Ok..I'm getting somewhat worried here. I'm 22 yrs old with medium lenght curly hair. For as long as i can remember i've always lost a medium amount of hair whenever I shower. I assumed this was just because my hair was curly and didn't naturally just fall out throughout the day like people with straight hair. It never worried me. For the past month atleast ( i don't really remember when it started getting worse) I've been losing a ton of hair in the shower and when i comb my hair. I'm not getting bald spots or my hair line isn't decreasing, Just when i run my fingers through my hair in the shower i come out with hand fulls, and i MEAN hand fulls. Then when i get out of the shower and come my hair there is another hand full. I seriously have enough for a nice sized bird's nest each time i shower. I'm getting worried because this is OBVIOUSLY not normal. Is this normal in the LC way of life? Could i be missing certain vitamins that couse this? I take a multi every day, extra calcium,i just started taking a fish oil pill, i take extra potassium, and i take daily fiber with every meal.

Ohhh, dear, that is NOT normal. I think we need some more info:

-what are your menus like? are you eating enough?
-are you including veggies?
-how much weight do you have to lose and where are you currently at?
-any meds/other health concerns?

As I'm sure others will tell you, we can't fill in for a pro doctor's advice, so while we can provide you some feedback, it might be best to make an appointment.

Let us know!

my menus are really normal. I eat a lot of veggies everyday. This is a typical menu for me.
Breakfasts: 2 eggs scrambled with some cheese and either 2 turkey bacon strips or 2 turkey sausage links
snack: 4 slices of a green pepper
Lunch: Chicken breast, small spinach salad or hard boiled egg
Snack: cauliflower or cheese
Dinner: chicken breast, or pork chop, veggie (broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, or asparagus) some almonds for a snack or a piece of cheese
Lots of water!!!
I'm currently 129 and staying strong i've lost about 15 lbs total. I don't need to lose anymore (just get rid of my spare tire) I don't have any health concerns, or take any medication. This is why i'm worried. I've never eaten healthier in my life and i feel absolutely WONDERFUL, its just not normal about my hair. I actually have to make an appointment with my doctor for a physical for school, i start nursing school in august and have to have a required phsyical.

Kat,
Have no fear. There is another thread somewhere on the "women's issue" board I think about this. But let me tell you, I've been there. I had long brown curly hair and received lots of compliments on it. Between July 2003 and November 2003 I lost 30 pounds on Atkins. And I started noticing my hair falling out in the shower. Well, all over. Not in clumps, but a general thinning. I panicked. But the good people on this board helped me out and sent me to a number of websites (that I hope you find in the old thread).

I even went to my dermetologist and he told me it was natural female hair loss and to use Rogaine. Well I did, along with some Biotin supplements. BUT, what I sort of self diagnosed myself with was telogen effluvium - you can do a web search on webmd for more info. But here's what that site has to say about it, "Telogen effluvium involves widespread hair thinning over the scalp or other areas of the body. It is caused by changes in the growth cycle of hair. Large numbers of hairs enter the resting phase of hair growth (telogen), which causes shedding and thinning. This change in the growth cycle of hair is often caused by mental stress or physical stress, such as poor nutrition, injury, or surgery."

So for me, losing 30 pounds in a few months was pretty stressful for my body! And boom, hair falling out. BUt I didn't give up on this WOE, and my hair is totally looking healthier than it has before. I'm noticing new hairs here and there- I just had to wait it out.

Of course, I recommend seeing a dermetologist, but if yours was as useless as mine, look up that old thread and consider the possibility that if you've lost a lot of weight in a short period of time, this could just be temporary.

Regina

sheyrena,
Thanks for the information. I was getting really worried. I know that we aren't doctors so i can't diagnose myself. However, after doing a little research on the internet about Telogen effluvium it really seems to sound like that is what my problem is. I was under a severe amount of stress around the same time when i started this diet in January. My stress has been very limited now and i feel soo much better so i will see if that helps my hair problem out. Stress does crazy things to a persons body. Again thank you for the help. Did you do anything, or take any certain type of vitamins or minerals to help with Telogen effluvium??
Again, thanks

I take a multi vitamin daily, then additional calcium, and potassium (leg cramps) i just started taking fish oil, then i take daily fiber with every meal....

I've posted about this many times, but, I've actually lost hair and GAINED hair during different low-carb adventures.

Back in 1979, when I was 22, I lost a good amount of hair in a short period of time. Why? I'm not sure, but we can speculate.

This time around, especially about one year ago, I noticed that I was growing NEW hair. This flabbergasted me. And delighted me. My widow's peak on my forehead was actually marching downhill instead of uphill. I had driver's licenses to show the difference. It's easy to kid yourself about things like this, but I think that the difference was very clear.

I've become very vain about my hair, lately. I've let it grow out in the last year. It's down half way to my elbows, now, sort of Howard Stern length. I've never had hair this long, before. It's fun. Kind of Fabio-ish. I'm so cool. I should start a metal band.

Okay, so, what's different about the way I'm low-carbing now, and the way I low-carbed 25 years ago? I wish it was easy to nail down. I'll try to speculate, though.

1) I was eating fewer calories back then. I've been more generous with calories and haven't tried to force the pace of weight loss this time. I don't bother counting calories at all, actually.

2) I eat more vegetables now than I did back then.

3) I have a very stable way of eating. I don't have binges and purges and quit dieting for a while then resume and do a lot of change-ups like that. I've been a low-carb saint, true and blue, for the past 18 months. I eat pretty much the same way, every day, but with different foods. It may be that my system is less shocked than it was back when I was doing something different every day. This is probably the SINGLE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE between how I'm doing things now and how I did things then.

This is easy, for me, though, because I've tried just about everything there is to try, and I already know that most crap just doesn't work. When I was less experienced, I felt I had to try doing different things just to see if they worked.

So, I can't draw any conclusions. I've heard many stories about hair loss from dieters (not just low-carbers). I may be one of the few people that have a hair-gain story.

A number of non-diet-related factors can be at work as well. I can't be sure any of my experience is diet-related. However, it seems unusual that most of the hair gain that I experienced happened during the first half of 2003.

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