I attend the University of California at Irvine. I am currently majoring in Psychology and Social Behavior and ever since I've become so interested in health and saving my hair, I am planning on minoring in Public Health.
I have always been a bit anxious, but never as much as I have become in the past few months since realizing my hair loss. I began taking Levora, a detrimental high androgen index birth control (I found this out after my hair loss had been occurring for a couple of months), in late September of 2008. I was convinced to take it not only for it's main purpose, but for my severe menstrual cramps. Things were going great. My period was coming every four weeks at almost the exact time--11:55am.. ahahah.. I did notice some extra acne, but I thought maybe it was a result of the new cover up I was using. In December I noticed my hairline was less dense and the many baby hairs I've had throughout my life were practically all gone. In January, the noticeable shedding began. 300 hairs after a shower and hairs falling all over my jacket throughout the day. I'd read that discontinuing the pill could extend shedding, but I didn't know if it was TE or if the pill had brought about AGA. I got off of it in mid January and experienced great amounts of shedding into March. Now I only wash my hair twice a week at most and keep it back in a loose bun. Recently I shed a lot of thinner, shorter hairs, and this concerns me. I have an appointment with the dermatologist on Monday and hope to know what's going on. Until then, I have plenty of midterm studying to keep me occupied, but my fingers seem to often wander to the google search and lead me into a three-hour intense research session on hair loss.
I've already seen a psychologist because I couldn't take being afraid to go out and wear my hair down, not wanting to hot tub as much with my friends, not wanting to swim (I have swam competitively all my life, and this has put that to an end), not wanting to exercise because of the dreadful shower and combing I'll have to go through afterwards, sleeping less, dreaming about hair loss, constantly looking at everyone else's hair, and continuously checking that mine is still there. Overall, I'm pretty ridiculous and just not as outgoing. I really hope to overcome it. Hair or no hair. It's just dead pathetic string. Why must it upset us so much?
I have a boyfriend who attends UCLA. We're not extremely serious, but he is my best friend and lover and always tells me, "I would much rather have a bald, confident girl than an insecure girl with long hair." I don't know what I would do without him, my family, my wonderful friends, and the new ones I am beginning to make within this loving community.
