Thyroid Problems and Hair Loss

[UP Lisa]

Has anyone here lost hair due to low thyroid? If so, how would you describe the hair loss? Did it happen over time? Suddenly? How much did you lose? Did the hair grow back?

[girlcat36]

Yes, and unfortunately I haven't regained any of it!

[girlcat36]

I can track my thyroid by the pattern of hairloss. It came on gradually at first, a diffuse thinning. Then it seemed look more of it was shedding from my temples and sides. When I lose 100-300 hairs per shower, I know my freeT3 levels are below range.
We are in a catch 22 because hypothyroidism causes hair loss, and the treatment(synthroid) has hair loss as a side effect.

[rags]

Yes, my hair thinned as a result of thryoid problems (the Great Shed in which I lost over half of my hair however, was caused by medications). Mine just thinned slowly over time, and no I haven't regained any of it. Like Girlcat, I can tell when mine is low again because I start losing more hair. And also, my hair will get very very dry and brittle when I'm low.

[UP Lisa]

May I ask what type of thyroid treatment(s) you are on?

[girlcat36]

I was on generic levothyroxine for one year, then switched to brand name synthroid for one year. On both levo and synthroid I kept going hypo. I assume since it is a T4 only medication and my body was unable to convert it to the active T3 hormone. I do not have a thyroid.
I have been on Erfa Thyroid for nearly a year now; it is a natural dessicated porcine thyroid medication. I much prefer the Erfa, yet I am still hypo(below range T3and T4) because my doctor has me undermedicated. Gonna fix that!
Be aware that you can have a pefectly acceptable TSH and still be hypo! My TSH is .015(suppressed), but my T3 and T4 levels are BELOW range making me hypo in spite of the fact that my TSH says hyper.

[moon2dove]

Yes, I have Thyroid problems and have suffered hair loss which I hope, I am recovering from.
My hair looks a bit like @girlcat36

[girlcat36]

Yes, I have Thyroid problems and have suffered hair loss which I hope, I am recovering from.
My hair looks a bit like @girlcat36


Ooooooooo! A hair twin! :waving:

[moon2dove]

@girlcat36

:waving: back atch ya!!

I was prescribed Levothyroxine then had Radio Iodine in March. I am now back on a small dose of the Levothyroxine at the moment.

I got DH to take my first length photo to start my album in October and I was so upset at how badly thin it looked, I cried with embarrassment and refused to put here :(

[moon2dove]

@girlcat36

Ps... I am determined to have long curls like yours :)

[girlcat36]

@girlcat36

:waving: back atch ya!!

I got DH to take my first length photo to start my album in October and I was so upset at how badly thin it looked, I cried with embarrassment and refused to put here :(

Psssst....look at my most recent pic in my photo album. Talk about embarrassing hemlines! Be patient, you'll get there!

[Unnamed]

Gonna try this like this to make it easier to read as I've had more than one shed primarily due to thyroid issues (Hashimoto's hypothyroidism). And I'm taking porcine/natural thyroid for treatment.

Has anyone here lost hair due to low thyroid?
Yep, or pretty sure it's thyroid related (shed #2 *definitely* was). I may or may not have other health issues that affect hair loss, though.

If so, how would you describe the hair loss?
Diffuse/throughout that can tell.* (But also see last answer.) Shed #1 didn't seem to impact the length much/hairs lost were varying lengths (and the ends of my hair looked no worse/thinner). With shed #2 I think I lost more long hairs it seemed. With #3 it was varying, but after the previous two it completely totaled the length of my hair.

Did it happen over time? Suddenly?
Shed #1 (thyroid) lasted I believe about six months, although if I recall it wasn't steady shedding and was worse/better at times. Shed #2 was also a total of about six months, and actually sort of two smaller sheds of about two-ish months with about two months of no shedding in between (thank you thyroid meds! starting them seemed to be what paused the shed, then it started up again when I went from weekly raises to monthly raises...). Shed #3 wasn't due to thyroid (due to not taking iron/vit D/B-vits/garlic supplements that I can tell), but it was also diffuse and this one was more steady shedding.

