Topic: Hair hair everywhere! My hair is falling out!
lymielauren28
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13742
posted
This has been going on now for a few months and is getting worse.
My hair is falling out! Every time I take a shower, everytime I run my fingers through my hair - big clumps come out - there's no end to it!!
At first I wasn't too concerned, but it's beginning to worry me.
Hope I'm not sounding too vain or conceited, but my looks are about all I have left! I certainly don't have my health...
Sick and bald??? Uggghh - That would just do me in right now.
Anybody else have/had this? Know what could be causing it? What I can do about it?
-------------------- "The only way out is through" Posts: 1434 | From mississippi | Registered: Nov 2007
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kelmo
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Member # 8797
posted
My daughter had that problem, too. She was pretty worried since she was a teenager.
I believe the thyroid gets whacked out. I know it improved with bio-identical progesterone cream.
But, her thyroid was enlarged before starting babesia treatment. After that, the hair was a non-issue, and the thyroid is back to normal.
Hold on tight, every system will be affected. With treatment, things will start to level out.
Posts: 2903 | From AZ | Registered: Feb 2006
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disturbedme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 12346
posted
Yep, I've had this for quite a long time. There's HAIR everywhere and it does get disgusting. Hair in the kitchen (which is the worst), hair in the bathroom, hair all over my pillow and bed, hair on my clothes, etc.
I don't lose like huge clumps and haven't went bald (Thank goodness), but I do lose a great deal of hair. Everytime I take a shower, I always pull out lots of hair and the shower ends up being filled with hair. I swear it's more than the normal 100 strands a day, too.
Then, after the shower, I can still pull out a ton. It's amazing that I haven't went bald with as much hair seems to come out.
I don't think you'll go bald. At one point, my hair did feel extremely thin, but I've noticed that since treatment, my hair seems to have gotten thicker overall even though a lot of hair still comes out.
PS - I forgot to mention that I do have borderline hypothyroidism but am being treated for it. But if the hair falling out was caused by that, it should have helped by now since I've been treating it for nearly two years.
-------------------- One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller
My Lyme Story Posts: 2965 | From Land of Confusion (bitten in KS, moved to PA, now living in MD) | Registered: Jun 2007
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Cobweb
Unregistered
posted
Hypothyroidism is a big one for this.
I have Hashimoto's Disease-which I believe was exacerbated by Lyme Disease. For more information try thyroid.about.com .
Here's another link that cover's more reasons for hair loss.
health.yahoo.com
Bottom line- yes, my hair is becoming rather thin, and yes ,it is distressing, and no, I don't have a solution-other than a nice hair cut while there is still hair to cut.
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lymielauren28
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13742
posted
Kelmo - you really got my attention mentioning the progesterone cream.
I also have endometriosis - I believe I've had this since a teen - but it has gotten MUCH worse with the lyme.
My boobs hurt all the time - I have maybe 4-5 days out of the month when they don't hurt.
I've read a lot about endo and the natural solution suggested for treating it is bio-identical progesterone cream.
It seems women with endo produce WAY too much estrogen and not nearly enough progesterone to balance it out.
I also have horrendous periods and mood swings - BAD.
About a week before I start - emotionally all the "fun" begins.
It turns me into a different person. I have awful anxiety, depression, irritabilty - you name it.
I never had any of these problems before the lyme...sigh.
I am going to buy some of the progesterone cream and try it out - do you know of a good brand?
-------------------- "The only way out is through" Posts: 1434 | From mississippi | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
Isn't there a lyme med that can cause hair loss? Is it plaquenil?
Posts: 237 | From Rhode Island | Registered: Jan 2008
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lymielauren28
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 13742
posted
I'm not sure - but that can't be it for me - I've never been on Plaq.
-------------------- "The only way out is through" Posts: 1434 | From mississippi | Registered: Nov 2007
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Nal
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6801
posted
I get this and it sucks! However, I also get the breast tenderness you mentioned and even though all my blood levels are "normal" I still believe that hormones play huge in all this!!!
I was told to start taking omega 3's so I have and it does seem to help.
Nancy
-------------------- Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you respond to it!
-Chuck Swindoll Posts: 1594 | From Colorado | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
I used to have this. My hair is VERY thick and it was noticeable hair loss. Even the lady who styles my hair noticed it. The hair that didn't fall out had very bad breakage. My hair, that I always had liked previously, looked horrible.
With treatment the hair loss has gone away and reversed. Even people who don't know me well were commenting on how thick my hair looks now (like the lady at Whole Foods checkout). A couple friends even asked me if all this was my hair. LOL.
I have been on Plaquenil for 15 months, so that has not caused hair loss for me because my hair loss has reversed during this time.
I am being treated for borderline low thyroid, but that treatment started AFTER my hair grew back in.
For me, the hair loss and breakage was illness. If our bodies don't have what they need and are fighting for our health, then there just doesn't seem to be the raw materials for good hair.
Hang in there, it will get better with treatment and it will reverse.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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quote:Originally posted by lymielauren28: Kelmo - you really got my attention mentioning the progesterone cream.
I also have endometriosis - I believe I've had this since a teen - but it has gotten MUCH worse with the lyme.
My boobs hurt all the time - I have maybe 4-5 days out of the month when they don't hurt.
I hate to tell you, lauren.. but the progesterone will probably make your boobs hurt even more. I can't get myself to take it because of that side effect!!
My hair is thinning out too. Falling out, but not in clumps. I was blaming it on lack of fats in my diet.
