Hair loss....thyroid or something else

[DoubleM]

Hi, not a frequent poster but try to log on when I can. Looking for a bit of advice. I've been hyper since 2008 and taking meds since to keep it under control. The past year I've been slightly over the upper range for total T3, TSH still <0.01 and total T4 continues to be towards the lower end of the 'normal' range. Anyway I was under a great deal of stress July / Aug as I was going through a redundancy, my T3 levels went up but another unwanted side affect happened. My hair started falling out, 4-5 handfuls every time a brushed it and washed it. I lost about a 1/4 of my hair.

I had an endo appt in October mentioned this and was told hair loss is a symptom of hypo patients and said entirely unrelated to my condition

Cut to this week when I saw the dermatologist for my psoriasis which has also flared up (after the major hair loss) and she was more interested and said I might have low ferritin (sp) and proceeded to take 5 vials of blood to test.

Sorry for the long story but I wanted to check if anyone had similar experience with hair loss and what the outcome was. Bit disappointed with the endo I'm sure they could have suggested testing my iron / ferritin levels. I was also told I was an alpha thalassemia trait carrier last year so think this could be involved with iron levels etc.

Anyone who thinks Thyroid problems are simple are seriously misguided...

thanks for reading

[Clutter]

DoubleM,

Hairloss can be a symptom of hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, under medication and over medication. I had hair loss after I was off T4+T3 for a few weeks on 3 occasions but hair was coming out in clumps when I over medicated and free T3 was over range. Hairloss can also be due to low ferritin &/or low zinc.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

As well as the reasons Clutter has mentioned, hair loss can be caused by stress. My late mother, who was hypothyroid, suffered with hair loss when her partner died, she found it very upsetting as her scalp was very visible, which added to the stress she was already under through losing him.

You r endo is wrong! You actually have a few reasons why you could be experiencing hair loss. Hopefully your blood test will provide some answers.

[Rapunzel]

Hello DoubleM

Low ferritin may cause hairloss. To establish why you're losing your hair is really important; some hairloss can be resolved and reversed - some is only going to worsen. This may help herhairlosshelp.com/home/

A real difficulty is not getting more stressed because your hair is thinning. Whilst you establish the reason(s) for your hairloss, you might want to consider something like this simplywigs.co.uk/catalogue/... which will at least mean one worry less.

I hope that your hairloss is temporary. Don't be tempted by pills or potions, laser combs or helmets - they are all an expensive waste of money. Minoxidil ( Rogaine) will help you to keep your remaining hair but you will have to use it for the rest of your life. You would also have to face the shed you get when you first start using it. It will not help with hair already lost. On top of thyroid problems, this is tough sh*t.

Best to you as you find your way forward - know that you're not on your own x

[DoubleM]

The dermatologist seems to think that my hair is regrowing in the patches she looked at so fingers crossed its temporary. Thanks for your responses, 8 years of thyroid problems and never had hair loss before, this 'condition' continues to surprise me....