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[Mojo61]

Hello ladies,

In November last year I had what would have been termed in the old days a "nervous breakdown". Prior to this I had never suffered any problems whatsoever with my mental health so it came as a massive shock to me. I couldn't eat and lost over 2st in weight very quickly.

I have been through the mill regarding meds etc, but I've been on citalopram now since April and although I'm still recovering I'm nowhere near as bad as I was earlier on in the year. I started HRT in Feb because my GP thought the menopause may have something to do with the horrific symptoms I was getting and I've had a few problems with that too as I had (and still have) bleeding. Been for a scan which showed a thickened lining (8-9mm) and a few small fibroids. Had an endometrial biopsy and removal of a cervical polyp on 10th August, still waiting for the results.

One of the things that upsets me most is that I seem to be losing so much hair, and this only started a few months ago. It is coming out in handfuls when I wash my hair and I now have a noticible bald areas at the front and sides of my hairline which I've taken to covering up with root concealer spray. 

I guess I want to know what might be causing the hair loss and what to do to either stop it or prevent it getting any worse. My current medication is Kliovance 1mg/0.5mg tablets, Citalopram 20mg, Propranalol 40mg, Losartan 25mg and I also take a multivitamin. My diet still isn't good as appetite very poor, sleep poor and still suffering from anxious and intrusive thoughts.

Any suggestions please?

[CLKD]

Shock?  You have had a huge mental upheaval and sometimes the body reacts by shedding hair.  Sometimes there is no real reason.  Have you thought to go to a good hairdresser to get advice?  Have a look at a good web-site for wigs too, I think it's the hairdresser from the 1960s Trevor Sorbet? who champions wigs [off to have a look-see to see whether I'm barking up the wrong tree  ]

I found this whilst searching: http://www.mynewhair.org :  I spelt his name incorrectly, it's "Sorbie" …… I remember him talking about supporting those with un-explained hair loss etc. which surprised me at the time.

[Megamind]

Sorry to hear what you have been through. Sometimes shocks to the system, illness, viruses etc can result in hair loss some five to six months after the event. You say the hair loss started a few months ago. Does that correspond with five to six months since your breakdown? Hair loss is distressing but will hopefully regrow once your body begins to repair itself.

Have you had your thyroid checked? That can also cause hair loss.

[Mojo61]

Thank you ladies. Yes, it does correspond with the hair loss which started around 5-6 months after my breakdown.

And thank you too CLKD, I will take a look at that site. Will my hair grow back again do you think? It is so thin now and it used to be really thick.

[Annie0710]

I've read that When the stress or medication that resulted in hair loss is over/stopped it hair starts to regrow soon after


Annie X

[Dorothy]

I've been involved in two car accidents and lost handfuls of hair after both, to the point where I was nearly bald.  Both times it grew back.  I also lost a lot when my father died, again it grew back.  My hair is thinner now than it used to be pre-peri, but not nearly as thin as it was after these stressful experiences (two of which occurred after I started going through the change).  So I would say with reduced stress, there is every chance your hair will regrow.  Hugs xxx

[Elizabethrose]

I'm so sorry Mojo, what an absolutely rotten time you're having.

The other ladies have made some valuable points, shock and illness can cause us to lose hair: if that's the case it should grow back. I've lost hair at various points over the years. After my first pregnancy I lost tons, had a real widow's peak. It all grew back though. I was put on a really nasty anti epilepsy drug as a prophylactic for migraine, this caused hair loss, same thing happened, it grew back when I was taken off it. Later I was put on HRT, again to try to treat the migraine, and once again I lost lots of hair. This time probably 50%. It grew back when I came off it and I had a little mohican look going on for a while as it was regrowing!

We all of us react so differently to things. I'm very late stage peri now, 57 and my hair is thinner around my hair line though more on one side so I've shifted my parting a little to try to cover it.

Can you not ask to be referred to a hair specialist? They may be better able to determine the cause and therefore recommend a treatment.

