Scalp Pain and Rapid Hair Loss Advice

For those who haven't read my saga here is a link to my issue, basically an intense burning pain in my scalp that refuses to be squelched: https://immortalhair.forumotion.com/t7291-advice-needed-burning-scalp-pain

I've dropped probably 4k on doctors trying to figure out what the issue is, going back in 2 weeks to my Integrated Medicine doctor to get my blood work and various lab test results. In the meantime I wanted to see if it is normal to lose about 50% of your hair (on top) in about 3-4 months, which is pretty much what's happened to me. I went from no hair problems to this. All the areas where I feel my intense pain have shed a SIGNIFICANT amount of hair, I've also bought a digital microscope and analyzed those areas and there are no miniaturized hairs, the hair appears to just fall out and never return. Is this Alopecia Areata, some nasty Telogen Effluvium? I've read that both can cause the burning pain I'm experiencing and oddly enough whenever I read the forums it seems to be 90% women who have this issue. Any thoughts people can give would be most appreciated. I'm at a loss and a bit tired of a) the constant pain and b) the non-stop hair fall with 0 regrowth.

Does it seem like there's any sign of infection? It's unlikely, but if you put a reasonable amount of tea tree oil or thyme oil in water or shampoo maybe twice daily it might at least rule out the infection possibility.

I don't think it's infected although I'm not sure (visibly it looks fine, albeit a little pink sometimes), something is attacking my hair follicles with a vengeance I just have no clue what it is. I've done the tea tree oil a bunch of times, both with the essential oil and a carrier as well as in shampoo. My scalp is insanely sensitive to anything so a lot of times I'm in the worst pain after I shampoo. I've taken to only shampooing every few days. Thanks for the advice though, I'll try it again when I get home.

Burninator wrote:I don't think it's infected although I'm not sure (visibly it looks fine, albeit a little pink sometimes), something is attacking my hair follicles with a vengeance I just have no clue what it is. I've done the tea tree oil a bunch of times, both with the essential oil and a carrier as well as in shampoo. My scalp is insanely sensitive to anything so a lot of times I'm in the worst pain after I shampoo. I've taken to only shampooing every few days. Thanks for the advice though, I'll try it again when I get home.

Totally yeah, I mean it probably ISN'T infection, but that would be an absolutely massive thing to rule out and then we can start getting down to the nitty gritty of what it is.

In my personal experience, my dandruff and inflammation died a horrible death after mixing up some tea tree oil or thyme oil in some water and applying it liberally to my scalp 2-3 times a day. I'd be very interested to hear if that gives any kind of improvement to you after perhaps 2 or 3 days

Will do, I mixed some jojoba oil with tea tree and put it on my scalp. Will goto sleep with it and see how I am in the morning. Then tomorrow I'll rinse and repeat!

5-10 drops iodine in 2oz water, about 1/4 tsp l- lysine
aloe vera gel (the clear kind, not the green banana boat crap)
hydrocortisone cream
last resort Clobetasol propionate cream/shampoo, prescribed by dermatologist

Also I should add I went through something similar when I was 18 and first started losing hair, I don't think it was as bad as yours though. Also you need to follow these plans if you aren't already, and get yourself on the IH regimen. http://healthyfixx.com/getting-started

Burninator wrote:Will do, I mixed some jojoba oil with tea tree and put it on my scalp. Will goto sleep with it and see how I am in the morning. Then tomorrow I'll rinse and repeat!

Since your scalp burns, I'd advise being very careful and sparing with TTO. It is one of the harsher EOs in my opinion. If I were you, my first priority would be first to calm the irritation, and only second to target pathogens. As added examples, dont go about putting cayenne pepper or iodine on your head just yet.

j87x wrote:5-10 drops iodine in 2oz water, about 1/4 tsp l- lysine
aloe vera gel (the clear kind, not the green banana boat crap)
hydrocortisone cream
last resort Clobetasol propionate cream/shampoo, prescribed by dermatologist

I put the Clobetasol Propionate ointment on my head 2x for 2 week as prescribed by my doctor, it "seemed" to help when I did it but my issue remains. :-/

j87x wrote:Also I should add I went through something similar when I was 18 and first started losing hair, I don't think it was as bad as yours though. Also you need to follow these plans if you aren't already, and get yourself on the IH regimen. http://healthyfixx.com/getting-started

Cool, good link thanks. Yeah I'm kinda at the end of that link, Integrated Medicine doctor. He ran all the tests that should hopefully shed some light on what's attacking me and why. That's 2 weeks away though (results) so I can use the link to do some legwork in the meantime.

9rugrats5 wrote:Since your scalp burns, I'd advise being very careful and sparing with TTO. It is one of the harsher EOs in my opinion. If I were you, my first priority would be first to calm the irritation, and only second to target pathogens. As added examples, dont go about putting cayenne pepper or iodine on your head just yet.

That's the tough thing, I don't know how to calm it. No washing (with shampoo, whatever) definitely helps, and the topical steroid is so-so, but I'm about done my 2 week application of that.

