This is the version of the explanation I wish somebody had given me, written down before I forget what confused me. It is about hair shedding, and it is deliberately narrow — everything I am not confident about is marked as such.
What is actually established
This is telogen effluvium and the trigger is the rate of weight loss rather than the molecule. Rapid loss pushes a large fraction of follicles into the resting phase simultaneously; they shed together two to four months later, which is why the shedding starts long after the loss did and why people misattribute the timing. It is self-limiting, and regrowth follows once the rate slows — the follicles are not damaged.
The condition it depends on
Worth adding that protein and iron adequacy affect the severity even though they do not cause it. Slow the rate, hit protein, check ferritin.
The practical version
The timeline that reassures people: trigger, then two to four months of nothing, then shedding for roughly three months, then regrowth. Diffuse thinning is expected; patches are a different diagnosis.
What I am not sure about
What I am after is whether the shedding is the drug or the rate of loss, and when it stops. Happy to be told the question itself is wrong.
CanadaChris said:This is telogen effluvium and the trigger is the rate of weight loss rather than the molecule.
Hair loss update related to hair shedding: I experienced noticeable shedding starting around month 5. My dermatologist confirmed it's telogen effluvium — a stress response to rapid weight loss, NOT the medication directly.
What's helping:
- Biotin 5000mcg daily
- Adequate protein (130g+/day)
- Iron and ferritin levels checked and supplemented
- Collagen peptides 20g daily
- Minoxidil 5% topical (prescribed)
The shedding slowed after 2 months and my hair is now growing back. Temporary but definitely stressful.
CanadaChris said:This is telogen effluvium and the trigger is the rate of weight loss rather than the molecule.
I am going to disagree with the direction of travel here. The thread has converged on the tidiest answer rather than the best-supported one, and those are not the same thing.
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View ResultsThis one has a reasonably settled answer, so here it is. The honest answer is that the effect is real, the magnitude is contested, and the individual variation is larger than either. Those three things can all be true at once, and most arguments here are two people holding different parts of that.
TrialNerd_Beth said:Hair loss update related to hair shedding: I experienced noticeable shedding starting around month 5.
Same experience, arrived at from the opposite direction. The detail I would add is minor and it is already implied above.