Hi all,
I'm a 19yo male. Here is my story:
I used to have long hair which I wore in a man bun. While having this I noticed some itching and hair shedding but I thought this was a normal thing with long hair. I decided to cut it short in June of 2015. I didn't notice anything peculiar at the time until I saw pictures of myself at an event I attended. It seemed like the entire top of my scalp was thinner that the rest. (This was only visible when the camera was aimed straight at my scalp) At the time I didn't think there was anything wrong, in my mind I thought I lost some hair due to having a tight hairstyle with my hair constantly pulled back in a bun. I also thought it might be due to the stress I've been enduring since February of 2015 and that the hair would fix itself in the summer holiday.
Summer rolled around and I was still shedding and having a slight itch but I thought nothing of it. It was a very minor annoyance in the summer holiday. Then at some point I went back to university. I'm following a bachelor in computer science and I started a part time job next to it. This was in August. (I was working 60 hours weeks: 25 hours of uni time, approx. 15 hours of homeworks and self study and then 20 hours of work)
From August to September I had the most stressful period of my life. I had no free time and my life was one long stressful event that consisted of eat, sleep, work, repeat. I was depressed and my life seemed like complete letdown.
In this period I noticed and insane amount of shedding and itching and I knew something was up. I went to a doctor and told her of my problems. She said I had scalp eczema and seb derm, she prescribed me some ketoconazole shampoo and Locoid Scalp lotion to fight it. After a month of using this I noticed even more shedding but the itching seemed to have decreased dramatically. So I was satisfied and decided to wait for a while and see if the hair loss would stop.
It didn't, so I went back to a different doctor and she said something similar and prescribed me Locoid scalp lotion, some special shampoo for sensitive skin, some vitamin D shots and other vitamin pills, some pills called Pantovigar which are against diffuse hair loss and finally she told me to eat more meat and get more vitamin B12/B2(don't recall which) this is what I am currently using/doing and again the itching got better but the shedding is still there. I need to be on these pills/shots for another 2 months.
I want to note that before this doctors appointment I had a blood test and the results came that I had no deficiencies but that both my vitamin D and vitamin B12/B2(can't remember which) were on the verge of being in a deficiency. The doctor prescribed me those vitamins because she said that for a person my size (1,94m / 6ft4) this can be considered a deficiency.
The shedding seems to follow a strange pattern. In June I saw some thinning on the top of my scalp but since then the shedding seems to have shifted to the rest of my scalp(back and sides) so it seems like the top will never go bald as at this point it stopped shedding. I want to note as well that I have experience no noticeable recession at my hairline or a particular amount of thinning at the crown.
Lastly do I want to note that my father has experienced something very similar when he was a student, he told me that his hair was falling like leaves in autumn and that it just faded away after a while of taking vitamins.
Does anyone have any idea what this could be?
I've considered the following:
MPB: This is possible, but I don't show any classic signs of it(no receding hairline or thinning crown) + I have eczema and lots of itching + my dad is 55 now and is only now going bald + my maternal granddad started losing in his 30s + my paternal granddad is 86 and still has a nice carpet on his head
Telogen Effluvium: Can be caused by stress and seems to fit the sudden excessive shedding I experienced. + The pattern of shedding follows some telogen effluvium examples ive seen
Some vitamin deficiency/stress problem? : Some people believe this is the case but the internet seems to oppose such a cause.
Seb Derm: I definitely have this but I don't think this is considered a cause of hair loss/thinning
TLDR:
I invite you all to comment below and share your experience if you had/have similar symptoms or if you have some advice for me.
Thank you and have a nice day.
PS: I could post pictures but in my mind there is not much that can be added on to my description: thinning all over top of scalp and now excessive shedding on sides and back, top stopped shedding as much.
I'm a 19yo male. Here is my story:
I used to have long hair which I wore in a man bun. While having this I noticed some itching and hair shedding but I thought this was a normal thing with long hair. I decided to cut it short in June of 2015. I didn't notice anything peculiar at the time until I saw pictures of myself at an event I attended. It seemed like the entire top of my scalp was thinner that the rest. (This was only visible when the camera was aimed straight at my scalp) At the time I didn't think there was anything wrong, in my mind I thought I lost some hair due to having a tight hairstyle with my hair constantly pulled back in a bun. I also thought it might be due to the stress I've been enduring since February of 2015 and that the hair would fix itself in the summer holiday.
Summer rolled around and I was still shedding and having a slight itch but I thought nothing of it. It was a very minor annoyance in the summer holiday. Then at some point I went back to university. I'm following a bachelor in computer science and I started a part time job next to it. This was in August. (I was working 60 hours weeks: 25 hours of uni time, approx. 15 hours of homeworks and self study and then 20 hours of work)
From August to September I had the most stressful period of my life. I had no free time and my life was one long stressful event that consisted of eat, sleep, work, repeat. I was depressed and my life seemed like complete letdown.
In this period I noticed and insane amount of shedding and itching and I knew something was up. I went to a doctor and told her of my problems. She said I had scalp eczema and seb derm, she prescribed me some ketoconazole shampoo and Locoid Scalp lotion to fight it. After a month of using this I noticed even more shedding but the itching seemed to have decreased dramatically. So I was satisfied and decided to wait for a while and see if the hair loss would stop.
It didn't, so I went back to a different doctor and she said something similar and prescribed me Locoid scalp lotion, some special shampoo for sensitive skin, some vitamin D shots and other vitamin pills, some pills called Pantovigar which are against diffuse hair loss and finally she told me to eat more meat and get more vitamin B12/B2(don't recall which) this is what I am currently using/doing and again the itching got better but the shedding is still there. I need to be on these pills/shots for another 2 months.
I want to note that before this doctors appointment I had a blood test and the results came that I had no deficiencies but that both my vitamin D and vitamin B12/B2(can't remember which) were on the verge of being in a deficiency. The doctor prescribed me those vitamins because she said that for a person my size (1,94m / 6ft4) this can be considered a deficiency.
The shedding seems to follow a strange pattern. In June I saw some thinning on the top of my scalp but since then the shedding seems to have shifted to the rest of my scalp(back and sides) so it seems like the top will never go bald as at this point it stopped shedding. I want to note as well that I have experience no noticeable recession at my hairline or a particular amount of thinning at the crown.
Lastly do I want to note that my father has experienced something very similar when he was a student, he told me that his hair was falling like leaves in autumn and that it just faded away after a while of taking vitamins.
Does anyone have any idea what this could be?
I've considered the following:
MPB: This is possible, but I don't show any classic signs of it(no receding hairline or thinning crown) + I have eczema and lots of itching + my dad is 55 now and is only now going bald + my maternal granddad started losing in his 30s + my paternal granddad is 86 and still has a nice carpet on his head
Telogen Effluvium: Can be caused by stress and seems to fit the sudden excessive shedding I experienced. + The pattern of shedding follows some telogen effluvium examples ive seen
Some vitamin deficiency/stress problem? : Some people believe this is the case but the internet seems to oppose such a cause.
Seb Derm: I definitely have this but I don't think this is considered a cause of hair loss/thinning
TLDR:
- Shedding:
- First on top of scalp
- Top of scalp stopped shedding so much
- Now massive shedding on sides and back
- Most hairs have the white bulb at the end
- I have Seb Derm
- Lots of stress
- Vitamin Deficiency
I invite you all to comment below and share your experience if you had/have similar symptoms or if you have some advice for me.
Thank you and have a nice day.
PS: I could post pictures but in my mind there is not much that can be added on to my description: thinning all over top of scalp and now excessive shedding on sides and back, top stopped shedding as much.
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