So I went to see my Derm today who did my biopsy back in September, he looked over my scalp and said he sees no sign of Alopecia and it has a minimal amount of pinkness which he says is within normal range. I explained to him the mind-blowing pain I am in on a near daily basis, and he said there's no way it's dermatological. I said I've lost 50% of my hair in those areas (which I have) and he says he doesn't see it. I didn't feel like arguing with him about it, although I should of brought pictures to show him. I also asked about Scarring Alopecia which I suspect I might have, but he said that the biopsy came back normal. I think there's a possibility that he biopsied an area that hadn't yet been scarring, I am debating on having another biopsy done in the area with the most visible hair loss to get another diagnosis.

So at the end he said I should see a Neurologist, I think it's more passing the buck since he has no clue what's wrong and since he can't see anything and there was nothing on the biopsy he just doesn't want to bother. So I have an Neurologist appointment this Friday. Has anyone else had these kind of answers from a dermatologist?

I'm also considering going to see Dr. Bernstein in NYC to see what he thinks of my hair issues. He's a hair transplant doctor but he's also a dermatologist with a lot of experience with hair issues. Thoughts? I have my meeting next week with my Integrated Medicine doctor to go over all my results. I find it hard to believe that neurologic pain can cause this much hair loss so quickly. I guess my fear is whatever is causing this pain has irreversibly damaged my hair follicles in the months since it started. :-/

Another one left undiagnosed by health care system. I was in the same waters walking from doctor to doctor all telling me there is nothing wrong me despite having 2 scars on the scalp as well as a little bald area from alopecia areata. All of them are product of unhealthy tissue which can be described as inflammation as product of infection which is probably done by pathogenic load - dont know what neurolog has to do with it. It's there anything you changed in your lifestyle/diet what started triggering it?
I treat it with coconut/emu oil/ rejuveplex/iodine topicals, wash my hair with ACV+salt mixure and brushing my hair regularly to increase the blood flow. I am confident enought to say it i've stoped the progression. If you want to send me your picture of the problem, maybe i will be able to tell more if there are similairties between my and your condition...

Although alopecia areata and scarring alopecia are in minority of balding cases, you are in the right place to dig about it, but your blood and lab works and medical advices are good to be done as well...

another question...

Is your scalp tight as hell and movement of the hair makes the pain?

Beebrox wrote:another question...

Is your scalp tight as hell and movement of the hair makes the pain?

Yeah it seems pretty tight, and wind blowing on the hair kills. The topical steroid I've been putting on it (clobetasol propiate) seems to be helping a bit with the pain, also I find the less I wash it the better off I am. I don't know if washing it dries it out which makes it tighter, who knows.

While your trying to figure out the cause of your issue I would suggest that you do everything and anything thats anti inflammatory
in regards to diet and supplementation and at least that should stop or dramatically slow down the hair from falling.

Losing 50% of hair within 3-4 months is certainly not right, and you must take care to ensure that the rest of the hair don't get brittle with the overuse of all those medications that you'll be prescribed by doctors to calm the burning sensation. If there's no infection on the outer skin, there could be an underlying problem. As you are already seeing a doctor, i'd suggest that you try some natural remedies such as drinking plenty of water, getting enough sleep, massaging your scalp with essential oils and using herbal shampoo/ conditioner only to wash hair. Products containing herbs like He ShouWu or Saw Palmetto can help you fast track your hair growth and relieve the burning sensation. Here's the recipe for a hair growth shampoo - https://youtu.be/FstLYoC5MSE

http://fullheadhair.com/

So yeah went to the Neurologist and she said I have a low seated cerebellum which could be cause the pain I'm having in the upper back of my skull and top, basically saying its neuropathic (which basically makes that area hyper sensitive). Prescribed me gabapentin and topamax, debating on taking them. I know ive lost a substantial portion of my hair where I have the pain even if my gf, barber and derm say I haven't. The neurologist said the pain wouldn't cause hair loss, so if the pain is neuropathic it could possibly be stress causing me to lose hair in the areas where I feel pain. Thoughts anyone?

Burninator wrote:So yeah went to the Neurologist and she said I have a low seated cerebellum which could be cause the pain I'm having in the upper back of my skull and top, basically saying its neuropathic (which basically makes that area hyper sensitive). Prescribed me gabapentin and topamax, debating on taking them. I know ive lost a substantial portion of my hair where I have the pain even if my gf, barber and derm say I haven't. The neurologist said the pain wouldn't cause hair loss, so if the pain is neuropathic it could possibly be stress causing me to lose hair in the areas where I feel pain. Thoughts anyone?

You can manage the pain due increasing blood flow... If the area is too tight to massage causing severe pain, i'd try to relax it with hot/cold therapy - start with hot - not too hot, and end it with cold, handstand - not headstand (you have to be on your hands or hang yourself on your legs, to increase the blood pressure in your scalp), and vibrating massage. If this does not help, i'd sugest you to google on how to treat trichodynia, which is supposed to be caused by some neuropeptide - product of your brain, which goes on your follicle, or something. In this case natural depression treatment combat may be helpful. I sugest you search on the forum to see how to treat depression naturally, starting with sunshine and b12 vitamine. If many person see the problem in your head instead on yourhead i think you have problems with both and should treat it both ways.

