Rapid hair loss in one month

[concrete]

I am 35 years old and used to have very nice thick hair. There is no history of baldness in my family. Then about a month ago, I felt what at first was a headache. It was a throbbing pain all over my head. It really has not gone away in a month. Then a couple of weeks ago I realized that my hair is much thinner than before. Then last weekend when getting out of the shower, I could see my scalp through my wet hair. What I thought was a headache was actually pain on the scalp.

I am losing hair everywhere all over my head. I also in the last month have been getting a few gray hairs too, which I never had before either. So I want to know if the hairloss is permanent, or if it will grow back. Does male pattern baldness happen so suddenly and quickly?

Here is some back story:
1. 6 months prior I broke up with my girlfriend/fiance of 11 plus years (1st and only girlfriend in my life)
2. I had a stressful job and had to work long hours including all day and all night
3. I slept at my office for 6 months after breaking up with my ex. This caused the skin on my face to dry out and for the skin on my face to become scaly.
4. Stress from the break up and work caused me to not work out regularly and get out of shape and develop a small gut (although I was not obese - 6'1" and 190-195 lbs)

So, I am first trying to understand the cause of my hair loss. Below are my theories:
1. The severe dry skin on my face also made the skin on my head dry, causing the hair to have trouble staying attached to the scalp.
2. Stress from job and break up caused the hair loss
3. Perhaps a decline in physical health and perhaps an initial onset of diabetes might cause hair loss


Or maybe it was a perfect storm and a combination of all of the above. But even today, one month later I still feel pain on the top of my head. So my next question, will I go completely bald and is the baldness permanent.

I met with a dermatologist a few days ago, and was given some Clobetasol Proportionate Gel 0.05% to put on my scalp twice a day for 2 weeks, and some Desonide Cream 0.05% to put on my face. She said I will be fine and my hair will grow back. She also took a blood test to see if i have anemia or something else. I am still not so sure my hair will grow back, because I still have pain on my head.

I am meeting with an internist tomorrow to get an overall assessment of my physical health and if I have diabetes or something else and to get a second opinion.

So, at this point, I really want to stop the hair loss and keep what hair I still have. If my hair will not grow back and it is being caused by stress or anxiety, then I am thinking if I should quit my job and not work for 6 months and just do yoga and workout everyday.

I took this week off work because I am sort of embarrassed to have my coworkers see me with no hair. I dont think I can see my family for Christmas because of this. I have been on a strict diet and have lost 10 lbs already. I also have been trying different home remedies like eggs and olive oil in the hair, tea tree treatments, Neutrogena T-Gel shampoo, etc. I have even seen a Chinese doctor of traditional medicine and have asked for some natural treatments.

I would be interested on the opinions anyone has based on what I have said, including their opinion about what is causing this. Is this temporary hair loss? Or permanent male pattern baldness? Has permanent male pattern baldness happened to anyone else so quickly (from super thick and full hair to no hair in less than a month)?

Thanks so much

[Mark]

I sent this off to the doctors to take a look, but if you've lost hair all over your head (even in the back?) as well as lost it in such a short period of time, it doesn't really sound like Male Pattern Baldness. Have you lost hair anywhere else on your body or is it only your head?

EDIT: I just spoke to Dr Rassman about this briefly as he was in-between consults and he essentially said that without seeing you personally it's hard for him to say much about the problem you're having. There's something called "telogen effluvium" (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1071566-overview) that can cause the kind of hair loss that you're seeing, but I've never heard of it being associated with any pain in the scalp.

Short answer? If you want Dr. Rassman's professional opinion it would be best to come in and see him personally.

If you have any other questions feel free to post. I'm curious about the questions I posed above.

-Mark

[concrete]

The hair loss is only on my head. It is pretty much all over the head. If I take two hands and push away the hair, I can see bare scalp. But, I can still sort of cover up the scalp with my hair if I don't use any hair gel. But, I am still having pain on my scalp. I think, anytime I am still having pain, then maybe more hair must be falling out. Also, the color of my hair is changing. It is getting a lighter color from the original dark brown. But I am not sure it looks so healthy. It is kind of a lighter brown with maybe a slight gray tint and some blonde hairs too.

I went to the doctor yesterday, and ruled out diabetes. He said I look like I am in overall good health and does not understand why I am having the rapid hair loss. He will check the results of the blood test to rule out a thyroid condition or anemia. He also said my scalp does not really look that dry. He thinks if everything else is fine, it must be caused by some severe trauma or stress.

I thought about it and think, that must be the cause. I think maybe I need to see a psychiatrist maybe if I am still having the pain on the scalp. It seems like it is a powerful headache that somehow is connected to the hair on my head and anytime I feel stressed or anxious it causes problems with my hairs.

A Chinese friend recommended having acupuncture everyday for 2-4 weeks. I might try that, although it is expensive at $50 a session and not sure if it is covered with insurance.

