Hair loss

Thank You!! sooo much for your post I had not noticed any hair loss just thought my hair was finer and not much body as usual, my hair type is fine but plenty of it but this weekend I was bending over and my daughter said Mum your hair looks really thin near the crown and when she looked further through my hair could see noticeable patches I had over the last months got a couple of red spots i thought they were gnat bites but after discovering these bald patches I have made an appt at doctors (friday) so i will post the outcome I am so scared my hair will not grow back to normal, I am currently taking 50mg of levothyroxine my last blood test was high so I was told to decrease from 75mg to 50mg

This is an old post and I'm sorry to squash hope but I need to speak truth. First of all, why are so many people having thyroid issues. 2nd I been on meds for around 2 years and I had very healthy, long hair. In fact, the dry, brittleness of my hair and fatigue are the reasons I went to dr. for a physical. I was put on levothyxine or whatever and my hair loss was immense. I researched and believed going on armour thyroid would help. Several years in and I have a fistfull of hair everytime I comb it. It is very depressing. They told me it was hereditary male pattern baldness. Uh no it's not its thyroid meds! It doesn't get better!

I too suffered hairloss for years but none of the doctors I saw would help me because my TSH was "normal" and my hair thinning wasn't "severe" (i.e. I wasn't going bald). However, I knew (always trust your instincts) that it wasn't normal.

Then finally, finally, I started on dessicated thyroid and like you I was disheartened when my hair continued to fall out, even as far as three months into it. Not only that, but it got worse!

Normally, my hair would come out moslty when I washed it in the shower. But when it got worse, I found it covering my pillow. Needless to say I was concerned.

However, I persisted with the dessicated thyroid, and after 4 months, it reached a tipping point I finally started noticing a visible reduction in my hair loss, even when I washed my hair.

It's been 6 months now, and I hardly find any hair in the shower, or even on my brush anymore. I am extremely happy with this and I look forward to the summer to see how much thicker my hair will look by then.

Here is what I did: I started on 40mg of dessicated thyroid for 2 weeks, then I increased my intake by 40mg every other week: week 1-40mg, week 3-80mg, week 5-120mg, week 7-160mg, week 9 to 12-200mg. Then by week 13 I had to switch to another brand that only comes in 130mg capsules, so I take 2 of those for a total of 260mg every day. 

I was worried at first that it would be too much, but my body has responded well (no signs of hyperthyroidism), my hair loss has stopped and I have more energy, so I'm happy. I am still taking the same quantity now.

Just one note of caution: my hair loss stopped around the time I switched brands, so it's possible that the superior quality had to do with it. It's impossible to know for sure, but bear that in mind and ensure you take a reputable, good quality dessicated thyroid. I would also recommend a product that is as pure as possible, and preferably not mixed with any other ingredients.

Another recommendation would be to take your time (but not too long) between increases: listen to your body. My rule of thumb: minimum 2 weeks in between and the higher the quantity, the longer you should stay at that dosage before increasing again. For instance, I stayed at 200mg for 4 weeks before going up to 260mg. Also, if you find a dosage that gets you the results you want and that makes you feel good, I wouldn't risk increasing it again and getting too much only to have to come back down.

My final recommendation would be to trust yourself, what your body tells you and what your instincts tell you. Sadly, it seems the vast majority of doctors are ill-equipped to help patients with thyroid issues so it's up to us to find the information we need and I hope that what I just shared will be as helpful to you as I think it would have been to me only a few months ago.

I have been receiving treatment for hypothroid for many years. I started on synthroid which was not controlling it. Was switched to levothyroxine which leveled my thyroid numbers but has done nothing for hair loss or the over all thinning of my hair. It is very distressing. The hair breakage and thinning is the reason I was tested in the first place. What can I do to regain my hair?