Hi -- Need help/feeling blue about hair

[Sunnyheart31]

Hi all.

I am returning to the forum after being busy with other things for a year or two.

In some ways, I'm very happy with my hair. It looks shiny. It is long enough for me to put up if I want to. I have finally learned that what I thought were funny quirks about my hair are really waves and that there are tricks for working with waves and not fighting them. (I need to become more adept at that, though.)

However, despite the pluses, I am feeling a bit blue at the moment. My hair is very fine -- baby fine, to be exact. Even though it has always been baby fine in texture, it used to be thick in quantity. Over the years, I have lost some of that thickness, but, until recently, I had not lost enough for the situation to be drastic.

Now, I am beginning to be concerned. When my hair is freshly washed, it looks fine. When it needs washing, however, more of my scalp shows. My scalp looks pinkish. I have had an autoimmune hypothyroid condition for a long time, but that has suddenly gotten a lot worse in the last year. I am under treatment for it. Both the treament and the disease can cause hair loss. My doctor suggested that I consult a dermatologist. But, I asked a dermatologist about it, and she said that there's not much they can do for thyroid related hair loss.

I think my ponytail diameter has shrunk a little since I last posted on the board. That may be because I used to measure it myself, but lately have been getting my husband to measure it for me. Perhaps, his measurement is more accurate. But, I used to consider myself to be ii in volume and now my ponytail diameter is only 1 5/8!

Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone ever increased their ponytail volume?

[isenephthys]

Sunnyheart,

I am fairly new at the LHC boards, but I do have both PCOS and hypothyroidism; I understand the concern and emotion that surrounds hair loss. I've lost a lot of it recently between the medical conditions and rapid weight loss. I've tried all sorts of things, from medical treatments to topical home remedies. I remember wanting to cry every time I washed my hair because of the huge handfuls that were falling out. My hair is still recovering, but it is finally starting to come back. There is always hope, it's mainly about optimizing your hormone levels.

First of all, what kind of doctor are you seeing for your thyroid? Are you under the care of an endocrinologist? In my experience, it wasn't until I switched from a GP to an endocrinologist that my treatment plan became more proactive. Endocrinologist tend to treat the patient, not the lab numbers- i.e., if you are having a lot of symptoms, then perhaps your medication dosage needs to be adjusted a bit even if your TSH falls into what the lab calls "normal". Are you taking supplements? I take a whole slew of vitamins, including a biotin and b-vitamin supplement for my hair. It's still a lot drier and more fragile than it used to be, but I am finally seeing some new growth. And I am not losing nearly as much in the shower. It takes time to get better; my endocrinologist told me that it would take 3 months for the medication changes to become evident in my hair.

I'm by no means a hair-care authority, but I just wanted to offer some encouragement. It can get better. The ladies here are all so wonderfully helpful; they can probably offer you better advice than I can about caring for your hair. Good luck!

[Sunnyheart31]

Thanks for the encouragement. It seems that PCOS and hypothyroid go together for a lot of women. I've never been diagnosed with PCOS but have some symptoms that do overlap with it.

I do go to an endocrinologist. MY Internist is pretty up on things, as he teaches in medical school in addition to his practice. I do take 112 mcg of Levothyroxin, which I think is supposed to be the thyroid med that has the most side effects. I'll bring that up again. My endo is the one who suggested a dermatologist; the dermatologist didn't give much hope.

So, I'm very glad to hear that things have worked for you and that you are seeing improvement!! I'd love to hear more about your vitamin routine and what other measures you have taken to treat your hypothyroid and PCOS.

Happy hair growing!

[isenephthys]

I was diagnosed with PCOS before the hypothyroid, but, yes, the two unfortunately seem to go hand-in-hand.

Good luck with your next endo appointment! I hope you can get things adjusted a bit. I know that some people need to go on a T3 supplement (brand name: Cytomel) in addition to the levo. I know that it can help with the mood symptoms and low energy levels; I'm not sure about the hair issues.

For my thyroid, I am on generic levothyroxine at 88 mcg daily. I am currently in a state of metabolic adjustment; I had gastric bypass last year, so it is taking my body (and darned hormones!) a lot of time and TLC to get back to normal.

For the PCOS, I am taking sprinonolactone 50 mcg daily and an oral contraceptive. Seems to be working ok, but I have a feeling I may have to increase it a bit at my next visit.