It seems like my only options are acupuncture, massages, yoga and seeing a psychiatrist before all my hair falls out i guess.

The doctor I saw yesterday said that if it is caused by stress, there is a chance that once the stressful episode is over the hair can grow back. But that might take 6 months. He recommended a lot of vitamins and supplements to strengthen the immune system. I will try that too.

[concrete]

I read up on Telogen Effluvium, and think maybe this is what is going on.

Is it easy to diagnose this? This would really reassure me, if I can find out if this is the reason for the hair loss.

[Mark]

The hair loss is only on my head. It is pretty much all over the head. If I take two hands and push away the hair, I can see bare scalp. But, I can still sort of cover up the scalp with my hair if I don't use any hair gel. But, I am still having pain on my scalp. I think, anytime I am still having pain, then maybe more hair must be falling out. Also, the color of my hair is changing. It is getting a lighter color from the original dark brown. But I am not sure it looks so healthy. It is kind of a lighter brown with maybe a slight gray tint and some blonde hairs too.

I went to the doctor yesterday, and ruled out diabetes. He said I look like I am in overall good health and does not understand why I am having the rapid hair loss. He will check the results of the blood test to rule out a thyroid condition or anemia. He also said my scalp does not really look that dry. He thinks if everything else is fine, it must be caused by some severe trauma or stress.

I thought about it and think, that must be the cause. I think maybe I need to see a psychiatrist maybe if I am still having the pain on the scalp. It seems like it is a powerful headache that somehow is connected to the hair on my head and anytime I feel stressed or anxious it causes problems with my hairs.

A Chinese friend recommended having acupuncture everyday for 2-4 weeks. I might try that, although it is expensive at $50 a session and not sure if it is covered with insurance.

It seems like my only options are acupuncture, massages, yoga and seeing a psychiatrist before all my hair falls out i guess.

The doctor I saw yesterday said that if it is caused by stress, there is a chance that once the stressful episode is over the hair can grow back. But that might take 6 months. He recommended a lot of vitamins and supplements to strengthen the immune system. I will try that too.


Sounds like a real bummer of a situation. Did your doctor give you any indication as to why you're experiencing pain? That's the thing that really makes me scratch my head.

I'm not a doctor, but I would watch out with trying too many different solutions for your problem. Some vitamins taken in excess can cause hair loss, so you may think you're doing your body good by loading up on a ton of multivitamins but you may be causing more harm.

As a side note, a good friend of mine and I were talking the other day and he told me that he's suddenly got this bald spot on the side of his head that came from out of nowhere. This guy has the thickest, fullest head of hair of anyone I know, so it was an odd thing to be hearing from him.

Sure enough, when I saw him next he's got this roughly quarter-sized spot where his sideburns should be where there's just no hair at all. It's quite strange. He's been stressed out pretty good for the last 6 months with job issues and that's really the only thing that we could figure. This was probably about 6 months ago and he's still missing that patch of hair.

Not exactly similar to your situation, but still not fun.

One thing I don't think you've mentioned, do you know if you're losing hair in the "donor area" of your scalp, the back of your head below that little bump?

[Mark]

I read up on Telogen Effluvium, and think maybe this is what is going on.

Is it easy to diagnose this? This would really reassure me, if I can find out if this is the reason for the hair loss.

I'm not a doctor so I can't really give you any expert advice, and Dr Rassman can't really say anything with any certainty without seeing you in person.


The important thing is that you've gone to your doctor and they've ruled out any serious reasons for the sudden hair loss, like HIV, liver disease, etc. If they can't find anything else, it sounds like you've just got a waiting game on your hands, because if it is stress-induced telogen effluvium it should clear up in 6 months or so.

Sorry I can't be more definitive for you.

-Mark

[concrete]

i have thought about it and maybe I was over dramatizing the pain in the head. I guess, it is now not really a pain, but a constant light tingling. I guess I can be very sensitive to changes in my body and feel any particular change. At first the tingling sensation was so strong and all over the head that it almost felt like my head was on fire.

I read up some more on stress induced telogen effluvium, and found out that it can be caused by jetlag even. Sure enough about 2 months ago exactly I took two back to back international trips with only a 3 day break in between. And I worked like 14 hours each of those three days. Also, I did notice that I have a lot of new hairs. These new hairs seem more rough and brittle and the other ones and are blonde in color instead of a darker brown. I also got some new hairs on the edge of my forehead.

I am just worried that my head is still tingling, because I am worried that the tingling means more hair will fall out.

It feels like I have lost hair all over. I haven't gotten a haircut in a month and a half, and feel like I have the same amount of hair as I had after the haircut. So there is less hair even on the back of the head below the bump. But it seems like the hair loss is less on the back and sides and greater on the top of the head.

