Losing more hair by being healthier?

I suspect that the reason my hair has been in bad shape (dry, weak/limp) the last couple of years is due to stress/adrenals/thyroid (e.g. awful sleep patterns, low energy, anxiety, cold feet, weaker muscles, skin healing very slowly, increased sweating etc).
So for the last five days or so I have been losing more hairs than usual.
I've been reading and trying to figure out where to start and last week I bought some supplements. Now I don't know if this is some kind of detox or purge my body is going through or if I'm taking something that doesn't suit me very well, but something is off.

Here's what I'm taking daily:
Source Naturals Magnesium Ascorbate (2-3 g)
Thorne B-complex
Trace Minerals 40,000 volts!
Natural Factors RxOmega-3
A sea salt with kelp (about 200 mcg iodine)

A long with eating a bit more fruits, staying away from sweets, and walking a lot more during the day

The first couple of days I felt nothing. Then the third day I saw probably double the amount of hairs I would see on a regular day, and my scalp started itching like crazy, which usually does not happen that often. The itching along with the increased amount of hairs has been consistent the last five days. I have also been feeling pretty constipated since starting the supplements.
I haven't really seen any improvement in stress management or sleep quality.

Am I doing something wrong here?

too much magnesium?

I don't know, maybe.

I checked cronometer and it looks like I get around 250 mg in my diet on any given day. That, along with the extra 350-400 mg I've been getting the last few days would put me a bit above the RDI.

Shouldn't the magnesium also help with bowel movements? Im more constipated now than before.

Doesn't it take quite a while for minerals to accumulate in the body? It has only been a week after all.

I think constantly stressing about being healthy; am I getting enough of this, should i stay away from that...... Can cause you to lose hair....
Not at all trying to say not to try to be healthy, just don't stress out about it

dennycrane wrote:Shouldn't the magnesium also help with bowel movements? I'm more constipated now than before.

Depends, what form of magnesium you are using? Try to change form, it should help.
From what I've heard, magnesium should be taken like 30-60 minutes before bedtime.

Misirlou wrote:

dennycrane wrote:Shouldn't the magnesium also help with bowel movements? I'm more constipated now than before.

Depends, what form of magnesium you are using? Try to change form, it should help.
From what I've heard, magnesium should be taken like 30-60 minutes before bedtime.

Well I'm not taking a certain magnesium supplement but two of the other supplements contain magnesium.
Magnesium ascorbate in the one and I'm not sure about the form in ConcenTrace.

Still no improvement, and in fact today was the worst hair day I can recall. Saw probably 150 hairs while showering and drying. Never even been close to that before..

I don't know if it's the concentrace, some form of B vitamin or the iodine in the salt that's screwing things up but I just threw all the supplements in the trash.

If this is the line up, there are some things missing....

Beyond that, there are some problems.

I'll just mention a few.

One-week is hardly meaningful in the scope of it all.

Where's the vitamin C?

Where's the other antioxidants?

Most sea salt is not healthy (no ligand, no electrons).

50% of kelp is contaminated (200 mcg okay to start off with, but still small).

Beyond that there might be some other issues. (everyone has different challenges).

I would echo a couple of the things said here already.

You don't really have a dedicated anti-oxidant in that regimen. I would find a couple. I like n-acetyl cysteine, vitamin C, e. cava, quercetin, EGCG. These are all good ones. Forgot to mention curcumin.

Second, cut down on the magnesium. 400 mg daily is sufficient.

Lastly, when you first start replacing things that have been missing, especially minerals (I found this with zinc at first), you'll notice the immune system kick back into gear. I would expect it to subside. But without knowing what the rest of your diet and routine is like from day-to-day its difficult to tell. As far as the state of my scalp, food had the biggest effect, bar none. It could be you are continuing to eat a food your are sensitive to also.

What do the fats in your diet consist of. Do you ever notice flushing?

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I've been away visiting family and I haven't really had any time to respond.

I'm going to write my story and thoughts here.

So I’ve always been a more or less anxious guy. Constantly biting nails, restless legs/muscle twitches, hard time focusing on one task, continuously speculating what other people thought of me; the list goes on. When we would have tests in school or there was a big upcoming party, my sleep quality the couple of nights beforehand would always be worthless. Tossing and turning for hours, wondering how things would turn out and going through different scenarios in my head.  

When I moved away for school the stress increased and I started living a more sedentary lifestyle (hours upon hours with my face jammed into the screen of my laptop). When I began my second year I got a job working in warehouse a couple of nights a week. It was just for a few months during the semesters, then I would have a couple of months off during winter and summer break.

