Hair Loss

[elizabetht]

Does anyone know about hair loss from dialysis? I have started dialysis only 2 months ago and my hair has been falling out. I used to have really thick hair. I asked the doctor and he just poo-pooed it. Its not his hair that is falling out by the gobs.

[flip]

It's true, some say zinc will help. A baseball cap works for me.

[okarol]

I'm sorry your doctor doesn't think it's important.
My daughter lost over half her hair in the first 6 months of dialysis. We got some Nioxin Shampoo and I think it helped, or maybe she just was stable, but her hair grew back over time.
Here are a couple related threads:
Hair Loss http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=352.0
Just the Facts: Skin and Hair Problems on Dialysis http://ihatedialysis.com/forum/index.php?topic=6983.0

[boxman55]

I have not lost any hair to my knowledge but then again, I never had any hair when I started dialysis. I take minoxidil for heart medication and it grows hair every where except on my head. But seriously, I am sorry this is happining to you, I hope it stops soon...Boxman

[peleroja]

Since hair is protein, and we go on a limited protein diet prior to dialysis, maybe it's a holdover from those days.  Once on dialysis the protein should increase, as I've been told it's one of the smallest molecules in the body and more easily removed during dialysis. 

[Rerun]

It is stress!  I lost mine and even went a bought a wig.  It now sits in the closet as mine grew back.  Go get it cut really short so the weight of "hair" is less and it will have a chance to thicken up and grow.

I like my wig better than my hair.....

[jbeany]

Mine thins and thickens as my iron levels drop and rise.  Get the doc to check yours.  The iron is very important for thick hair.

[Sunny]

Yes, I have this problem too. I am pre-dialysis and have seen 3 doctors about it and they all say they have no idea why it's happening to me, it's just in the genes.
I say BS, my Mom still has a full head of hair at 78 yrs and my 83 yr old Dad just started losing his. Obviously it's related to my renal disease in some way. I, too, would buy a wig if it got bad enough. Women need their hair. It's a self image issue. Hopefully, yours will grow again soon. Good luck.

[flip]

Sunny, if you're on the pre dialysis diet, you probably aren't getting enough protein for your hair. It's a Catch 22 situation. A zinc supplement should help some if your Dr. approves.

[G-Ma]

So sorry about your hair....mine fell out in clumps before dialysis and Dr and I thought it was the toxins in my system so I cut it short, and since dialysis it is much thicker....I've also heard that Tresseme' shampoo will help bring back hair growth.
Ann

[flip]

I'm using Rogaine now but I haven't seen any results.

[MIbarra]

I had the same problem when I started dialysis. I told my neph and she started me on some renal vitamins. This stopped the hair loss, but my hair is now much thinner than it was prior to dialysis.

[Jess21]

after a few months on dialysis my hair came out in chunks too (my hairbrush would be full and no one believed me for a while) and really thinned out..i was getting bald spots and my hairdresser could notice the difference before it got to the worst.  Thankfully, one day it just stopped and my hair has pretty much grown back.

[monrein]

I have lots of hair (side effect of years of cyclosporine I think)  but some often falls  if I'm stressed, as in sick.  It does seem to grow back regularly and I use Nioxin shampoo and conditioner which my hair stylist recommended.

[twirl]

happening to me as we speak
it also happened about 8 years ago after I was in the hospital for a month
I was told that is normal after a major surgery
it is happening now and I has throat slitting surgery last May
hope it is the same thing
anytime someone says to me that my hair is so shinny ---- I think "oh, crap not again"
Flipbob --- why does the baseball cap help?

[willieandwinnie]

twirl, Len had a head full of thick, thick hair until he became critically ill in 2001, almost every bit of he's hair fell out. Dr. Paul the trauma surgeon told me that once his body recovered from the shock and nutrition got better (he had a small bowel feeding tube and was on TPN), that his hair would grow back but probably would be a different texture. Everytime since then, when Len has gone through some kind of surgery (and there have been many), about 3 months after, his hair will start to fall out again until we get his diet and minerals under control. He's hair is not as thick as it use to be anymore but he does have a head full.

I hope that is what you are going through. Your body is still recovering from having your throat slit. Give it some more time and then talk to the doctor about what you can do to help things along. Have a great weekend. We are waiting for tropical storm Hanna so we will be house bound.

[twirl]

OH NO
W&W tie those little Yorkies down
how close are you to the coast

[willieandwinnie]

twirl, we are surrounded by water. The Chesapeake Bay is less then a half a mile away, the Patuxent River is less then that and the Potomac River is a little over a mile. Isabel and Ernesto did us real bad. Made me lose hair (that keeps us on topic).

[flip]

It even caused the NASCAR races in Richmond to be postponed so I guess I'll just sit around tonight and tomorrow night and grow hair.

[twirl]

W&W
I hope I do not watch the weather station and see w&w flying by
that long hair of theirs would be in terrible knots
please stay safe
we have to give our dogs benadril during hurricane weather
kind of knocks them out
STAY SAVE

[Lilu323]

I lost my hair twice in my life time. Both times it was because I was really sick and surgery. The following might sound weird to people but the following worked for me. Starting to eat again. Making sure my numbers were good. Chopping the hell out of my hair. Getting rid of all the dead ends. Massaging my scalp for 20min every night and washing my hair with natural organic shampoo. It smells obviously like garlic but you can get non scented. My hair rt now is up to my ears and the bald spots are covered so I know how you women feel. I think losing my hair was worse then the surgery. Hope this helps!

[MiSSis]

I've never had thick or luxurious hair (unlike my twin brother who has a full head ... so not fair!).  It's always been fine and skinny but in the last 6 months or so I've noticed it falling out and breaking off more and more.  I've tried several different shampoos from my hairdressers but nothing really seemed to help.  I've gotten good at wearing headbands and "arranging" it to cover the really thin spots.  Last week I asked my neph about it and he didn't think there was any correlation between my hair loss and dialysis (which I find really hard to believe since I'm constantly fighting with low protein levels due to PD.)  Anyway, yesterday I met with my PCP and mentioned it  again and he's scheduled a blood test which he says will help to show what might be causing my hair loss.  I didn't even know they could test for something like this.  I go in Friday morning (I'm having several blood tests drawn that have to be fasting) so I'm hoping that something will show up.  Sounds weird, doesn't it ... to hope for something to be wrong so that it can be fixed and I'll be able to keep at least  some of my hair before it all falls out!

[okarol]

Hair Loss aka alopecia:

Alopecia

Alopecia probably is more common in ESRD than in the general population; however, alopecia has not been studied specifically in ESRD, and no reports exist regarding its prevalence or etiology. Likely causes of alopecia in ESRD include SLE or chronic telogen effluvium. Chronic telogen effluvium may be related to the multitude and severity of illnesses encountered by patients, or it may be related to commonly used medications such as heparin, antihypertensives, or lipid-lowering agents.

from: Dermatologic Manifestations of Renal Disease  http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic550.htm

[MiSSis]

Wow, three strikes against me.  Blood pressure meds, cholersterol lowering drugs and Lupus.  Probably should consider shopping for a wig like Rerun did.

[Cincygrandma]

I started losing my hair after starting dialysis last Nov.  The dietician told me it might be because my protein was low.  I started eating an egg or two at least every other day for the extra protein (my cholesterol isn't too high, so eggs were ok).  I also starting taking a daily renal vitamin.  My protein is now running at or near normal and I'm no longer losing my hair.  It took about 3 months for the loss to stop, and don't know whether it was the extra protein or the vitamin that helped, so will continue both.