is t3 causing my hair loss

[marlow7]

Hi.I have been taking T3 for the past 13 years and doing great on it. Before the T3 I was bedridden for 5 years after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia.Then I met Dr P who set me on the right track. T3 has enabled me to go back to work and have a life again. In the past 3 weeks I have lost 70 % of the hair on my head and have 3 bald patches .Does anyone think it could the T3? I know my GP will blame the T3 as he is against me taking it even though it has been so beneficial to me. I have no other symptoms of being over medicated. My heart rate and body temperature are normal. I do already have an auto immune disease so it could be that I have just developed another auto immune disease like alopecia. I really don’t want it to be the T3 as it has benefited me so much. I can not get to see a dermatologist for six months as there is a huge waiting list to see one in my area.

[Baobabs]

What is your ferritin level like? The introduction of T3 has not affected my hair quality/growth but much improved ferritin levels over the last 18 months through supplementation has improved my hair quality and mass significantly. Perhaps post your thyroid hormone levels and vits/mins especially ferritin, folate, B12 and vit D. If T3 is implicated then someone more experienced will respond.

[Huxley2017]

It is listed as a side effect

[ShootingStars]

That must be very devastating to so suddenly lose so much hair! I am so sorry you are going through this. What are your current FT3, FT4, TSH, plus TG and TPO antibodies? Knowing where your complete thyroid bloods are, plus iron deficiency panel, B12, folate, and vitamin D could reveal the clue to your hair loss.

A few months ago I experienced my first ever hair loss ever after being diagnosed with Hashi's years ago. It was completely alarming! I have always maintained my FT3 and FT4 at levels where I have no symptoms: half way between 50% and 75% for FT4, and just under 75% for FT3. I had been taking 88 mcg T4 and 15 mcg T3, but because of a sudden addition of two hypo symptoms: really bad brain fog every morning and a few days a week sudden sleepiness, I had increased my T3 up to 25 mcg.

I knew that my high antibodies had more than doubled at the time, which was caused by exposure to a toxin. My thyroid levels were slow to respond to these very high antibodies and they were still optimal. This is when the intense a.m. brain fog and sudden sleepiness a few days a week started. At my next 6 week bloods, my FT3 and FT4 had gone from optimal for me and where I had no hypo symptoms, to falling to under 25% and eventually having three symptoms. This is when my hair loss suddenly started. I increased T4 from 88 mcg to 100 mcg. My next bloods showed T4 that my FT4 had not changed and my FT3 had only barely increased. So I increased my T4 a second time from 100 to 125 mcg. This time my hair loss subsided a bit but my sleepiness increased. My brain fog became intense and an all day event. I couldn't form complete thoughts, couldn't write properly, I was very forgetful, and I felt mush brained. The frustration left me in tears a few times! Every single day my I would abruptly become so sleepy I could not keep my eyes open. After that, I increased my T4 a second time to from 125 mcg, to 150 mcg. I also dropped my FT3 back down from 25 mcg to my previous 15 mcg, where I had no hair loss. Within three days I was back to my old self, no long fighting to keep my eyes open all day, brain fog was gone and my hair loss completely stopped. I have not retested my bloods yet, but I will soon.

Like what Huxley2017 said about T3 causing hair loss, it's possible that my increase of T3 from 15 mcg to 25 mcg was too much for me and it caused my hair loss. My FT3 and FT4 have both been that low before and I never had any hair loss. But this disease is so unpredictable and it does whatever it wants. So over an 18-20 week period, I went 88 mcg T4 up to 150 mcg, and decreased my T3 from 25 mcg, back down to 15 mcg. I know that that sounds like an awful lot of a T4 increase in a short time, but I had no choice. I have had no adverse symptoms, only positive ones. My bloods and my symptoms supported the need for such an increase. I could not go on being non-functional with such low levels of FT4.

Do you have any other symptoms besides hair loss, and are you only taking T3 or are you also taking T4?

[jgelliss]

marlow7

Have you recently checked your Iron /Ferritin levels ? If your supplementing with Selenium it may in some cause hair loss . High T3 doses by some can cause hair loss too .

[Angel_of_the_North]

Sometimes you get a higher turn over of cells (including hair) after starting thyroid hormone replacement, but it usually grows back when dose is optimal and vitamins are good.

[marlow7]

Hi everyone. I have just got my blood results though this morning. Although my dermatologist has not sent them all to me, there is no mention of my thyroid, iron, or sex hormones. I will have to speak to her about it when I see her in 3 months time. This is what she has sent me. Kidney function normal, liver function normal. Ferritin 37.1 [it was 59.3 in April] Folate 4.7, vitamin D 68, b12 439

I have read somewhere that for hair growth ferritin needs to be at least 70? I have been to my local health food shop for supplements

My dermatologist does not think it has anything to do with the T3, although I have been reducing it. I am now down from 62.5 to 37.5 mcg but my symptoms are returning, like pain and weakness in my muscles, fatigue, brain fog and digestive problems. I do not think I can reduce it by any more.

My hair is still falling out. I have 3 bald patches and have lost about 70 % of my hair. My Dermatologist thinks it probably alopecia areata. She says there is no point in doing an auto immune test as I already have an auto immune disease.

I am totally devastated by this, I have fought so many illnesses for such a long time that this feels like the straw that broke the camels back. I already have many issues regarding how I view myself as a woman due to having Lichen sclerosus since the age of 5 years old. I grew my hair waist length so I could feel more feminine and now I have lost that too.

Once again, all your thoughts and opinions are more than welcome and thank you for all your input into my last post