posted
All my life I've had very thick, wavy hair. One of those people who would take a shower and have natural spirals when it dried.
I'm about a year and four months into treatment and this past month I've been losing hair by the handfuls in the shower. At first I thought it was shedding but it won't let up. I comb it, there's 30 hairs. I touch it, ten, I wash it, I don't wanna know.
Is hair loss associated with any of these meds? Any of these diseases? Do the people on here who've had hair loss had it regrow? There's usually a little bulb at the end of the hairs that I lose before I weep over them.
I feel like quitting it all if I'm going to lose one of the last good things I have with my body.
Posts: 23 | From Virginia | Registered: Jan 2008
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lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
hair loss is listed as a symptom of lyme and also a side effect of a lot of meds-i'm getting bald on top ...and i'm a woman
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
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Geneal
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10375
posted
Have you had your thyroid levels tested?
Hair loss is common in thyroid conditions.
Diflucan can also cause hair loss, but I don't see that as one of your meds.
Trust me....you can lost a lot of hair and not go bald.
I should know.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posts: 6250 | From Louisiana | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
For me, I lost most of mine when I was on Armour thyroid meds, it came out in handfulls. I would stand in the shower and just cry. Since I went off it has stopped coming out, but is only growing in back slowly.
Hang in there you are not alone! Laura
Posts: 232 | From MN | Registered: Jul 2007
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echostef
Unregistered
posted
WAIT! Before you stop your meds, I have found a pretty good solution to the hair loss I had from Lyme.
I used to have long, thick, naturally curly hair, like yours, that started coming out in handfuls last year, about 5 months after I became ill.
It fell out in clumps in the shower, every time I touched it I had about 20 strands in my hand. It was everywhere in my house, including the food I made for my family!
I bought a dustbuster to carry around with me because I shed in every room I went in.
I finally started shopping around for hair loss products, and found one that has really worked for me. You should give it a try before you do something drastic like stopping your meds!
I did not change or stop any of my meds when I started using Nioxin, so I can only assume that I was fortunate enough to discover a product that was effective.
In fact, I was going to start a thread about it, because it has worked so well for me.
After a few hair products that didn't work, I came across the NIOXIN line of hair loss treatments. It has worked GREAT for me.
I still lose a couple strands when I shower, but NOTHING like the clumps I used to have falling out.
It took about two months to notice a difference. I also only wash my hair 2-3 times a week, since it seems I lose the most hair while shampooing. It might work faster if you wash your hair more than I do.
Anyway, Nioxin has a whole line of shampoos, conditioners, and treatments for hair loss, all NON- medicated, and they really work well. At least they have for me....
The products are rated and grouped in to systems (with numbers) by severity and amount of hair loss.
I use the Nioxin #6- for natural, noticeably thinning hair. The #6 is designed for medium/ coarse hair like mine.
I bought the starter kit, which consists of the cleanser (shampoo), scalp therapy (conditioner), and a leave-in mousse- like scalp treatment. I also bought a root lifter that they have in their styling line, that makes my hair look fuller while it is growing back. The products are not cheap, but not outrageously expensive, and well worth it for me.
I was not about to go bald from this disease that has already tried to nearly ruin my life H*LL, I felt bad enough on the inside without losing my hair on top of it!
I would HIGHLY recommend that you try these products and give it about 8 weeks to start working.
They have made an enormous difference in my thinning hair.
I haven't been able to find the Nioxin line in many salons, but if you google the word "nioxin- hair loss", it'll bring up about 100 different stores that you can order it online from.
Also check out www.nioxin.com to check out all the different systems and choose which one seems right for you. Click on "assess my needs", answer the questions, and it will tell you which system is right for you. Then click on "explore products" and choose "scalp and hair care". That will show you what solutions thay have for your hair loss.
I hope this helps, and I urge you give it a try.
I didn't have very high expectations for it when I started using it. It was more of a last ditch effort to save my hair, and I was completely surprised and overjoyed when it actually worked!!!
Ocean
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3496
posted
Stephanie,
I don't have the hair loss problem, but I would suggest that you do start a new thread about this product as it seems many in the Lyme community do have this issue.
treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
My hair turned completly white gray on mepron.
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
posted
I agree, have your thyroid levels checked for really good info start here www.stopthethyroidmadness.com your doctor may have not tested the right things.