How much did you lose?
Shed #1: 50% (3" to 2" nape circumference)
Shed #2: 40% (2.375" to 1.75")
Shed #3: 70-80% (2.375" to an estimated 1.125-1.375"; it was 1.625" (or 60% down) when first measured, but let's just say I measured because it was feeling rather 'thick' and fully expected to see close to 2"...talk about disappointment!)

Between the first two sheds there was also a mini-shed that I would assume was thyroid related and didn't budge classification (I think it was a 1/4" drop, staying above or at 2"), nor does it have associated obvious regrowth/taper like the other three.

Did the hair grow back?
Yes/sort of. At least after shed #2, and seems to be after shed #3. It's unknown as of yet if I'll get back up over that 2.375" and closer to the 2.75-3" had before shed #1. At that time my hair was also dyed darker, and I have no idea if that could have bumped thickness up slightly (but never seen anyone complain about losing thickness after growing out dye, so...probably not!). I'm only about a year post shed #3, and quite a bit of that regrowth doesn't reach a nape pony yet. :oops:

In addition to diffuse regrowth to match the diffuse shedding, with shed #2 I have a shorter layer around the sides/back (temple to temple) that seems to be 'new' hair. It could also just be that that area did a complete shed/regrowth cycle, but front to back hairline is about 1.5" further than when I joined here, pre-shed #1, so either it's new hair or a combo of the two. This new hair (and the other regrowth from sheds 2 and 3) may also have a strong-ish wurl pattern, not sure beyond the short underlayer...but whatever the case my hair is no longer 1a. :lol: I do, in general, seem to have more hair on the top/crown than around the back, so it's also possible that more hair was lost around the back due to the hypothyroid-related sheds (which probably started around when I was 10-12 years old)...and it just didn't regrow until started thyroid medication. Which would explain the annoying short underlayer.

[girlcat36]

Very detailed information, Unnamed! You just reminded me of something. I can usually tell it is a thyroid shed when short(2-3") uncut hairs are shed along with the longer ones. I see these because I make shower wall art when I wash my hair. I stick it all the shed hairs to the tile so it won't go down the drain. I asess it and count it!!!! LOL
Since becoming hypothyroid, my fine hair has turned into babyfine hair.

ETA: right now I am at about 40-60 hairs shed during a shower. THis tells me my T3 is lowish, but not below range. A below range T3 shed is 100-300 hairs. When I am euthyroid I might lose 20-30 per shower.

[jennescence]

I had a bit of hair shed. It was not coming out in clumps tho. I wouldnt be too worried. Mine stopped when i started taking my thyroid meds.:D

[jeanniet]

I wonder if increased shedding is more of an issue for hypothyroid women rather than men. My son was diagnosed just before he turned 13, but he never had an obvious shedding problem. It took about a year to get him stabilized on medication. If his thyroid goes too low he gets twitchy muscles and if it's too high he gets Reynaud's symptoms (blanched fingers and toes), but no change in hair loss. My dad has been on thyroid medication for about 30 years, but since he was already pretty bald I can't really put the blame for his baldness on the thyroid. Maybe it's also tied into female hormones?

[girlcat36]

Female hormones are very tied in to thyroid, and this is the reason that far more woman than men struggle with thyroid problems.

[Inching Along]

I have autoimmune hypothyroidism. I think I was diagnosed in about 2005. For the last 5years or so, I have been losing wads of hair in the shower, especially, but also just over the course of the day. I would say it is throughout my hair, not in clumps. About the middle of this summer, I found I was losing less hair in the shower and throughout the day...but now, sadly, I am back to losing a lot in the shower. I have counted a couple of times, and the first time I counted what I lost when I washed it, I had to stop when I passed about 325. I was too depressed to keep counting. Recently, when I was losing less, I counted about 200.

