My Hair Is Falling Out

[DollyMaiix]

Hello,

I was in a car crash in September. Doctors have agreed I am suffering badly from post traumatic stress but it hasn't been officially diagnosed yet.

All my hair has started to fall out. Luckily not in patches but it's so thin underneath. Big clumps of it fall out when I am in the shower and in the morning I wake up with hair all over my pillow. I will go to the doctors but I don't know what they can do. I've already got scars on my face from the accident I don't need all my hair to fall out as well :(

Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[Em C.]

That's awful! It hasn't happened to me but I bet there are things doctors can do! If it is a stress reaction they may (and this is just from personal experience) put you on an anti-depressant which may help! I had really weird PTSD symptoms (non-epileptic seizures) and I got help for that so there is definitely hope!

That must be so stressful for you but remember scars are just physical signs of strength and endurance!

 

[franciemarnie]

Under extreme stress, I have had all kinds of physical deterioration. I remember my eyelashes falling out in clumps and my hair thinning. Doing everything I could to get better at every level - physical, spiritual, emotional, mental - was how I came back up again.

I don't know if that is what's going on with you. On the physical level, I worked out to get the stress out, and also drank a mixture of 3 tbs. apple cider vinegar with 8 oz. water and the juice of one lemon every day. I added maple syrup and a little sugar and it tasted like lemonade. This is highly alkaline and anti-inflammatory and is excellent for hair, skin, sinuses and much else. You can add all kinds of spices to make it more potent like ginger and cinnamon (pinches). Your skin will begin to glow and your hair become glossy - if your system is inflamed with stress. Even if it isn't. You must use apple cider vinegar, not any other kind.

I sure hope you feel better. It is such a feeling of powerlessness to have your hair fall out. But taking action is empowering.

 

[Hashi]

Yes, I've had a lot of hair loss. In the end I discovered it was due to medication I was taking, but initially I thought it was stress and I researched that. Hair loss due to severe stress is temporary. I know it's awful at the time, but your hair will grow back. In fact, before old age women's hair will almost always grow back again whatever the cause of loss, unless the hair follicles have been physically damaged.

Has anything else changed? Are you on medication, or drinking more? Have your eating habits changed? Have you recently started using different hair products or hair dye?

What I would hope the doctor will do is give you blood tests to eliminate other possible causes - s/he can test levels of things like blood sugar, thyroxine, iron, zinc and vitamin D, all of which can be associated with hair loss.

It's important to investigate other possible causes, but to lose so much hair so quickly it does sound like stress is the likely cause. If so, then the focus needs to be on dealing with the stress and PTS symptoms - which must be a priority anyway. I'm wondering why you haven't been diagnosed yet. Has any treatment been suggested? I think in the case of a recent trauma like this, somatic therapy is worth considering along with the other options.

In the meantime, I have much sympathy for how distressing hair loss is. It does grow back, once the cause can be addressed. Mine is growing back, in fact it's gone a bit mad with little frizzy bits all over because the regrowth is still short. It looks weird but I'm not complaining!

I hope things get better for you soon.

 

[greenleaf]

I'm not a medical professional, but doesn't thyroid trouble cause hair loss? And ptsd messes with basic hormone levels in strange ways.

 

[JadedGhost13]

I have lost a very noticable amount of my hair over the years. I've asked for every test they could think of to find out why I was loosing my hair. Nothing was found medically and it was not a reaction to maid cation either. I now wear a lot of extensions or wigs when I go into public.

 

[Hashi]

doesn't thyroid trouble cause hair loss?

Yes, and they should test for that with a blood test. It's a tricky one, though. Doctors are familiar with the idea that an underactive or overactive thyroid can cause hair loss. But in my case, it was the corrective medication for an underactive thyroid that caused it. My blood tests came back fine so they ruled out thyroid issues as a cause. However, when I tried halving the medication, the hair loss immediately stopped and my hair started growing back.

