Hair Loss and Thinning

I have noticed in quite a few messages members talking about hair loss. I had my colo back in Oct 08, was on heavy-duty antibiotics for almost 2 months. All of a sudden in Jan 09, I noticed my hair coming out in droves when brushing.

This went on for about two weeks, most of it was on the top, sides, and top back. It has slowed down (falling out) but is very, very sparse. I am constantly looking in a mirror to another mirror to be sure there are no patches showing and trying to style it to fill in the blanks.

Is this something normal? When I mentioned it to my primary GP, he was not concerned and told me nothing.

Any input would be informational to me. Also, if this has happened to you, does it grow back in and thicken up again? If so, any idea of a time period.

Thanks

Hi there. Will I have had surgery in October/08 and had strong antibiotics and other drugs. When I returned home (after two months in hospital), I noticed my hair coming out in brushfuls. I called my doctor and he said it was the post-op stress from heavy drugs and antibiotics. I had a great headful of hair, thick and long, but now it is thinning and falling out in the same places as yours. I am hoping it will all come back real soon. I can see little bits of tufts poking out here and there. I am going to trim what's left and buy some sculpting lotion, etc., and create my own style. Until then, we will have to just hope for the best. Sorry I can't be more helpful, but at least we have company with each other. I will report back if any new developments. Take care... and don't worry too much.

Eileen

Hi,
I, too, had my colostomy surgery in October 08, and after returning home, I noticed substantial hair loss. I was so worried that I stopped brushing my hair as briskly and as often. The falling out seems to have slowed down now, and a volumizing mousse helps. I still panic when I see any hair on the brush, but it is better. We seem to be on the same timeline, so I can't offer much reassurance except it seems to be better. At least we still have some!!! Enough to style with no scalp showing through. Good luck.

Thanks for the input.

To make all of us feel a bit better, I ran into a friend of mine last night (who is a beautician) and she said to me, "Oh my goodness, your hair is just like Mary's. I just gave her a pixie haircut last week."

I asked who Mary was. She said she was a friend who had surgery about 3 months ago and her hair started falling out a few weeks ago. In her 40+ years as a beautician, she told me she had seen this hair loss problem frequently. It is caused by the post-traumatic stress of surgery or antibiotics, as we know.

She also assured me that it would grow back, but slowly. She said the best bet is to keep it very, very short until the new hair catches up with what we've got left. I've got an appointment for her to cut my hair next week.

That is reassuring. I have already had mine cut and I must say... the bathroom floor even looks better without so much hair falling out on it from blow-drying and brushing.

I started using Barlean's Essential Woman (Vitamin Store) and my hair stopped falling out, and now I have thick hair again. It is still short, but it is growing. I was so relieved because I really thought of my hair as my best feature.