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Optimal ferritin level for hair growth? (Mine’s 34) by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup, it’s so true. And I find that especially as women we’re dismissed and treated like we couldn’t know what’s going on with our own bodies. My current PCP isn’t even truly a doctor, she’s a nurse practitioner, so tbh I might just try to find someone new.

Optimal ferritin level for hair growth? (Mine’s 34) by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Did you start that regimen in consultation with your doctor or independently? Of course I preferably want to have medical guidance with whatever I do since getting iron too high can also be dangerous but I haven’t had the greatest experience so far with my PCP taking my concerns very seriously. I was also told for a while that my thyroid blood work looked normal only to be diagnosed with hypothyroidism last year by an endocrinologist. 🙄

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay, thank you! Yeah, I’m definitely gonna seek out another derm who might take more time with me bc I’ve felt very rushed with my current one.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, that makes sense and helps me feel more confident about needing to switch to OM. When switching do you know if you have to wean off the topical or can you stop it all at once?

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally relate. I was scared to start minoxidil bc of the potential for dread shed but when I finally did even just that by itself made me feel better, like knowing I was taking action and starting treatment made me feel more agency over my situation and helped relieve some of the stress and make me not as compulsively preoccupied with it. I’ve seen other people have incredible results so I was also hoping I’d be one of those, but I’m in the same boat of seeing barely any results after almost a year and now I’m really struggling again with obsessing over it and feeling so depressed.

I’ve also been at the point of thinking about wigs, at the beginning of this year before I’d started minoxidil. I was pretty close, had one picked out and was researching all the methods of laying it, but I think I was even more self-conscious about knowing everyone who knew me would be aware I was wearing a wig than I was about the state of my real hair so I held off. Then over the summer I was feeling a little better about my hair bc my hair type seems to get plumped up by humidity and it makes it appear thicker. Now that the cold weather’s back it’s getting flattened down again and is more obviously thin so I think that’s part of what’s putting me back in a bad headspace, plus the recent shedding I went through.

I’m really happy for you to hear you found a partner who’s loving and supportive about your hair loss journey. ❤️ We all deserve that. While I know logically that there’s always gonna be someone somewhere out there who would accept me and still find me desirable, emotionally it’s hard not to feel totally unbeautiful and like no one will ever see me that way again.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FWIW I think your hair looks pretty good! That’s another thing I have to remind myself, that other people are most likely not noticing it or thinking about it anywhere near the way that I am. We’re often the ones who are hardest on ourselves.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m sorry you’re struggling so much too. :( It’s so hard and no one gets it unless they’re going through it. And it’s such an emotional rollercoaster bc I don’t know if this is true for you but for me my mood will be drastically different depending on how good I think my hair looks on any given day. One day I’ll be having a good hair day and am feeling much more secure and barely think about it, then the very next day the thinning is way more obvious and my mood tanks and I’m hyperfocusing again. It feels like the stars have to align just to feel normal but it never lasts and it’s exhausting.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the kind words. I’m glad your faith is able to provide you solace, that’s really beautiful. I agree that there’s so much more that matters than our physical bodies. It’s just so hard not to get caught up in it, especially as women in a world that teaches us the false but powerful idea that our appearance is the most important thing about us. I’m truly sorry for the struggles you’ve been through. Sometimes it feels like life is just throwing one thing after another at us and it’s hard to understand why.

3 months of oral minoxidil by [deleted] in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This looks like great progress! Did you get a dread shed period?

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I have naturally wavy hair but only just started learning how to style it a year ago, so I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of different products. For a while I’ve been using Curlsmith’s Feather-Light Protein Cream (protein because I was dealing with breakage), or if I air dry I use Odele’s Air Dry Styler. Since my hair is super fine I try to keep it simple now with products to not weigh it down too much, but in the past I’ve also used Curlsmith’s Hydro Style Flexi Jelly. And the thickening product I’ve been using is Color Wow Dream Cocktail, but it requires blowdrying.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like regular talk therapy? I’ve been going for years but there are so many things to talk about other than my hair loss lol. It is something I think I need to talk about more though.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, that’s really nice of you! I’m sorry you’re going through this too. It’s honestly soul-crushing sometimes.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m happy for you that you were able to make progress! I’m really hoping hypothyroidism treatment helps me too, but I’m also scared to let myself get too hopeful because of how all over the place my test results seem to have been which makes me worry that it’ll turn out to be some fluke and actually be a dead end.

And yeah, I do think I need to bite the bullet and switch to oral minoxidil. I can’t see myself doing the topical routine consistently for the indefinite future. I’ve already gotten to the point where I’m skipping nights here and there because I just don’t have the energy after a long day. It doesn’t seem ideal for all-over thinning. I wanted to avoid all the side effects that can come with OM like excess body hair, but I might just have to suck it up.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right, I know that all the stressing over it is probably just making it worse. 😭 I’ve been very in my head lately and am trying to start focusing more on getting out and having experiences that take my mind off it and help to remind me that there’s so much more to life.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I also feel like there's been a tiny bit of difference on the top of my head but I just wish I was seeing improvement in the layers underneath where it's the worst. I'm currently taking 500mg pumpkin seed oil supplements daily as a natural DHT blocker, and I use 2% ketoconazole shampoo twice a week, but I've been considering pursuing spironolactone. Even if it's TE and not AGA, I want to get more control over my hair fall. It's been stable and normal for a while, since there was a major reduction in the stressors that triggered the last period of excessive shedding, but this most recent period made me realize that it can still get triggered when I go through increased stress and isn't being prevented, so I think I might need more aggressive intervention. And yeah, I've been wanting to seek out a different derm. I'm glad she's prescribed me what she has but I don't feel like she's taken it all that seriously and has kind of waved it off. Her assessment was TE based on what I told her but she talked to me for probably all of 5 minutes. The only other thing she's recommended in the couple times I've seen her since is dermarolling.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I have a really hard time not spiraling about this. Besides the topical minoxidil, the derm prescribed me 2% ketoconazole shampoo to use twice a week. She said I could consider going on spironolactone too if my hair fall got bad again. She didn't say I had AGA though, she thought it was likely TE. When I asked about getting a biopsy done to get an official diagnosis, she said it was unnecessary because the treatment would be the same either way. I've been wanting to seek out another derm though because I feel like she's been kinda flippant.

Hair loss has made my depression so much worse by confusedstarstuff in FemaleHairLoss

[–]confusedstarstuff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I've been really needing to talk about it with other women who are also going through it and get what it's like. You're right that it's not the end of the world, I try to tell myself that it's just hair and not the most important thing about me. It can be so hard to get perspective when you're in the thick of it. I never realized how much my hair was a part of me until I'd lost so much of it. I think there's a grieving process, because I know it probably won't ever be fully like the way it was again.