I think it's always worth going to doctors for a diagnosis, but still looking at a number options on the treatment.

 

[DollyMaiix]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your suggestions :)

I'm not taking any medication at the moment. I also suffer from ME and I am seeing a top consultant in London. She suggested that I was suffering from post traumatic stress and has referred me to the psychology team for assessment.

I am going to the doctors next week hopefully and I think I will ask for a blood test. I wonder if the stress has caused some sort of hormone imbalance as my PMS has become so bad since I was in the accident. I am wondering if it might all be linked.

 

[DollyMaiix]

I went to the doctors today, she said it was the body's reaction to stress. I don't think she was that concerned about it, she said over the next few months I will probably notice it falling out but it will all grow back eventually.

She is also considering placing me on amitriptyline for my headaches and the pain I suffer with my ME. I emailed the nurse I see at the hospital it London about this and my hair and she said she was going to speak to my consultant and get back to me. I don't know why I guess I will just have to wait and find out x

 

[Hashi]

When I was losing my hair, I used to be so careful when I washed it and couldn't actually summon up a memory of when I didn't need to, when I didn't have to treat it so delicately and gingerly and the drain would still be clogged afterwards. I hadn't particularly noticed that it felt strong and secure before, but I certainly noticed that it felt weak and easily uprooted now.

I thought of this the other day as I cheerily massaged shampoo (twice) then conditioner into my scalp and rinsed it with hardly a hair ending up in the drain. It felt so strong and stable!

It will grow back, DM. :)

 

[Britt.f7]

Stress will definitely do this to you. It has to me. Things are starting to even out as of late for me and it seems like less is falling out. Thankfully, over the emotional times, my hair dresser has spotted new growth or I would have been even more panicked then I was with the clumps in the shower. Even my husband couldn't believe the loss. My hair is thin. I'm trying to be less stressed. I also have hypo thyroid. Though I was under the impression that you mostly lose hair when you are hyper not hypo. Doesn't matter, I still lost a ton of hair. Hopefully your body will start recovering soon.

 

[blackemerald1]

Yep PTSD mucks around with lots of normal body functions. I had thick healthy hair to below my backside in April this year. By June it looked like a load of rats had eaten back to my scalp, bald patches & sores everywhere. So I got the lot shaved off when I got back to a cooler climate & bought some really trendy hats & beanies. Nobody knew except for one person which was accidental. It had happened to me before, it was caused by PTSD. Yes I grieved for my long hair, which let's be honest, is a private part of your personality that is open to all to see. ( And comment on sometimes quite insensitive comments too) But the distress of losing your hair for whatever reason is highly underated. So, take above responses into account. Maybe if you can handle it, be brave hit a good hairdresser with the idea of cutting it right back so you don't have to stress about it, even if you keep losing your hair for a while longer, it doesn't seem to be so distressing when you can take back some control & losing really short hair isn't as bad as losing longer hair. But, don't colour it, or if you really do, try Henna (natural colour from dried root of Henna plant, but most hairdressers won't do it, takes a while to do & they like chemical dyes) - don't wash it every day. You may still keep losing your hair for a while longer, but with effective treatment for your PTSD, it does grow back. Till I stop losing it, I keep it extremely short & the few who have seen it & been shocked by the change & have said stupid things, I don't tell them why I did it. That just opens up a private discussion I don't want to tell them about... is I have PTSD etc. I usually say something akin to, "That's odd you are the ONLY person who doesn't love my new cut!" Or, if necessary I tell them to tell someone who really CARES about their opinion, or if you must say, "Of course I had to, it has to match my Brazilian". But, usually I revert to my normal response to stupid people which is, "Don't f**** look at me then" with a few more comments like, " I have always thought your hair could do with being cut off at your throat level. But, you might be much more nice than I am.
One last thing, I am sorry you have had such a bad collision, have scars to learn to live with, have lost your hair....and now PTSD, the scars nobody can see.