Thin/Loss of Hair

[Trillina]

Hi All, what supplement do you take to help with the thinning/losing of the hair?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

Welcome to the group. If you could complete your profile it helps members understand your thyroid journey so far and be able to advise you better. Click on your image icon to start. Fill out the free text box at the top.

Thinning hair can be either too low dose of Levo, not converting T4 to T3, also low iron or ferritin. Suggest you get some full thyroid & vitamin testing to find out the cause of your hair loss.

Do you have a copy of your latest blood results that you can share with us? You are legally entitled to a printed copy of your results, ask at GP reception. In England you can get the NHS app and ask for permission to see your blood results on that by asking at GP’s reception.

When hypo we get low stomach acid which means we cannot absorb vitamins well from our food, regardless of a great diet. For thyroid hormone to work well we need OPTIMAL levels of vitamins.

Have you recently or could you ask your GP to test levels of ferritin, folate, B12 & D3? Private tests are available, see link for companies offering private blood tests & discount codes, some offer a blood draw service at an extra cost. thyroiduk.org/testing/priva...

There is also a new company offering walk in& mail order blood tests in London, Kent, Sussex & Surrey areas. Check to see if there is a blood test company near you. onedaytests.com/products/ul...

Only do private tests on a Monday or Tuesday to avoid postal delays.

It's ideal if you can always get the same brand of levo at every prescription. You can do this by getting GP to write the brand you prefer in the first line of the prescription. Many people find that different brands are not interchangeable.

Always take Levo on an empty stomach an hour away from food or caffeine containing drinks & other meds. Many people find taking it at bedtime works well for them.

Do you know if you had positive thyroid antibodies? Many with autoimmune thyroid disease aka Hashimoto's benefit from a gluten free diet. A smaller percentage of those also need to remove dairy from their diet to feel well. These are intolerances and will not show up on any blood test.

Do you do tests as per the protocol recommended here?

Recommended blood test protocol: Test at 9am (or as close as possible), fasting, last levo dose 24hrs before the blood draw & no biotin containing supplements for 3-7 days (Biotin can interfere with thyroid blood results as it is used in the testing process).

Testing like this gives consistency in your results and will show stable blood levels of hormone and highest TSH which varies throughout the day. Taking Levo/T3 just prior to blood draw can show a falsely elevated result and your GP/Endo might change your dose incorrectly as a result.

[Trillina in reply to Jaydee1507]

Thank you I will try to complete the profile. I had a toxic nodule on the left of my thyroid, it was big and was making my thyroid very overactive. I had the surgery to remove half of the thyroid in May and have been on Thyroxine since July. My endocrinologist has now increased the dose to 100x4 days a week and 75x3 days a week. I have started taking biotin and collagen hoping that it will help...

[Jaydee1507 Administrator in reply to Trillina]

So next steps:

post your blood results for members comments

post vitamin results for members comments.

book a private blood test if needed.

[Bluesadawg]

I read biotin can help with hair loss, but avoid taking it for a while before thyroid blood tests asit can affect the results. Sorry I forget how long, i’m pretty sure 3-4 days, not quite as long as a week

[Jodypody]

rosemary oil is in B&M at the moment as a scalp serum and there’s shampoo etc too. I lost around a 1/3 of my hair due to under medication and if you do have the budget the spendy one is Champo which has got rid of my bald patches and definitely got me back to where I was

[KiwiBird218 in reply to Jodypody]

Hi Jody, I've heard mixed things about Champo. What product have you found best for hair loss?

[Jodypody in reply to KiwiBird218]

Definitely Champo. It is pricey but the larger serum is on offer for £46 which you’ll get 6 months out of. It works. It stops you shedding hair when you wash it. If you can’t stretch to that any scalp serum with rosemary and biotin

[Trillina in reply to Jodypody]

Do you use a specific shampoo too?

[Jodypody in reply to Trillina]

I’ve been using the full range from champo that includes serum for scalp, shampoo and conditioner plus styling cream. I think if you only buy one thing it would be the scalp serum.