The Crypt Keeper’s Blood
So, two things really.
My hair and my period. I'll start with my hair. It's been thinning at an exponential rate since I was in high school. My mom says she's always remembered me having thin hair. She also remembers a large piece of heavy wood falling on my frontal lobe during elementary school.
I've always worn my hair up in a ponytail (Yes, I know it's bad for my hair) in my adult life because the makeup I use to cover my bald spots will only stay in place this way (no, I don't have alopecia). In high school and college I could wear it down, but it never really looked right. If I have my hair down without any makeup in it, I swear I look like the Crypt Keeper from Tales from the Crypt. It just won't stay in place down. It has no weight because it's so thin, so it goes all over the place and tangles easy. Sure it bugs me that I have to wear my hair up everyday. The most annoying question to hear is, "Why don't you ever wear your hair down?" Well, I would if I could, but I can't so I won't.
Doing my hair is the most frustrating part of my day. I started using makeup to cover it when I was around 22. The makeup I use, Toppik, goes everywhere and gets all over everything. If you know of something better, let me know. But I hear they use Toppik in Hollywood. I've asked doctors about my thinning hair, have gotten my thyroid checked, taken hormone panels, and everything always comes back normal. I even looked into a hair transplant with Bosley. The doc there wouldn't touch it. He said my hair is thin all over and they take hair from the back and put it in the front. He said he wasn't going to let me spend $12,000 just to be back there in two years, which I appreciated. He recommended I see and endocrinologist. But I had already seen one.
Which leads to my period. Throughout high school I would constantly bleed. Most people bleed 5-7 days every month. I bled non-stop and if I was lucky, every 3-4 months I would have 5-7 days with no blood. My period would come through full force. I would often skip class because I would constantly stain my clothes. I eventually became anemic from all the blood loss and was always weak and sleepy. One day during the summer between 9th and 10th grade, I swear I was laying in bed and was afraid to fall asleep because I swore I was going to die from blood loss. I didn't think I'd wake up. Some days I'd wake up and it looked like I had given birth.
Finally, sophomore year, my mom took me to the gynecologist and I was put on birth control. That solved the problem. At least put a bandaid on it. Easy fix it seemed. But the doc had no explanation for the constant bleeding and if it was connected to my thinning hair.
I have now been on birth control for over 23 years. I've stopped a few times over the years, but the constant bleeding always comes back. Perhaps I should just have a hysterectomy?
I swear both these things are connected. I used to get depressed about my hair, but have grown comfortable enough to talk about it with people over the past few years. I know I'll need to start wearing a wig soon, but a part of me just wants to shave it all off. I'd need to lose a bit of weight to rock it bald. And the bleeding...well. I'll just have to stay on the pill a bit longer. But I wish there was a solution. Or at least a diagnosis.
One more thing about my hair, It's mainly thinning in the front and on the sides. That's at least where I wear most makeup. I can remember at least two people I have seen that look to have the same issue. But I didn't dare ask them about it at the time. The first person I saw was a younger woman back in 2011 on a plane. I saw her as we were exiting the plane. She looked maybe just a couple years older than me, maybe in her late 20s or early 30s. But her hair was down, with no makeup in it, and she had all the confidence I didn't. She even had a boyfriend, he was cute too. The second lady I saw was at an Al-Anon meeting in 2016. She was older. Maybe in her 50s. Short curly hair, but completely thinned out in the front. My partner at the time told me afterwards, "Yeah, babe. If your hair ever gets like that we're gonna need to get you a wig." Ouch.
Maybe I'm just being petty. But my hair really bothers me. And the bleeding can't be healthy. I've learned to live with both conditions, but if you know of anyone willing to take my case, I'm willing to undergo all tests. As long as my insurance covers most procedures.
Consider this my plea for help.