Me being a guy that doesn't handle stress very well, school and doing labor intense work during nights along with terrible diet consisting of sweets, simple carbs, meats and vegetable oils; no doubt messed things up for me. I’m pretty sure I was at a calorie deficit as well as being dehydrated the days I had work. It was also at this time a noticed a change in my hair (diffuse hair loss but no recession, change in texture and the occasional itching episode)

For the first three semesters I somehow managed. My circadian rhythm was messed up, I was stressed out constantly, and I would wake up a couple of times a night, but I powered through. During the end of this semester things got worse and I began experiencing more “symptoms”. I saw more hairs in the shower, got increased sensitive skin (it looks like I threw my face into a bush of stinging nettles after I’m done shaving), muscle weakness, fatigue, easily irritable, wounds and zits very healing slowly, feeling tired and then fine in cycles during the day etc.

My first thought was that I had high levels of cortisol due to the stress, the fact that I kept waking up in the middle of nights and that I was feeling tired in cycles during the day. I was going to order some phosphatidylserine and adaptogens. Then a couple of days ago I read this thing on low cortisol signs

...diarrhea,shakiness, inability to handle stress, having angry outbursts, being emotionally hypersensitive, having difficulty overcoming minor illnesses, body aches, sensitive skin, scalp ache, feeling jittery, clumsiness, confusion, lightheadedness, dark circles beneath the eyes, frequent urination, trouble falling asleep or waking up in the middle of the night and flu-like symptoms

I experience all of the above (not diarrhea). So my adrenals are probably screwed.

Here are the things I’m considering:

Thyroid – I took my temperatures four mornings in a row and the highest I recorded was 97.2 and the lowest 95.5. Cold hand and especially feet just all the time every day since I can remember, cold nose during winter time, tend more towards constipation and hard stools than the other way, shallow breathing, loss of energy, a change in hair texture (seeing some kinked hairs in the drain) very sensitive to cold weather and I think I’ve become less alert and more clumsy lately. I think my thyroid has been slow for a while and that these past two years have put it over the edge.

Now how does weight gain/loss come in play here? Because I have a pretty hard time gaining weight and I think I have a fast metabolism. Two-three hours after a big meal my stomach is already growling and if I don’t eat any food I get irritable and sometimes nauseous.

Estrogen dominance – I have pretty feminine features: small narrow head, big eyes, plump lips, hands and feet on the smaller side and the fact that I’m more prone to anxiety than calmness. I seem to store fat only around my butt and lower abdomen (otherwise low body fat overall). I have slight gyno in my left nipple that I’ve had since I was 13.
Now the sedentary lifestyle along with bad diet and very bad sleep patterns I think may have made things worse by increased my prolactin and the increase in cortisol maybe lowered my testosterone (which may lead to an increase in DHT?).
Because in the last year I’ve become much more emotional and less rational, seen a decrease in seminal volume and my testicles are a bit smaller than before.

Thing is, my libido is still very high and I have no problem with getting erections so I’m not sure tbh.

Liver – Both my parents have had complications with their livers. I don’t think I have any symptoms but my eyes are very often red and cloudy. Sometimes there’s almost a greyish quality to them. I’ve been thinking this may be allergies but it could be low liver function as well?

I’m thinking about getting a supplement but from what I’ve read Milk Thistle increases estrogen, NAC and r-ALA  are not great if you have thyroid problems. Is this true? That leaves me with Liv.52.

I’ve been eating a dannyroddy-ish inspired diet I think lately. Lots of fruit, liver, fish, butter and coconut oil, meat, gelatin and occasionally rice/potatoes. He seems to be geared towards many of the problems I’m experiencing.
All I know is that low carb doesn’t sit well with me and that I’m better off without pasta, bread and vegetable oils.
I have noticed that I can’t handle foods rich in sulfur very well. Cruciferous vegs, eggs or large amounts of meat in one sitting will for sure make me bloated and gassy.
Other than that I sometimes get constipated for a day and my stool tends to be on the harder side. Not sure if that’s a problem.

I am going to try and increase my fat-soluble vitamins and minerals through diet and go with a couple of supplements. Not quite sure which ones though. I’m thinking maybe some bovine products for my adrenals? Along with getting to bed early and waking early and exercise that’s all I can think of for improving them.

I’m thinking I should avoid anything that lowers cortisol for now and try to get a 24-hour cortisol test first. And blood work checking the usual suspects. We’ll see how that goes. Doctors in Sweden are known not to give a s**t unless you literally are falling apart.

I think plain and simple. When you start dropping the stress and eating significantly healthier; your body starts a minor detox depending on your diet. Def notice when I start eating shit... I actually look and feel healthier temporarily. When I eat very healthy I tend to get acne, oily skin, maybe a tad more stressed. It all depends on your genetic predispositions as it relates to flushing toxins.

But I don't know your diet and what you have changed to. Def avoid fried anything and heated oils! If you can increase good quality. If you can juice a little bit (not too much) that helps, removing grains that are widely distributed! A number of other things but I don't have a ton of time for a lengthy response. But stick with healthy if you can. It usually goes away once you find a happy medium.