Are Allergies Causing My Miniaturization?
Hello Dr. Rassman,
I am a 25-year-old male and I have been noticing a rapid thinning and recession for about a year now. 3 years ago I got on propecia cause I was shedding real badly. I stayed on it for a year, noticing less shedding and darker hair but that was it. I got off of it cause I thought it wasn’t doing much. Then I started to notice miniaturization forming at the front of my head. My family (both sides) has thick hair, really thick hair.
Fast forward to now and my entire front to mid scalp is miniaturized (looks like a thin doll hair forest) and I am continuing to recede. I tried starting up Propecia again; for 5 months a year ago but stopped cause I felt like maybe it was the cause of this thinning. This is also the time that I was diagnosed for Prostisitis and Epiditymitis. I still have prostititus and it’s been about nine months. I am also continuously shedding except now they are very fine hairs, most of them have bulbs on the end and my hair feels very brittle and dry all the time (even after conditioner)
What I do notice when with the receding line is that before I loose the hair and it goes further back, I get red bumps, kind of like pimples, they are really itchy I noticed it back when I first started receding 5 years ago. They usually cover the entire line then once I recede past, no bumps and the skin is fine. I have these little bumps all over my head and they itch and burn really bad. Almost like ant bites. (The bumps were also there while I was on Propecia). Do you think I have an allergic reaction to something? Can allergies cause hair loss and miniaturization? Or can it be the prostisitis causing something? Or the propecia?
Please note: I have been tested for STD’s, irregular kidneys, regular blood tests, urinalysis, testosterone levels, thyroid problems. They all came back negative. I’ve talked to one dermatologist and he said I might be allergic to dairy. But I have been drinking it all my life. Any type of info would be helpful at this point.
Thanks
Your case is not simple and one would want to know far more about you than this summary will allow. The most common cause of hair loss in men is genetic male pattern baldness, and while anything is possible, it is not too likely that allergies are causing your miniaturization (especially if you are thinning in the typical male pattern). If you think there’s a dairy allergy that suddenly came on as an adult, then avoid dairy and see if your hair grows back or hair loss stops. My guess is that it won’t make a difference to your scalp though.
Starting and stopping the Propecia means that you are acting like your own doctor. Stopping that drug will kick start the hair loss again and restarting it again may do less good each and every time that you make a change. The red bumps you describe on your head just confuses me more, as I can not put it all together. You should seek out a second opinion from another dermatologist in your area and have him/her examine those itchy bumps on your scalp.
It amazes me how much people know. Food allergies CAN effect hair growth. It could be the dairy. Or it could be Celiacs or a Gluten-intolerance. Or some other food allergy. Soy has been found to actually cause food allergies so if you’re consuming a lot of that, you might want to cut back or eliminate it completely. It could Hypothyroidism. It could be sluggish Adrenals. Anything related to hair loss is a culprit.
Hair loss IS NOT GENETIC. There may be a predisposition to hair loss depending on your parents diets and lifestyle before and during your mothers pregnancy that would SEEM like it’s genetic. But it’s not. Hair loss IS reversible. You just have to be smart and find the cause. Research man. It’s powerful stuff. Do your own research. Don’t listen to the garbage doctors tell you about hair loss. They know only about drugs and surgery.
I was told I had male patterned hair loss. That there was nothing I could do but I KNEW it wasn’t that. Both sides of my family had thick healthy hair. I told them about my history, my change is diet etc. and they totally ignored it. I was diagnosed with Sub-clinical hypothyroidism which the doctors would not treat me for since my “symptoms” were not severe enough. I had a TSH ranging from 3.1 to 7.8. BTW, anything about a 2.5 should be treated. Nice doctors huh?
I later realized that my TSH would flare up when I consumed soy. So I stopped eating anything with soy. The symptoms were not as severe but I still had them. So I figured maybe it’s milk. Then I read that Gluten Intolerance is closely related to Hypothyroidism and hair loss. I tried Gluten free and guess what?? No symptoms. My hair is growing back. No thanks to the doctors. Some of them have ego trips and don’t know SQUAT about NUTRITION and real HEALTH.
From the white bulbs you describe, it sounds like Telegen Effluvium. I had the same thing when I changed my diet drastically. For me, I wasn’t getting enough protein and calories (even though I was consuming soy and soy based products) which forced my hair into resting phase. once I went back on the meat and dairy, my hair stopped falling out 8 months later but I developed a new symptom. Excessive sweating on my hands and feet. I knew there was something wrong but I couldn’t figure out what it was. A couple years later is when my symptoms got even worse. Tired. Weak. Can’t concentrate. Memory issues. Constipation. etc.
I finally decided to go to the doctors and ask for a thyroid test. I was immediately laughed at for “diagnosing myself”. The doctor said I was depressed and a hypochondriac. But guess what, the test results came back and I was hypothyroid. He apologized. But he and the thyroid doctors would not treat me because my TSH levels would go up and down and my symptoms were not severe enough. This pissed me off because if it was the hypothyroid causing my hair loss, then what could I do since they wouldn’t treat me for it?
Well I started taking this stuff for Adrenals. I only have one kidney so only have one adrenal gland. I figured there was a connection. Once I took the stuff, I wasn’t tired or weak through out the day and I could stay awake! Long story short, there could be anything wrong with you.
Do your own research buddy. Find the cause. There is ALWAYS A REASON. Things don’t just happen “just because” or because “it’s genetic”. Those are the easiest ways doctors get you because they don’t know the truth and only know about prescribing drugs. As you can tell, I’m a big believer in doing it yourself. I’m a fan of doing your own research. Research. Research. Research. Find things that are related to hair loss. And even if your not hypothyroid, the tests aren’t always right so you really have to test things out through trial and error. Esp. when you have ignorant doctors.
Good luck.
they’ve found a link between alzheimer’s disease and diet…alzheimer’s was something thought to be PURELY 100% affected by genetics until this discovery. if the cells in your BRAIN, that you are born with, that do not grow and change, are affected by diet,clearly something much more simple like hair loss would be too. time to open up our eyes.