After 2 yrs of hair loss, I gratefully found you! – Rachel’s Hair Loss Story

Hi there. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am to find this site. After 2 years of suffering in silence, I found reference to you on web-med. My lucky day! I cried at the compassion and sympathy that I found on the very first page. Thank-you!

My hair loss started after I had some children sleep over that had lice. I didn’t suspect lice until my head had itched for 2-3 months. I thought that I was having a re-action to shampoo or conditioner. Then, I put a fine tooth comb through my hair and big ole honkers fell out. Disgusting! I did not use toxic chemicals to get rid of them or I would have suspected that. I used tea tree oil, lavender oil, etc and left them on my head under a shower cap for a week and I combed out the eggs with a nit comb. At about this time (coincidence?) I started to lose my hair. I went and got a perm to feel better and even more fell out and broke off. I thought that my loss was lice and perm related, but it just kept falling out. I went to a MD and she took ferriten and thyroid test. Ferriten was low and she was convinced that was the cause. I begged her to take aggressive action to get to the bottom of this, but she said no, that any other Doc would think ferriten.

Well, 6 months later ferritin is normal and I am still losing hair. I have lost at least 1/2 of my previously very thick and beautiful hair. My scalp is very visable and I even bought a hair peice. I wear it in a pony at the top of my head, but suspect that won’t go on for long as it is becoming very obvious.

I finally got the MD to give me a blood test(which I have to pay for because my insurence will not pay for alopecia!). The results of the 4 hormones were pretty normal. Prolactin. testestarone, FSH and DHEA. These were the ones that she wrote for me. I wanted others, but she said no. I needed to find another avenue, so I am now going to do an indepth siliva test which will show a comprehensive view of my post menopausal hormone profile, and not through this Doc. I now know that I need to go elsewhere. Next I will probably go to a dermatoligist to get a scalp biopsy and whatever.

I was so very sad and upset by all of this, but am worn out by these emotions. I really feel like I am at the treshold of accepting baldness and like the post about just shaving it all off and taking controll of my life.
It helps that I am 53 and married to a man who would love me bald or not. I am not in the market for a partner, but can appreciate you young, beautiful women that are struggling with the social stigmas of this affliction. I felt very depressed and ashamed and wanted to cry every time I thought about it. Reading your posts has given me so much hope about my attitudes. I really feel very healthy and good. Life is good, so what if I am losing my hair and might soon be bald? They have some great wigs, hats and turbens out there and there are so many people really suffering with way worst things. Yes, I am hopeful that something will come to my hairs rescue, but if not, I now have you wonderful ladies to keep my spirits up when I am having a bad day. In the mean time I probably won’t stop searching until I
find out just why my hair is shedding. Thanks for listening, Rachael Jean

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Dear Rachel,

Thank you so much for writing and sharing your story. While I know your sadness, I very much appreciated the strength in your words. We all have to find that part of us, digging way down deep, to find strength in dealing with an often times uncontrollable, unexplainable situation. What jumps out at me about your story is that you are post menopause. It is quite common for women to begin to lose their hair post menopause due to a change in hormones. My mother never experienced the slightest bit of hair shedding, not even postpartum hair loss after having children. But as soon as she went through menopause, her hair started to thin. She is troubled by it as it progressively gets thinner, and she longs for the hair she once had, I wish I could help her. She opted not to take any type of hormonal therapy, I’m not sure if it would have helped her hair loss.

Like you mentioned in your story you are very lucky. You have a husband who loves you with or without hair. Your partner for life. That is so important, a lot of young women in their 20’s worry about finding that special someone when they have to deal with something so devastating to the self image as hair loss. I think enough women have written about their supportive partners for other women to have hope and to know that there are men who don’t care about what is on your head, but more about what is in your heart. I would consider it a bit of screening process to weed out the superficial men who probably wouldn’t have worked out anyways in the long run.

I’ve been dealing with hair loss for so long and starred at so many women’s heads in envy I often forget to see the whole picture. True story, this happened twice in the last 8 years. I was walking with my fiance and I pointed out a young girl with a gorgeous head of hair walking into Universal Studios. My fiance said to me, “did you happen to notice she was missing an arm!!” Oh my gosh, I was so fixated on her flowing locks I completely missed that she didn’t have one arm. My fiance said to me, “what do you think she would prefer, her arm or her hair?” Sort of jolted things in to perspective a little. It happened again years later at the movie theater. I guess my point is that we all have are crosses to bear in this life, some are more visible than others, but we have to be strong and continue to live our lives. I say that with a lot of conviction now, but honestly I missed out on my entire 20’s, and I regret that. I don’t want that to happen to other women who are just waking up and realizing they are losing their hair.

Keep us updated Rachel, I’d love to hear more from you. You said it was your lucky day for finding this site, I think it was our lucky day for having you happen upon it and sharing your story with us. Thanks again for writing.

~Y