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  1. #1
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    Default Do I have MPB or is it stress?

    I'd really appreciate some help on this as I am going out of my mind.

    I am 32.
    My hair receded at the temples so I have a mild M on my head. Basically A norwood scale 2
    This happened in 2006 and it hasn't moved an inch since, learned to live with it.

    Last year I was SERIOUSLY in trouble, financially. I was under threat of blackmail, debt, very important projects I was working on were failing and I fell into depression and anxiety.
    It got so bad when the phone went or an email popped through my guts would go. Terror all day, every day and this lasted for nine months until October of last year.

    I managed to get the situation sorted and the anxiety/depression at least the BULK of it went. I thought I was totally alright but since then I still feel on edge a lot of the time, I still get low and afraid easily, I fidget, I have a touch of ED in the sex department due to racing thoughts ALL the time.
    Feel like my heads full of static.
    I don't think it's as full blown as it was because I get excited about workign on projects again whereas before I hated the idea of leaving my room but that's only because most of the bad events have slowed down or stopped.

    So I realised I wasn't out of the woods yet.

    Anyway several months ago I noticed the top of my head thinning dramatically. It's about a third thinner than it was but every where else it is thick wavy hair.
    The hair loss starts from the crown to one third along the top of my head.

    I only have a few pics from the end of 2008 - start 2009 of the top of my head but from what I can tell it was more or less all there.
    So this started around the time I was stressed and depressed

    No one else in my family has had hair loss like this although there is hairloss and everyone except me has thin fine hair apart from me and my mothers grandad (who died with a full head of hair, never even went grey.)

    I know if it is anxiety and it is a form of Alopecia it will grow back.

    1. Was this caused by the anxiety and how can I tell for sure?
    2. If this was caused by the anxiety shouldn't it have grown back by now or is it still because it is lingering on (even if 25% of what it was).
    3. What can I do about it? I have been trying to get rid of anxiety for months.
    4. Hair feels greasy all the time what's that about?
    4. If your hairloss stabilises at the front shouldn't the stability hold everywhere?

    Any comments would be greatfully accepted.

  2. #2
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    Default

    Hey dude,

    Yeah I'd say it's stress related - go to the doctor about it, he might be able to give you advice/medication.

    Actually your case interests me..

    I know I have the onset of MPB, noticed about a year ago. Anyway, only probably a NW2 but has been fine up until last two months. In that time, my hair loss has been insane - like, around 200 a day; moreover, my head has been insanely greasy and itchy. Went to the doc.. He thinks the big escalation is possibly down to massive stress which would be a result of me being at university and having exams etc.. would seem to fit the timescale.

    Anyway, main point is that if you can sort the stress issues out, that hair should come back. Either way you should go to your doc and make sure it is stress related and not another form of hair loss

  3. #3
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    I'd be happy to keep you updated. I'm going to the doc to arrange a test which Ive heard can be done through a dermatologist.

    I thinkthe condition is called Telogen Effluvium.

    And it says hairloss can start 3 months after the events and last 6 - 9 months afterwards even a year before you start to grow back.

    I haven't noticed lots of hairloss from there but with the above condition it happens like thinning out, you don't exactly shed loads so it's noticeable.

    I hope to God this is all it is cause at least I know it will grow back.

  4. #4
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    Me too, got an appointment soon so i'll likewise keep you posted.

  5. #5
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    I've always been under the impression that I've had MPB, seeing as I've noticed the effects mostly in the crown and temples, but this is very interesting:

    In chronic telogen effluvium, there is persistent or cyclical diffuse hair loss and inability to grow the hair long. The hair cycle is reset with a shortened anagen period.

    Chronic telogen effluvium does not alter the overall thickness of the hair. In fact, shedding tends to be more noticeable in those with thick, long hair – this is because they notice it more than those with shorter, finer hair.

    There are often fluctuations in severity (cyclical diffuse hair shedding) reminiscent of moulting in other mammals.

    Telogen effluvium does not cause baldness, although it may unmask a genetic tendency to genetic balding i.e. female pattern hair loss , or in men, male pattern hair loss. Thus, bi-temporal recession is common (high forehead).


    Says that it can 'unmask' or perhaps awaken MPB, thus explaining how it can still lead to a higher amount of shedding at the temples. Anyway, not a good thing, but if you can get it back on track, better than having severe MPB. Will have to wait and see how things turn out.

  6. #6
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    I'll be finding out this Friday.

    There's also a self diagnosis test you can do which is to pinch between you thumb and forefinger a clump of hair and give it a few yanks.

    1-3 hairs coming otu is normal 4-5 and above isn't and is potentially TE

    Also seeing hairs with clubs at the bottom is a sign.

    This is what I'm seeing as well as lots of shedding.

