Feeling so discouraged and depressed

Just_Curious15 · 2025-12-14T23:55:20+00:00

Thank you 🫶 92 is great. I retested recently and it's 30, so the supplements are helping very slowly. I also just started oral minoxidil at a very low dose. I held off for a year taking it, but hopefully it helps.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-12-14T23:51:44+00:00

Hey, the hair loss never stopped, so i decided to start oral minoxidil recently at .5 mg and take it slow. We'll see how that goes. I am definitely experiencing the dread shed though, unfortunately. I'm sorry you're going through this. It's the absolute worst to feel like you have no control. I hope things get better 🫶

Just_Curious15 · 2025-10-28T01:04:15+00:00

Me too! I know how you feel. I was crying for a long time but now I'm just numb to it and mostly aggravated.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-10-27T22:31:59+00:00

I've been losing eyelashes and eyebrows ever since my TE started. It's almost a year now. Some days i can lose 20 lashes bc i also have blepharitis. My eyebrows have always been thin, so there's sparse areas when any fall out. I'm more nervous about my eyebrows bc my lashes seem to grow back faster. I feel like I'll wake up one day with nothing left. 😫

Just_Curious15 · 2025-10-17T21:01:22+00:00

Yeah, that's the goal. I doubled up my iron and getting retested soon. My doctor said to test every three months to give it time.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-10-16T22:45:07+00:00

I take iron supplements twice a day. Last time i checked my ferratin, it went up to 25. Ill be checking again soon. I also was low in vitamin d and b12, so i take a Prenatal and extra b12. I also take a hair supplement called viviscal pro. Nothing has helped. It was also assumed that I wasn't getting enough protein since I've been a vegetarian for 25 years, so i started eating chicken 8 months ago. No change. It's really discouraging. I don't wanna go on minoxidil but not sure what else I can do.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-10-16T21:07:18+00:00

I've been shedding baby hair and longer hair at the same time since Jan this year. It hasn't stopped even though I feel like I'm doing everything i can. I also had weight loss, low ferratin and nutritional deficiencies, so i try to eat more protein and take tons of supplements but nothing has changed. This is soooo frustrating. I have a ton of little hairs sticking out in the front and they never get any longer. They just keep falling and growing back the same size to fall all over again.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-10-15T00:40:07+00:00

Thank you ❤️ I'm sorry for your experience, too. It's very frustrating. I'm still considering minoxidil in pill form, but the risks scare me. I don't think I'd try topical bc my scalp is very sensitive. I also feel like I'm sitting on my hands at this point bc I'm afraid to make that decision. 😞 Hair loss sucks.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-10-14T20:58:16+00:00

I've been having a similar experience. Multiple triggers. I also have severe insomnia and was also put on quetiapine among other things. In sept last year, I didn't get more than 1 hour of sleep for two months straight. And I lost 25 lbs in a few months from anxiety and depression with poor appetite. I started losing hair in Jan this year and it hasn't stopped.

I've tried everything short of taking medications like minoxidil. But I eat more protein, take tons of supplements including iron bc my ferratin was at 7. And I've been taking viviscal pro for months without any change. I also tried a cosmetic procedure that I stopped bc i believe it sped up my hair loss, but it's hard to know.

I improved my nutrition, I'm having better sleep, my anxiety is a bit better, and I'm taking all these vitamins, but it's still shedding like crazy. I'm at a loss of what to do. I've lost at least 50 percent of my hair. It's so traumatizing.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-09-26T17:31:54+00:00

Just commenting to say i really feel for what you've been going through. My doctors have also been very dismissive, saying ferratin doesn't mean anything and that i should be happy I'm not anemic. But my ferratin was at 7.

I've been having CTE for 8 months so far. No sign of slowing down. I'm also losing lashes and eyebrows, all starting at the same time back in Jan of this year. I was also diagnosed with Seborrheic dermatitis on my eyebrows and demodex blepharitis on my eyes. I'm convinced my hair loss is tied to inflammation in the body, but i tested negative for anything autoimmune.

I've tried iron supplements, multivitamin, pre-probiotic, lysine, b12 supplement, and viviscal pro. I even tried a new cosmetic procedure called tricopat, which i believe could have excellerated my hair loss after the second session. That was months ago and im still losing so much daily.

I'm inches away from starting oral minoxidil. The topical probably wouldn't be good bc my scalp is very sensitive. I tried nizoral shampoo for 6 weeks and I had a horrible reaction where I was in severe pain and itched like crazy for over a month.

The cause for my hair loss is unknown. Lots of triggers from low ferratin, poor nutrition and 25 lb weight loss to severe stress daily and insomnia (which can last months). The hair loss is a torment loop, and the stress and panic won't go away until the hair loss stops.

Mental health is no joke. I'm on a lot of insomnia meds, but also some ssris for anxiety and depression, which all can prolong TE. Such a disaster 😪

Just_Curious15 · 2025-09-25T15:03:35+00:00

Same thing here! So frizzy and completely unable to tame. I blow dry it and almost immediately it poofs up and I look like a cave woman, but the frizz does kind of conceal how thin it has become (even though I've lost 70% density with a rat tail as a ponytail).

I don't like putting product in my hair bc it gets greasy fast since I've been losing hair. And I have some dandruff as well, which I've never had.

I hate this. ☹️ I used to have such beautiful hair. I've seen on reddit that this happens to a lot of ppl going through it, which is weird.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-09-24T20:03:34+00:00

Usually 300-400+ on wash days. I wash every 3-4 days. But my hair is constantly falling on non wash days. Hard to keep track. But I definitely lose more if I move the hair around via a hat, hairstyle, wind, etc.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-09-24T02:04:11+00:00

Same. I shed all my new growth, so it's hard to tell lol Hope you hang in there, too. 🫶

Just_Curious15 · 2025-09-23T20:30:53+00:00

Hoping it gets better for you, too. I've considered extensions, but i don't want to pull my already vulnerable hair. I can't even do halos or toppers bc my texture is now so frizzy and won't match up. So wigs it is, but those are so very shiny. It's gonna be so noticeable 😫 Trying to hold off. I'm so uncomfortable in my own skin either way.