I do wish you well and hope it resolves for you quickly. x

[dazned]

 

Very distressing for you on top of everything else.

I agree with what the others have said,but just to add I have read on here that some ladies have had hair loss on some hrts. Not sure of all the scientific words but some apparently are more androgynous or some such word,sorry to be vague but if you do a search on here you might find out more.

[Hurdity]

Sorry to hear about all your problems Mojo61 and your nervous breakdown. I can't remember your history but you say you didn't suffer any mental health problems before so your GP thought it was hormonally induced? That being the case then HRT is really the right thing to be on rather than ADs although I can see that if your symptoms came on so suddenly, you would need medical help!

Gosh that is a lot of medication altogether - and I presume some of these are to treat other medical problems eg heart, circulation and blood pressure - for the two other drugs - so possibly all of these together might interact and affect your hair?

I would agree with the others re checking your thyroid - although you would expect to have other symptoms if this were underactive ie feeling cold, weight gain, fatigue.

Also dazned is quite right you have been given a more androgenic (that's the word!!) type of HRT - which means the progestogen is testosterone derived. These types are more likely to have side effects of hair loss - Stellajane is the expert on this. Kliovance contains norethisterone which is also one of the progestogens that can cause side effects such as pms and anxiety so it may well not be the best one for you. By the way the different progestogens are listed here:

http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/perimeno.php

You will see that the best ones for minimising hair loss are dydrogesterone and progesterone. Femoston contains dydrogesterone and the progestogen in this one is much better tolerated so I would ideally ask to try Femoston conti instead as a first option straight away. Kliovance is for post-menopause so I presume you had been without periods for at least 12 months before starting HRT? So how long since your last period? Hormones do continue to fall after the last period and most dramatically in the first two years following LMP.

Am I right in thinking also that some vitamin deficiencies cause hair loss too? I would definitely ask for tests from your GP and see if you can get a referral as well - but defo change your HRT asap.

Hope this helps and you manage to sort it all out for the best

Hurdity x

[Taz2]

Hi Mojo61 - is the hairloss mainly from the front hairline and the sides and have you noticed any thinning of your eyebrows?

Taz x

[Mojo61]

Thank you for the replies. I've had my thyroid tested and it was normal, my last period was 4 years ago so I'm definitely post meno although I had hardly any symptoms until November last year. I went to bed on the evening of the 17th perfectly "normal" and woke up the next morning a nervous, jittering mess.

I will ask about the Femoston, although the consultant has said that if the biopsy results come back normal then he would recommend the mirena coil and separate oestrogen via either a tablet or patch. I'm prepared to pay privately though if the Femoston would work better as I do believe the Norethisterone isn't helping with my anxiety and I get a lot of nausea, especially in the mornings when I can be dry heaving for quite a time. I don't know what's causing this though.

[charliegirl]

Hi, I have been researching hair loss as I had a hysterectomy and stopped taking Livial and my hair has just disappeared. Taking Perfectil Hair and Nails formula and have read a recommendation for something called Nourkrin by Boots. Anyone had any experience with this? X

[Taz2]

Have you heard of frontal fibrosing alopecia? This affected my friend's mum after menopause but is often overlooked http://www.bad.org.uk/for-the-public/patient-information-leaflets/frontal-fibrosing-alopecia/'showmore=1&returnlink=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bad.org.uk%2Ffor-the-public%2Fpatient-information-leaflets#.V8hqOZgrIdU

Taz x

[Annie0710]

That was interesting Taz, thank you.  I'm suffering with hair loss and thinning eyebrows (one is very patchy) and it got me reading up about testosterone too, I'm pinning my hopes on a low reading when I get my test in the hope it's my cause and can hopefully be rectified

Whatever the reason, hair loss has upset me so much

Annie x

[CLKD]

There is a top lady cyclist who wins Gold etc. who has alopecha, she doesn't wear her wig under her racing helmet but has one for posh frock does ;-).