Bullimia and hair loss

pyrowill

Hi,

Potentially controversial topic I'm starting here, I have been struggling with this eating disorder on off for the last 2 or 3 years. I have my good days and my bad days. But I've really noticed my hair thinning a lot, especially in the last year, I'm 26 so still quite young. I don't think its hereditary in my family but getting pretty close to going to see a doc about it. But only recently I saw that it was one of the symptoms of eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and other types of malnutrition. To be honest I hope so, then as I get this under control hopefully it'll thicken up.

Anyway I thought I'd write this (scary stuff to come out and even talk about for me) to see if any people who have had eating disorders or currently still battling them have had any experience with hair loss, and if so did it return? I want my lovely thick ginger hair back

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way advocating eating disorders in any way, nor do I require or want to turn this into a discussion in how bad it is for your health. I'm well aware of such facts and desperately trying to get it under control. Genuinely just wanting to discuss hair loss associated with such disorders.

Love Will

jehembee

I would go see my doctor about it.

tmauck4472

I have no experiance with this but just wanted to say Good Luck with your journey

pyrowill

Yeah I'm going to see a doctor later this week I think.

pinuplove

Yeah I'm going to see a doctor later this week I think.

I trust you're planning on addressing the bulimia issue when you go. You don't have to fight this on your own. Best of luck

AZnewme

I am no expert, but I do know that proper nutrition affects all parts of our bodies - from our organs, brain and muscles to our hair and nails, Thoughts are with you, I know eating disorders are a very difficult thing to overcome.

theartichoke

I don't have experience with this to share but I've read other topics on MFP about this. Many have experienced the same thing. You can search the forums for those previous topics or "Groups" for eating disorders and find people who understand. I hope you find your answers, that your journey to health begins soon and I wish you the best.

Faye_Anderson

There is a temporary hair loss issue with Bulimia known as telogen effluvium, this is what happened to a close friend of mine, after his Bulimia was "under control" his hair started to grow back about 6-8 months later. Maybe discuss this possibility with your doctor. Good luck xx

AnnyaSB

With hindsight I probably had an ED in my early to mid-20s, although I would have definitely denied it at the time! I did have much thinner hair back then too, but it seems OK now despite the fact that I am now in my 50s and menopausal which can also cause hair thinning and/or loss.

I wish you the very best of luck in your quest to get control over back of your eating habits and, in turn, your life.

skinnylove00

i experienced this when i was anorexic. there is a picture on my profile of my before/after pictures with my thinning hair (it would literally fall out in clumps in the shower). your hair IS thinning because youre not getting enough nutrients, specifically healthy fats. i went to the nutritionist and she said my diet was WAY too lean, and that eating healthy fats (like olives, guacamole, peanut butter, nuts, etc) are ESSENTIAL for keeping your hair in. so incorporate more fats into your diet.

for now though, you probably have some patchy baldness so i reccommend using rogaine (ALONG WITH GETTING RID OF YOUR ED but i know how that works....its really difficult but try to recover ) the rogaine can be bought at cvs, walgreens, or any drugstore and its about $33 for a store brand, 3 month supply. you have to use it twice a day on your scalp and it takes about 4 months for your hair to start growing back. however, your hair isnt going to STAY in unless you eat normally, specifically healthy fats.

be careful, babe. my heart goes out to you, i know its a tough, tough journey!

neverlost

I recently read up on hair loss when dieting and found that if you are not getting enough nutrients, your hair goes into a resting phase and you begin to lose hair. It won't begin to grow back until you get nutrients in you on a regular basis. Besides getting your eating disorder under control, you may want to look into a good multivitamin and some healthy food.

pyrowill

Yeah I forgot to say that I had looked into telogen effluvium and thought it could be that. I guess it's either that or hereditary in which case I best resign my hair and buy some old slippers!

Thanks by the way every one, I have looked at other threads on this, but they seem to rapidly turn into some pretty aggressive responses from some people that seem to think the original poster was supporting or encouraging eating disorders. I guess time will tell.

And to what was said earlier yes I think I'm going to have to talk to the doctor about the eating disorder, otherwise I'm sure he/she will just say, you are losing your hair, we all do, deal with it .

FlaxMilk

Definitely a possible result--all sorts of reasons but the easiest would be the malnourishment involved with not getting enough protein and vitamins that support healthy hair.

V3ggieL0vinGinger

I struggled with anorexia...still have my bad days. I started to lose more hair than normal while it was at it's worst. I also noticed that my hair was getting dry and it completely lost all it's shine. Your hair loss sounds completely normal for someone with an eating disorder.

HungerGame82

I definitely had issues with my hair thinning when I was anorexic but good news...it got better as I got healthy.

mariiarocci

I am in recovery from anorexia with bulimic tendencies and I lost a ton of hair to the point my friends began asking me if I was coloring it lighter (because it looked so much thinner). Now that I'm in treatment and getting steady nutrients I've noticed my hair thickening up again. I also take 5,000 mcg of Biotin daily. It is great for your hair. Best of luck and if you ever need anyone to talk to who can 100% relate to your struggles, I am here.

phoenixoncemore

Hair is reliant on nutrients, so yes bulimia will cause hair loss. It's a non-essential system so your body when experiencing a scarcity will divert nutrients from there to keep it where it really needs. I haven't had an eating disorder but experienced diffuse hair loss due to iron deficiency, which is one of the top causes. Your doc will probably do bloods to check your iro, ferritin (iron stores) and other nutrients.