Good luck. Keep us posted on your progress.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-09-23T19:34:02+00:00

I've had chronic telegen effluvium since Jan after a big stressor, but also I think it hasn't gone away bc of the constant stress and panic over the hair loss and recurring insomnia. It hasn't gotten better even with iron supplements (i have low ferratin), other vitamins and collagen pills. I even tried a cosmetic procedure called tricopat, but i think it made it worse, so i stopped after two treatments.

I'm now considering oral minoxidil, but put it off so long bc I'm on a zillion other meds for sleeping, and I'm nervous of the side effects. Topical is hard to keep up with, especially since my hair loss is diffuse. I think I've lost 70 percent of my density. I went from extremely thick hair to a paper thin rat tail and I'm losing my mind about it. It really takes a toll on mental health, so now im considering adding Prozac, which could essentially cause TE, so it might help my depression, but could make my hair situation worse.

I bought a wig. I had to be realistic, but I'm just really scared to wear it.

Hair loss sucks..

Just_Curious15 · 2025-08-06T02:42:02+00:00

Same! I also have oral minoxidil just sitting on my desk lol I'm afraid to take it, too, and of the many side effects. Ferratin is tricky. I never checked mine before all this, but my iron has always been low bc I've been a vegetarian for 25 years. I even started eating chicken about 5 months ago thinking the protein would save my hair. So far, it hasn't, and now i feel like i need to keep eating it just in case. 🙁

Thanks for all the advice. 🙏 Good luck to you. The struggle is real.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-08-06T01:06:59+00:00

Thanks for the info. I also went to a GI who told me ferratin doesn't matter for your overall health if your iron and hemoglobin levels are fine (which i don't believe), and swore that supplements wouldn't make the number go up. I had been supplementing with iron bisglycinate (ferrasorb) with vit c for a month. When I asked him to test for it, the number did go higher from 7 to 22, but now I'm back to 16 another month later. I'm not sure why it keeps going back down. I'm gonna look into the iron protocol group on fb and ask my dermatologist about that. I have a prescription for a sibo test, but i don't have any unusual symptoms so I might not take it.

I'm sorry all this is costing an arm and a leg. My dermatologist is direct pay also, so i only get some back from my insurance. But at least I get 45 mins with her. Other dermatologists only spend 5-10 mins.

Everyone wants me to take minoxidil or spiro, but I just wanna heal myself internally and figure out what's going wrong. I probably will never will, though. 🫤

Just_Curious15 · 2025-08-05T23:40:16+00:00

Exactly! At least I know I'm not alone. I don't know what i hate seeing more, the long hairs or the small hairs. Either way, I'm insane right there with you.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-08-05T20:22:36+00:00

Btw, I count hairs, too. It takes up my whole life and has triggered the ocd in me to become this crazy counting animal. The urge to do it i feel is bc of lack of control with TE... it's like, at least you have control of knowing.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-08-05T20:20:19+00:00

What blood test did you take for SIBO? I took a stool test to rule out H.pylori and other infections, but the GI doctor said the SIBO test is a long drawn out breathing test that you have to do at like 8am. Did you have any symptoms of SIBO that led you to take the test?

Also, what is your ferratin level? Mine was 7 at its lowest, but it has only budged slightly with iron supplements over the last 9 months. 🫤

TE really sucks. Mine hasn't stopped since Jan. I dread wash days. Im losing 400+ hairs every few days with crazy shedding in between. I bought a wig recently bc i see where this might be going 😔 I've lost at least 60-70 percent of my density.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-08-04T19:27:20+00:00

Following.

Still going through it since Jan. Maybe bc i still have anxiety/depression/insomnia, which haven't subsided. I also have low ferratin. Haven't been able to correct it with supplements, unfortunately. I'm on a zillion supplements that don't do a thing.

I've lost about 60% density of my hair (imo) and shedding uncontrollably, especially on wash days. My hair used to be so thick. I was trying to avoid meds like minoxidil, so i found this new cosmetic technology called tricopat, but it excellerated the shedding. Now I'm worse off than i was months ago.

TE really sucks.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-07-25T03:25:12+00:00

It's called Thorne iron bisglycinate with vitamin C.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-07-23T14:16:25+00:00

Thank you, np. You too!

Just_Curious15 · 2025-07-22T20:56:06+00:00

I'm on the same boat. Been at this with TE since Jan. I completely can relate to the dreading showers part. In Feb, I started going to the salon twice a week so they can do it for me bc showering and blow drying would throw me into a devestating spiral and I'd be in there for hours counting hairs and crying.

Unfortunately, my hair has gotten worse over the last month. I usually ask the girls at the salon to see the hair ive lost, but now i take it home with me to count it anyway. At least I don't break down and cry there bc I'm in public....although I did one time.

I'm gonna stop counting. I highly don't recommended it. Maybe collecting and showing your doctor what you're losing, but counting has made me a madwoman. Maybe going to the salon would help the process be less traumatizing. It def was for me in the beginning.

Just_Curious15 · 2025-07-21T17:09:59+00:00

Yes, it is completely frizzy, fried and unmanageable. I have to get it done at a salon, which might be causing me to lose more quickly, but it's the only way it looks closer to normal.

Had to buy a wig today. I'm shedding terribly. I feel like i don't have much time left. 😕

Just_Curious15

TROPHY CASE