new here... help!

Hey everyone!!!! I am so glad I found something like this... maybe you guys can help me out. I always, always wore my hair long, down to my waist, healthy long hair. That is, up until two years ago. Something happened, that in a period of a month I lost half my hair, right from the roots. I really had to cut it... to my shoulders.

A year later it had grown... but just a bit, about 2 or 3 inches in a whole year. I made the BIG mistake of getting highlights... and the girl burned and fried my hair!!!! Had to cut it off, again.

A year later, it still hasnt grown... well maybe an inch, but that is it!

I am not kidding when I tell you that this freaks me out. Maybe I sound shallow, but I absolutely adore my hair. And this has me really worried.

Sorry to barge in on you guys like this... I hope someone can help me out!!!!!

Oh I forgot to tell you some new theory I came up with just today as to the why of this situation. Maybe my antidepressants? Can they be causing this? Then again, I have been taking them for about 7 or 8 years.

Thanks guys!

Talk later

Hello Alysson!

What do you mean "barging in"? You are as welcome here as anyone!

I

Thank you very much for your kind words Viktoria...

I do not consider myself in a state of malnutrition, I think of myself as in a healthy state, not the ups and downs I had a few years back. And thanks to my meds, well I do not feel depressed anymore, I have my eating habits in check.

And no, my hair is actually quite the opposite of dry... it is extremely oily, wash more than daily kind of oily (of course I only wash it once a day). I am 24 years old, and I take extremely good care of my hair.... I really care for it!!!!! You could call me the queen of hair treatments (more so since this started happening).

About the hormone thing... I just dont know, but I havent had a child or menopause.

Thanks again.

Alysson

Sorry to hear about your hair loss problem. You pose an interesting question so I did a little research and found this answer from a doctor's web site:

Alopecia (hair loss) may be a side effect of many psychotropic medications, though, in general, this is not a common effect. Alopecia has been seen infrequently with tricyclic antidepressants (such as amitriptyline), Prozac, lithium, Depakote and many others. Roughly 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 patients will experience alopecia with Prozac; about 4% will get this side effect with Depakote. However, hair loss may be due to other causes, such as hypothyroidism, and requires a dermatologic assessment.

Usually, drug-induced alopecia will lessen or remit entirely after the drug is discontinued. Some drugs, such as Depakote, may interfere with the function of two minerals, zinc and selenium. Depakote-related hair loss may be lessened with use of a vitamin-mineral supplement containing zinc and selenium. You should check with your doctor and pharmacist if you are taking Depakote and want to use such a supplement.


So, it appears that hair loss due to medication does happen but very infrequently. My wife has a thyroid problem and I can verify that for a time she did have a problem with her hair but treatment soon put it back to normal.

f you haven't done so already, a discussion with your physician is in order.

Best of luck!! :)

Hi Alysson, welcome! No need to apologize for barging in. Anybody who wants to "barge in" and post anything on-topic is welcome and encouraged to do so.

Similar to Budokan (thank you for your research), I have heard similar reports of hair loss as a side-effect of anti-depressants.

Given all the other you've described, I would consider going to a G.P. for a complete physical exam, with a possible referral to a dermatologist after getting the physical test results back and ruling out any other cause.

Let us know what happens.

I'm sorry to here about your hair. Go to a trichologist (I think I spelt that right?) who'll be better informed to make a judgement about what is happening to your hair. Make sure you get a real one though, there aren't any laws saying you must be x y and z so get one from an official trichologists website or something.