Bald spot symptoms and conditions

I got my Mirena in about 20 months ago and almost immediately my life started going downhill. I got moody, depressed, started gaining weight, my skin broke out in TERRIBLE cystic acne. Then I started having trouble sleeping at night, and was waking up EXHAUSTED every morning. etc etc. At first I blamed job stress. Then poor eating habits. Then poor skincare products, my new apartment...everything but the IUD.

I have Type 1 Diabetes, so I see an endocrinologist regularly and when I went in yesterday to show him this new BALD SPOT on the top of my head, and talk about my random weight gain, despite joining weight watchers and exercising every single day, he started asking me questions and determined that that IUD needed to come OUT. He said if the hormones were affecting my body enough to cause acne, and increase my insulin dose (I went from 10 units a day to 20...a HUGE increase!) then it was most certainly affecting my hormones enough to cause weight gain, hair loss, etc. It even explained why I suddenly needed to get waxed every three weeks instead of every six.

Unfortunately all the literature indicates that removal comes with terrible bleeding, clots, and cramps. I'm going on vacation in less than one month and I'm super bummed that I have to keep it in until I get back from vacation but I'm not going to the most civilized region so I don't want to risk the kinds of horror stories I've been reading while abroad.

I had to re-add my original post as it was deleted.. did not realize that personal information (e-mail) should be put in the post. It has now been 3 days since I have had the Mirena taken out. I feel about a 20% increase in my energy.. My hair is no longer falling out in the areas that I would normally be able to gently touch and pull out about 30-40 hairs..and my skin already is starting to calm down even though that was not really that bothersome to me. I must say that my OB is wrong. It was the Mirena. I did not expect my hair to stop falling out so soon, but I am certainly not complaining. I will continue to monitor and advise through posting so hopefully that will give some High expectations to others who were having the same problem.

I have to say to the ones who are noting that they have not had any problems with Mirena that I too did not have any real issues for over a year. I got it in 4/30/08. Maybe 2 months later I noticed the hair and skin being oily.. was no big deal to me.. felt I could deal with that. Then I noticed fatigue and heart palpitations that I forgot to mention as a side effect (every now and then maybe 5 months later). And then around the same time I noticed my feet tingling and my hands on one occasion turning bright red with my veins bulging.. at that point I started to research Mirena.. read some posts.. but didn't think that was my problem. June of this year is when I noticed and nickel sized bald spot on the right side of my head. Because my hair is long and pretty thick I could Hide it and thought I had better get this out of me. I couldn't right away because I have a high deductible on my insurance. Well I just got it out this past Thursday because I found 2 more spots that could be considered 4 because of the pattern of balding.. so Please pay attention to your body. I do agree with my OB that it is probably not the medication.. I think my body was reacting to having the actual device in it and was recognizing it as a foreign object and was trying to fight it off..causing an autoimmune response. As I mentioned.. my hair is no longer falling out.. the only thing that changed was me taking the Mirena out. Please pay attention to your bodies because I don't think the side effects happen all at once. I am just happy that it seems that it has compromised my hormonal balance and hasn't caused any thyroid issue.. but I have a doctors appointment with my PC to get further testing done just to be sure. If any of my symptoms reappear or my hair begins to fall out again.. I will update. !!

