Anorexia Aftermath: Hairloss and Metabolism

Well I'm 15 and suffered from anorexia for about 6-7 months and have been eating healthy now for about a month, but my hair is coming out by the handfuls. When will this stop? I've started my period again so I'm at a healthy weight and I'm also taking a multivitamin to see if that helps. It's really starting to get thin and I was wondering if it'll stop soon or atleast slow down? Also, does your metabolism bounce back once you're eating enough calories and getting the nutrients that you need?

I don't know about the hair loss, but after my own recovery I'd say it took about 3-ish months for my metabolism to finally normalize.  That was about the amount of time that it took for me to get back up to a healthy, normal weight (about my pre-anorexic weight).  As for the hair loss, I'd talk to a doctor about it, see if he/she has any suggestions.

thanks, I went to the doctor today and the blood results should come in tomorrow.

hmm well i had anorexia for about 5-6 months and ive been eating healthy for about 4 months and my hair has been falling out for about 3 1/2 months. it comes out by the handfulls, and it comes out all the time, and its really thin. and it is still coming out. I got bloodwork done recently too and everything came back normal. and i take a ton of vitamins. And it still comes out.
So i have no idea.

It really depends on how long and how damaging your bout of anorexia was. Also, if you have thicker hair (more hairs on your head, not thicker strands) then this will be less of a problem.

When you think of hair growth, think of finger nails. Say for instance a heavy smoker has yellow, brittle nails. When that smoker completely stops smoking, their nails will begin to grow healthy, but still have the yucky yellow tips.

Now imagine a hair on a scalp. If the root is too damaged, no matter how in good of shape the rest of the hair is, it will come out. I have a black comforter on my bed, and at my worst point of my ED, it was covered in hairs (I have blonde hair, so you can imagine how nasty that looked, lol). But I have fine, thick hair, so you couldn't really tell that I lost any hair. Except for the normal few hairs everyone loses a day, my hair no longer falls out (4 months into recovery). So keep eating, hun, your hair will love you for it. :)

thanks=]I guess I'll just have to come to terms with the fact that there's no quick fix here. On the bright side, I did start eating more back in november so that gives me hope that it should be getting better. Also, I started my period yesterday for the first time in 6 months and boy is it heavy=P so that's a sign that i'm healthier. I think that I'm going to gain maybe another pound or two just to see if that helps. I think that I could deal with this just fine if I could crawl into a hole for 6 months until it got better but since I have to face the world ( bald spots and all) it's going to continue to be an extremely emotional battle for me.....

 Take a vitamin called "Hair, Skin, & Nails" By Futurebiotics. It made my hair start growing in really thick (Lots of new baby hairs) within 3 weeks.

i dont have anorexia but when i lost exessive amounts of weight with diet and exercise, my hair began falling in clumps.  from april 2007 until november 2007 it fell out alotttt.  i went to doctors and got the blood tests....it didnt show anything conclusive.  it has alot to do with your body being shocked, and alot to do with not geting enough nutrients.  but i stopped my diet mid summer and it started slowing down and by november it stopped.  now my hair is growing back in with alot of baby hairs....and your hair will grow back too.  but you have to eat healthy for your body to get a chance.
hope this story alleviates your stress a little bit.  i wish someone would have told me it would stop too...i honestly felt like i was going bald!
ohh...btw take some sort of vitamin too. started to take one a day women's.

This happened to me too so I made an appt with my doctor, and she said to start taking prenatal multivitamins as they have a lot more of...something, than regular vitamins (don't remember exactly what!)

But they work really well for teens.  My hair has stopped falling out since I've been taking them!

My hair is really starting to fall out, too... in fact, I can't stop crying.. and I can't sleep because of it. It's 3 am, but I'm wide awake. =(
My hair only started falling out once I increased my calories and protein (60-100 grams a day from around 20). UGH!

I was never anorexic, but I was dropping a lot a weight about two falls ago because I was running more than usual and training for two marathons. My hair was falling out and thinning quite a bit--the drain in the shower after I was done using it was just so GROSS!

I've since upped my prtein, and am still running, but eating better, I think, and eating more food, more consistently. I am also taking these heavy duty multi-vitamins every day (and have been taking them since last January) and have started taken Biotin--it's this herbal supplement I got at GNC that is supposed to promote healthy skin, hair, and nails.

So I changed a lot of my habits in a year: eating more, eating more protein (I'm a vegetarian, so that was a difficult one for me), taking heavy duty multi-vitamins (not Flinstone chewables or anything, but the real horse-pill deal), and taking Biotin. Also, I think my body is over the initial shock of me running so much, and my weight has stabilized.

In any case, my hair is growing in thicker and sleeker. And it's no longer falling out--my drain in the shower is now nearly hair-free. So *something* worked. Perhaps it was a combination? Also, it took about a year. I know that's not what you want to hear. But it does take awhile.

i can sympathize with you, i know what you're going through. i put myself through an absurd diet for about a year, my hair started falling out in july 2007. i started eating more & gained back about 7 lbs. my period finally came back a week ago and i was sooo happy. it was a signal that the whole mess is over.

my hair fell out by the handfuls for a few months, then it started to get better. now i have a lottt of baby hairs that are about 2 inches thick. and fortunately, from an outsider's point of view, my hair as a whole looks pretty normal.

keep your spirits up, you're not gonna go bald. I felt horrible for months, and would sometimes break out in tears, for fear  that i might go bald.

basically just stick it and be strong for just a few months, and then things will start to look up. eat nuts. eat a vitamin supplement. keep hydrated.

 

be healthy & be positive!! 

now my hair is growing back in with alot of baby hairs

Duuude! I've noticed that in the part of my hair, there are smaller hairs that are sticking up. I thought that I just needed to condition it, but it still stuck up a bit. Then I realized that my hair was growing back! :) (I have thick hair though, so it never looked thin or balding)

I've heard that your hair reflects what you were doing 2 months ago. So basically, if you were really restricting 2 months ago, your hair will be more likely to fall out than if you've just started restricting.
Just keep eating all those calories & eventually your hair will catch up.

Healthnut, I was in the exact same situation about 10 months ago. I had anorexia for about 7 months and once I began to recover my hair started falling out like crazy. It fell for about 3-4 months and then I started getting those little baby hairs growing back. They are actually kind of annoying because when I put my hair up, they used to stick out sideways but now that they have grown a little longer they make some nice sweeping bangs. By the way, congrats on your recovery!

Since your post has the hair loss stopped please help im loosing hope it has been 3 months..how long did it take you?

Hair reflects the state we were in a month to three months previous. Your hair should stop falling out soon, Volleygirl, if you're eating well and providing for your body now. I was losing hair for about three months, and it is now so grown back in I need it cut for the first time in almost half a year! Don't despair. :]

thank you so much for replying....this whole thing has devastated me I even had to come home from college. I was never anorexic but my body went into an anorexic state bc of all my exercise. I dropped alot of weight considering I was 140 pounds at 5 11 and then i dropped to 119. So I can understand why I may be loosing hair. The only thing is my scalp seems to be extremely irritated as well. I dont notice any growth yet. WIll my hair be thin for 2 years bc hair only grows 6 inches per year. I used to have alot of hair fine strands tho, my friends dont notice but my ponytail is almost half the size. I just wish it would slow down. I hate showering too. Its reassuring that others have experienced this too. How long did it take to see regrowth ...did it start right away i dont see any yet :-( i guess ill just try to hang in there bc its putting a huge damper on my life i just need it to stop!!! thanks for replying :-)