Hope you find something useful.

So I've been diagnosed with Lyme Disease, came back with 2 positive strains and two indeterminate (need 3 to officially test positive). But since I have a lot of the symptoms of Lyme he's treating me for it. On Biaxin and Ceftin 2xday. My hair is still shedding like mad (even before going on antibiotics), but I'm hoping it cures me of the pain. If it's not that I'm thinking it's scarring alopecia, only thing I can think of that's this insanely rapid and doesn't cause any other hair to grow. Right now it just falls out and never comes back, no miniaturization, just *poof* gone. The top of my head where my part is is very very very sparse, I can see the scalp. The left side of the part is fine (towards the outside of the head), the right side is substantially thinner. It's just mind-blowing how fast the hair loss is.

use google search for this site, you will find many useful info about lyme.

Burninator- I posted in one of your older threads, I don't know if you've read it. I'm a 30 yr old woman, but I'm going through the same thing you are. Started about a month and a half ago with non-stop burn and I immediately noticed a ridiculous amount of hair shedding. Came out of nowhere and is pretty much isolated to the center of my head from front to back (no pain on the sides). I've been put through the same motions as you basically. My regular doctor was stumped and put me on neurontin for the time being because she thinks it's neurological. The neurontin is helping keep the pain at bay but I still have mild burning. I've been taking fish oil 3x/day for the last 2 weeks as well and I think that's helping with the burn a little too. Doc suggested I see a derm. I finally saw them yesterday- 2 different derms couldn't give me any answers. Like yours, my scalp is a little pink, but it's very light and I could "just have a sensitive scalp." They could see some new growth and said it didn't look like I had any scarring. I asked about doing a biopsy and they advised against it saying that it's essentially just magnifying what they're looking at and they don't see anything on my scalp right now that would benefit from a biopsy. Oh and then there's the old "you could try Rogaine!" I said... are you serious??? Rogaine... a chemical... on my BURNING scalp? Sure, let me get right on that Anyways, I'm supposed to be seeing a neurologist still but haven't yet scheduled. Was it the neurologist that found the lyme? Did something show up in your blood results? Did the neuro say that could be the cause of your burning scalp and excessive shedding? I am getting more blood work done this weekend. I had it done back in March and it showed both my B12 and Iron on the low side of normal... but that was before the burning started plaguing me on a daly basis.

Oh wow.

I just posted in your other thread saying that what you have may be Lyme disease.... now I'm thinking the same... here's what I posted:

"Ok, Burninator... I've finally found someone in the same situation as me. Time to compare notes:

I'm 23. I moved to Asia from America last year with my girlfriend of 3-years at the time. When we arrived in Asia she decided it wasn't for her, broke up with me, and moved back to America. I stayed, completely lost in translation.

My life for about 6 or so months was an intense stressful mess. Over the past 2-3 years or so I had been suffering from psoriasis, eczema (both skill conditions), intense but livable constant burning scalp, minimal hair loss (thought mpb), joint problems, and brain fog. After moving to Asia and all the related stress these things have jumped into overdrive!! My hair is falling out so rapidly this year that I can see my scalp in mirrors in dark lighting. It's falling out all over, and to boot, it burns like FIRE! I've never experienced a pain so constantly excruciating. affraid

For about 5-7 months I've been visiting doctors, reading online forums, trying random drugs, and everything else under the sun in attempts to right my quickly crumbling life.

Recently I found out how to return the horrible intense scalp pain back into something dull and manageable (almost unnoticeable), and that is through a supplement called "Saw Palmetto". I tried SP just a chance and as it turns out, my inflammation was significantly reduced! However, there was one big draw back: while I could manage the pain, my hair loss was accelerated.

Yesterday, in a daily scour for answers, I came across two women sharing my and your burning scalp problems. Their answer was both the same: Lyme Disease. I'm currently looking into this, since it's an infection can have for years without realizing it.

Please, please let me know if you find any answers on your end. In turn, I'll also keep you updated."

Thanks, I'm going to request a test soon as possible, but it may be too late for me. =(

Burninator, when i feel inflammation, here's what i do... I make sure my window is open so that plenty of oxygen is circulating in my bedroom. Oxygen in the blood restores alkalinity, and the inflammation - largely caused by metabolic / respiratory acidosis - begins to wane.

Secondly, I lay on my back. I have no idea why, but when I lay on my back, inflammation seems to disappear, yet if I lay on my sides, the inflammation continues (try this technique and see if this works).

Thirdly, since increasing my complex carbs intake, i.e., pasta, potatoes, rice, bread, the inflammation in my scalp has completely disappeared, whereas before this my scalp continued to feel inflamed. Glycogen is full of oxygen and therefore assists cells in metabolizing it. The more oxygen to cells, the less respiratory acidosis, and therefore less inflammation.

Fourthly, lower the amount of times you masturbate. Excessive masturbating increases DHT levels, and I believe this causes the hormone to build up in the scalp.

Try these things and see if they work for you, as they do for me.

Good luck