MPB Testing

[Orius]

My vertex is balding at an accelerated rate now and it's really freaking me out. I can't hone in on any factor in my life that could be causing it. My diet is pretty solid, except maybe eating too much chicken which I know is a PUFA source. I go to the gym twice a week. I am getting all the metabolic nutrients and co-factors, probably more so than any other time in my life. It seems like the healthier and more robust I get, the faster the baldness accelerates. I'm very tall and lean, but muscular. Mid 30's.

My scalp has really stubborn dermatitis, and has for years. Ketoconazole (Nizoral) has been effective in the past but doesn't seem to work anymore.

My scalp HURTS, especially near the vertex. It's sensitive to the touch. I figure this may be inflammation. I have been trying to read information on scalp fibrosis and calcification, but the information is dense and I'm a little lost.

The hair that I do have is thick and lush. My beard has also gotten a lot thicker in the past few months. One MPD co-pattern that has developed is that my chest is growing a lot more hair and I am even seeing hair on my shoulders. So something's up.

I'm going to get some blood work done to see if that reveals anything.

Things I'm already going to ask for: TSH, free T3, free T4, testosterone (bioavailable and total), estrogen, progesterone, prolactin, DHEA, AM cortisol, iron panel. Anything I should add?

I would get DHT but it's not covered and costs $200. Is it really vital that I get it?

I've read a lot of posts on this site already about how to manage MPB. I know it's a lifestyle. I'm trying in earnest.

My doctor of course recommends finasteride or minoxidil. I am tempted to try minoxidil, but I don't want sudden shedding, and I don't want to rely on a product forever. It also masks the problem.

Any advice would be appreciated. I am trying to come at this from all angles.

 

[tallglass13]

Balding does have a mechanical component. that has been proven. that is why MPB has a pattern , only on the top . the loss is usually symmetrical and even. because the muscles of the perimeter of the scalp are tightening when stressed or for some other reason. this reaction pulls down on the scalp like a drum or a tight sheet on a bed. this cuts blood flow and nutrient to the top of the head, where the tension is the most.
that is why your scalp hurts. find ways to loosen your scalp. focus on massaging the perimeter of your head, not the top.

 

[Runenight201]

I personally think every modern chronic disease and sign of poor health boils down to gut inflammation.

When my gut is happy, my hair shedding is gone and my hair looks really good. When I throw my body out of homeostasis, my hair takes a hit.

Idk if you pay attention to your stomach and the different signals it sends, but I think it could help.

 

[Orius]

Balding does have a mechanical component. that has been proven. that is why MPB has a pattern , only on the top . the loss is usually symmetrical and even. because the muscles of the perimeter of the scalp are tightening when stressed or for some other reason. this reaction pulls down on the scalp like a drum or a tight sheet on a bed. this cuts blood flow and nutrient to the top of the head, where the tension is the most.
that is why your scalp hurts. find ways to loosen your scalp. focus on massaging the perimeter of your head, not the top.

Good tip. My neck is always tight, mostly because of a bed and pillow that are not ergonomic. I'll think about that.

Couldn't scalp inflammation also be caused by hormones, calcification, or dermatitis/yeast?

I personally think every modern chronic disease and sign of poor health boils down to gut inflammation.

When my gut is happy, my hair shedding is gone and my hair looks really good. When I throw my body out of homeostasis, my hair takes a hit.

Idk if you pay attention to your stomach and the different signals it sends, but I think it could help.

I have Crohn's disease, so that would make sense... although I've had Crohn's for years so it doesn't explain the sudden acceleration.

 

[Runenight201]

Good tip. My neck is always tight, mostly because of a bed and pillow that are not ergonomic. I'll think about that.

Couldn't scalp inflammation also be caused by hormones, calcification, or dermatitis/yeast?



I have Crohn's disease, so that would make sense... although I've had Crohn's for years so it doesn't explain the sudden acceleration.

Sometimes we can handle stress until a threshold is reached, and then rapid degeneration occurs.

I bet if you were to cure your Crohn’s you could also stop your hair fall.

 

[rebuke]

Replace all fiber with the carrot salad, and all starches with cane sugar (coca cola). Introduce fruits slowly, avoid ones high in serotonin.

 

[rebuke]

Your Crohns disease maybe a clear indication of the issue.

 

[Orius]

Sometimes we can handle stress until a threshold is reached, and then rapid degeneration occurs.

I bet if you were to cure your Crohn’s you could also stop your hair fall.

Unfortunately there is no cure for Crohn's.

