Did anyone lose hair in WD but have it grow back?

[[wi...]]

I've gotten propecia (bald spots) really noticeable in the last 3 months after being off diazepam.  It's hard for me.  I'm going to be sixty years old next year and wonder if anyone has lost some hair from WD and if it grew back.  This is definitely fast hair loss endnote from aging.  Happened pretty fast.

[[ia...]]

3 hours ago, [[w...] said:

I've gotten propecia (bald spots) really noticeable in the last 3 months after being off diazepam.  It's hard for me.  I'm going to be sixty years old next year and wonder if anyone has lost some hair from WD and if it grew back.  This is definitely fast hair loss endnote from aging.  Happened pretty fast.

@[wi...] Hi Love... This has been a topic that has been top of mind since the start of my taper. 

Yes... I'm losing hair. It is... SO hard to come to terms with. I've always had beautiful thick hair my entire life. My hair is passed my waist. I've worked hard to grow it out and keep it healthy ... and when the taper started... it just started falling out. I was devastated.

I'm still tapering off one benzo so I don't know what it will look like when I jump. But.. I can share a couple things that I *think* have helped. From what I understand, adrenals, produce cortisol. During our taper.. or WDs, this cortisol production goes way up. The cortisol affects 'androgens and testosterone' which, in women, if there is too much (I think... if my research is correct) can attach the hair follicle and cause pattern hair loss. So... I've been researching how to REDUCE the adrenaline/cortisol situation. 

I’ve just started my research in the last couple months, but I noticed that when I would have one cup of coffee (I used to drink three – so my one cup was a REAL TREAT), the adrenaline surges would amp up and become greater. Also when eating sugar and gluten this seemed to mess with my digestion and when my stomach started hurting it appeared that there was MORE hair loss. I can say emphatically when I don’t drink coffee there is less hair loss.

I’m taking ALL the supplements to grow my hair and try to bring ‘blood flow’ to the follicle. Sometimes I worry the affects of WD could be ‘too strong’ to let the supplements do their thing but… I have to try. DM me if you want to connect on the supplements. Happy to share. Sending you so much love.

[[Gr...]]

I am 57 years old I am 11 months off of benzos during months 2-4 I had significant hair loss as well as my hair feeling very stiff almost like straw, and I’ve always had nice hair. after month five my hair stop falling out and up until now the stiffness has left in my hair is slowly, returning. In fact, my wife said that she could notice my hair looking a lot thicker. Looking forward to more healing. I hope this comment helps. I know during my 11 month recovery it’s little words and comments and phrases that kept me going. Please keep me informed on how y’all are doing. 

[[Br...]]

If you enter the phrase "hair loss" in the Search box on upper right of page you'll find many posts about this.

Personally, my normally thick head of hair became significantly thinner during withdrawal.  At four years out it has become thicker.

[[wi...]]

Thank you so much for the support and validation that this is a tough symptom emotionally.  I will keep you guys posted and look forward to following you on our journey. 

A special thanks for sending me love to iamtheoriginalaudigirl

I am so love deprived and it really balms my heart to be seen in this hellacious ordeal!  

 

[[ia...]]

5 hours ago, [[B...] said:

If you enter the phrase "hair loss" in the Search box on upper right of page you'll find many posts about this.

Personally, my normally thick head of hair became significantly thinner during withdrawal.  At four years out it has become thicker.

Really appreciate you sharing the timeline of when your hair grew back. I realy haven't been able to find much information on this. I've read that many people have lost their hair, but not much on WHEN it grows back. It's been really sad to go through this. Thanks for chiming in. 

[[ia...]]

3 hours ago, [[w...] said:

Thank you so much for the support and validation that this is a tough symptom emotionally.  I will keep you guys posted and look forward to following you on our journey. 

A special thanks for sending me love to iamtheoriginalaudigirl

I am so love deprived and it really balms my heart to be seen in this hellacious ordeal!  

You're welcome friend. I know how hard this is. I'll let you know if I find any other helpful suppliments and such to help retain the hair. Stay in touch.

[[He...]]

