HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

Hair loss with flare?

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 3/16/2011 6:41 PM (GMT 0)
Been dealing with a mild flare up since last September/October.  Feeling quite a bit better lately and things have been starting to settle down.

One thing I have noticed since the start of the flare up is what I would consider more than normal hair loss.   Typically losing hair in the shower and if I grab my hair and gently tug at it, more comes out.  It's not really noticeable right now as I have really thick hair to begin with.


Been to see my doctor, blood work came back normal and also had my thyroid checked with no abnormalities noted.  Doc did diagnose it a "telegen effluvium", which when I googled it, seemed to be the condition I have, which is where hair is sent to "resting stage" sooner than normal and it falls out more rapidly than usual.  Seems to be a temporary condition but I have continued to notice this abnormal hair loss, dating back to September.


Anyone else have this condition or seen this with their UC and/or during a flare-up?

Thanks!

Posted 3/16/2011 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
I think that during a flare or right after it, it is common to notice hair loss. It might be related to the fact that your body went through a tough time, stress, inflammation, loss of important nutrients etc. Sometimes it is related to the meds that you take to get out of a flare. I think it should get beck to normal in a few weeks or months.

Take care,
RT
Posted 3/16/2011 7:47 PM (GMT 0)
Have you been on steroids over the past 6 months?

The dormant stage can be earlier or last longer...but take heart that once the hair has fallen out, there's a new hair coming in....unless you have a pattern baldness. Different issue.

q
Posted 3/16/2011 7:47 PM (GMT 0)
I thought this might be due to taking Pred. as heard that symptoms can take 6 months to iron out.
Posted 3/16/2011 8:10 PM (GMT 0)
The same thing happened to me and I was freaking out! I was losing TONS of hair! It just started getting back to normal after a few months and I can tell a bunch of new hair is growing back in. I'm sure the same will happen for you but it was shocking! I don't know if it was meds or stress?
Posted 3/16/2011 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
I lost about 1/2 of my hair on pred. Coming back in now - have lots of little baby hairs. Are you on pred?
Posted 3/16/2011 11:00 PM (GMT 0)
My hair has fallen out and grown back so many times b/c of that darn UC I've lost count! Thank goodness it always comes back in!
Posted 3/16/2011 11:11 PM (GMT 0)
What's interesting is my doc never put me on prednisone with this flare as my symptoms haven't been that bad. I did take a really short dosage (5 day course) before my flare though when I was battling what they thought were chronic sinus infections (in reality it was allergies).

The hair loss has been pretty gradual, but it continues to freak me out when I'm in the shower or when I'm sitting at my desk at work, run my hands through my hair, and 3-5 hairs fall out. I literally feel like if I continued to run my hands through my hair, it would all fall out. I'll have days where it seems better, than a few days where it seems worse (kinda like my flare-up symptoms).

It's pretty much throughout my entire head - not in the normal "male pattern baldness" areas.... so I'm close to fairly certain it has nothing to do with normal baldness.
Posted 3/17/2011 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
My hair bounced back after a year and a half of flaring and coming out of flaring.
Posted 3/17/2011 5:39 AM (GMT 0)
I have the same problem with hair loss.  I hope it stops soon.  It was a little scary the first time I noticed it.   I have tons of hair in my hand while washing my hair, combing my hair running my hands though my hair.  I always find hair on my clothes and pillow.  It's unfortunate that we need to deal with this on top of everything we already go though.  Before I was diagnosed I would occasional lose hair but not as much as I do now.   Luckily I have very thick hair so I hope it stops before it becomes noticeable.  Too bad it was not the hair on my legs so I would need to shave as often.  Seriously!
Posted 3/17/2011 5:42 AM (GMT 0)
is your hair long? short? remember that around 100 hair a day to lose is normal.
Posted 3/18/2011 5:43 PM (GMT 0)
I have done quite a bit of research on the whole hair loss issue (for some reason this is really concerning to me, not like I have a great head of hair or anything).

I couldn't really tell you how much hair I'm losing, although I have NEVER noticed hair loss before like I am now, so I have to believe I'm losing it at a more rapid pace then before.

People have told me my hair doesn't look any different but to me it feels quite a bit thinner - again, its not isolated in any particular area, its pretty much coming out throughout.

Its probably stress more than anything!

Thank you all for your posts... at the end of the day, I have to believe there is a link between my UC and my hair falling out... and I can see fresh new hairs coming in so at least this doesn't seem to be a permanent issue.

Posted 3/18/2011 5:51 PM (GMT 0)
What you could consider is taking a b complex vitamin. Not super high...or make sure it's included in your multi.

No, it wouldn't be permanent...but it would have started at least 6 months ago.

Stress/flares/meds can upset hormonal fluctuations...which can in turn affect hair growth pattern/cycle.

Those baby hairs are a good thing!

q
Posted 3/18/2011 7:01 PM (GMT 0)
I'm in the 6th month of a nasty flare ... coming out of it finally, and I just lost all the hair on my legs below my knees. Weirdest thing, smooth as a baby's behind. The worst part about pred is that it can make you lose hair where you don't want to (head) and grow hair where you don't to (back, face, arms, etc). I don't like its sense of humor.
Posted 3/18/2011 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hi cpaarchie,

The last major flare that I had years ago was the worst that I have every had and it lasted many months with no relief and with it I lost alot of hair that the hair on the sides of my head were so thin that I was afraid to touch it.

I don't know if it was the stress, or major weight loss that came with the flare or the increase in meds but my hair fell out in clumps.    At the time I was to be in a wedding party and we had to pin false hair into my updo to cover up the bare spots.  It eventually grew back,  I used Nioxin shampoo for thinning hair to slow down the hair loss and started taking  Biotin.

✚ New Topic ✚ Reply