Hairloss slowing down: Since the ending of 2015 I... - Thyroid UK

Thyroid UK

137,888 members161,704 posts

Hairloss slowing down

blossom5 profile image
11 Replies

Since the ending of 2015 I was experiencing hairloss but did not know what the cause was. In September 2016 I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, I read that hairloss is a symptom of thyroid disease, before I was diagnosed in September my hair came out in handfuls and its thin but mostly at the front. The first doctor I went by told me to take 10mg of carbimazole a day but another doctor told me to take 5mg so I stuck with the 5mg for a month but I was still unwell and decided to take 10 mg a day. Since taking 10mg I am feeling much better and my hairloss has slowed down. The only concern I have is will the hair I lost grow back?

Written by
blossom5 profile image
blossom5
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Read more about...
11 Replies

I think? I only lost eyelashes and I realized last week that I had enough of them to wear mascara again. I did ask my doctor that tho becuase the roots of my dreads were getting thin and I notices I had to bring two together to make one as that make them thinner, and she said yes. So fa4r she has been correct.

blossom5 profile image
blossom5 in reply to

Do you know how long it took for your eyelashes to grow back? I haven't lost my eyelashes but I'm just curious to know about the time period it took for you to notice growth.

in reply to blossom5

around the 5 or 6 month. but at first because I was on a low dose of levo. When we adjusted the level up it was within two months. Some of my symptoms were gone with the starter dosage of .25, but the rest have resolved with the .5 If you are noticing a slow down that's a good sign !

Vikkiod profile image
Vikkiod

Hair loss has been the bain of my life too for the last 2 years. I totally understand the emotional stress it can cause. My best friend is also extreme Hyper and on 5 carb tablets🙄We feel your pain. I am hypothyroid & foolishly thought that as soon as I was on the optimum does (NDT) my hair would suddenly grow back like Rapunzle🙄 I have done everything knowingly possible (I will run through a few shortly) to make sure that all things are in place to allow the luscious locks the best possible environment to sprout. I think I am winning - well the shedding has def stopped - and there are def a few new baby hairs at my hairline....

These are a few things I've put into place which I think are helping. I'm sure others will jump in with other things that might help too

1. A high end multivitamin which includes zinc, magnesium and selenium. I use perfectil plus hair.

2. Vitamin B12 needs to be optimum

3. As does D3 (I was horribly deficient but now replete)

4. Florisene is the Iron supplement recommended to me by a Trichologist (I have been everywhere!). It's supposed to be particularly good for hair growth.

5. Viviscal Professional. The trich gave me this too- crazy expensive at £60 per month but desperate times, desperate measures😕 I think you can only get this from specialist suppliers but you can buy other viviscal supplements online.

6. I have tried a million shampoos and i'm not sure if there's any I can recommend. Maybe I've jumped around too much in dedperation. Just make sure it's free if sulphites (so no Pantene etc) I've settled for watermans Growme which smells ace & seems to have great reviews on Amazon. Bit more expensive but hey ho.

I am feeling optimistic for the first time in ages. I have loads more to add (scalp massage/ hair styling products/ conditioning treatments) but feel like i'm hijacking your post slightly!

So yes! Let's stay optimistic and say our hair can grow back and we must do everything we can to give it a sporting chance. Hope some of this this helps.

Much love & hair growth. X💞

blossom5 profile image
blossom5 in reply to Vikkiod

I'm glad to hear that you're seeing some regrowth.

I do take Hair, skin and nails by Nature's Bounty that has zinc, magnesium and selenium along with other vitamins and 5mg of biotin. I've been taking it for a month now but I was still having shedding I guess that was because of not being on the right dose of carbimazole. So since hair shedding has now slowed down I hope to see some improvement with the hair, skin and nails vitamin.

I recently started taking b12 on my own. The doctor prescribed me ferrous sulfate and folic acid as he said I looked anemic. So I've been on iron tablets 1 a day for about a month and more now.

I stopped using heat and try to use products that are not harmful, I started using Shea Moisture Jamaican black castor oil leave in conditioner.

Thank your for your tips I will try the scalp massages, I bought black seed oil as I heard it is good for hair loss, I haven't used it yet but I will start this week.

jacrjacr profile image
jacrjacr in reply to blossom5

i use that condtioner too and love it and i started using tar shampoo that someone else noted on this site and it seems to be helping a little and i have used it two weeks.......

