So I went to see my nurse practitioner for this non-stop hair loss I'm still experiencing 14 months post partum. I wasn't sure if one of the supplements I'm taking was causing it, if it was still a hormonal imbalance caused by pregnancy or if I'm peri-menopausal.
She immediately acknowledged that my hair was thinning so I knew it wasn't me imagining it. I told her my gauge was that I used to loop my ponytail holders around my hair twice - the standard way. But that now, I have to loop them a third time because I have lost that much hair.
She gave me an article about hair loss in women and said that there hasn't been a lot of research about why some women start losing their hair, however, she said in my case, it could be attributed to:
1. Hormonal imbalances from pregnancy - she checked my testosterone level, for example.
2. Insufficient iron or zinc - she put me on supplements. She said I didn't need fatty acids (determined by muscle testing).
3. My wheat allergy. I have always been sensitive to wheat but didn't realize it until during pregnancy it became a full blown allergy - itchy mouth and tongue and mouth ulcers after eating wheat. I cut wheat out entirely during pregnancy and still eat mostly gluten-free. When I eat a little wheat, I can feel it in my mouth starting to itch or I end up with a few cankersores. Turns out a wheat allergy can also cause hair loss.
She had the lab draw a lot of blood to do a total workup on me - results end of week.
On the headache front, she said it was probably the Effexor and recommended some energy work that is supposed to help relieve the side effects of medications or ease allergic reactions. She admitted it sounded kind of "strange" but said results have been good with other patients. I'm happy to try it, especially because she said the other course of action would be changing my meds - but she (and I) did not want to do this because it is working so well for me.
Which leads me to the most important part of my appointment. I asked how hard would it be for me to get off Effexor (37.5 mg dose) at the end of September, the end of my 3 month run. I know how sensitive I am and if I even miss taking my medicine on time, within an hour or so I begin to feel lightheaded and dizzy. She admitted it might be hard and that she would want a good 6 weeks of prepping me with amino acids to help ease the transition.
That said, she also didn't really want to take me off them as we approached winter in Alaska and the endless dark days. She thought it might be better to wait until Spring.
"Won't it be harder to get off them if I'm on them even longer?"
"Yes, but it will be negligible," she said, thinking of the whole picture.
"Should I just stay on them?" I asked. "I just don't want to lose my life again, lose myself again. I'm finally feeling normal and getting my life back. My whole family is happier."
"You don't have to get off of them," she said.
Scary thought. Here I am, so anti-medicine, but honestly considering staying on them if it means I can be myself and have the life that I had before pregnancy (and before miscarriages) because I was just a happier, stable person before the hormones whacked me out. I like being me - the me I know myself to be.
The medicine does not make me spacy or manic or numb. I just feel like I have a positive attitude, like I can cope with things, like I can think clearly, like I have patience. Actually, I do have a positive attitude now, I can cope, think clearly and I'm more patient. That is not to say that I cannot get frustrated or angry or emotional - I can and do. But it isn't over small things. It isn't irrational.
I'm willing to wait and see how I get through the dark winter while on medication. And I'll re-evaluate things in the Spring. That's the best I can do with the information I have.
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