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I thought I would start a post about my current/ongoing battle with hair loss and if you are also suffering from this please feel free to share your experiences. From everything I learned, there really is light at the end of the tunnel...even though I'm not there yet, I'm finally feeling hopeful.
First a little description of my hair.
I have always had fine hair, and it is also very curly - which means dry and prone to breakage and frizz. I also started going grey in my twenties (don't really mind, it's a nice silver and very shiny) I don't dye my hair, but do have to use a lot of products to keep it in check. Many of my products at this time a home made, but I also use things like mousse, gel and hairspray. My hair is quite long, sitting just above my hips if pulled out straight, but sits a couple inches past my "girls" when curly. I also have a job that requires me to have my hair pulled back while working.
Although I have not sought out a medical diagnosis, at this point, I do not feel it is necessary, but if this persists I will.
From all the information I have gathered and with what has happened in my life I believe I have what is called Chronic Telogen Effluvium. I do have other risk factors that I think contributed to my hair thinning but the catalyst started after a very stressful time in my life and has continued to a certain degree over the last 2 years as I have tried to get my life back in order.
The contributing risk factors are:
The fact that I am anemic and have not consistently taken Iron.
The hair styling and always pulling it back.
And also my diet at the time of the stressful events and over the last 2 year period.
Chronic Telogen Effluvium is when the normal cycle of hair growth is disrupted. Specifically the telogen phase, when the hair is in it's resting period where it does not grow. Usually only about 10% of the hair is in this state at any given time but there are several things that can disrupt the cycle pushing over/at least 30-50% of the hair in this phase. And stress is one of the most common reasons for this in women.
Usually you lose about 100 hairs a day, that follicle rests for a short time (about 2 months) then hair starts to regrow. But with telogen effusion, "something" (in my case, stress) will cause the follicle to be pushed into the telogen (resing) phase, causing excessive hair to fall out. As the stress persists, the hair follicle is still dormant so no (or very little) new growth starts. After the stressful event has been dealt with, it can take up to 6 months before the hair will start to grow back and up to another 6 months after that for you to even notice a difference...meaning a bunch of short little hairs will start to be visible.
Backstory of my life events.
Between September and November of 2018, I unfortunately lost all three of my cats from different medical reasons (HCM,CKD and Cancer). Leading up to their deaths was also understandably stressful, especially because 2 of the three cats declined very quickly after diagnosis. My life was consumed by vet visits, caring for them. And of course I still had to work full time, but to be honest...I wasn't really there and quickly burnt out...but still pushed thru regardless of how I was feeling. Not only that but I didn't really get the chance to grieve my losses before the next one happened and I still had to care for those I had left so I couldn't let myself grieve, for fear that I wouldn't stop. It didn't really hit me right away. I was sort of a zombie.
In Dec/Jan of 2018/19, we adopted more kitties...the home was just not a happy place without cats in my life. This, I assure, was not a mistake, but being who we are we adopted one kitty who need special attention and another who turns out, had a few medical issues. Things are good now...but it was months of vets, tests and treatments. (We adopted three in total, the third one was fine.)
During this time, work was also a trying feat to get thru. I love my job and my work but just couldn't get over my burn out. There was chronic pain, memory issues, chronic daily headaches, and other physical issues...but still I put on a smile I continued to do what I had to. There was also a new co-worker who just didn't fit in with all of us at work. And no we are not a clicky group of people, just that her drama and negative attitude and complete incompetence basically crated a big black cloud in the office. Just thinking about seeing her at work would give me a panic attack. Thankfully, she no longer works with us...our replacement is awesome.
I started noticing the hair loss about 4 months after the death of my last kitty, and it got significantly worse in the following months. That of course stressed me out even more, and also my eating habits leading up to and during the begging stages of the loss was crap so I noticed I started gaining weight as well...NOT happy. But with the continued stress and chronic pain I just lived like a shell of a person which of course made matters worse. A viscous circle that I just couldn't seem to break.
Over this last 2 year period, there were moments where I seemed to be able to "perk up" (the adoption of the new kitties, when the new kitties were finally healthy, when the co-worker was fired etc...) but they were short lived. One thing I have noticed is that there were periods where my hair loss lessened after the good times, but of course I would sink back into my funk because I would just start worrying again about the loss and weight coupled with how I physically felt. I will also like to add that I felt A LOT of guilt as well due to being less involved, which stresses me out even more.
It was a 1 step forward 2 steps back type situation.....which made me worry.
Then this whole pandemic thing started...we all know what's up with that so I don't think I need to explain the ups and downs of worry and fear with this whole situation. And I did have yet another "flair up" of hair loss when things were really scary...It's not so bad now (for me)
There have been other stress events that I have not mentioned, that I'm sure if they happened on their own would not have been too bad, but I'm sure they did not help on the whole. Like when my brother in law backed into my van causing 1500$ damage, or my husbands change of location of his business...
And this brings me to today. Although there is still worry about Covid, and my households financial issues as both my husband and I are not working, but I think we'll come out of this OK.
The silver lining in all of this, is due to being laid off, even though we are financially strained, I have been given my much needed break from life. I have rested, my body feels better, my head is more clear and I'm feeling better emotionally. Not 100% but better.....this is giving me hope.
So I have really started to try and eat better, have tried to take my supplements regularly and have started some hair care treatments that are said to help with hair loss. My energy levels have improved so I'm hoping that I'll be able to get moving more and lose the weight I gained. Since starting the hair care treatments, my hair (although still thinned and not growing yet) looks better and feels better so I don't get quite as depressed when I look in the mirror. And although my hair has not started growing in just yet, I'm not losing as much as before so that makes me feel better too.
If anyone is interested in what I'm doing or what I have learned and tried feel free to ask. I will keep posting any results I'm noticing as things progress.
