Hey, I noticed on all the lists of symptoms I have seen they have hair loss.
Does hair fall out in clumps or just one by itself? I have noticed more of my hair on my north face jacket that usual. And when I take a shower a lot of hair comes out. And when I take my fingers threw my hair when it is wet A LOT of hair comes out.
But, does that qualify as the hair loss symptom?
I am just wandering. Thanks so much.
Posted by Andie333 (Member # 7370) on :
What you described is exactly what I experienced-- suddenly a lot of hair in the shower, in my brush, on my jacket. It got so bad I actually had to get the plumber over to snake out the shower. Twice.
The good news is that with treatment, that symptom was one of the first to go.
Hope this is helpful!
Andie
Posted by cordor (Member # 9449) on :
Oh YES. I have had this problem and it is actually kind-of frightening when you see how much comes out when you run your fingers thru your hair (especially when it's wet) I used to have beautiful hair. Now it is probably HALF the thickness as before. I am NOT on any antibiotics at this point, as I have recently become allergic to almost all of them. Probably if I was having some kind of treatment, this symptom would probably stop.
Posted by MariaA (Member # 9128) on :
aah, that's the first I've heard of it stopping once you're treated.
I was wondering about that. It's an adrenal hormones thing (affected by Lyme), isn't it?
and yes, same story- suddenly noticed there was more of it falling out with every brushing. Eek!
Maria with thinner-than-previous hair
Posted by wilsongal22 (Member # 11210) on :
Well, I have thick hair. I told my mom I was losing my hair and she said not to worry unless it was in big clumps. That's why I was wondering.
I knew it was a symptom. I guess now I can add it. Actually, that is also a sign of hypothyroidism. Hmmm....
Well, thanks for answering. So far, I can't notice a change while looking at my hair, but I notice a lot on my jacket, in my brush, and in the tub.
It comes out very easily when I run my fingers threw while it is wet. It doens't hurt or anything, but I can just sit and pull it out all day if I wanted to.
Thanks for the replies!
Posted by justag (Member # 11145) on :
I also used to have beautiful hair...
Besides hair loss, I noticed that some of my hair would just break short...I have to use hair spray to calm the fuzzy hair on top of head when I do a ponytail.
Posted by clairenotes (Member # 10392) on :
Hi Christi!
I had this off and on in the early stages of my treatment often accompanied with mild to moderate burning sensations in the scalp area. For me, it feel as though it was due to a die-off reaction (killing the microbes with remedies). It can occur without die-off though, too, I have read.
I don't think you should put off seeing an LLMD or someone similar too much longer. I read in your other posts continuing complaints of numbness... this is not normal. A cough is normal, a headache every now and then is normal, numbness is not!
Claire Posted by Cathy DeVoe (Member # 11271) on :
Hey Everyone, I'm wondering....since lyme affects hormones so greatly if the hair loss issue could be a thyroid issue and gets better with treatment. Or at least slows down. My LLMD is treating me for hormonal imbalances also and I have already found my hair loss has slowed. Cathy
Posted by mddamus (Member # 11342) on :
Not to take anything away from lyme and hair loss, but hair loss can also be a sign of mercury toxicity and it can make it come out in clumps, starting all of the sudden. There is a Dr. Hightower somewhere near San Francisco that made the correlation in some of her patients who were eating a lot of fish. Of course there are other ways to get mercury. Figuring out what to the exposure is so you can stop it and detoxing will usually result in the hair coming back. You might also want to do some research on a condition called alopecia areata. They say it's an autoimmune disorder, of course that fits perfectly with what both lyme and mercury do to your body.
Posted by clairenotes (Member # 10392) on :
hmmmm.... metals are released during die-offs, or so I have heard.
And I do think hormones play a role, too.
Thank you for that information!
Claire
Posted by wilsongal22 (Member # 11210) on :
How come my numbness only happens like when I sit criss cross or with my legs crossed?
