Hair loss

Have you cut out on red meat and greens - thats the main food for hair. Have you been taking medication, i have had hip replacement, surgery fine, medication made me very ill and my hair started to fall out - i am 71.

Me too gillybob but I found a great wig shop and have worn wigs for 2 years now so do give it a try

It would be a good idea to have a full blood test - including checking your thyroid levels and vitamin D levels.

Low thyroid can sometimes cause hair loss.

I have heard that Biotin is good for nails and hair growth. Some people swear by it. It can be bought from a health shop.

In the meantime - get yourself checked out by a doctor.

Good luck!

Granny Iris I would consult a trichologist after seeing your GP for health check. They are the experts and I found it very helpful. Probably have to go to London to find a good one though.

Before you buy a wig or resign yourself to being bald, get your health checked out. If you have a thyroid condition, for example, it needs to be treated.

I had the same problem and decided to go for a shorter style, started taking Biotin supplements daily 1000ug from Holland and Barrett, also vitaminD. It's made a big difference, and reduced the loss enormously. I recommended a friend to do this and she has had success as well.
Good luck

My hair went very thin with chemo but grew through quite reasonably when chemo finished. However I do have no hair just above my neck (my daughter says I have an undercut, very trendy!!) so need to keep it long enough to cover the bald patch. Can't seem to find anything to make it grow again. I do find that my eyelashes and eyebrows are still sparse though.

One bonus though I haven't needed to shave my legs or underarms for the last 2 years!!

Before you spend money on supplements, just search on line for biotin rich foods. There's a long list...

I saw a very large tall woman in Waitrose yesterday and whe was as bald as a coot. Not the slightest bit embarrassed. I'd have had to have a wig or a hat. Good for her.

According to a trichology website colouring and bleaching wont make hair fall out,from the root,it will only damage actual hair and make it break off,on the actual hair strand

scraggiesue i was on Tibolone [which i really liked]until last month for the last 18 months,,and i wondered if it was that which caused the fallout,as it has a kind of testosterone in it, but i was on it years ago and no hair fall out,
It does seem to tie in with the start of the Tibolone and Vagifem started together
I am now on Evoral, which also says could cause hair loss, but i am taking Biotin, and a few other vits,
I read on menopause matters that someone on vagifem and only vagifem says 6 weeks after starting it,her hair started falling out, and although the vagifem website says hair loss could be a side effect others disagree as it such a small amount of oestrogen
The first test i had was thyroid, all clear
I am concentrating on iron and ferritin now,although told it is within range it could be anything from 10 up, and according to Phillip Kingsley the well know Trichologist it should be at about 70-80 for healthy hair

I had an awful hair loss at 65. I use Plantur 39 tonic every day and shampoo every other day. Seems to have stopped hair loss, although only a but of fuzz growing back.

Sulis i have heard of that shampoo being good for haieloss, and other shampoos which are sulphate free
I got one called Watermans which is good for haor loss, but need some more,there are quite a few, but most are bvery expensive, which is fine if they work
Boots have a good selection, like viviscal and others , i would spend it i thought they would definitely work, but it is really knowing the cause first

Sorry Blondenana - my post was totally misleading. My nails were really soft so I took biotin to try to help. After I’d been on it for a few weeks my hair started falling out and when I stopped taking it my hair stopped falling out! I have problems with other types of medication and some react completely differently on me than other people eg if it says “can cause drowsiness” I can guarantee to be awake all night! So I guess what I’m saying is that biotin could have a negative effect.

Overthehills that is very confusing then, as all i have read about it is positive regarding hair growth from biotin
Anyway i will carry on for now, and see what the increased iron will do,
Thanks for clarifying

Overthehills i meant to say that the rest of my hair seems better, it is growing very fast, so hopefully it will help mine,it is all trial and error isn't it
Has your hair grown back since? and if so how?
Did you have any other treatment?

My little toddler granddaughter fell down the stairs and fractured her hip (her sister left the stair gate open) and had to spend months in a lower body cast. A couple of months after the accident her hair was falling out in clumps and we were very concerned. She had blood tests etc. and it turned out to be a harmless reaction to the shock and distress. The hair stops growing in it's natural cycle but it's only a temporary thing:
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321590.php

Sorry to hear of your hair prob GrannyIris5, I had the same problem about 6 years ago and GP advised use of Regaine which you have to rub into the patches to encourage hair growth. I have to say it didn't work for me, just irritated my scalp more. I started to wear a hat whenever I was out, even in the summer because I thought everyone was looking at me, then one day I thought "what the hell" so just decided to totally ignore it therefore less stressful. I started to notice new growth of white hair (totally different colour to my normal colour and eventually went white all over. Then bit by bit it gradually returned to its natural colour and thickened up. All this took a few years in total but have to say that now my hair is looking so much better. I know its a long process and its difficult to get to the stage where you can ignore it but I found it less stressful and it worked for me. I understand its not everyone's way of dealing with it. Also I have a thyroid problem which I have medication for which may have had a lot to do with it, so now have regular 3monthly blood tests to try and monitor levels etc.