As far as supplements go, I take basic multivitamins, calcium and B12 sublingual because of my surgery. For hair growth, I am taking biotin 2500 mcg daily; it has been the thing I have seen the most success with. A generic multi-b supplement helps some people. At the height of my hair loss I was taking (in addition to the above supplements):
*Co-enzyme Q10 50 mg daily
*Evening Primrose Oil 1000 mg daily
*Zinc 50 mg daily (I didn't stay on this one too long because it caused me some stomach upset, but I know a lot of people have ok results with it.)
*Coromega (it's a fish oil supplement- eww!), 1 packet daily.

One doctor also recommended lysine, but the pills were just too big for me to get down so I didn't try it myself.

I hope this helps a bit. Just don't give up or lose heart! It took me a while for my hair to start coming back after the surgery and hormonal upsets. I had my first endo visit since the surgery in June; I was loosing such huge handfuls of hair every time I showered I just couldn't take it anymore. (I lost about 2 inches from my ponytail circumference since August 2008.) That's when we restarted the spironolactone and adjusted my thyroid meds. That was what, about 6 months ago? I want to say I noticed less hair loss by October and in the past month or so I am seeing more body and new growth. My ponytail circumference hasn't increased yet but I did have to get a lot of fryed hair cut off... so I'm crossing my fingers and waiting. :)

Have you tried any topical treatments?

[assuit]

I'm not sure if this helps but when my thyroid problem was diag. 6 years ago I used natural thyroid supplements 'naturethroid' It was fine but when I moved to kaiser they wanted me on levoxyl. I agreed cause it was in the plan and cheaper. My hair with 3+ years on naturethroid was fine. Well it was two years on levoxyl and the texture has completely changed. I don't know if it's age related but I'm now back to seeing my out of plan doctor. She said there are NO studies on the effects of synthetic thyroid meds on hair. None. Only message boards full of women who hair has changed after treatment with thyroid meds. There is a side effect with synthetic which is hair loss btw. It's not usually mentioned much.

Anyway I'm now considering switching back completely to the naturethroid but in the mean time I'm adjusting my doses to include both synthetic and natural. If that doesn't make changes I can see in 2 or 3 months in the new growth I'll change over to naturethroid and see how it goes with hair growth over 6 months.

I wish this was a quicker process. I wish there was research on this but the drug companies are not going to fund a study which says the pig thyroid supplements are better for patients hair. There is a down side to natural thyroid but if you are interest do your research. Armour the main natural source had a formula change recently and I've heard bad reports.

I'm also on:

Biotin
Evening primrose oil
Fish oil (wild organic salmon source)
silica
Organic diet for the most part
Red and green organic teas
Natures Way food based calcium supplements

The above is something I started only a month or so ago. I do know that with this many changes eg the thyroid and supplements all at once it's going to be next to impossible to figure out what's working. I'm just feeling a bit sad and desperate at the moment. I want my hair back the way it was.

I'm so glad I found this group btw and have changed my hair cleaning practices and using more organic products. Being kind to it as well and no more flat ironing.

[cinemax]

I feel your pain!!!! I too have thin hair from hypothyroid. It's very upsetting and can consume your every thought. (almost)
I have been to a great dermatologist and she recommended Biotin. I'm taking 5000 mcg. daily, doc says take on an empty stomach, first thing in the a.m. and I'm also taking armour thyroid.
It has been several months and I am seeing very good results. Much less hair loss and some new hair growth.
It will take my hair a long time to grow to one length with all the breakage and hair loss I've had. I just keep telling myself that it has improved and will keep improving with time. My pony is 1.5 in diameter.
I also take fish oil, pro-biotics, vit. D, mega H, and an adrenal supplement.
Send me a message any time!!! I really think that having a ton of patience is necessary right now. Put your hair up in a pretty hair do of some kind. Try not to worry to much about it. I've also been doing CWC with out the second C since it's to heavy for my hair. I see a difference in the condition of my hair since starting to take really good care of it after getting so much good advice and ideas from this site.
I have an appt. with my Dermatologist next month and plan to discuss any other things she would suggest for my hair and I'll pass it on to you if you'd like.
I hope I have helped even a little to give you hope that it will get better.:cheese:It will, it will, it will.

[andrianna]

Hi ladies ... I'm new to the forum.

I have PCOS as some of you do, however I haven't noticed hair issues. You guys got my attention and I was wondering when you started noticing it.

My hair is oily and baby fine. It's been that way all my life and right now I'm considering whether to grow it out or keep my A-line bob.

Best wishes for good health and fabulous hair!

+Andrianna