My doctor told me hair-loss was actually due to regrowth once the carbimazole kicked in i.e. that the hair falling out was actually old hair being pushed out by the new growth now the Graves was under control. I don't believe him though as my eyebrows disappeared for months during my first bout of graves. The good news is that all my hair and eyebrows have now returned glossier than ever after 3 years. Every time I suffer a relapse though it does start to thin which is why you need to seek treatment asap. I an extreme hyper and my standard dose was 40mg carbimazole for months - now down to 5mg maintenance dose. I think just be patient and your hair should return. I also find having it cut regularly and not using any heated hair apparatus helps keep it stronger. I wish you luck and hair growth!

blossom5 profile image
blossom5 in reply to

I don't think I believe him as well, I think when you're on the right dose or close to the right dose of medication the hair loss will slow down or stop. I'm happy to hear that you've seen regrowth, I hope for the same so I'll be patient. I stopped using heat on my hair and try to be gentle with it. Thank you for replying!

Crzygirl profile image
Crzygirl

I've lost almost 2/3 of my long hair over the past year, it really has gotten bad since August & getting worse. I've had EVERY thyroid test run including antibioties & vitamins, hormones. All I have is a slight to mod increased thyroid with diffuse nodules throughout. My endocrinologist has said he's given Armour to some people to see if it helps the symptoms. I'm wondering if anyone has tried this without a diagnosis? I have the symptoms of hypo, except my eyebrows are fine, just a bit slower growing than usual. I also am on a low dose birth control & adderall. I know these meds may also be the cause, but I just feel beyond awful. Exhausted, foggy brain, dry skin etc. The Adderall is the only thing keeping me awake to get through college :( And just last week weaned off the antidepressant Pristiq because it never did a thing. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I now am having food sensitivity testing done soon, I was tested for Celiac and that was negative also. I now feel like I'm just loosing my mind. The Adderall was started in April & the birth control mid June. My hairdresser was the first to notice how thin my hair was in August. I've talked to a trichologist & she's recommended minodixil 5mg topical along with a certain vitamin & a scalp purifier. She hasn't "scoped" my hair yet as I'm away at school. She will be doing this in a few weeks. Dermatologist just said " it could be caused from anything." No help from him.

Feeling lost & alone

blossom5 profile image
blossom5 in reply to Crzygirl

I know how you feel, there are even bald patches at the top of my head but I cover them by pulling my hair back. Sadly I don't have any answers to help you as I don't have answers to even help myself. I'm only 18 and I hate that I'm going through this so early in life, I'm hoping once my thyroid hormone stabilize the hair will grow back 😢. Some symptoms of hyper and hypo are kind of similar. I use to feel awful, just like some of the symptoms you have sometimes couldn't do anything at all because of how weak I was but since I started carbimazole my symptoms went away, except the heart palpitations and hair shedding but it wasn't as bad as before.

Although I think my hair loss is because of my thyroid, I do take iron, b12 and folic acid as my doctor said I looked anemic. Also I take nature's bounty hair, skin and nails I haven't seen any improvements with taking this vitamin but hopefully I will when my thyroid hormone normalizes. Also, be careful with your hair when brushing and washing & don't use heat

Sorry I couldn't be of much help as I don't even know the answer to my hair loss :"(

Crzygirl profile image
Crzygirl

Thanks for trying! It is so maddening not even knowing what is causing all of my symptoms since I'm on various meds. I'm now trying Minoxidil 5% & will be starting a hair/nail vitamin once I feel my stomach can handle it. I also take Deplin for folic acid because I have a gene mutation there, was SLIGHTLY deficient in Vit B so I have an injection once a month for three months, didn't seem to help. Will need bloodwork again. 2 docs have said I "look" like I'm thyroid but every damn test is completely normal. Not having a diagnosis & just thinking I'm crazy is the worst part.

You may also like...

Hairloss

but my hair loss has been unbearable since starting medication and is showing no sign of slowing...

Slow progress getting TSH down

fed up taking a large number of vit/min supplements and am thinking hard about how I can take these...

The effect of T3 on FT4 / hairloss

more energy, but my hair seems to fall out again since i started the T3. My hairloss started on...

low ferritin and hairloss

i have been diagnosed as hypothyroid since december but only started levothyroxine 3 weeks ago. I...

Hypothyroidism and Hairloss. Please Help!

I have been taking Levothyroxine for 8 years and have had no improvement with my hairloss and...