Hi, can anyone advise regarding female pattern hair loss.
I had a dihydrotesterone test range .21 to 1.03 result normal .31.
The dermotologist thinks i have female pattern hair loss. But i think it looks more like male hair loss so had the above test.
Does anyone ever have a postive blood test result for female hair loss.
My testosterone is low normal.
Vit D, B12 zinc are very good as heigh normal. Ovaries are normal and i haven't inherited it. I also have thyroid problems but even when the thyroid is normal and I feel good my hair loss is still very progressive.
I'm 47 not menapausal. When i have a period my hair line receeds. Only bleed for two days so not heavy blood loss to cause this.
I've tried spirontactone which interferred with the thyroid and increases the hair loss no regrowth.
Tried hrt which made my hair fall out in handfuls so stopped it after four days. Really made a mess if my scalp.
Tried progesterone only pill. Again stunted the loss for maybe a week then hair fell out rapidly again. Again interferred with the thryoid hormone.
Tried t3 and carefully balanced it. Felt great scalp hair loss increased again.
Currently trying saw palmetto 300 daily for three weeks. Again its increasing the scalp shedding. Eyelashs are starting to shed again so it could be starting to effect the hormone balance and thyroid again. Don't know if i should stop taking it.
Used minoxidil for four months. Some improvement but heavy shed first. Had to stop as it made my head and eyebrows numb.
Been totally gluten free for 2 years. This has helped my eyelashes. But not the scalp or brows.
Used rosemary oil which initially helped stop the shed but doesn't seem to working now.
Tried cannabis which i bought at a retailer but i didn't like at all. Really spaced out. I don't think it would have improved the hair growth.
Tried cortisol supplements which improved my eyebrows but made my scalp hair receed. My cortisol was low normal and still low normal.
My scalp was normal two years ago but now i have very visiable thinning and patches. My scalp is terrible in bright day light.
I'm really out of ideas and my scalp itches terrible which apparently isn't suppose to happen with female pattern hair loss.
I have very little leg hair and under arms which I think i need to shaving as just a few strains. Tiny patches of hair loss on my groin which is how i started loosing my eyebrows. Again female pattern hair loss is only suppose to effect the scalp.
Is anyone else experiencing the same with female hair loss.
Thanks for reading.
Written by
Karen154
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I was told I had female pattern hair loss 10 years ago and guess what I still have a full head of hair because it was really my thyroid. If you read my story you might see we were a similar age when this all started. I actually paid £150 to see a dermatologist after my GP recommended I see one because I had extreme hair loss I was losing hundreds a day. Luckily I had thick hair to start with because of the amount I was losing for over 2 years was massive. I would have to sweep up the hairs from the bathroom floor and the vacuum would have be emptied regularly. I had chronic telogen effluvium but the dermatologist said female hair pattern balding and recommended I use Regaine which I purchased. I never got around to using Regaine because I discovered I had hyperthyroid or Graves' Disease both my GP and the private dermatologist had both looked at my TSH and said it was normal even though it was 0.002 and suppressed. Once I got treated my hair loss slowed down and stopped but it took over a year to grow back. Fast forward to 4 years later and my hair starts to fall out again and I know it is my thyroid so I go to my GP begging for treatment he refuses because of NHS guidelines my hair falls out by the hundreds every day which makes me depressed as well as feeling ill. I have hair extension at Lucinda Ellery to hide the baldness it costs me over £800 and I have to have them replaced every 12 weeks. I eventually purchased Thyroid S and self treated and I am now on my second remission. I no longer need hair extensions and I lose about 3 to 10 hairs a day ... yes I still count them. My hair isn't as thick as it once was but someone admired it the other day because I do have it curled into spiral curls at the hairdressers. I am 60 and my hair is dyed blonde and it has always been my best feature so you can imagine the distress losing it caused me. Thyroid disease can make your hair fall out because when the body is under duress that is the first thing that is unnecessary for survival. My nails also dropped off when I was extremely ill or lifted off their nail beds which is a sign of thyroid disease. If you have low Ferritin or low Vitamin D that can also cause hair loss so you need to make sure your Ferritin is over 80 depending what your ranges are and your vitamin D needs to be about a hundred mine was 7 when I was first diagnosed. It sounds to me that you have Thyroid hair loss but you need to have a full Thyroid function blood test which must include TSH, T4 and T3 also get your antibodies tested mine are over 4000 because I have an autoimmune disease called Graves' I also have very thin eyebrows and I have lost the ends of them that is another sign of thyroid disease hair loss as is lack of body hair. Also a itchy scalp can be a sign of thyroid disease mine is itching now but my hair is not falling out. I hope this helps.
Hi, thank you for the in-depth reply. I'll read it properly and update the post. I tested negative for autominue but had part thyroid removal years ago due to tumour. So my thyroid balance isn't great.
