, so I use argan oil as well on dry hair when I go to bed.
You can buy it in the chemists and some supermarkets and it's not expensive,about £10.
It says to use daily, but I use it 2-3 times a week, because as I said it can make your hair dry.
Someone mentioned mane, there's another product called Nanogen which you might find useful. It comes in many shades and can help while you're looking for a more permanent solution.
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