[Mark]

i have thought about it and maybe I was over dramatizing the pain in the head. I guess, it is now not really a pain, but a constant light tingling. I guess I can be very sensitive to changes in my body and feel any particular change. At first the tingling sensation was so strong and all over the head that it almost felt like my head was on fire.

I read up some more on stress induced telogen effluvium, and found out that it can be caused by jetlag even. Sure enough about 2 months ago exactly I took two back to back international trips with only a 3 day break in between. And I worked like 14 hours each of those three days. Also, I did notice that I have a lot of new hairs. These new hairs seem more rough and brittle and the other ones and are blonde in color instead of a darker brown. I also got some new hairs on the edge of my forehead.

I am just worried that my head is still tingling, because I am worried that the tingling means more hair will fall out.

It feels like I have lost hair all over. I haven't gotten a haircut in a month and a half, and feel like I have the same amount of hair as I had after the haircut. So there is less hair even on the back of the head below the bump. But it seems like the hair loss is less on the back and sides and greater on the top of the head.

Sounds like you've got a bit of a catch 22 on your hands. You're losing your hair because of stress, and you're stressed out because you're losing your hair.

One way that you can measure how much hair is coming in would be to do miniaturization tests on yourself every few months or so, but maybe you should probably just relax and let things happen on their own.

Hope everything works out for you.

-Mark

[concrete]

I think it has been about 6 weeks since I posted on here, so I thought I'd give an update. I know that when I read some of these blogs, it would be nice to see a follow up if the poster's hair ever grew back.

I definately was suffering from malnutrition. The internist I went to tested the vitamin levels in my body, and I was very low. I was only at 25% the recommended vitamin D levels at the time of the test. I am sure that when this whole thing started, my vitamin levels were even lower.

So fast forward to 6 weeks of taking multivitamins, antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acid supplements, protein supplements, etc recommended by the nutritionist that works out of the doctor's office that I went to. It seemed like there was no improvement until 6 weeks later, when the hair on the back and sides especially started to grow again. It is now starting to get thick again in those areas. My skin all over my body is starting to improve too, with the help of good lotion.

I am still worried about the top of my head though, as more hair loss occurred there. While there is no longer pain on the top of the head, it still tingles some. I have another appointment to the internist in a month to check all my vitamin levels, so I will wait til then and see if there is some improvement to the top of the head too.

But I know even if it is not male pattern hair loss accelerated by malnutrition caused from stress, and it is only telogen effluvium, it takes time for the hair to regrow. The internist suggested I could try propecia, but he thinks I should just see if it grows back on its own first. I am still debating that. I will see how the next month goes.

I might see if I can take a day off work to drive to LA and make an appointment with Dr Rassman, as it seems I could not find many doctors around here who do anything beyond a hair pull to test if it is genetic hair loss or not.

But I know I am definately making progress with my focus on a healthy diet, proper nutrition and stress reduction.

[Mark]

I think it has been about 6 weeks since I posted on here, so I thought I'd give an update. I know that when I read some of these blogs, it would be nice to see a follow up if the poster's hair ever grew back.

I definately was suffering from malnutrition. The internist I went to tested the vitamin levels in my body, and I was very low. I was only at 25% the recommended vitamin D levels at the time of the test. I am sure that when this whole thing started, my vitamin levels were even lower.

So fast forward to 6 weeks of taking multivitamins, antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acid supplements, protein supplements, etc recommended by the nutritionist that works out of the doctor's office that I went to. It seemed like there was no improvement until 6 weeks later, when the hair on the back and sides especially started to grow again. It is now starting to get thick again in those areas. My skin all over my body is starting to improve too, with the help of good lotion.

I am still worried about the top of my head though, as more hair loss occurred there. While there is no longer pain on the top of the head, it still tingles some. I have another appointment to the internist in a month to check all my vitamin levels, so I will wait til then and see if there is some improvement to the top of the head too.

But I know even if it is not male pattern hair loss accelerated by malnutrition caused from stress, and it is only telogen effluvium, it takes time for the hair to regrow. The internist suggested I could try propecia, but he thinks I should just see if it grows back on its own first. I am still debating that. I will see how the next month goes.

I might see if I can take a day off work to drive to LA and make an appointment with Dr Rassman, as it seems I could not find many doctors around here who do anything beyond a hair pull to test if it is genetic hair loss or not.

But I know I am definately making progress with my focus on a healthy diet, proper nutrition and stress reduction.

It's great to hear that you've made some progress. Malnutrition can most certainly cause hair loss. An ex girlfriend of mine used to eat terribly and I remember her hair getting really thin and, (this was the odd part), her fingernails got really weak too! I never thought about it, but hair and fingernails are both made of a similar material.

Again, glad to hear you're doing better. And if you want to make an appointment with Dr. Rassman, you can get a hold of us at 1-800-NEW-HAIR.

-Mark