25 yo male sudden onset persistent hair shedding

[Craig2015]

Hi, I am a 25 year old male and over the past 7 months i have noticed an increase in the shedding of my hair.  I first noticed that it looked as though the hair at my temples pushed back a little, so I saw a derm who said maybe mild MPB or telogen effluvium in either case he recommended Rogaine.  I held off on starting the rogaine because I wasn't ready to commit to rogaine for life as I read was necessary for success.  the shedding persisted for another 3 months so i saw another derm who when i described my situation basically said that my hair loss was a temporary condition because it started about 2 months after a very stressful time in my life and there was no distinct pattern he prescribed biotin supplement and nothing else.  I took Biotin for a while with no real regrowth and no noticeable thickening although my fingernail grew very rapidly.  After another couple months of shedding I saw a third derm who said it could be either early MPB or some stress related hair loss as at that time I was also noticing increased shedding of eyebrow hair.  

I have now been shedding for 7 months, and it doesn't seem like anything i do helps slow or stop this shedding.  I am taking biotin, a garlic supplement, MSM, and b complex but these dont seem to be really helping.  I also wash my hair 5 times per week using revivogen shampoo and nioxin conditioner.  Each time i shower I count my hairs after conditioning and I consistently get 20-30 hairs  ( I realize 50-100 is typical but for me 20-30 is way higher than typical), also throughout the day sometimes i run my hand through my hair to see if any hair is loose and it seems like everytime I do I get at least one hair.  Almost every shed hair has a white bulb at the end about 95% I'd say.  I feel strange feeling on my scalp at the front occasionally, it feels like tightness and sometimes like a pin *****.  After showering I notice some small bumps through hair that seem to go away after a little bit, so I am not sure if this is just goosebumps as I have been using cold showers due to a faulty hot water heater.  At the 5.5 month mark of shedding I started using rogaine but after 2 weeks this increased my shedding greatly and noticeably so I tried to ride it out but it persisted for about a month and became too much for me to continue I still use about a drop or two at my crown but it is a very small amount.  

I would definitely classify my shedding as diffuse, I think i first noticed at my temples and crown because these were the thinnest areas to start, but I can now see individual strands of hair along my hair part which i never had before.  My scalp is slightly itchy and when i do itch I get an accumulation of whitish material sometimes I get hard little balls of whiteish material.  None of the derms i saw mentioned any problems with my scalp when i saw them.  I had my iron levels tested and they were slightly high, also my thyroid tests came back fine.  I have to older brothers, neither of which has any hairloss so while I know there is exceptions to everything I find it hard to believe that my hair shedding is a purely genetic thing but I really have no clue.  I am hesitant to start on medicated shampoo because I dont want to irritate my scalp further but Nizoral is becoming more tempting as nothing seems to be helping so far.  

I have a fine fringe of hairs at my hairline now but they seem to have came in quickly and then just kinda stopped growing where they were and they really dont add any density to my hair as they are so short and thin. I also use coconut oil on my hair to try to add density, so in all I am on, garlic, biotin, b complex, msm, I wash hair 5 times per week using revivogen and Nioxin conditioner, about a drop of rogaine on crown twice a day, as well as twice a week coconut oil application as an overnight conditioner.

What does this sound like to you, I would appreciate help I know best would be to see a derm but i have tried this extensively and doesn't seem like any real advice besides wait it out?  Do you know of past patients who exhibited hair loss temporarily to recover later, it doesn't seem like there are any recovery stories?  Any tips to cope with this, to lessen its impact, or just encouragement would be greatly appreciated, I really feel like I am running out of options and I really dont feel like this hair loss is typical genetic hairloss as it has came out of nowhere and progressed fairly rapidly, I will also note that I have been living almost stress free for about a month now and haven't noticed any real improvement thus far.  

Thanks for whatever insight you can give, I look forward to hearing back,

Craig      

[Cxrlos]

Hi Craig,

I know it's been quite some time since you wrote about your experience. I am wondering how your recovery went and if you were able to find out what was causing your hair loss.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Carlos  

[Craig2015]

Any insight helps, I really appreciate it.  I will look into any possible sources of an allergic reaction for me, I plan to see a derm soon to really examine my scalp to see if there is something noticeable.

[stonecutter2]

This definitely sounds like something to work through with pros.  I will say that when I switched to a laundry detergent and fabric softener free of dyes and perfumes (All Free and Clear) it stopped some sudden hair loss I was experiencing, due to an allergy to a certain laundry detergent (which was on the towels I dried my hair with). I even noticed hair loss/thinning in areas aside from my head.

I also had whitish "stuff" that came off my scalp when scratching, which I think was peeling skin from the allergic reaction.

I have no idea if this helps you, but I hope you feel better soon.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Thanks for the clarification. From the symptoms and hair texture the possibility of telogen effluvium also needs to be ruled out. Telogen effluvium is nonscarring alopecia characterized by diffuse hair shedding, often with an acute onset. There is a chronic form also which persists for a longer duration and starts with insidious onset. Chronic telogen effluvium is hair shedding lasting longer than 6 months. It is normal to find short thin miniature hair in telogen effluvium. Treatment consists of medications like Minoxidil, surgical approach(hair transplantation) and improvement in diet.

My sincere advice is to consult a trichologist. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Craig2015]

The hair loss is DEFINITELY diffuse, like I said there really is no pattern to it it has thinned across my entire scalp including sides, and even seems to have thinned out eyebrows.  My shedding seems to have slowed, but I dont want to get to optimistic yet as I dont know what to expect since this has been so unusual and unpredictable.  

The strands of hair that I shed seem thinner than usual almost like they are being choked out of nutrients or something. What does this sound like to you, and what do you recommend I do besides seeing a doctor as i have done that four times now.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It can be due to male pattern baldness in your case. Androgenic alopecia is a common form of hair loss and typically occurs in M shaped pattern.

Men who have this type of hair loss usually have inherited the trait. Other causes may be use of some drugs, infections and underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes. A biopsy (taking a small sample of cells to examine under a microscope) of your scalp may be needed to establish the correct diagnosis.

Medicines which are useful are minoxidil and finasteride. Finally one can resort to hair transplantation also. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Craig2015]

Any feedback would be appreciated.