| Author |
Message |
Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 2:48 pm 
Suggestions please! My hairdresser and I are worried about the fact that for the past 6 months or more my hair is REALLY thinning out and when it's wet, it seems to almost come out in clumps. Very scary stuff. I'd be grateful for any suggestions! I do plan to go see my doctor for a referral to a specialist. I have decided to let my hair go grey and stop colouring it immediately, for starters. Just had it done around the holidays, but that's it for me. I'd rather be grey than bald! I figure I'll have to cut my hair supershort (ugh!) once the colour starts to grow out. But I'll do whatever I have to. I take no supplements at all. So I'm basically flying blind here. The most frustrating thing is that for the past year and a half I've eaten better than ever in my life. Go figure. I lost the weight... and now I'm rapidly losing my hair. Ack! Oh and my hairdresser wants me to start using NIOXIN (sp?) products on my hair. She says that's what they use on Cancer patients!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 3:52 pm
One word: DOCTOR! And get thee there and fast! And wait until you see the doc until you use Nioxin. Because losing hair in clumps is not normal!
Call your doctor on Monday and demand an appt immediately!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 4:22 pm
Thanks Costa... that's exactly what I'm going to do - call my Doc ASAP. I'm GUESSING it might have to do with my being slightly hypothyroid. Anyhow I didn't mean to over dramatize things... it's tiny clumps and not really noticeable at this point. Except that I notice the difference. I used to have very thick and healthy hair and now I have maybe a third or a quarter of the thickness. Over the last few years I figured it was the aging process but what's been happening for the past few months is NOT normal.
Last week I went to a different salon as my gal wasn't working that day. The man who washed and styled my hair was literally freaking out and repeating over and over again that "It's not normal! It's not normal!" as he saw all the hair in his sink. I caught a glimpse of it, and it's pretty much the amount I've seen and fretted over, over the past few months. I was also impressed that while he repeated that I must change everything I'm using, the colour, the shampoo and the conditioner, he didn't try to sell me a damned thing, and that impressed me that he was sincerely concerned and not just trying to make an extra buck. That was last weekend. This week my own stylist and I had a long discussion and she tried to reassure me that it's not that bad YET. But that I need to deal with it before it gets worse.
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Holly
Member
07-21-2001
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 4:31 pm
Sounds like a combination: Age, Dieting, Thryoid.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 4:34 pm
I was also impressed that while he repeated that I must change everything I'm using, the colour, the shampoo and the conditioner, he didn't try to sell me a damned thing, and that impressed me that he was sincerely concerned and not just trying to make an extra buck.
That would impress me too. I had similar good experience with a funeral director (who have a generally bad reputation). Hank didn't try to oversell me in any way. At one point he even said, "You don't need that. This one will be OK."
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 4:41 pm
BTW, the owner of my salon is also losing her hair similarly, and she thinks it might also have to do with menopause. The thing is that I had a partial hysterectomy about 6 years ago and still have my ovaries, so I have no idea if I am peri-menopausal, or smack dab in the middle of it, or post-menopausal. I think I've had two 'hot flashes' in my life. And one was a couple of years before the surgery. So when I say I am truly at a loss about this... I'm not kidding. I am going to ask for a complete blood workup, and pee and a pound of flesh if they ask, LOL, cuz I want answers and I am NOW willing to do what needs doing. (I was told a few years ago that I needed to start supplements due to my fibro fatigue etc but I really suck at taking meds daily, so I bought some of the stuff but after a few days I gave up.)
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 4:56 pm
Sorry I've been yammering on so much, but as you can probably tell, I am really anxious and upset about this. I do appreciate everyone's input. I am grateful for any thoughts on the subject.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 7:09 pm
Yeah, a combo of thyroid and hormones would likely cause hair loss. But a "clump" no matter the size is NOT normal, so yeah, glad you're gonna call the doc ASAP.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 9:24 pm
I was losing a lot of hair around menopause, but then it slowed way down afterward. I used to have a whole LOT of very fine curly hair. Now I have regular fine, curly hair that I sometimes have to artfully fluff up to avoid having a gapping spot. I also quit colouring my hair a couple years ago just to see what colour it ended up being. It now looks brown from a distance with grey mixed in close up. I rather like it.
Oh, and just calm down right now. It is only hair. You will be JUST fine with a short cut, although I do suggest you wear a bag over it for the first two months. You will look in the mirror and see a freak, while the rest of the world is walking around thinking you look perfectly fine. What are they THINKING??!?!??!
