Hair loss, thyroid, menopause, HRT!

[Bioluminence]

.i had been diagnosed with borderline thyroid in Feb 2015 but didnt start to medicate until October...i started to take armour and the hair started to shed...after a few months i noticed more and more hair started to shed. At first i wasnt overly concerned as my hair was ALWAYS a THICK glossy curly bouncy mad head of hair....but it was relentless.....i stopped the armour for about 6 weeks to see if it was that but it kept shedding....and shedding and shedding.....i started to take my thiroyd medication seriously in May 2016 after messing about with doses and wondering if it was working...i saw a nutritionist and went gluten free, i started to up my iron, vitmain D, B12, folate, i took ACV, my iron level had dropped to 4 well under range!! but i managed after 18 months to get it to 11.....only to be told by the GP that i was 'in range'....i was broken.....we went private and paid for an iron infusion.....it made a MASSIVE difference to how i felt....but the hair still shed.....i became almost reclusive, i cried ( still do) every day as i watched my glorious head of hair fall away......i lost confidence and became very insular...not wanting to speak to anyone or go out....i was tying scarfs around my head to hide the thinning hair, i didnt feel like me anymore...my hair was always my crowning glory!! i tried a different style, i kept it coloured as the grey made it look thinner! i could see my shiny scalp through the hairs...i felt so ugly ......it was growing long but it was thin so thin....i spent hours crying, i kept the hair that fell out to show people who kept telling me it 'looked' ok...but to me i felt like an alien and what made it worse was the fact that i dont drink or smoke i eat well, i exercise i supplement....i was doing every thing i could and nothing seemed to work and nobody seemed to have any answers....i read and trolled the internet for hours trying to find answers and solutions i bought nearly every shampoo on the market and short of trying to source unicorn tears pretty much every 'wonderpill' on the market

i carried on with the meds and supplements....the doctor told me there was nothing he could do for me...i was borderline menopausal....(if the thyroid test was anything to go by borderline for me meant flipping chronic!)

i went to a private doctor and she prescribed HRT as i was starting to get really bad hot flushes.....i wasnt sleeping as at night i was hot cold hot cold....it was relentless....ive been on HRT for 3 months....the hair loss is beginning to slow down!!!

She told me last week that she was concerned about my latest thyroid test results i said look let ME worry about my thyroid just prescribe the HRT....she wrote to my doctor stating how 'concerned she was'....i got a copy this morning ...but also stated that if it was within his 'remit' could he prescribe the HRT that I'm on....now I'm not sure if the NHS prescribe this particular make....(its bioidentical) the synthetic HRT didn't suit me at all so I'm going to make an appointment to see him....hed asked me last week to make a double apt with him as he's worried about overmedicating.....i said look I'm not overmedicating...stop worrying its all in hand...hes VERY concerned........im not....ive posted my results here and I've upped my game on vitamins and supplements so ill give it another few weeks and illprivate test again...and ask you lot!

I'm currently on 4 grains i knocked back from 5 as i think 5 was too much....im feeling ok, but to be honest i wasnt sure what was menopause or flipping thyroid for a bit!......

its been a miserable gut wrenching, depressing time....ive found myself just managing to get myself together right now t face the world....i work just 2 days a weeks and i am still probably depressed but won't give in to the antidepressants...the docs have tried to push those onto me ...but after spending years on them and then nearly 2 years getting off them I'm not even going to go back there again!!!

so i live each day as it comes....but its thanks to you guys for helping me to get some control back of my own health....its slow its hard but its worth it...i do not trust GPs private or NHS anymore....thanks

[BadHare]

I've been taking HRT that my friend's gynaecologist sister recommends. It's called Angelique. I've had no negative side effects at all, & wish I hadn't suffered for 6 years before I getting it.

I take it in the evening as it seemed to reduce the efficacy of THs, & vice versa, if taken too close together.

Perhaps a different brand of NDT might help.

[rettalee55]

Wow! Your situation sounds so very similar to mine. Early years of the HRT and thyroid supplementation still had me losing hair too. It got a little better over time. I thought I was doing pretty good until my last labs and doctor visit caused him to "tweak" my HRT and increased thyroid med up to 1 full grain. This winter was a nightmare with the hot flashes, heat intolerance, hand tremors, heart palpitations. I thought it was my HRT and increased them myself. That did not work. Then I recently read where the body could build an over increase of thyroid med and change from being hypothyroid to hyperthyroid. Well, starting today I am cutting my thyroid in half and see if that is indeed the problem. Now I am killing my hair with washing everyday because of scalp stinking from sweat! Can't seem to win for losing! Best of luck to you. I know how aggravating all of these "women" issues can be.

[blondpalomino]

Having too much thyroid hormones will also cause hair loss as well as not having enough!

[Katka]

Hair loss sucks. I'm still going through it but stopped stressing so much as it's not helping. I also take vitamins, iron... aminos... Everything but cannot find the way to reverse it. However, I believe it'll get better. It cannot go on like it forever and I refuse to accept it. I'm up my vitamin etc. And positive thinking. I too take bioidentical hormones, I'm 34. I'd never touch synthetic ever. I'm feeling better. Hair loss us moderate but unfortunately not really growth yet. Hopefully soon. Good luck and pls don't stress. Stressed adrenals can also cause hair loss you are making yourself worse. All the best

[FLgirl]

Hi. Thanks for sharing your story. I have read so many posts over the past three years and yours really hit home. My story is almost identical. I was on synthroid for years but after radical hysterectomy including ovaries I went into menopause immediately. Started having hot flashes etc and my thyroid seemed to go wacky too. Have seen approx 7 docs. Currently taking nature thyroid at 1/4 grain am & 1/4 grain afternoon. My hair loss has gone on for 3 years this month. I have lost 3/4 of my hair. Ive been on bioidentical hormones progesterone & estrogen for over 2 years. Absolutely nothing has helped. We've upped and reduced my NT with no help. Had low iron 2 yrs ago & got iron infusion. Felt better within few mos but still no better hair. I've taken every vitamin, mineral, collagen, shampoo under the sun...even did male hair loss drug for 6 mos. No one can help me and have as much as told me that. I'm just wondering if you or anyone out there has found a solution? I know it's my thyroid and no one is helping. I'm so depressed and sad.