IS IT ME?

[EleanorRigby]

Diagnosed two years ago with under-active thyroid after a hellish year of infections, losing most of my hair, weight gain and various other 'mysterious' symptoms that, according to my doctor, was typical 'menopausal' - strange that - as I had a full hysterectomy including ovaries 22 years ago with immediate surgical menopause... anyway - she knew better it seems. Until my eyebrows disappeared and eyelashes dropped out and I had a meltdown in her office - FINALLY a blood test. Guess what... could have saved the NHS a shed load of money if only this test had been done in the first place. Two years on and I'm now told joint/back pain which is constant - further weight gain - anxiety - brain fog/memory problems - mood swings - ALL IN MY HEAD - here is a leaflet on depression.... and a remark in passing about not being able to up the dose of Thyroxine as 'it will just make you lose more hair'. In the meantime I have had to change job and go part-time as couldn't cope in a fast paced environment. I still can't cope but am forced to work for financial reasons. Thank you NHS for all the 48 years I have worked and contributed to your Christmas Club with no return!

[beh1]

Post your thyroid blood tests with ranges and someone will give you advice. My hair has stopped falling out after a recent increase in Levo, and armed with a bit of knowledge you might be able to understand what to do next.

[puncturedbicycle]

I don't know why they say stuff like this ('you'll lose more hair' etc). You don't want to take too much or too little medication, just the right amount would be great thanks!

Like beh1 my hair came back but only after I added t3. The hair thing seems so individual. My mum takes Armour (which has t3 in it) but her hair remains thin. My t3 was great on levo alone but my hair only responded to adding t3 separately. There is no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to ensure you're on enough levo to make you feel better and see if it restores your hair.

As above, I advise you to post your latest results. It may be obvious what's going wrong.

[jacrjacr]

high cortisol from stress causes hair loss and so many more things....

I took the 4 times a day saliva cortisol test to confirm...avail on amazon

make sure you are getting 8 hours a sleep, staying more calm, taking b complex and c to help deal with stress since stress steals them and make sure your d3 is ok and b12 and ferritin serum......

in balance in hormnes estrogen progesterone dhea and testosterone can cause hair loss as well as dht...

for me I was too low and inbalanced and not converting t4 iput on ndt and addressed all the above...

many times it is many things together....

too much or too little selenium and vit a causing hair loss

I have also found doing a green non gmo drink from a powder alkalizes the body and I mix with a little orange juice and it helps and

I can I wash my hair with tar shampoo every 2 days...if I go longer more hair falls out...

and it takes time 3 months to see results when we make change....bec of the hair cycle...so that is frustrating but don't give up......and many drs just brush you off...I changed drs until I found someone who listened but you can also do a lot of your own research and help yourself a lot...my dr thinks it is stress related and hormone problems being too low....

[EleanorRigby]

OMG! feel like I'm FINALLY not talking to a brick wall!! Thank you all SO MUCH for your very helpful comments and advice.xxx

[humanbean]

All sorts of things contribute to feeling well or ill when hypothyroid. We need a lot of things to be optimal to hang on to hair, not feel depressed, have energy, feel well etc.

The things most of us need to get right are :

Thyroid hormone levels - not just TSH (which is a pituitary hormone not a thyroid hormone) .You also need good levels of Free T4 and Free T3 as well.

Vitamin and mineral levels. Doctors are not trained in nutrition and assume any result in the reference range is fine. Thyroid patients have discovered that levels need to be optimal, not just in range.

Thyroid antibodies - if these are elevated then patients need to work on reducing them. Doctors think they are unimportant, but patients know that high levels make them feel terrible. Doctors won't help with this.

Gut health - this suffers in hypothyroid people. Improving gut health helps in lots of ways, but you'll be on your own with this. Doctors just treat with PPIs usually, but this is poor medicine. There are far, far better ways of helping yourself than suppressing stomach acid for the rest of your life.

Adrenal health, cortisol levels, DHEA levels. These need to be at optimal levels - not too low and not too high. Adrenal health may improve without needing any special treatment if the things mentioned above are worked on and optimised. Doctors are not interested in adrenal health unless a patient has Addison's Disease or Cushing's Disease/Syndrome. So you are on your own with this one as well.

Sadly for us, doctors have been taught for many years that hypothyroidism is a simple disease to treat. Give people Levo, and send them on their way. Do blood tests once a year if you have to. If sufferers complain once TSH is in range then they are clearly depressed hypochondriacs and the problem is in their heads - and the only treatment required is anti-depressants.