I had some pretty major hair loss while still on the meds. My body was already very sick from the meds but I didn't know why at the time.  As I reduced the meds, my hair starting filling in again.  I'm 26 months off now and my hair is normal but I think it took about a year from the time the majority of it had fallen out.  I know how miserable and scary it can feel.  Sorry you are going through this. Mine came back and it didn't take forever so that's my experience.  Hang in there.  (By the way, I'm 61 and it grew back)

[[wi...]]

Thank you Helen!  You definitely give me hope!  I avoid looking at myself in the mirror and that alone makes me feel sad.

[[ia...]]

On 8/2/2023 at 2:16 PM, [[H...] said:

I had some pretty major hair loss while still on the meds. My body was already very sick from the meds but I didn't know why at the time.  As I reduced the meds, my hair starting filling in again.  I'm 26 months off now and my hair is normal but I think it took about a year from the time the majority of it had fallen out.  I know how miserable and scary it can feel.  Sorry you are going through this. Mine came back and it didn't take forever so that's my experience.  Hang in there.  (By the way, I'm 61 and it grew back)

This is really helpful to read. Thank you for chiming in! Grateful!

[[Am...]]

Im struggling with this atm as well. My hair looks horrible. I am 8 months from my last dose. Sure, my Doctor says I am healthy, but I dont feel Healthy. And my hair REALLY makes me look unhealthy. It is actually quite maddening. If this brings you any comfort, I too am going through the same thing and I am hoping for a change soon. 

 

[[pi...]]

My hair was awful during withdrawal and recovery. When I finally could make it to the salon my stylist she also noticed it. Yes, it was thinning also, far too much hair in the brush and comb. The good thing is that as I healed, so did my hair. I normally have lots of hair and it all came back healthy and strong.

[[ew...]]

Hi there. I'm totally freaking out about the hair loss. I didn't even think of the benzo wtd/post-wtd (am 2.5 months off), but I figured, "Well...? Maybe check it out?"

I just had a terrible experience at a hair salon, which I'd gone to today because I realized my hair looked a bit thin. I figured cutting in micro bangs and shagging out the rest like I used to have would help cover the recession and make it fuller. Apparently not. The guy didn't even want to work on me. He kept flicking my hair around, saying he didn't think I could do bangs, "You just don't have enough hair..." So I asked him what he /would/ recommend, and he sighed and said, "I don't know...." And when I said, "No problem, I'll try somewhere else," he looked visibly relieved. 

I feel like a total freak, and I thought I was going to have to just shave my head, which is so less acceptable on a woman than a man. (Not that it's fun for a man...) This is my 2nd taper (first was in 2012/2013; failed after almost a year off due to going on an antidepressant that gave me a panic attack that sent me to the ER, where they fed me an ativan that I only a little bit tried to resist; this time, won't touch any other meds). Anyway, I've been crying on/off since that happened earlier today, and I'm hopeful that this is connected to the wtd (recovery? post=wtd?). I can't recall if that happened last time, though I know I was worried about hair loss leading up to the first taper...but then it got better after I discontinued Lamicatal (which the doctors all said couldn't possibly be causing hair loss because it wasn't on the PM...but it was!). 

 

Does anyone have anymore timelines on how long it took for their hair to get better? I've noticed the dry/greasy thing too. It's so static-y, and I'm in Scotland, where it rains all the time. So awful. 

[[Cr...]]

About 6 months to a year after I stopped benzos my hair started to improve. It became a lot fuller and thicker. My hair texture changed for the better too as it wasn't as dry and became more soft and firm.

Stress, medications, deficiencies, inflammation, poor sleep and hormone fluctuations can greatly affect your hair as well as cause the shedding phases to last longer than normal or come earlier.

Even though you have been off for 2 months I wouldn't expect to see changes until your hair has had a chance to do a complete run of the 4 natural hair cycles without the medication in your system. 

In the meantime you can try to rock a shaved look or utilize a bandana. My late fiance was bald for almost our whole 6 year relationship due to chemotherapy and she was still beautiful to me. My girlfriend dealt with alopecia and wore bandanas  when I met her and she still caught my eye as well as heart.

Once you are recovered and about a year out you may find your hair growing back even better than it was pre-benzos. At least that is how it was for me.

Edited June 12 by [Cr...]