(TW Anorexia/Bulimia) Hair falling out while in recovery from an eating disorder???
Hair background info:-Naturally I have 3b/c curly hair, but earlier this year, before my ED, I got it permanently straightened.
-It takes a SUUPER long time for it to grow out
-I've always gotten split ends pretty easily
-My whole life, my hair was so thick, people made fun of me for it. Even after the permanent straightening, it was still quite thick.
ED Background info:
I'm in recovery from an eating disorder, It was very short term (it only lasted approx 4 months before I decided to recover) and I'm doing it on my own. Despite it being so short term, my behaviors were quite extreme (living off under 200 calories a day, highly frequent fasting, hardcore binging and purging, etc.) As a result, I lost my period within a month and a half, and it only came back last week. Within the same time span, my hair slowly started falling out, but even in recovery, I have been eating on average 3000 or 4000 calories a day, I've been going through extreme hunger/hyperphagia, and have been gaining weight really fast, but my hair is falling out even faster... like at least 5 times faster than it did during the ED itself. I have bald spots on my head now and I'm freaking out. I am thinking about getting supplements like biotin, but I'm not even sure if they will work in my situation. Now my hair is literally half or less than half the volume it was before and even during my ED.
And besides, if I'm eating WELL more than enough calories a day, shouldn't my hair stop falling out? everything else seems to be gradually coming back to normal (mental health, period, warmer body temperature, etc) so what's up with the hair? Also, what type of vitamin/mineral supplements should I be taking to slow this down?
And to anyone else who has recovered from an ED- when does the hair loss stop? will it grow back??
EDIT It's been a little over a month since I posted this, but I'm leaving this note for people who might also recover in the future. Finally my hair has stopped falling out, but the new hairs haven't started coming in yet. Also I know this isn't as relevant for hair but for ppl in recovery who see this and worry about their weight, my weight gain has dramatically slowed down as well, and I'm still eating quite a lot. It is highly unlikely that you will end up bald and obese after recovery. Stay committed! Now keep in mind that my recovery has been quite speedy, but others might take a much longer time to heal. Patience is key!
Posted Dec 16, 2018, 11:43 PM UTC · edited