I don't know if that's it, or I've got a thyroid problem too.
I take Omega 3-s but may begin buying a better quality product and see if that helps.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Rianna
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11038
posted
[QUOTE]Originally posted by lymielauren28: My boobs hurt all the time - I have maybe 4-5 days out of the month when they don't hurt.
Block or lower your estrogen by taking a product called I3C (Indol 3 Carbinol) available at LEF and then use progesterone cream that will get the balance correct.
posted
It took several antibiotics to slow down my hair loss. I have 'new growth' now of varying lengths, which I can really notice at my temples. I also lost hair at the crown of my head, though I can't tell if I have new growth there or not.
It resembles male pattern baldness because it is still thick along the bottom, only I'm female.
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posted
I started losing my hair about 2 months into Lyme treatment and it has not gotten better yet. My once beautiful hair is now super super thin with many split ends and is also very dry. It is VERY depressing.
My LLMD gave me a supplement to help,but I haven't noticed any change yet; it just seems to be getting worse. A lot of people I've talked to about this though say it does get better over time Posts: 370 | From NJ | Registered: Dec 2007
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tailz
Unregistered
posted
I just wanted to add that, though some of my hair loss was from Lyme, a lot of it was from what I believe to be bartonella.
Metronidazole slowed the hair loss some, but minocycline and rifampin seem to be helping, too.
Artemisinin didn't do much to slow my hair loss down, even though I'm positive for babesia.
It is very depressing. I used to be all hair.
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kelmo
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Member # 8797
posted
Lymetoo. Sometimes you will have breast pain as your estrogen receptors are being awakened to the introduction of progresterone. You may have to give it longer than three months. Then the pain will subside.
Lauren, estrogen builds cells, progesterone removes old dead cells. So, it is commone to have endometreosis and even cysts with estrogen dominance.
Progesterone does a lot, actually, and you can read more in books by John Lee MD "What Your Doctor Has Not Told You..."
It's the first to be used up under stress. And, our bodies are under stress.
Progesterone is stored in the brain and is good for the nervous system.
It can't hurt to try it. Your body makes 20mg daily normally. During pregnancy, it makes 400mg daily. So, it's very hard to OD on it.
In fact, my gynocologist told me that if I lathered myself with an entire bottle of cream I would only become sleepy. (He doesn't sell it, by the way).
Just some thoughts. Kelly
Posts: 2903 | From AZ | Registered: Feb 2006
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Lauralyme
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 15021
posted
That happened to me but it seemed to resolve itself with taking evening primrose oil 2 X a day. I completly relate to how you feel but your hair will come back.
-------------------- Fall down seven times, get up eight ~Japanese proverb Posts: 1146 | From west coast | Registered: Mar 2008
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daise
Unregistered
posted
Hi everyone,
Yes, good quality evening primrose (at the least, 2- 500 mg gelcaps daily; I used Spectrum brand, last time I used it) helped my boobs not to hurt from the tenderness and they became less fibrocystic.
I did this in anticipation of an appointment for ultrasound of my heart. I even set the appointment aways into the future, so the technician could get a good "read." (Was it 6 weeks ahead of time?)
Yes, they'd become less fibrocystic, by what the ultrasound screen showed.
disturbedme and others: Yes, not only is hypothyroidism notorious for causing hair loss, but Synthroid (a thyroid med) is also notorious for causing hair loss, literally by the handful.
Levoxyl (bioidentical T4) does not cause hair loss with me, nor have I heard that it does for anyone else. Although, the pharmacy literature says it does, because Synthroid does.
It's all in the fillers and binders used: do they make thyroid hormone bioavailable for cells to actually use?
I found that when I treated my thyroid optimally, all signs and symptoms were helped. This was before I figured out I had Lyme. May I suggest Mary J. Shomons book, Living Well With Hypothyroidism, 2005 Edition.
Maybe it's at your library. Somebody here mentioned her website.
Lauren: For girls and women in their child-bearing years, the 'ol monthly period, of course, can cause problems for those who don't have Lyme. For those who do have Lyme, it causes chaos.
I've read where others here wondered if they were in herx--then they figured out it was their time of the month.
I'm grateful I'm past menopause, having Lyme. I just know I'm having an easier time of it than if I were still getting periods.
Would you believe I got Bell's palsy and a slew of other Lyme nasty stuff on what turned out to be the first day of menopause (or within 3 days of it?)
That's how powerfully our hormones affect us. I'd had no signs or symptoms of Lyme for nine years, back when I had a bulls-eye and didn't know it was Lyme.
I keep reading the following by book authors: Never mess with your hormones unless you have been tested and shown to need a hormone, whether by blood or saliva.
A great book for understanding how hormone levels affect other hormone levels is, Feeling Fat, Fuzzy or Frazzled, by Richard Shames MD and Kariless Shames RN PhD. Maybe it's at your library.
It's supurb for understanding how cortisol affects us (from the adrenals.)
As long as we're talking about hormones: 6 - 10% of girls and women in the US have PCOS(Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.)
It's the mother of all hormone illnesses: Messed-up periods, acne, excess body hair growth (even a little, light or dark) and it usually starts about the time of puberty and is lifelong, and much more.
It's one of the ways that girls and women get diabetes and heart disease. It's a disease of insulin resistance. Here's a link:
Yes--I agree! Our hormones have a huge effect on our recovery from Lyme disease. Keyword: optimizing our hormones--not too many, not too few, to achieve balance. With Lyme, they fluctuate. Oh!
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