cannot believe how many stories I have read about mirena and hair loss etc..etc.. etc.. I have experienced many of the side effects that everyone is mentioning.. I actually feel I could live with most of them if it weren't for the hair loss. I have had ( copying from other post.. ridiculous right?)Tired all the time ~ Depression ~ Hungry all the time ~ leg cramps ~ HAIR LOSS TO THE POINT OF BALDING IN SEVERAL AREAS ~ oily skin and bad breakouts ~ Mood swings (huge...yelling fits at my husband and the kids) ~ fluttering in uterus~Sore breasts.. I have medium thick hair that is about 10 inches. I noticed a bald spot in June and now have discovered 4-5 others starting. I just had the iud removed today and my OB pretty much tried to convince me that there is no way that the IUD is causing my issues. I have never had any of these issues before. I got the Mirena on 4/30 of 08 and noticed slowly but surely all of the side effects mentioned. My OB told me that the progesterone could not be causing my issues because it is such a small dosage that it would be comparable to spitting in the ocean as far as the amount that is in my blood stream. She said because I am black and 35 that I may have an autoimmune disorder and that I should stop reading blogs. I told her that all of my research wasn't from a blog and that ALOPECIA is a side effect just not mentioned in my pamphlet that I can find. I understand what she is saying and that she is the one that is the dr. but nobody knows my body better than I do.. I am in it!! I have !never had any problems and have been healthy my entire life. There is no history of autoimmune disease in my family. I am going to my primary care doctor.. to have some blood tests done. I think that the mirena has caused an autoimmune response in my body.. it may not necessarily be the progesterone..although I don't rule it out no matter what she says . the progesterone is synthetic and has an androgynous like activity that is similar to testosterone the main thing that causes male pattern baldness. also Mirena is made out of Silicone.. perhaps those of us that are having hair loss are having it due to our body trying to fight off the foreign invader of the IUD itself. I was going to go and have the Paragard inserted.. because i was thinking it may just be the progesterone.. nope... I read that many women are complaining of ACNE and HAIRLOSS even with that because its made out of copper. So with that being said.. not sure what to do.. may have to go back on Yasmin.. didn't seem to have any problems with that.. I really just don't want to risk putting another hormone in my body.. We all need to get together and look into a class action suit because I am tired of being made to feel crazy by doctors.. sometimes what seems to not be possible is .. especially when there are so many women having the same problem. Feel free to e-mail me re: a class action suit.. if they took depo off Mirena needs to come of too. It seems like it has really screwed a lot of peoples system up.. Hopefully I won't find out I know have a thyroid problem etc.. etc..

cannot believe how many stories I have read about mirena and hair loss etc..etc.. etc.. I have experienced many of the side effects that everyone is mentioning.. I actually feel I could live with most of them if it weren't for the hair loss. I have had ( copying from other post.. ridiculous right?)Tired all the time
~ Depression
~ Hungry all the time
~ leg cramps
~ HAIR LOSS TO THE POINT OF BALDING IN SEVERAL AREAS
~ oily skin and bad breakouts
~ Mood swings (huge...yelling fits at my husband and the kids)
~ fluttering in uterus
~Sore breasts..

I have medium thick hair that is about 10 inches. I noticed a bald spot in June and now have discovered 4-5 others starting. I just had the iud removed today and my OB pretty much tried to convince me that there is no way that the IUD is causing my issues. I have never had any of these issues before. I got the Mirena on 4/30 of 08 and noticed slowly but surely all of the side effects mentioned. My OB told me that the progesterone could not be causing my issues because it is such a small dosage that it would be comparable to spitting in the ocean as far as the amount that is in my blood stream. She said because I am black and 35 that I may have an autoimmune disorder and that I should stop reading blogs. I told her that all of my research wasn't from a blog and that ALOPECIA is a side effect just not mentioned in my pamphlet that I can find. I understand what she is saying and that she is the one that is the doctor, but nobody knows my body better than I do.. I am in it!! I have never had any problems and have been healthy my entire life. There is no history of autoimmune disease in my family. I am going to my primary care doctor.. to have some blood tests done. I think that the mirena has caused an autoimmune response in my body.. it may not necessarily be the progesterone..although I don't rule it out no matter what she says . the progesterone is synthetic and has an androgynous like activity that is similar to testosterone the main thing that causes male pattern baldness. also Mirena is made out of Silicone.. perhaps those of us that are having hair loss are having it due to our body trying to fight off the foreign invader of the IUD itself. I was going to go and have the Paragard inserted.. because i was thinking it may just be the progesterone.. nope... I read that many women are complaining of ACNE and HAIRLOSS even with that because its made out of copper. So with that being said.. not sure what to do.. may have to go back on Yasmin.. didn't seem to have any problems with that.. I really just don't want to risk putting another hormone in my body.. We all need to get together and look into a class action suit because I am tired of being made to feel crazy by doctors.. sometimes what seems to not be possible is .. especially when there are so many women having the same problem. Feel free to e-mail me re: a class action suit.. if they took depo off Mirena needs to come of too. It seems like it has really screwed a lot of peoples system up.. Hopefully I won't find out I know have a thyroid problem etc.. etc.. ******e-mail me with Mirena in the subject line!!

hi, i've read through this several times, and it is now 3am and i find myself reading them again.

i was on both effexor and wellbutrin (generic versions of both) for quite some time, but didn't have full-on hair loss like I have now 'til about earlier this year when I was on wellbutrin only and was taking 150 mg twice a day. I got off of it because I have always had thin hair so I started to freak out when I noticed hair loss.