Anyone else have lyme that has numbness? What is it like and when does it come on?
Sometimes I have numbness in my hands and I don't cross them or nothing! It just happens.
This morning something really bad happened. I was cleaning my shoes with my right hand and when I stopped I got this very bad muscle cramp like pain in my shoulder. It was horrible. It hurt so bad.
It is at the top of my shoulder a little toward my back. It hasn't hurt as much since then, but it hurts a little when I press on it. I held on to it when it did that and I almost cried.
It was very very painful. I haven't ever experienced something like that. Not that I can remember.
Thanks.
Posted by mag (Member # 8920) on :
hi wilson gal
losing hair was similar for me
gobs in the shower- and i could just run my fingers through my head had have lots more my thyroid function tests were fine.
that was a year ago- since some treatment ( mostly herbs) i do not have any hair loss
Sorry about your numbeness - is your numbness related to the lymes --?? the spirocytes like nerve tissue and and brain tissue i have supplemented my diet with fats (omega 3 and fish oils from health food stores).
get well
mags
Posted by wilsongal22 (Member # 11210) on :
I don't know what it is related to because I still don't know what is wrong with me. I just know I have I have something.
Posted by Ruth Ruth (Member # 11059) on :
Dear Christi,
It seems like you would be tempted to feel powerless about finding a way to recover from your illness. But don't forget that you have faith, hope and love. And love never fails. I have been where you are not so long ago. I still have to wear my hair cut short because it is too thin and looks bad when it is longer.
But I am sustained because I have hope. And this Hope does not disappoint us. You know that Love is watching over you for good. You know that you are not alone. And you know that you are not a helpless victim of circumstances.
I was most tempted to feel helpless when I tried to pick up something heavy and my hand was so weak I dropped it. I wanted to cry. I felt like my body was a stranger to me. What was wrong? But I couldn't allow those feelings to paralyze me.
Go find yourself some good promises and say them out loud to yourself. You will be amazed how much healing there is in speaking the truth. (For some reason it has to be out loud to really affect your body strongly.) You don't need a doctor's supervision to speak healing promises out loud. You don't have to worry about an overdose. (Maybe you should worry about an 'underdose' though! ).
And have faith that someday your need for your parents and a helpful doctor to understand will be met. Don't be discouraged if it takes time. You have patience. Use the waiting time to grow in your understanding so you can be able to partner with your doctor in your healing.
You will recover from this, and you will be a stronger, deeper, wiser woman for going through this!
Posted by klutzo (Member # 5701) on :
I woke up with numb arms and legs, and with hair all over my pillow each morning when I first got sick. It clogged the shower trap, so that I was standing in water half way up my calves too.
I lost even more hair in the front, top part of my head when my digestive system got so bad I could not eat anything but hot cereal and canned fruits. This is due to sympathetic dominance/parasympathetic weakness in the autonomic nervous system.
The hair on my legs all but disappeared. I was told this is due to adrenal fatigue.
I solved the hair loss with digestive enzymes at each meal and an appropriate dose of Armour Thyroid.
I recently reversed it, and grew all sorts of new hair on my head, by stopping coloring it, which is highly toxic. It is now back to normal.
I reversed the hair loss on my body with acupuncture. It is now back to how it was before my illness. I went from shaving my legs once a month, to every other day. My once long, hard fingernails came back too. These were side-effects of my acupuncture treatments, which were for more serious issues.
Like Cordor, Lyme altered my immunity, and I am allergic to all ABX that work against Lyme.
Klutzo
Posted by Kalina (Member # 9784) on :
My once-thick hair is about half of what it once was, so I have experienced the same thing many of you describe, watching my hair go down the drain. :-O
My scalp is also painful to touch in the areas where I've lost most of my hair (the top, including the sides and crown). I have been wondering if that has anything to do with my hair loss?
