aga

Question
QUESTION: hello, first my story started on may 14,09 when i went in to have my hair dyed,during the dying process i was burned really bad on my scalp,about a week after that i started losing hair in clumps.at first it looked like breakage,but it is almost nine months later and i am still losing a lot of hair,so decided to have a scalp biopsy because i couldn't handle it any more i cry everyday i have lost at least 60% of my hair, the derm told me a lot of it was probably stress,well here is my biopsy results.oh yes ,i also have a low ferritan it was a punch biopsy done in 2 different spots in the same area.where i experience the most pain and itching,this is what the report said sections of scalp showing,reduced number of terminal anagen hairs with increase telogen hairs miniaturized hairs are increased in number there is a mild perifollicular inflamation present,pas stain was negative for fungal hyphae.conclusion features are most consistent with androgenic alopecia.and  my derm was also concerned with my ferritan it was thirty,and Ive also had low iron stores,i cant understand because before the hair dye incident my hair was thick curly and beautiful,no body in my family suffers from hair loss. my derm said if i stop the stress get my iron levels up, i can get some hair back.but i thought with angrogenic alopecia  the hair you lose never grows back? the hair i have has tons of regrowth in some areas its about 5 inches.do you think the diagnoses sounds correct? and if it is i need to get a treatment plan,but im so scared to lose more hair as i heard most treatments increase the shed ,and cant afford to lose much hair. one more thing just because one part of the scalp is showing aga , does that mean its the same all over your whole head?my derm said that my stress and iron caused this to come out early, and it may have stayed dormant ,so i feel this is all my fault,and im having a very hard time dealing with that. i have probably cried enough to fill a swimming pool.how aggressive is this ,could i lose all my hair fast or can it progress slowly where it just is thinner? i am so sorry for the long post, i just don't know what to do. or where to start.thank you



ANSWER: You have two issue with your scalp.  One issue is that you have a telogen effluvium which is where the hair goes into a shedding phase.  This usually lasts from 9-18 months in most cases. We usually treat this condition with B12 shots and Biotin 2.5mg a day.  The other issue you have is AGA or female pattern hair loss.  This condition is genetic.  The hairs shrink in diameter until there is no hair left.  The most common place to have this condition is the vertex of the scap but then it moves forward.  The hair just keeps thinning on top of the head.  The treatment for this is Rogaine for Men as it is stronger than Rogaine for Women.



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QUESTION: did you come to that conclusion of the te because of my biopsy?and the hair that's falling out due to te ,can i get it back if i reduce my stress that probably caused it? i am already taking biotin and will look into b-12 shots.also going back to the gym hoping to release stress,is it bad for a women to lift weights twice a week if she has aga , i heard it increases testosterone, the rest of the week i will be doing cardio.thank you so much for your quick reply,one more thing how could i get aga if everyone in my family has hair?


Answer
From the biopsy report, I was able to tell that you have a telogen effluvium.  The biopsy report also shows that you have female pattern hair loss or androgenic alopecia.  Lifting weight will not cause more hair loss.  B12 will not help androgenic alopecia or female pattern hair loss but it will help with the telogen effluvium.  The only treatment we have for femal pattern hair loss is Rogaine.