Unfortunately I became so depressed that I simply HAD to get back on it; and made the biggest mistake of my life by going up to the full 400mg dosage of the generic wellbutrin.

It killed me. I have very very very little hair especially on ONE side of my head, the left, and can no longer wear my bangs forward like I used to.

I went to the dermatologist (who I think was pretty bad, actually, because I went in for my HAIR and he didn't even do a strength test by pulling on it or anything!) and he said I had male pattern-ish baldness which is even more disconcerting because I can't hide the hair loss, I have a huge bald spot near the front of my head -- and I'm only a 21-year old female, people! This is beyond depressing, really. I'm beyond angry at my psychiatrist for always always downplaying the hair loss risk. I loathe him for it, in fact. But anyway.

I am going to start on biotin, and probably some prenatal vitamins, and maybe even tail Rx (******).

Thank you for posting your experiences, it has been a huge comfort to me (I wasn't lying when I said I read this thread many many times before and am reading it again now, at 3am!)

I am so grateful to have found this site and to everyone who has posted. My 20-yr-old daughter received her first dose in Feb. 09. About a week later she began feeling extremely fatigued and weak. She was diagnosed with mono even though the mono test came back negative. She recovered from the fatigue and weakness prior to the 2nd shot in late April/early May. Soon after that she began complaining of hair loss. She was diagnosed with alopecia areata and our doctor put her on a different oral birth control pill. Her hair loss has continued, she has a fairly large bald spot on the back of her head just below the crown and her hair is very thin all over, especially just above her forehead. She will NOT be having the 3rd shot. She is starting to get some regrowth just above her forehead, regrowth on the bald spot on the back of her head is much slower. The hardest part is not knowing if or when her hair will regrow. I had not considered Gardisil as a potential cause for this until after I watched the ABC News story on Aug. 18, 09. I hope that all of you girls and young women will fully recover from your symptoms, and thanks to all who have posted here. Sincerely, B. C, Tualatin, OR

Oh yeah - another thing - a couple of weeks ago a friend was putting my hair up and she said, "do you realize you have a bald spot in the back of your head?" I have noticed hair falling out (especially when I'm cooking despite tying it back - ugh). Must go - time to go to eBay to shop for hats :)

I, too, am trying to get off of Lisinopril. I am 49, and 10 lbs over my ideal weight. Went on the drug in December 2008, 2.5 mg a day. Since then, I have been depressed, tired, had a dry cough, sometimes a pounding heart and most recently, I am now losing my hair! And, yes, my bp is normal while on the Lisinopril. I have to say, that while I knew it was making me feel lousy, the hair loss was the last straw of side effects. I went on it at a time of high stress in my life and for now, life is calmer and my bp ranges between 135/80 and 145/90 when I am off it. Thinking of some natural, healthy approaches to lower my bp. Perhaps lose that 10 pounds and get more exercise. It is the worry of a high bp that makes the lisinopril hard to give up. The side effects though tell me it is bad for my body. I appreciate this website and reading about the experiences others are having while on this drug. I am hoping my hair will come back in if I stay off of it. Has anyone else had their hair grow back?

Side Effects: hair loss, mood swings, decline in sex drive, headaches

Thank God for this site! I started taking Yaz around June 2008. I recently decided to stop taking the pill and had a tubal ligation. Around October 2008, I noticed that my hair in the mid-top was thinning. I've always had very thick hair. It could have actually started before then, but I didn't notice it until then. Now, I have a small bald spot in the front of my head which is very hard to cover up. I stopped the pill in April 2009. In addition to hair loss/thinning, my sex drive declined, I was moody, had headaches, extremely tired, and always had an "attitude". I hope the bald spots do not continue.

I FOUND A BALD SPOT ON MY SCALP LIKE A QUARTER SIZE. I WENT TO THE DERMATOLOGIST AND HE GAVE ME 7 SHOTS OF KENALOG, THAT MONTH I GOT A YEAST INFECTION AND VERY SEVERE HEADACHES, NOTICED A CHANGE ON MY EATING HABITS I FEEL LIKE I DON'T GET FULL I JUST WANT TO EAT AND EAT AND I DON'T GET FULL. A MONTH LATER I FOUND ANOTHER BALD SPOT LIKE A DIME SIZE AND THIS TIME HE GAVE ME 3 SHOTS ON THAT SPOT AND TEN ON THE OTHER SPOT. YOU CAN SEE MY HAIR GROWING ON THE BIGGER SPOT BUT SLOWLY.. DOES SOMEONE FEEL THE SAME WAY LIKE ME WITH THE EATING HABITS?