I have to admit its very frightening when you do notice your hair disappearing, more so for a woman, and I broke down in tears many, many times. I hope in time your situation improves for you, I understand totally what you're going through. xxxx

Also thought I would add that I changed my shampoo to one that I thought would be the mildest and that I would be happiest using and that was Johnsons Baby Shampoo, I still use it now 6 yrs later and all is well. I'm not saying that the shampoo cured my hair loss, but that it is a very mild shampoo and simply helped me in thinking that if its ok for babies then it might help me too xx

GrannyIris, do you take statins, if so have a look at the side effects and see if hair loss is one of them. My hairdresser noticed my hair was thinning on one side and said to see if that was the reason. I went to the doctor and he confirmed it was and changed the statin and although it has taken a while new hair is definitely growing, so hope this post helps.

I forgot to mention earlier that my hairdresser said that those expensive shampoos have caffeine in that stimulates the scalp(a bit itchy I found) therefore bringing blood to the hair follicle. She suggested saving my money and instead to massage my scalp regularly throughout the day. Each time I sat to read the paper or watch TV I would rub the thin patches with finger tips. I has the same effect making scalp tingle as blood comes to the surface.

Hetty58 thank you for that link had a quick look last night, just before i went to bed will have a proper look today,
I think my hair loss could well be stress related, using the steroid lotion my Dr gave me, and upping my iron intake,
I have never been a big meat eater, but upping that and green veg too

barb6 i have read that new hair often comes back white then returns to its normal colour,

photocrazy yes hair loss can be a side effect of statins, i dont take them

Diggingdoris Regaine apparently can make you lose more hair to start with before it grows more, but i believe you have to use it forever ,as once you stop the hair falls out again

gillybob I could have written exactly the same .
I've been trying so many things apart from wigs as there do not seem to be any shops within reach (plus I'm not sure as I find hat wearing difficult anyway).
OP sorry I cannot offer any help.

Baldness is devastating to women?

My eldest son was devastated when he began to go bald in his late teens early twenties, my husband embraced it and took it as "Life happens, and for some that means going bald,"
I have been excessively shedding for years now, my hairline has receded but only I notice this as it is uniformly receded. My scalp is very visible, and I no longer have enough hair to have a fringe, which I would like to be able to as I prefer a fringe.
I don't want to be bald, I would rather have a lot more hair than I do, I have had blood tests and treatment for low iron, low B12, there has been no improvement to the thickness of my hair.
I have for many years wished I was brave enough to just shave my hair off completely and either wear wigs, scarves or hats, unfortunately for me I neither have the style to carry that off or the courage to do it, yet, I keep telling myself that one day I will do it. Hahaha.
I know that none of this has answered your question GrannyIris5, mostly because if I knew how to reverse or slow it down I would be doing it myself.
I suppose the point I was trying to make is, why should it matter?
A woman's crowning glory?
Surely that is her personality???!!
Why should we be defined by how we look, how uniform we all are, or how we conform to what is expected of us to look like?
If society as a whole allowed people to be just as they are, would we worry so much about hair loss, widening waists and sagging skin, all of which happen to us in varying degrees as we age.
GI5 I would certainly go speak with your Dr or practice nurse when you are next at the surgery, or make an appointment to discuss your concerns. I truly hope all is well too and if so, try what you can to halt or reverse your hairloss and then come back and tell us all how you got on.
In the meantime though perhaps the rest of us could or should redefine our opinions, and yes by this I am partly referring to how some responded to RobertReny's comment. Is it right to expect men to just accept they are losing their hair or going bald but to be offended if anyone suggest a woman should just deal with it?
I am dealing with mine, and as I said, no real medical reason has been found for mine either, so I am just trying different things but I am not losing sleep over it. I am also suggesting that GI5 follows every possible path but that if she is unsuccessful then just accept it as being a part of her life now and to do just exactly what she wants to about it. x