Oh, and please don't let anybody know I have been posting in this thread. I am supposed to be banned from here for blasphemy.
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 9:39 pm
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 9:43 pm
Phew, thanks Jooj, I need to remember that It Is ONLY Hair. ;) (They can ban us together, Compadre!) And with my hot new bod, I'm going to be the cutest old broad out there, eh? So maybe I won't even need that paper bag. ;)
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Landileigh
Member
07-28-2002
| Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 11:34 pm
i stopped coloring my hair a year ago, because it seemed like even permanent hair color wasn't doing anything to so much of my hair. Soon discovered I wasn't going gray, but it was going pure white. I've had a pure white forelock since I was 27 and Holly was born. Yesterday I found another patch on my left side. I'm only 49. Wonder how long it will take before the whole head is white?
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Sunday, January 15, 2012 - 5:26 pm
(Oh my! Juju posted those 4 words! And Mame repeated them!)
Mame, I read your posts in another thread. So sorry. Just wanted to share that my hair stylist warned me to expect losing some hair due to the anesthesia from my recent surgery. I have noticed more hair in the comb after my showers, not clumps though, at least that I can tell. Anyway, maybe your anesthesia from your dental work is partially responsible too.
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Jmm
Moderator
08-15-2002
| Sunday, January 15, 2012 - 7:18 pm
 Did anyone see which way Juju went?
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Sunday, January 15, 2012 - 9:41 pm
uh oh
<lights out like a scalded wombat>
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Monday, January 16, 2012 - 10:35 am
Jmm, I admit to nuttin' officer... 
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Monday, January 16, 2012 - 10:36 am
I just called my doc and my apt is for Feb 8th as it's my annual checkup anyways. He's asked me to fast the night before as we're going to do a complete workup. Re: my hair thinning, I'm going to stop calling it hairloss, cuz it's too depressing.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Monday, January 16, 2012 - 11:46 am
LOL!
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Gidget
Member
07-28-2002
| Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 9:22 pm
Saw this on Dr. Oz today for thinning hair.
Black currant contains gla which blocks the hormone that makes hair fall out.
Take 400mg. twice a day. Takes 6 to 8 weeks to show results.
I trust Dr. Oz' information but I don't recommend taking any kind of supplements without discussing with your doctor, especially if you have any health issues. Some stuff that is fine for healthy people may not be so for people with things like liver and kidney impairment. Or people who take meds.
So I am just contributing but not recommending.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Friday, January 27, 2012 - 2:51 pm
Mame, Gidget beat me to it...I was just going to post the same thing. Was watching Dr. Oz yesterday and thought of you and wrote it down so I could post it for you. Maybe you can ask the Dr. about black currant at your upcoming appt.
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Friday, January 27, 2012 - 3:25 pm
Thanks Gidget and HM! I'm seeing my doc in a couple of weeks and I will try to remember to mention it to him. Lots of caring and advice in this thread here. Thanks!
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Monday, February 06, 2012 - 2:05 pm
Mame, the March 2012 issue of Woman's Day has an article on p. 72 about thinning hair and expert tips and products to help it look thicker.
I can't find it online, but I found this: link
Ask the Expert: Why Is My Hair Falling Out?
Learn whether female pattern baldness is to blame for your hair-loss symptoms
By Amy McMichael, MD
Read more: Why Is My Hair Falling Out? - Hair Treatment for Female Pattern Baldness at WomansDay.com - Woman's Day
Is the tangle of hair swirling around your shower drain growing? Although it’s common to lose 50 to 100 strands a day, female hair loss and balding can be attributed to more serious, but treatable factors. ...
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 7:48 pm
Saw the doc today and he said my annual physical test results were TERRIFIC. Just my thyroid is a bit low and might account for my thinning hair. He took more blood today for a more specific thyroid test. I'll know more next week. (I already knew I was hypothyroid.) He also confirmed menopause might have something to do with the thinning hair. Kind of a double whammy.
HM, thanks for the article, I will definitely give it a gander.
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Friday, February 17, 2012 - 4:47 pm
Yay for terrific results! That's great news! 
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Heckagirl631
Member
09-08-2010
| Saturday, May 12, 2012 - 5:41 pm
I just used a root touch up type home hair dye for the first time. I have been dying my hair for many years, but this was the first time I didn't do the whole head thing. It looks fine, but I was wondering if I should do the whole head dye the next time, and maybe alternate. My hair color does seem to fade over time. I was afraid it would look two-toned, but it doesn't. The touch up was a bit easier. The time was a lot shorter to leave on, too.
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