Hi tealady:
i'm new here so I hope this gets to you even though your note dates back to july.
I'm a 42 year old woman that has also been experiencing female pattern baldness. I have thinning on the top of my head, receding hairline, etc.
I have also experienced several episodes of telogen efluvium throughout my life. Massive hair shedding that goes on for several months. I'm experiencing another episode of it now. It started mid-july and its still going on. Its just awful. I've lost about half my hair at this point. I've experienced it about five times in my life. A lot grows back but its never the same again. It just gets thinner and thinner. Hereditary hair loss runs in my mothers family so I think the telogen affluvium each time accelerates it. (thats my feeling about it.)
thats my awful story. How do I deal with it? Not well at times.Javascript:emoticon('

')i cry, I stare at my thinning hair all the time looking for regrowth. I've spent too much time being unhappy about this throughout my life. Its hard not to be sad. It hurts. Its just hair but its maybe the second or third thing people are noticing about you. Right? I'm going on about myself but I hope that for just a few minutes you feel less alone with this problem. I'm sure you've looked around, but notice how many other women have thinning hair as well. Sadly, it helps me to feel less alone with this problem. Take care.