June 6 2006, 11:35 am PT | Posted in: Hair Loss Causes
Hi Dr. Rassman. I am male, 34 years old. I have suffered a lot from stress from work for about five years now. I’ve felt a tingling sensation on the top front part of my head when I’m stressed or anxious, and this is the same area where I’ve noticed some balding (I think this is called Telogen Effluvium). Lately I don’t feel that much stress because I’ve been relaxing more and exercising. If I start using minoxidil, will this affect my hair in a negative way when I stop using it, or should I just try to relax more and let my hair re-grow on it’s own?
Thank you very much.
Stress does strange things. Tingling, hmmm? Maybe. Relaxation is good and learning to manage stress is critical for your health. People who do not manage stress well may get hair loss in those that are genetically prone to it, but more importantly stress produces heart disease and other problems basic to your overall body health. Learning to manage the stress is critical.
With regard to your hair loss, I doubt that anyone can answer your question without knowing your situation is from an examination of your scalp. I would map your scalp for miniaturization and get a diagnosis before using any medication.
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I’ve been experiecing the same thing. I wish I could speak to the orginal poster to find out what came of it. I thought I was just imagining things.
I’ve got the same exact thing, although I’m not completely sure it’s caused by stress - although it gets noticebly bad when I have anxiety or I’m upset. I’ve been to two neurologists and two dermatologists, and I’ve had my internist do blood tests to check hormone levels. It started one day. I know the exact day and time it started. It was 7 months ago. It is so distracting and so ‘real’ I feel it all day long most of the time. It’s like someones tugging on my head or someones blowing a fan on my head. I have absolutley no family history of hair loss. The neurologists all think it’s related to migraines/headaches/nervous system. Sure it is, but it is most certaintly related to hair loss in my case. There is no two ways about it. My hair is like a dried out christmas tree. It’s thin, week color, and is just not even close to how it looked my entire life until 7 months ago (I’m 34). Most of the doctors don’t really listen to me becuase I look healthy and I still have a decent amount of hair (although it’s falling out, thinning, and disappearing fast). When it first started it was a tingling and numbness on the very top/back of my head about the size of a large egg shaped area. I had an MRI on my brain to rule that out and then started taking a madication called Keppra (prescribed by neurologist). It seemed to stop the incesent tingling feeling on my head for a couple weeks but then it stopped working. After the firt 3-4 months the feeling has changed from more of a tingling feeling to more of a pressure feeling like someone is touching my head and/or blowing a fan on my head. The area is so hypersensitive that if someone touches it I instinctively slap there hand away. The area also has started to move around from a very specific area on the top of my head and has shifted to different areas around the top of my head - currently as I type this it’s so bad I can’t even concentrate, it’s just forward and a little left of the apex of my head. I’ve just been prescribed Nortriptiline by my dermatologist to see if it helps the sensation. I have no idea what’s causing it but I do know it’s related to hair loss and thinning (either directly or indirectly) becuase the change is so great it’s obvious. I could never see my scalp. Now if I have any hair product in my hair you can see my entire scalp - the hairs are also less than 50% as thick and healthy as 7 monhts ago. My hair is not fallign out in clumps and it does not ‘pull’ out easily but it’s just falling out from all areas at a great rate like dry pine needles.
Next step I’m going to a new internest and doing more blood tests and see if they have any new ideas. I wioll also get a biopsy on my scalp. It guess it could be accelerated pattern baldness but with no family history and such an overwhelming sensation on top of my head there has to be more to it….
I have that feeling at the top and front of my scalp too, precisely where I am balding.
I dont have the tingling etc. but my hair is totally DRY, like a used christmas tree, and falling out. My scalp is flaky and dry, hair brittle and lifeless.
Anyone knows how to solve this, please do email me, thanks.
Chris
It would be nice if the original poster or “Brian C” would give a follow up to what happened in their cases. My case is also similar, 35 years old with no family history of baldness and previously with very thick hair who lost hair suddently as a result of stress. I also have that tingling sensation on the top of my head especially where most of the hair thinning has occurred.
I am still only in month 3 of this, so I am curious what was the outcome of the original poster or “Brian C”.
Thanks
I don’t think that the head is tingling because of hair loss. It is because your stressed out. When you stress out sometime you go into a fight or flight response causing you to have a mini hyperventilation causing tingling sensations in your body. Losing your hair can be stressful which is cause your tingling. My suggestion is to work out (for good circulation witch promotes hair growth) take a sauna and listen to classical music or something relaxing every day. This will solve the tingling and help prolong the the life of the hair you still have. I thought I was losing my hair in my mid twenty’s and had the same response you did. Sometimes your perception of your hair line is distorted because you keep obsessing over it. Just relax and don’t let your hair take over your life. People should like you for who you are not whats happening on top of your head.
Let’s all try to take care of ourselves because we’re no good to anyone stressed and unhappy.
I too get tingling, only one side of my head though…
My relationship causes me a lot of stress and I’m going to stop stressing by doing whatever needs to be done to calm down.
Good Luck everyone.