Help!!!!

My hair is coming out in clumps!!!! I'll be bald in a month or two at this rate!

I asked my doctor and everything seems okay- apparently some people have this reaction after a very stressful surgery (I almost died in December) or sometimes they have that reaction because of anesthesia.

But has this happened to anyone else? What can I do? Get a weave? Suddenly what is left on my head looks like straw. I even invested in the really nice shampoo and conditioner and dropped down to washing it only every other day. I do take vitamins, but perhaps there is a supplement I am missing?

Did this happen to anyone else?

eek!!

If you do a search, you will see that this is a very common question, and a very common response to the stress of illness and surgery.

First, all the shampoo and conditioner in the world will not change what happened in your body months ago. The damage was done then and as your hair grows out, the weakened section is exposed, causing your hair to fall out. Hair treatments may help the hair stay in a bit longer, but I have not known anything that really works. For nearly everyone, this does not equate with baldness, only thinning. Another month or two and your hair will come back in. You'll have lots of short spiky stuff in between the longer hair. There are a lot of people who say that it is a deficiency of a vitamin or mineral, but more likely than not, it is the trauma. Your body was putting energy into preserving life and hair was the "sacrificial lamb" so to speak.

Jan

Thank you Jan! I will do a search to see the older posts too. Your quote at the bottom literally made me take a deep breath. I needed that! Thanks.

I've had it happen to me twice now. The first time was after my colectomy and it was very traumatic - it was coming out in clumps. It got so bad that there were parts of my scalp that were pretty much bald. I think I probably lost over half of my hair. Eventually I opted for a wig - which really helped psychologically!

Then about two months after my pouch surgery it happened again. This time around it wasn't as bad and didn't last as long, so didn't need a wig this time. But it was still traumatic to see so much hair come out...

In both cases, there came a day when it just stopped falling out. And I celebrated by way of getting my hair cut in a fairly short so the thinned areas blended in.

I'm not sure what the actual cause was - in the first case I thought it was due to the prednisone and the malnutrition I was suffering from prior to the surgery. But when it happened the second time I was healthy and not on prednisone, so the surgery seems to be a common factor and perhaps the illness and drugs contributed to a worsened state with the colectomy - I don't think I'll ever know for sure, but it's true that by the time it starts falling out the trauma is long past.

Louise

It happened to me too. I think it was a combination of meds and surgery. I just had my colectomy about a month and a half ago. My hair was coming out in clumps. I got most of it cut off. Now that i am eating better it seems to have slowed down!

Sounds alot like Alopecia Areata. I had this when I was in nursing school. The doctors said it was brought on by stress. With all that you have gone through, it very well could be that. Ask your doctor about it. You may want to see a dermatologist.

Good luck and God Bless You!!

Although I am not a doctor, I do own a salon and have been a hairstylist for 7 years. I also had the same problem with losing hair. It seemed to me that the doctors have no answer for it either. I agree with everyone else that posted, it is a combination of stress, poor nutrition, and meds. Hair is a protein. You may want to try a multivitamin and making improvements in your diet. Also try to minimize stress as that will cause the hair to fall out. I agree with Jan that you will not find a shampoo that will make your hair grow better, only shampoos that will improve that hair that is still on your head. Give it time and without a doubt it will start to grow back.

i too have had the same problem...twice! my GP told me that while i was ill (extremely) my body hung on to everything it could as an act of self preservation and as i started to get better, what would have come out naturally all came out at once. 1st time was 2 Christmases ago during a severe UC flare, also going through it now - another bad flare Nov 2007, colon out Feb 20th 2008. not so scary this time as i know i will wake up one morning, run my hand through my hair and not have the makings of a wig!!!