    Here's hoping.

  7. #7
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    Hi appleguy I have the same condition as ohlife. At first I thought it might be TE, however as time passed by I noticed my hair density is more sparse, and my scalp itches and its greasy.
    I think in some of us TE and MPB are intertwined. So possibly I've started with TE and ended up with MPB which without the stress might have come later on in life....
    However in your case it certainly can be TE, so check it out on Friday and let us know.

  8. #8
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    None of you guys match me in my misery. The past 3-4 months I lost a massive amount of hair mostly in the hairline and temples, BUT here's why I'm worse than all of you - those areas were all transplanted hairs. I used to have a pretty thick hairline, and now my scalp shows through. I feel like I'm going to die from the depression and anxiety this has caused. I mean WTF ? How can I lose so ****ing much hair in such a short time ? And it's probably all transplanted hair.

  9. #9
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    Had my visit to the Trichologist today. Wow can't believe how stressed I was the night before.

    I do have excessive shedding which me being such a daydreamer I never noticed, she was pulling it out right before my eyes and my pillow looks like a mans hairy back.
    What was coming out had small little white plugs at the end which is a classic sign of TE

    She told me I have a dermatological problem that is a form of TE caused by stress, my scalp is super oily and follicles and becoming clogged with oil and dead skin.
    They first flatten against the scalp making it feel thin to begin with and then they cannot get through whatsoever and so fall out.

    I would like to add at this point I have been having long and short hairs fall out. Someone on another forum said that means it's definite MPB due to antongen phase or something but the Trichologist said it is ridiculous as long and short can go and there is no difference. (makes you wonder why we consult forums for help when a lot of the guys there are just guessing - no offense intended though)

    She says she does see signs of Genetic thinning but believes it is very slight and I don't have too much to worry about.

    I've been given this awful cream which is like hair putty I have to rub into my scalp and it's hard to do and gets everywhere which you have to leave in for an hour which stops the oily secretions building up and eventually my body should takeover there after I think out the medication to zero.
    Luckily the paste is a once a week treatment, it's horrible stuff honstely.

    I was also given shampoo and spray. The shampoo I have been recommended to use indefinitley but so what it costs only a little bit more than regular stuff anyhow.

    Basically this condition is reverseable she reckons everything I have lost through it I should get back but as I don't know how much I have lost on top we won't know for sure until it begins regrowing again.

    I have to go back in two weeks when she will let me know what is happening.

    She did tell me she has had guys with similar conditions which have been reversed and they have lost all signs of genetic thinning as sometimes the one can look like the other.

    The only caveat to all of this is sometimes and I stress 'SOMETIMES' as someone else has pointed out above me it can accelerate MPB. However as I have mentioned she has had guys reverse their condition entirely and show no signs of thinning at all or at least back to before all this hellish sleigh ride started. As I mentioned above I have receded back at the temples 5 years ago but it hasn't moved since.
    MPB can also be exaccerbated by not addressing the condition relatively quickly and getting treatment as these kinds of hair problems can increase DHT levels bringing it sooner than it shoudl have come.

    The Trichologist was very good she said I didn't need finasteride or at least shouldn't once this has all cleaned up due to my frontal recession coming to a halt. She also warned about just diving right into it and suggested always checking with a GP, she herself would never just prescribe it or any of the other variants (this made me relax instantly, you don;t want a doc trying to sell you loads of product if you don't need it.)
    She did recommend Minoxidil if need be and told me it had a 70% success rate and thinks it would work for me should I need it.
    I had to pay for one session and that's it after that I just keep seeing her till it's fixed which she reckons shouldnn't take long.
    Two weeks to fix it and up to 12 weeks (obviously) for the hair to grow back but she can tell by examining the scalp at two weeks.
    She was Manchester based (I'm in the UK) and has ties with the Farjo clinic and is certified so she isn't some quack.

    I was also advised to take more Iron and vitamin B and gave me a list of foods and supplements to take to help in future.

    So although it's good news it's still a tense wait for two weeks to go by to see how much on top I get back again. She did say I should be optimistic though and thinks I am one of the more fortunate cases she has had.

    I'm hoping if I can keep my hair for another five - ten years there'll be some new treatment out there that should fix anything major.

  10. #10
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    Default

    Thanks for the info. Do you have to see your regular GP doctor to be referred to a trichologist ?

    One thing I don't think is accurate- Minoxidil does not have a 70% success rate -if she meant regrowing hair. Not even close. I'm a minoxidil user and advocate and have been using it for over 12 years. What it does is slow down your hair loss. It doesn't even completely stop it. I don't think it regrows anything except maybe in a very small percentage of people. If it were 70% successful in regrowing hair, the problem of hair loss would be almost fixed.

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