I'm sorry to hear you were left to suffer by the NHS. I was going to post my test results tonight but due the new NHS I no longer have access to my medical records. I remember my b12, bit D were heigh normal the last I checked. Ferritin had reached overload but my GP wouldn't test iron and serum transferrin. I tested negative for autoimmune disease but had part thyroid removed years ago.
Why don't you have access to your records and results? I can log into mine and don't have to go the GPs for a print out or discuss them with my GP. This is the law and you are entitled to see your results and medical records.
In your profile you say you have extremely low iron and ferritin
Low ferritin is frequently cause of hairloss
What vitamin supplements do you currently take
Had half thyroidectomy
How much Levothyroxine are you currently taking
What are your most recent blood test results
Do you have Hashimoto's??
For full Thyroid evaluation you need TSH, FT4 and FT3 plus both TPO and TG thyroid antibodies tested. Also EXTREMELY important to test vitamin D, folate, ferritin and B12
Low vitamin levels are extremely common, especially if you have autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto's) diagnosed by raised Thyroid antibodies
Ask GP to test vitamin levels
If in the Uk ....You may need to get full Thyroid testing privately as NHS refuses to test TG antibodies if TPO antibodies are negative
Recommended on here that all thyroid blood tests should ideally be done as early as possible in morning and before eating or drinking anything other than water .
Last dose of Levothyroxine 24 hours prior to blood test. (taking delayed dose immediately after blood draw).
This gives highest TSH, lowest FT4 and most consistent results. (Patient to patient tip, best not mentioned to GP or phlebotomist)
Hi, I can't access the NHS app at the moment to update with blood tests but I have replied to the first post with details I remember. Ferritin levels were very heigh when last checked few weeks back.
You have my sympathies. I am 64 now and my hair started falling out when I was 37. By 43, my menopause was complete so that could have been part of the reason for the hair loss.
At 44, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and prescribed levothyroxine. The endo I saw said my hair would grow back in 6 months to a year.
It continued to fall out. My eyebrows were long gone too, as was my leg and under arm hair. When I was 53, I stopped taking the 100mcg of levothyroxine and put myself onto NDT, working up to 3 grains a day.
My hair continued to fall out.
When I was 54 I could no longer afford the NDT and my GP nor endo would prescribe it so I went back onto levothyroxine.
My hair continued to fall out.
I have tried Minoxidil , other treatments you rub on as well as supplements taken orally meant to curb the problem.
When I was 60 I had my own blood tests done and found out that I have Hashimoto's.
Over the years my TSH, FT4 and FT3 have fluctuated. Even when my FT3 has been in the top half of the range, my hair has still fallen out. My ferritin, iron and vitamin levels and testosterone are all well within range. The only thing that has remained constant is the hair loss.
My hair used to be my crowning glory, waist length when I was younger and naturally blonde. At the front, I am almost bald now. I am so self conscious about it and avoid social situations. The next step for me will be a wig as I am unable to afford the cost of hair extensions and their maintenance of £800 every few weeks.
I hope you find a solution. I have given up ever finding one.
I am so sorry to hear this and I have heard that sometimes thyroid hair loss is not reversible in some cases and think yours might be because the hair cannot keep recycling forever. If you could save up there are some brilliant hair replacements about (toppers) Sarah Vine has hers done at Lucinda Ellery's and the lady who did my hair extensions actually did hers. There are cheaper hairdressers that do hair replacement so please look into it. I remember being too ashamed to go out because I thought I looked bald my husband said I just looked like someone who had thin hair but I knew different and would wear a straw hat in the summer and a beret in the winter.... now I rarely wear a hat.
What sad reading your profile makes. It is so appalling the medical ignorance surrounding thyroid issues and no-one seems to be accountable. Many years ago I went to see a private doctor who had been struck off by the GMC for refusing to toe the NHS line. He was trying to help patients by supporting the use of NDT and for that, they threw him out so he had to make his living seeing patients privately.
The thyroid storm you suffered must have terrifying!
Glad that you sound like you are doing OK now and rejoicing in having hair.
So have I. There's a website which might be helpful. Alopecia UK. It's very depressing watching yourself go under, I know. But we have to stay strong. Personally I think I will opt for a head scarf as it would break my heart to wear a wig.
Have you thought about Lazer, you can buy a Lazer cap and wear them for 30 mins a day. Don't know if it would work but you can check it out on u tube. Think they cost around £500.00 but there are so many come out there I'm not really convinced. I don't think my hair will grow back and the net scarred my scalp.
Hi Karen, thankyou for your reply and for the Lazer cap idea. I know what you mean about getting a wig. Not keen but I have scarves etc and they just look so awful on me however I try to style them.
What I think I will do, is save like crazy and go to a salon which specialises in hair weaves/intralace systems. It isn't cheap but it does definitely work so i 'd know my investment was worthwhile.
As you say, we must stay strong. There are worse problems to have.
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