I know this was long, so thanks for reading...
First a little description of my hair.
I have always had fine hair, and it is also very curly - which means dry and prone to breakage and frizz. I also started going grey in my twenties (don't really mind, it's a nice silver and very shiny) I don't dye my hair, but do have to use a lot of products to keep it in check. Many of my products at this time a home made, but I also use things like mousse, gel and hairspray. My hair is quite long, sitting just above my hips if pulled out straight, but sits a couple inches past my "girls" when curly. I also have a job that requires me to have my hair pulled back while working.
Although I have not sought out a medical diagnosis, at this point, I do not feel it is necessary, but if this persists I will.
From all the information I have gathered and with what has happened in my life I believe I have what is called Chronic Telogen Effluvium. I do have other risk factors that I think contributed to my hair thinning but the catalyst started after a very stressful time in my life and has continued to a certain degree over the last 2 years as I have tried to get my life back in order.
The contributing risk factors are:
The fact that I am anemic and have not consistently taken Iron.
The hair styling and always pulling it back.
And also my diet at the time of the stressful events and over the last 2 year period.
Chronic Telogen Effluvium is when the normal cycle of hair growth is disrupted. Specifically the telogen phase, when the hair is in it's resting period where it does not grow. Usually only about 10% of the hair is in this state at any given time but there are several things that can disrupt the cycle pushing over/at least 30-50% of the hair in this phase. And stress is one of the most common reasons for this in women.
Usually you lose about 100 hairs a day, that follicle rests for a short time (about 2 months) then hair starts to regrow. But with telogen effusion, "something" (in my case, stress) will cause the follicle to be pushed into the telogen (resing) phase, causing excessive hair to fall out. As the stress persists, the hair follicle is still dormant so no (or very little) new growth starts. After the stressful event has been dealt with, it can take up to 6 months before the hair will start to grow back and up to another 6 months after that for you to even notice a difference...meaning a bunch of short little hairs will start to be visible.
Backstory of my life events.
Between September and November of 2018, I unfortunately lost all three of my cats from different medical reasons (HCM,CKD and Cancer). Leading up to their deaths was also understandably stressful, especially because 2 of the three cats declined very quickly after diagnosis. My life was consumed by vet visits, caring for them. And of course I still had to work full time, but to be honest...I wasn't really there and quickly burnt out...but still pushed thru regardless of how I was feeling. Not only that but I didn't really get the chance to grieve my losses before the next one happened and I still had to care for those I had left so I couldn't let myself grieve, for fear that I wouldn't stop. It didn't really hit me right away. I was sort of a zombie.
In Dec/Jan of 2018/19, we adopted more kitties...the home was just not a happy place without cats in my life. This, I assure, was not a mistake, but being who we are we adopted one kitty who need special attention and another who turns out, had a few medical issues. Things are good now...but it was months of vets, tests and treatments. (We adopted three in total, the third one was fine.)
During this time, work was also a trying feat to get thru. I love my job and my work but just couldn't get over my burn out. There was chronic pain, memory issues, chronic daily headaches, and other physical issues...but still I put on a smile I continued to do what I had to. There was also a new co-worker who just didn't fit in with all of us at work. And no we are not a clicky group of people, just that her drama and negative attitude and complete incompetence basically crated a big black cloud in the office. Just thinking about seeing her at work would give me a panic attack. Thankfully, she no longer works with us...our replacement is awesome.
I started noticing the hair loss about 4 months after the death of my last kitty, and it got significantly worse in the following months. That of course stressed me out even more, and also my eating habits leading up to and during the begging stages of the loss was crap so I noticed I started gaining weight as well...NOT happy. But with the continued stress and chronic pain I just lived like a shell of a person which of course made matters worse. A viscous circle that I just couldn't seem to break.
Over this last 2 year period, there were moments where I seemed to be able to "perk up" (the adoption of the new kitties, when the new kitties were finally healthy, when the co-worker was fired etc...) but they were short lived. One thing I have noticed is that there were periods where my hair loss lessened after the good times, but of course I would sink back into my funk because I would just start worrying again about the loss and weight coupled with how I physically felt. I will also like to add that I felt A LOT of guilt as well due to being less involved, which stresses me out even more.
It was a 1 step forward 2 steps back type situation.....which made me worry.
Then this whole pandemic thing started...we all know what's up with that so I don't think I need to explain the ups and downs of worry and fear with this whole situation. And I did have yet another "flair up" of hair loss when things were really scary...It's not so bad now (for me)
There have been other stress events that I have not mentioned, that I'm sure if they happened on their own would not have been too bad, but I'm sure they did not help on the whole. Like when my brother in law backed into my van causing 1500$ damage, or my husbands change of location of his business...
And this brings me to today. Although there is still worry about Covid, and my households financial issues as both my husband and I are not working, but I think we'll come out of this OK.
The silver lining in all of this, is due to being laid off, even though we are financially strained, I have been given my much needed break from life. I have rested, my body feels better, my head is more clear and I'm feeling better emotionally. Not 100% but better.....this is giving me hope.
So I have really started to try and eat better, have tried to take my supplements regularly and have started some hair care treatments that are said to help with hair loss. My energy levels have improved so I'm hoping that I'll be able to get moving more and lose the weight I gained. Since starting the hair care treatments, my hair (although still thinned and not growing yet) looks better and feels better so I don't get quite as depressed when I look in the mirror. And although my hair has not started growing in just yet, I'm not losing as much as before so that makes me feel better too.
If anyone is interested in what I'm doing or what I have learned and tried feel free to ask. I will keep posting any results I'm noticing as things progress.
I know this was long, so thanks for reading...
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And your kitties are lucky to have you.
