weight loss & hair loss: what they DON'T tell you

ok, so i know i haven't used this blog much because you can find me HERE @ plumpdumpling but i thought i would come back because this blog still gets traffic and it's easier to write and post pictures within a post on blogger.  whatever.

so about 4 months ago i started a program called medi weight-loss.  essentially the program is this:

• 30 mcg of phentermine (appetite suppressant) 
• weekly B12 shots
• 500 restricted calories
• multi-vitalmins, calcium, and some other supplement called a fat burner which is just some herbs i think

you can ONLY eat protein, vegetables, and a lil fruit.  i followed along; i weighed my food, i counted calories, i was really good at controlling myself.  i have learned a lot about food and i think i have a better relationship with food now.  lately, i have been bad.  i sneak food (old habits die hard!) and i reward myself with treats but the weight still comes off for the most part because i don't go overboard and binge like i used to.  i stopped journaling and i am still doing pretty good because i know what i should and shouldn't eat and how much is an actual serving.  

i lost 40 lbs and i feel great!  but that is not where my story ends.

i went from a size 14 to a size 8 (my goal is a 6).  i am about 15 lbs from my ultimate goal weight but about a week or 2 ago i noticed something weird.  my hair has been falling out a lot more than usual.  i tried to ignore it but then my mom went into my bathroom and saw a clump of hair in the trashcan. she asked me if it was mine and made the comment, "ooohhh that's not good."  

what do you mean that's not good?  

everyone loses hair i thought but then i began to realize this is waaaaaay more than the usual hair loss.  within the past week+ my hair has been falling out in clumps. i find my hair all over my clothes, on the floor, my bathroom sink is covered, i have even found my hair in my food and drinks.  

i am officially freaking out.

that clump of hair was from combing just part of my hair out after a shower.  that doesn't even come close to the amount i lose in one day.  my hair is so dry and it begins to dread underneath (i have curly hair). the dreads are knots that if i try to touch them and pull them apart my hair falls out in hands. i can't touch my head without my hair falling out.  i have given up on the brush all together because the results would be devastating to my psyche.  i started to research like crazy. why was my hair falling out?  maybe it's the appetite suppressant  some people reported this problem after about 3 months like me.  maybe it's my hypothyroidism?  hair loss is related to this too but i have been living with this since i was 14 and have NEVER had this happen.  i went to the dermatologist to find answers.

my derm told me that this happens after trauma to your body.  yes, trauma.  i lost 40 lbs and i had to pay for it in hair.  she told me that when you drop weight like that so fast your body starts to kill of certain cells and the hair is the first to go.  (my nails have not suffered yet but i think that wouldn't be so difficult to deal with even though i love my nails.) my doctor told me that the hair WILL come back but it's going to take a while, maybe a couple of months.  in the mean time, it feels like i may be bald before that happens.

the worst part is the psychological damage.  it's a cycle of stress and hair-loss.  i freak out and then i lose more hair.  it's literally ALL i can think about right now and i am so scared of what may happen.  i can't take it.  i think maybe i need a weave? but can my hair even hold one or what will happen? i know it's bad because my scalp actually HURTS from losing hair. it's like the pain you experience when someone pulls on your ponytail. meanwhile my ponytail is looking pathetic. the thing is when men lose their hair (and i am not discounting the experience of men and male patterned baldness) it's expected.  they can look sexy without hair.  women are prized for flowing locks.  if we don't have that, what do we have?  it's so stressful i can feel my hair falling out just thinking about it.

until it stops; i am trying to beat this shit.

i am on an insane vitamin regimen to try to fight this fall out.  i have tried multiple things:

• garnier fall fight products (shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in spray)
• prenatal vitamins
• prenatal vitamins crushed in shampoo
• extra b-complex
• folicure products (most likely a scam)
• flax seed oil
• omega fatty acids
• evening primrose oils
• biotin
• mustard oil applied to my hair
• coconut oil applied to my hair

pretty much i am trying everything to stop this!  i am considering rogaine but i don't know if i trust it or want to put it on my skin.  so far i am not seeing results with anything but i am just waiting to see how long this will go on. who knows how long i actually was losing my hair without realizing it!? my hair is just dead feeling.  the texture changed, it's coarse and easily tangled.  it just sits there limp and dead.  the curl is going away too which i always wanted (but not this way!).  

i just wanted to share my story in case other people were out who experienced something similar.  it's not something they tell you when you start a program like this.  the same thing happened to my step dad when he had gastric bypass surgery...here i thought i was doing the right thing by eating less!  we are all so impatient, we need immediate results.  now i am being punished and there is nothing i can do.

august 2011 vs. jan 2013

if you have had something similar happen, maybe you could share your tips, tricks, or story.  i hope that something changes soon and i will try to update again to keep everyone in the loop if my methods work.  xox