My 15-year-old daughter experienced alopecia (bald patches) after the first injection. We didn't initially connect it to the vaccine. Then, after the second shot, her thick long hair thinned significantly. She will NOT be getting the third injection Gardasil is poison. Anyone else who has experienced hair loss, please post a comment with information on how long it took to come back. She cries daily about this and it breaks my heart.

i had the mirena inserted in sept of 2007 after m son was born. this was a good option for me because i can't remember to take pills regularly, and my OB said that she's seen people gain a ridiculous amount of weight with the shot...but i needed something that was going to be easy for me (and as a plus sized woman already, weight gain isn't an option). THIS was easy,. i had no problems...insertion was easy, bleeding stopped after about 5-6 weeks, and i haven't had a period since a couple months after that!

i was talking to my sitter (close friend of the family) and telling her how my hair has been falling out lately. i had chalked it up to stress at work, but she said her sister in law had the same problem, and that it was a side effect of the mirena. i started to think back, and i've always pulled a few hairs out after a shower, and it's gotten worse in the past year, but the last few months have been insane! i got out of the shower the other day and my hair had parted funny while i was drying it, so i was running my fingers through, and found about a quarter sized bald spot! after further inspection of my head, i found two smaller spots...very thin, but not completely smooth like this big one! i was horrified! and of course it's right on top of my head, just off the center...very difficult to hide unless i wear a ponytail...which then cracks the rest of my hair off! i can't win!

so then searching for other side effects i was unaware of, i find this site and a whole bunch of other stuff i've been experiencing, not relating it to mirena. i have no sex drive, my arms tingle at night (which had me thinking i was becoming diabetic), lack of patience and mood swings (which i blamed on my husband being an idiot), headaches (blamed these on the high blood pressure. why was this prescribed if i have high blood pressure?), leg pains (blamed this on the new shoes)...everything had its own excuse. but putting it all together...it's likely because of mirena!

i have my annual appt tomorrow, where i will be discussing this AT LENGTH with my OB/GYN.

I am 32 years old. For years I have suffered with insomnia. I finally decided to do something about it and get a prescription because I was tired of always being tired in the daytime and not sleeping well at night. Well almost 3 weeks ago I was prescribed with Ambien CR. That 3rd week of taking Ambien I noticed significant hair loss behind my right ear. I now have a bald spot the size of 2 quarters. My hair is continuing to fall out still today and that spot is now enlarging. I made an appointment to my physician and she claimed Ambien has no side effect of hair loss. Strange thing is, I have never experienced any side effect that Ambien reads on the prescription paper from the pharmacist and the pharmacist claims hair loss isn’t a side effect found in research. My memory is well collected and usually when I would take the Ambien CR I would wake up feeling great. Now taking the Ambien allowed me to sleep well relaxed but with 4 hours max and I would wake well alert to start the day. Those 4 hours of rest did feel like an 8-hour rest. So that was the only downfall with sleep using Ambien CR is that I was sleeping enough hours like I should have been. My physician now claims I have Alopecia Aerate because significant hair loss has caused baldness on my head. Blood work was tested for various diagnoses of illnesses and my results came back clear. She referred me to a dermatologist next week to seek help if it's possible for hair growth while I still take Rogain. I find it quit amazing that with in a few weeks of taking Ambien CR that I have experienced patches of baldness. I did stop taking Ambien CR because I strongly believe this Ambien CR is the cause of my hair loses. Me losing my hair have caused me to become depressed. I am very worried and scared that I may loss more hair and that the bald spot will continue to grow larger with extensive hair loss because I took Ambien CR before. I just know that this drug is the cause of my hair loss. I pray that with dermatology help that my hair will stop falling out and grow back. I DO believe hair loss is my side effect of Ambien CR since I experienced no other side effect of this drug.

I THINK WE WERE DUPED!