I too was loosing hair horribly, but once I started on armour, it stopped within weeks. I never had any thyroid issues prior to becoming ill, now I am dx'd with hashimoto's thyroiditis too. Go figure.
One thing so many fail to remember is......watch what you put in and on your body......all those chemicals build up.....
I was recommended and now recommend Giovanni hair products for good (and I have tried a few that weren't) organic hair care. Cheaper than the salon products I used to use and leaves my hair much better. I found it at Target.
Also, I have heard about a product called Purvana that is a vitamin mixture for hair........one woman I know swears by it working for her.....she got it at her health food store.
Posts: 15 | From East Coast of Florida | Registered: Oct 2008
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posted
I was on Mycobutin/Azithromycin and my white blood cell count dropped to dangerous levels twice (it was the mycobutin that did this). My doctor took me off that combo and put me on Biaxin. About two months after the WBC drop my hair fell out in clumps.
The doctor and my dermatologist both said it was the antibiotics that triggered the hair loss but neither one seemed to know if the white blood cell drop had anything to do with it.
Antidepressants can cause hair loss and so can antibiotics even if it's not listed as a side effect (none of the antibiotics I was on listed hair loss as a side effect).
I lost about 40% of my hair. The hair loss continued on the Biaxin but not as badly. I went off all meds at the advice of my doctor to give my system a chance to recooperate.
The hair loss stopped once I was off all meds and now I'm down to a normal shed )a few hairs here and there) but it will probably take at least a year for it to fill back in to my normal thickness. As of this month it's been 3 months since the rapid hair loss started.
Yeah, it could be thyroid but most people I know who had hair loss from that lose their eyebrows and eyelashes too.
I have had lyme for 11 years (misdiagnosed for 9 of those years) and hair loss was NEVER a symptom for me so me and my doctor do not think it is a lyme symptom.
The white bulb at the end of the hair happens when you have what they call telogen effluvium which is temporary hair loss.
My scalp also tingled, burned and itched while this was going on.
It IS A NIGHTMARE. I can totally relate. I still cringe every time I have to wash my hair even though no hair falls out anymore.
If you want to private message me I can give you a few web sites about telogen effluvium. And maybe some comforting words.
Generally once you remove the trigger to the hair loss it will resolve itself. The bad part is that it can take from 6 months to over a year.....
Posts: 6 | From Northern Idaho | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
I'm also using Nioxin products. I notice along my hairline that there's new hairs coming in, but can't find any on the top of my head.
I've been on Armour thyroid for years, and I remember losing hair a long time ago, but this time it's different. When a hair naturally falls out, none come up after it, so it's gradually getting thinner, mainly on the front and top of my head.
I'm trying to figure out what started this. Could it be the treatment itself? I've been treated for 1 year now.
I have very thick hair and even had to seriously thin out my bangs, and now they're thin on their own. So, maybe it's the antibiotics. That seems like a year's worth of losing hair naturally and it not being replaced.
I asked to hold off treatment thru the early winter, because SAD always sets me back seriously. I get sick even in the best of years, and knew I'd relapse if I had to go thru the dark days with flagyl (I'm at the cyst busting phase).
Hopefully, my hair can recover somewhat while I'm using Samento and Cumanda to maintain until I'm stronger--3 months or a little more.
If it gets any thinner, I will definitely start to have scalp showing thru. It's the pits for a woman!
Posts: 552 | From New Mexico, USA | Registered: May 2007
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posted
My hair grew back once I went off antibiotics. I saw on televison one day a doctor that claimed ABX can cause hair loss. I asked my LLMD about it but he had never heard of it before. Don't know if its true but I do know most of my hair grew back once I went off ABX. I have adrenal fatigue due to the infection causing my body to be stressed so I'm thinking that its the adrenal fatigue more then anything.
Posts: 547 | From Maryland | Registered: Mar 2005
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canefan17
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 22149
posted
I've started adrenal support and when I get off the abx I fully expect to grow my hair back.
I big part of hair loss is nutritional deficiency too.
Look into malabsorption.
Protein is so important for hair growth.
Eat Eat Eat!
Posts: 5394 | From Houston, Tx | Registered: Aug 2009
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djf2005
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11449
posted
Can someone point me to any literature that points to fluconazole causing hair loss?
Thanks
Derek
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H*LL, I felt bad enough on the inside without losing my hair on top of it!
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