My father died in August after a long and difficult illness, for which I was required to take extended leave from my work and move temporarily out of state. I am 52 years old. After returning, I missed my September menstrual cycle. This is the first menstrual cycle I have missed. At the same time, I began noticing more shedding of hair than normal. I wash my hair every other day and am noticing about 25 hairs in the drain and probably 10-15 others fall out during the course of the day. My hair dresser said she did notice short, 1 inch hairs growing out of my scalp. I don t know if this hair loss is caused by the beginning of peri menopaus or stress? What can I do to prevent more hair loss. I plan to make an appointment with my general practitioner next week.