Is anyone thinking that the drug company knew all of this, and therefore has been marketing specifically to women who have just given birth... this way, the postpartum symptoms are the scapegoat:

bleeding
cramping
hair loss (very common 3 months after.. I believe I lost more than most)
insomnia (very common after delivery due to motherly hormones have
you on high-alert))
No sex drive (because we're either breastfeeding, hormonal, or just feel
fat)
Mood swings (because of our ever-changing post-partum hormones)
depression, crying (must be Post-Partum Depression!)
Joint pain, back pain (we're carrying our new baby around too much)
Bingeing and Food cravings (we're home alone and bored or
breastfeeding)
No sex drive (we are bitchy, unsociable, depressed, feel overweight and have no energy.. I'm surprised they still want to have sex with us?!!)

Wow! I finally have answers to all my questions. I had a baby in 6/08 and 10 weeks later had Mirena Inserted. I only had 5 lbs or less to lose to be back to pre pregnancy weight, all my clothes still fit. Today I am 15 to 20lbs heavier. I have a bald spot on my left temple(Christmas time). I thought that my husband pulled my hair out I woke up and looked in the mirror and couldn't believe it, it didn't look shaved it was out by the roots but it wasn't painful whatsoever or any redness, now I know after reading,on top of that, thinning of the hair.
My vision especially at night is just horrible I cannot see. Dizziness. My moodiness is almost unbearable I am so hateful and stay mad at my husband. I do not get out of bed until around 11 am and don't even feel rested (fortunately my daughter sleeps in late) so I have to force myself to do the bare necessities.
Now the discharge has been around about a month after I had Mirena put in. Like others have said old blood, white non smelly discharge, and I bleed after sex every time it isn't painful but its almost like it hasn't healed.
I do not want to get my tubes tied and I absolutely do not want anything with hormones in it so after more research I'm thinking about getting the Essure Coil as a form of sterilization.

My daughter is 11 years old. In Nov 08 she received her first Gardasil shot, she did okay at first just some very mild tenderness at the injection site. Just two days ago, she was just lounging around the house and a substantial chunk of her hair fell out! Of course she was devastated and I immediately called her pediatrician. The on call doctor did not seem concerned and didn't' provide any useful information so I took to the internet. I found photos of Alopecia Areata that looked EXACTLY like the bald spot on my daughters head, same shape and size. I searched for a couple days and racked my brain trying to figure out what caused this to happen to a healthy, athletic 11 year old, then I found this website. Although none of the other sites even mention hair loss as a side effect to Gardasil, I now realize that it has occurred in many. I am connived it was the Gardasil that caused this.

I was using the NuvaRing for two months before quitting it yesterday. It caused me to have alopecia and now I have a bald spot three inches in diameter. I'm super sensitive to all hormones. I have tried 10 different bc pills in the past 7 years - all with bad results, but never this bad. Not worth losing hair for.

I was on Apri for exactly a week. The first few days, I notice my scalp was burning and itching badly, but didn't had a clue what was going on. Exactly on the 7th day of taking Apri, I went to the mirror to check my scalp, wondering why I feel like someone is torching my head and found a dime size bald spot. I completely stop taking the pills. It has been a month now that I haven't taken any bcp and my bald spot is the size of 2 quarters. And not to mention, I found 3 more dime/nickel size bald spots, hair thinning, and shedding tremendously. I wished that I could have researched a little more and thought twice before I took this bc pills. I had a wonderful one week period free and a month plus more of stress and hair loss.

my 12 year old daughter received 2 shots and we noticed a bald spot on the back of her head. A couple weeks later, it is getting worse, she now has at least 3 bald spots. She has very fine hair and is trying really hard to hide the bald spots, 2 in the front of her scalp. I know this is a result of the Gardasil shot. She will not be getting the 3rd shot. All of the doctors recommend this shot. Its only been out on the market a few short years, and i believe more research is needed. My daughter is to the point of tears every morning trying to fix her hair to cover up the bald spots. A dermatologist has diagnosed her with alopecia areata. There are new spots appearing all the time and I am worried that she will lose all of her hair.