Replace all fiber with the carrot salad, and all starches with cane sugar (coca cola). Introduce fruits slowly, avoid ones high in serotonin.

Carrot salad is something I might be up for, although raw vegetables give me diarrhea usually. Fiber is hard on the colons of people with IBD, but I can try it.

There's no way I'm drinking coca cola :) But I hear you on the sugar.

 

[Runenight201]

Unfortunately there is no cure for Crohn's.



Carrot salad is something I might be up for, although raw vegetables give me diarrhea usually. Fiber is hard on the colons of people with IBD, but I can try it.

There's no way I'm drinking coca cola :) But I hear you on the sugar.

There may be no pharmaceutical cure, but I’m sure people have put it into remission and never had it come back. Vegetable Police did a YouTube video on his chrons where it no longer causes him problems after he went on a 2 week fruit fast. He also was suffering mpb and stopped and reversed it.

He’s all over the place with his diet now however.

 

[Orius]

I believe there's a way but I am running out of time to save my hair and I'm not sure if there's any stop gap measure. Really not wanting to do finasteride.

 

[Runenight201]

It may sound crazy but I’ve heard some remarkable stories about fasting.

I figure if I ever get into an unfixable health crisis I’d probably do a crazy long Jesus 40 day and night fast and pray I come out healed on the other side lol

 

[Orius]

It may sound crazy but I’ve heard some remarkable stories about fasting.

I figure if I ever get into an unfixable health crisis I’d probably do a crazy long Jesus 40 day and night fast and pray I come out healed on the other side lol

Not crazy at all! I'd do the same thing, especially if I had cancer .

 

[foodandtheworld]

Just going off of Danny Roddy's videos "Organizing the Panic", but if you have yet to do your tests, he also mentions Vitamin D (25OHD), total cholesterol, and parathyroid. I thought his videos were pretty well structured and were based on Peat's philosophy:



As for hair loss, I'm just going to give my own experience, since there is a lot of disagreement in this area (is it just chronic and systemic stress, or metabolism, or genetics, or gut inflammation, etc.). But what worked for me, for my own particular situation and history, was drastically increasing my calories. I had been undereating and overexercising for a long time, and I guess I reached some tipping point, which is when the hair started shedding like crazy. I had to stop all physical activity and I had to eat like 5000 calories a day for a while for it to stop (if I were redoing this now, I would have taken more of those calories in honey/white sugar because of how easy they are to digest). I am not saying that will work for you or for everyone and may be even very distressing on some people's already compromised digestive systems. Thankfully I have not shed since then (a little less than a year ago). I also think being deficient in iron also played a role (I know Peat says it's actually not as common as people think, but in my case coming from a basic malnourished state it made sense).

Have you measured your morning temperatures (in the armpit for 10 minutes) and waking pulse, as well as one hour later? The first part is the classic test of hypothyroidism from Broda Barnes and the second measurement is the one Peat additionally suggests to see what is keeping your temperatures up (stress hormones vs thyroid).

 

[jacob]

I work with a guy in his 40's who has Crohn's. He has the thickest, densest hair of anyone I know over the age of 20. I question the nutrient-deficiency-theory of hair loss every afternoon when I see him sprint across the office to use the restroom.

 

[foodandtheworld]

It's not only nutrient deficiencies, it's metabolism (basal metabolic rate). Anorexics lose their hair often as their metabolism drops (e.g., they can get fat on only a couple hundred calories a day) but can gain it back as they recover and eat normal adult amounts (2000-4000). Now whether that's the same as male pattern baldness is a different question as people tend to think they are totally unrelated (I don't but that's irrelevant for the OP).

 

[charlie]

I have Crohn's disease,

This could be the culprit:
Grant Genereux's Theory Of Vitamin A Toxicity

https://ggenereux.blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/extinguishing-the-fires-of-hell2.pdf

 

[charlie]

Vegetable Police did a YouTube video on his chrons where it no longer causes him problems after he went on a 2 week fruit fast.

+1 for fruit fast with low vitamin A fruits and defeating the acidosis causing the chrohns.

 

[rebuke]

+1 for fruit fast with low vitamin A fruits and defeating the acidosis causing the chrohns.

Ive been meaning to ask, what is the quality of the fruit you eat? Living in Canada myself, I find it implausible to eat fruit even in small amounts, especially the tropical fruits. The quality is that bad.

 

[mangoes]

Not that I’m saying there isn’t a link between gut problems and hair loss, but I also know a guy with Crohn’s who doesn’t have even a hint of recession or thinning.

 

[Zigzag]

Strong broscience ITT. You can't do anything to cure MPB for now.