I'm on a fairly high dose of thyroid med. The hair loss slowed after I started taking it, but there are still times it falls out more than usual.
I miss my hair and hope one of these days it will grow back!
Posted by CaliforniaLyme (Member # 7136) on :
Lyme is associated with alopecia (hair loss) in the medical literature along wiht, in Europe, documentation of some kind of possibly rickettsial infection called TIBOLA which has alopecia as a facet of presentation!!!
1: Wien Klin Wochenschr. 1999 Dec 10;111(22-23):976-7. Links
Diffuse reversible alopecia in patients with Lyme meningitis and tick-borne encephalitis.
Cimperman J, Maraspin V, Lotric-Furlan S, Ruzic-Sabljic E, Avsic-Zupanc T, Strle F. University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Alopecia occurring after febrile bacterial and viral infection is a phenomenon well known since the beginning of the century.
To evaluate the occurrence of alopecia in tick transmitted disease, 23 adult patients with Lyme meningitis and 71 patients with tick-borne encephalitis were included in a prospective study and were followed up for one year.
Diffuse alopecia occurred within three months after the outbreak of disease in 3 out of 23 (13%) patients with Lyme meningitis and in 40 out of 71 (56.3%) patients with tick-borne encephalitis.
The mean duration of alopecia was 2 to 3 months and alopecia was reversible in all patients.
PMID: 10666812
1: Hautarzt. 1999 Dec;50(12):897. Links
PCR detected Borrelia burgdorferi DNA in a tissue sample in pseudopelade Brocq Article in German
Kostler E, Hubl W, Seebacher C. Hautklinik, Krankenhauses Dresden-Friedrichstadt-Stadtisches Klinikum.
PMID: 10663027 1: Orv Hetil. 1997 Dec 21;138(51):3229-32. Links [TIBOLA--a new tick-borne infection] [Article in Hungarian] Lakos A. Kullancsbetegsegek Ambulanciaja, Budapest.
Twenty-seven cases of a tick-transmitted infection with similar symptoms were seen by the author in the last 14 months. These symptoms do not fit into the known tick-borne infections. The bite caused by a "strikingly big" engorged tick was almost uniformly located on the occipital scalp region. The infection occurred most commonly in young children: the larger half of the patients were less than 10 years of age. The main symptom, presented in all patients, was the enlargement of painful lymph nodes in the region of the tick bite, causing us to name the infection Tick-BOrne LymphAdenopathy ("TIBOLA"). The other major feature, presented more than a half of the cases, was a herpes-like eschar 0.5-3 cm in diameter at the site of the tick bite. The eruption could be surrounded by a circular erythema (6 cases). After healing of the eruption, alopecia remained at the site. The time from the bite to the first symptom varied between 1-30 (mean 8) days. Doxycyclin seemed to shorten the disease. The infection seemed benign since only 4 patients had high fever, while 3 patients had a low grade fever (37-38 degrees C). General symptoms lasted for 3-12 months. Contrary to Lyme borreliosis, which is highly distributed all over in Hungary, the new tick-transmitted infection seems geographically more restricted, with almost all of the patient reporting that the tick bite occurred in a 120 km wide and 200 km long region along the banks of the Danube. Most probably, the disease is caused by a rickettsia infection which is still needed to be proven.
PMID: 9454101
Spach DH, Shimada JK, Paauw DS. Related Articles, Links
Localized alopecia at the site of erythema migrans.
J Am Acad Dermatol. 1992 Dec;27(6 Pt 1):1023-4. No abstract available. PMID: 1479087
Posted by Lioness (Member # 10655) on :
Mine suddenly started coming out in clumps too, mainly in the shower. It would be all over the walls and clogging the drain. I would run my fingers through my hair and have a fistful of it.
I used to say there was more of my hair around the house than my two cats, and I was not exaggerating.
My clothes were covered too.
It recently started growing back.
Not sure why it was falling out. My LLMD said it is a symptom of Lyme.
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