emotional trauma/massive weight loss: telogen effluvium?

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About 4 or 5 months ago I started to shed a ton of hair. I chalked it up to a nasty scalp infection I got from a stray cat I took in (fair warning). That cleared up, but my hair continued to shed. I have no genetic predisposition for baldness of any kind (no one one my mother or father's sides of the family: brothers, sisters, grandparents, etc) and I'm not losing hair in the MPB spots (my hairline isn't receding at all and is exactly the same as it's always been). All the hairs have white bulbs at the end of them and I've had no other real changes in my hair other than the fact that I hate washing it now. I'm shedding from allover my head, too, and not just the crown.

I did, 2 months previous to the hair loss, lose over 15 pounds in a month. I was working out and attempting to gain weight by eating a ton of food and had a really high intake of protein (which I read, in low quantities, can cause hair shedding) ...and then I just stopped (I got depressed).

I've been using 5% minoxidil in order to attempt to curb the shedding and that's it. I had blood work done to check my thyroid - everything came out fine. I'm 33 and this is the first time this has ever happened to me and while I can accept that getting older does come with certain unfortunate consequences (thinning hair and such) ...I just want this to stop. Anyone have anything similar happen to them or have any suggestions? I'm what you would call "self-employed" and can't afford to go to a dermatologist right now. Has anyone had any luck with increases in protein intake or iron intake (which I also read can impact hair shedding). Suggestions would be very helpful.

Or does anyone know a dermatologist in the Portland, Oregon area that is relatively inexpensive to see?