I don't know why I lost less in late summer this year, but I was purposefully getting out in the sun to attempt to bolster my vitamin D levels (I am seriously low and on a 5,000-IU-per-day supplement) and taking iron and eating liver to boost a low ferritin level. It has been colder, so I am not in the sun so much (ah, fall and winter in the Rockies region!). I take T3 (liothyronine) now, but have taken levothyroxine, Synthroid, and Armour in the past (not all together). I have an appointment with my doctor on Tuesday. I am really, really tired of losing so much hair, and over such a long period of time. In 2009, I had a 2.5-inch ponytail circumference, but now I am back down to 1.5 inches. My album shows the progressive loss.

My hair is growing; I see a bunch of hairs that are about 2 inches long, so probably about 4 months old. I hope to see much more!

[brickworld13]

Yes! I had very high TSH levels and was slightly anemic. After going on iodine and iron supplements, I have a halo and a longer layer of baby hairs around my jawline. It's coming back, but wow I shed a lot when I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I didn't want to go on the synthetic hormones and my doc worked with me to find a supplement ratio that solved the problem. This way I don't have to deal with a shed from medication.

[FroggyMonkeyMom]

I'm hypo and currently not on meds. (no insurance to go to doctor.) I have been off levo for months. When I first found out I had it in 2007 I had knee length hair and had never noticed any major loss. I never noticed any loss while taking levo. This is the first time I have ever heard about this! I actually only took them durning my pregnancies. I have have several miscarriages which was eventually attributed to my thyroid. I do notice these days my hair comes out a lot more than it did the last time I had long hair. But i was thinking it was extreme stress and poor diet. It also tangles A LOT, whereas before it rarely tangled.

Y'all got me freaking out now :-(

[UP Lisa]

Thyroid problems can definitely cause hair loss. I am hypothyroid, and realized it when I noticed my outer eyebrows were pretty much non-existent. I've been on Levothyroxine ever since, but recently realized I used to have a 3" ponytail, which is now 2 1/2". There are many things that could be causing this, but I do think I'm still low thyroid. My eyebrows never really did grow back in. I'm in the process of switching over to the natural stuff, which I hope will work better. I've never had thick hair, so I sure don't need it to be any thinner!:eek:

[UP Lisa]

P.S. Hair being more tangly is also a sign of thyroid problems.

[FroggyMonkeyMom]

:-( I am attempting to crawl thru the health care system mine field these days, trying to get insurance for everyone. We all need check ups for various things. Thyroid is fairly cheap, at least.

Hey, what about diabetes?! I have issues with that, too.

My eyebrows thin out on the ends, too. I just thought it was my habit of pulling them when i get stressed or nervous. I'm thinking maybe a lot of the stuff I have is thyroid now.

[jrk]

I must be the minority. I have hypo from hashimotos disease, and I haven't had any hairloss in the 7 years since I was dx.

[Corylina]

I do not have hypo but more like hyper instead. I am not really sensitive to the cold, and I am my friends' human heater in winter, my hands are always warm. When I start feeling harsh cold on my hands and feel the need to put gloves on, it is the sign that the temperature is under 0°C. But I am not sick.

My hair almost never tangle (big hair has the property to tangle rarely), I loose hair mostly in September (my hair grows lower as well between august and october), and my hair grows very fast. In two years, it has grown 14,5" (no kidding).

I've searched for a while and found that on Medline: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19825978
The TRH is a hormone that stimulates the thyroïd and the production of its hormones T3 and T4 that fasten the metabolism but according to those recent studies it seems that the TRH stimulates the hair follicle, stimulating the growth and inhibiting the hair death.

Now, if it is possible to take TRH supplements while not having hypothyroïdism, I do not know if it is legal...

[Izzie]

I'm also recovering from hair loss. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's when I was 15 years old but I began to lose my hair many years before that (I think it was when I was 10?). I lost almost 2/3 of my hair :( I took every possible supplement and medication I could get. Nothing helped.

But now it's better :D I have now about 1/2 of my hair (if I compare the thickness, quality etc. when I was a kid).

MSM powder helped me a lot, veganism, gluten free diet and no-poo :)