Hi everybody!

my PhD is so stressfull that my hair is starting to fall out in big clumps - arrghh! has this sort of thig happened to anybody else?

I think i will start taking multivitamins!!

Gosh, loopylou, I am sorry to hear that. Maybe you need to talk to your doctor or find some ways that might help you minimise your stress. Meditation? Yoga? Exercise? Medication?

I read somewhere stress will make it happen and then a friend of a friend had it happen (she was going through a divorce). Since then I have worried that it will happen to me too, because in the last 12 months I have had all sorts of worries (not just PhD, but that was a big part of it).

Hope you get better soon, loopylou.

Apparantly there are lots of reasons, and it's usually temporary and stress-related. Two people I know had this; one had survived a bomb, but the other had no discernable stress and was completely healthy. Their hair just thinned out rather than fell out altogether, and wasn't too noticable.

Me!

Lots of my hair fell out. Apparantly you must have iron levels of about 15mg to have good hair growth. I take iron supplements everyday now and feel a lot better and have more hair.

Apparently (according to my hairdresser, a fount of knowledge on these matters ), apparently its also natural to loose more hair in this season as well... ok back to writing first chapter...boo hoo

I have had alopecia for over 15 years, so any questions just ask

hi fifi, whats alopecia? Ive got psorisis sometimes when im stressed out a lot (think thats how u spell it) :-/

sorry Miss, didn't mean to trivialise it. I've had that many bad haircuts in my life I know how hair can affect your self-image. I might do as H says and start taking iron, my hair's always been flat and lifeless anyway

hi juno :) nice to meet you, i have flat hair too but then mines always straight :( and its falling out lately duno what to do.. is it really about iron? x

Alopecia = baldness. I used to have no hair anywhere, from my head to my legs, didn't do much for self confidence. However, recently with my move and relaxing (& other private stuff), my hair is growing everywhere...I just need to relax more (as my doc said today, it isn't doing my heart good living on my nerves).

Fifi im glad that now your relaxing and its getting better, unfortunately my psorasis is mostly on scalp and it gets horrid when ppl point it out :( it gets triggered quickly by stress but ive found aloe vera and olive oil very useful. x

I agree. Iron has helped me too. Although it takes 1-2 months to see the results but iron supplements do work. I went to a dermatologist for my hair loss a year ago, and what she suggested apart from taking iron supplements and vitamins was massage the scalp each time you shampoo, reduce the use of hairbands for the moment, use a good special shampoo for hair loss for 1-2 months and drink lots of water for healthy looking hair. I think a combination of all these works great! My hair looks much healthier (and shiny) now. I hope this helps!

Yep and don't take ferrous sulfate (bloats and constipates most people and you get black poo). The best supplement I have found is ferrous gluconate which can be prescribed or over the counter.

Thanks everybody for the advice! I shall get some iron suplements!

Also, relax (something my body finds almost impossible)...find some lavender oil, as I have found that relaxs me...if you can abide camomile have some tea. I wanted to try yoga, but my joints become so painful sometimes, I don't know if its worth it.