posted 02-19-2003 08:43 AM            

I have experienced some rapid hair loss. While not diagnosed by a doctor as hypo, I have various symptoms that are hypo. In addition, some of my blood results have been low. (i.e. FT4 low normal and my T3's are at the bottom of normal or below normal -- but with a TSH = 2.00, no doc sees me as an issue)

Anyway, just curious if you:
(1) Experienced hair loss with your hypo
(2) If yes, the rate of hair loss
(3) The areas of hair loss -- any male pattern baldness pattern, or was it diffuse all over or thinning around the ears.

I have some rapid thinning in front, but also around the ears and the sides, which are areas not common in male pattern baldness.

posted 02-20-2003 09:59 AM            

I am experiencing rapid hair loss starting in the summer of 2001. My hair since then has changed...gotten much wavier, frizzier, and drier. MY hair is awfully dry. Did your hair change like this as well?

I am trying to figure out if it is male pattern baldness and/or thyroid related. My T3 readings are below normal in the last 12 months and my TSH is typically around 2.00. My hairloss started within 12 months of being diagnosed with heartblock as well as some loss of hair on my outer eyebrows.

posted 02-20-2003 10:34 AM            

Where are your T4 results coming up? If your T4 is normal, but T3 is low, there are some things you can do that might help.

Get on a Selenium Supplement. Selenium is vital for converting T4 to T3 in your tissues.

Make sure you are getting plenty of carbohydrates and fats in your diet, but balance them well with proteins. I know this is contrary to the normal diet advice you hear, but extreme low-carb diets actually lower your metabolism and reduce your ability to convert T4 to T3. Fats, in moderation actually help some. Protein is necessary to build more protein (hair, nails, muscle, skin, etc).

Have your liver function thoroughly checked. 80% of the T3 in the blood of a healthy adult was converted from T4 in the liver. If liver function is compromised, you will be low on T3.

posted 02-20-2003 12:03 PM            

Thanks for the advice.

My free T4 readings are around 13-14 typically, with the lab normal ranges being 10-25.

But, yeah, the bottom line is my T3 readings are either low normal or below normal and since T3 is what gets into the tissue, I need to figure out a way to get my T3 up.

I am slowing changinf my diet. It was predominately carbs like whole wheat breads & pastas. I also eat a lot of cereal..I have it for breakfast and it is my snack at night too. I am trying to eat less pasta and more fish/chicken.

Funny you mention the liver. Usually, my liver test are normal but I came back from a trip in the fall and my liver results were temporarily above normal. They have since come down, so we think it might be the malaria pills.

As for selenium, before I start taking it, I should learn more about it. Can you get to a website that has details as well as how much I need daily?

posted 02-20-2003 02:59 PM            

We need adequate protein to grow hair. I recently upped my protein and my hair is growing like crazy.
The liver needs protein, too, to be healthy.

Rather than low carb, what we eat needs to be controlled carbs. The carbs we do eat should be nutrient-dense. Most pasta and cereal are refined white flour products. Most whole wheat products are actually not whole wheat at all, but simply contain a little whole wheat and mostly refined flour, unfortunately.

If you eat protein for a bedtime snack, rather than the cereal, you can lose the carb craving.

Selenium can be safely taken up to 200 mg. It used to be that a need for selenium was based on where the food was grown, but nowadays, we have no idea where most of our food is grown, so supplementing helps.
Over 200 mg is not recomemnded. http://www.umm.edu/ency/article/002414rec.htm

Read this thread for lots of self-help info:
Information Archive http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/Forum118/HTML/000005.html