I was also a hairdresser at the time of my hair loss (I changed career as looking at my thinning hair in the mirror all day everyday was making me obsess and go nuts, also no one wants their hair done by the hairdresser that has no hair of their own!) so I do feel for you. The sooner you can get something sorted the more likely it is that you can get regrowth. However the longer it's left the situation gets worse as the follicles can shut down and stop functioning all together. If you are in the UK and relying on the NHS be prepared for a battle. I encountered a lot of attitude, as it's 'just hair' and you get the distinct impression they can't be bothered as it's a waste of their precious time. Mine did not get treated properly and I never got full regrowth. I had to rely on a lot of my own knowledge to challenge doctors on certain calls unless they have specialised in dermatology or trichology they don't know much about it and sometimes just guess! I don't know what it's like in the US though.

I hope you get the help you need, I know how much it sucks.

As a hairdresser I found changing my parting to cover the thinning on the top helped at the worst points, also backcombing helps to cover areas of your scalp that might show through.

Good luck :flowerforyou:

mmapags

You've gotten lot's of great answers from others. For you, the OP, my thoughts and prayers are with you for recovery. And to all those who are in recovery and have helped here, God bless you!

pyrowill

Thanks very much guys, and yes I am in the UK, I shall see what the NHS will throw my way later this week!

I think it's made worse for me as I've always had quite a red/pink scalp, enough that people always ask if I've got sunburn on it, so as the hair has thinned it looks even more noticeable as my scalp really shows through!

I know my diet (ED aside) is pretty shocking, really lacking a lot of nutrients. I think I will invest in some Multivitamins and supplements, I think VIT D and E are supposed to be quite good?

FitMama2013

I think you've gotten some great responses here on the hair loss and it appears to be directly related. I just want to say I think it's very brave of you to be open and honest here, and I think that's a great step. Being willing to talk to your doctor is another step in the right direction towards recovery. My best friend struggled with bulimia for 10 years, and she's now a healthy and beautiful woman (and you would NEVER guess her past). You will get to that point too - you're doing the right thing. Best wishes on your recovery!!

jsapninz

Hair is actually a good indicator of overall health.

Yes deep stages of eating disorders can lead to hair loss (on your head). This is because your body gives up on what it deems as not life-supporting activities and just spends all its energy on trying to survive and keep your bodily organs functioning. Oddly enough at the same time small patches of hair might grow on your stomach because their body is trying to keep its core warm because it has no fat left to do it with.:sad:


You are destroying your body and are in an extreme situation. Please get help immediately. :flowerforyou:

pyrowill

Oddly enough at the same time small patches of hair might grow on your stomach because their body is trying to keep its core warm because it has no fat left to do it with.

Believe me it has plenty of fat to keep warm!

phoenixoncemore

Thanks very much guys, and yes I am in the UK, I shall see what the NHS will throw my way later this week!

I think it's made worse for me as I've always had quite a red/pink scalp, enough that people always ask if I've got sunburn on it, so as the hair has thinned it looks even more noticeable as my scalp really shows through!

I know my diet (ED aside) is pretty shocking, really lacking a lot of nutrients. I think I will invest in some Multivitamins and supplements, I think VIT D and E are supposed to be quite good?

I maybe wouldn't worry about that until you know what you dealing with. Multi vits are great to stop you going into deficit but once you are in a nutrient deficiency they aren't usually enough to get you out. I was taking about 24 x 100% RDA of iron everyday for about 9 months on the advice of my doctor to get out of my iron deficiency and that got me just to the low end of normal! That being said a multi-vit won't hurt, so if you want to, then go for it.

I had my hair dyed black and red at the time and I cut out the dye, which helped and my natural dark blonde made my scalp less noticable. I also avoided conditioner as I find a lot of my hair comes out when I use it. No scientific explanation for that, there is no reason that it should but personal experience dictated that for me.

I hope you get a nice doctor! My GP guessed (and got it wrong) but when I called him on it got me an appointment with another doctor in the surgery that had specialised in dermatology and she was a big help, so it may be worth asking about that if help doesn't seem forthcoming.

Feel free to add me on here if you want support through this, I wish I'd had someone to talk to about it at the time, so even if you just want to vent at someone by direct message, the offer stands. :flowerforyou:

jsapninz

Oddly enough at the same time small patches of hair might grow on your stomach because their body is trying to keep its core warm because it has no fat left to do it with.

Believe me it has plenty of fat to keep warm!

Although that may be true dear, if you have an eating disorder honestly your judgement can't really be trusted about the state of your body. :frown:

pyrowill

No I recognise the state of my body quite well I think. I was merely pointing out that I'm certainly not losing hair to gain it elsewhere in an effort to keep warm from lack of fat. Thats all

holly1283

There have been some really helpful comments. My daughter was bulimic and is not anymore so be encouraged you can do this. Also, resist coloring your hair or perming it, I don't know if you do or not but when mine was thinning my hairdresser was adamant about that. Mine did come back. I wish you well on your journey.

pyrowill

Thanks very much everyone for your advice and support.

pyrowill

Doctors booked. This'll be interesting....

Skinny_Beans

Hair loss from anorexia, yes, hair loss from bulimia? You're probably still eating enough calories since a characteristic of throwing up is bingeing to make up for it. I was bulimic for a few years, it was more mental than I realized. Wish you'd talk to someone, because honestly this post is just a cry for help.

pyrowill

I do talk to people, this post isn't a cry for help at all, it is nice to talk about it and say how I feel sure. But this is genuinely just about what the title suggests.

But still, thanks for your input.

B21goddess

Yeah I'm going to see a doctor later this week I think.

Im bulimic 20 now and Ive been at it since I was 14 hw-200 lw-100
but anyways I have my bad months and good months. you can message me if you like

but Ive experienced my hair thinning and alot of it fell out when I wasnt really eating anything much or just
throwing EVERYTHING UP.

how many calories do you think you keep in a day.. without throwing up?
I think for your hair to be thinning it would have to be really low.