I took prednisone for 6 days ( the pack). Six the first day and five the next till day six I had one pill left. I have never experienced hair loss like this. I have a patch of hair that fell out in a circle the size of a 50 cent piece. I didn't notice it really falling out but noticed a bald spot and I freak out. I came on line to get info about this medication. This drug was ordered for me because I have severe pain in my back due to osteoarthritis, sciatica and back surgery. I was told taking this would help with the inflammation and might relieve some of the pain symptoms. Well, I think the pain would be better then the side effects that I suffer. I had loss of appetite and acne on my face. I feel dizzy and bloated. I pee all the time and seems like i visit the bathroom much more often for other reasons too. I have felt like a crazy lady and have less patience than normal. I hope that this does not last for ever. This is a small amount of the medication. I am sorry for those of you that have experienced a long period of time on this medication. I pray for you that they will find another alternative with less effects to your bodys.

My daughter has been losing her hair (see previous post) and had a full blood workup done, testing for thyroid problems..etc. EVERYTHING came back normal, and her hair is still falling out. She has had 2 of the 3 shots and will NOT have the 3rd. Although I do see re-growth, I do not and will not allow the 3rd shot. I have sent my report to the FDA and will be calling Merck next. This is ridiculous and my heart breaks every time I look at my beautiful little girl. She started high school this year and had to get her hair cut differently just to cover her baldness. Self esteem is shot... and there's nothing that can be done here???? Everyone (including lawyers) seem to turn the other cheek... how sad.

Here is our daughter's story, and believe me the tears are pouring down my face as I am writing this.
Our daughter, who had completed her series of 3 vaccinations has been experiencing considerable hair loss. Her first shot was in May 24, 2007, the second on July 26, 2007 and the third and final on November 27, 2007.
Here are the other specifics....our daughter was 13 turning fourteen.
She has had every blood test imaginable to rule out the obvious which may cause hair loss such as thyroid disease, polycystic ovary disease, diabetes, and the list goes on and on. Everything came back negative. We even have a future appointment scheduled with a rheumatologist this coming November 08. We have seen the Endocrinologist and two dermatologists (a scalp biopsy proved negative to any infection, disease, etc. Granted, she had a typical amount of stress during the school year, as any young teen would, but nothing to cause this. Everyday our daughter says to us, "you should see how much hair fell out in the shower today". She's so afraid to brush or comb it because of the extreme shedding. She literally, to date has half the amount of hair she had one year ago. Let me tell you she had beautiful hair. The hair loss is becoming quite visible at the forward part of her scalp. This has been devastating, hair is everything to a teen. (to anyone this is devastating) We must also mention that her periods have been totally out of whack. She went 6 months at one point without one. It finally came back, but it is so sporadic, getting every two weeks, at times extremely heavy, etc...
She also complains of intermitent dizziness. We are reporting this to Merck today (the Co. who makes this horriffic vaccine), along with the FDA. If anyone else is experiencing anything close to what we are, we all need to pull together and make the public aware of what's happening so we can prevent this from happening to our loved ones.
Please share your experiences. Feel free to write me if someone you know is going through this same tragedy.

I received my first shot of Gardasil in January 2007. It could have started sooner, but about a month later my hairdresser noticed a bald spot in the back of my head. I rushed back to my ObGyn and asked her if the Gardasil could be the cause as nothing else had recently changed. She said that she had not heard of this, but she referred me to a dermatologist. I asked him if my hair loss had anything to do with the Gardasil. He replied that I had Alopecia areata and one thing had nothing to do with the other. He advised that I continue with the Gardasil and that he would start treating me for the alopecia. I wish that I would not have listened. I don't know what would have happened if I had stopped then, but I didn't I proceeded with the treatment to the end now over half of my head is bald!!!
I don't know what to do. I keep going back to the dermatologist for treatments for the alopecia, but it just keeps getting worse.
If anyone has had a similar experience and would like to share or has found some other treatments that work, please post a reply.

Melissa

I received my first Gardasil shot on May 5, 2008 and about two days later I began to notice I was losing a lot of hair. I didn't fret because I had just gotten done taking finals and had been stressed to the max. I figured it was just my body responding to the stress. I have a lot of hair so it didn't phase me one bit. A week progressed and I would lose gobs of hair when I took out my hair band, brushed my hair, washed my hair, dried my hair. Now May 17, 2008, nearly 2 weeks later, my hair is half of what it used to be. I am freaking out. When I say I have lost alot of hair, I mean I can ball up the amount that comes out after a typical shower and it is about the size of a golf ball. I have not introduced anything new in my diet, nothing has changed, and I am not stressed. I am convinced this is due to Gardasil. Has anyone else experienced hair loss? If so, for how long? I am really scared.