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6 years ago I lost all my hair... alopecia universalis was the diagnosis. "That's that", appeared to be the general response from doctors. At the time I was going through menopause, and altho I didn't indicate any abnormalcy on basic thyroid tests, I do have a cousin and mother with thyroid problems.On a routine blood test last week (I'm 55, so thyroid and cholesterol are de rigeur tests) I finally showed hypo-thyroid results. Is it possible to trace my hair loss back to out of whack hormones.... and is there anything I can do about it?
Optional Information: Person's Gender: Female Person's Age: 55 Already Tried: Dermatologist put me on Rogaine to no avail. Was referred to "Hair Specialist" and told that nothing could be done for me.... no tests, no workup of any kind. I have been on Effexor 150mg for 15 years for severe Traumatic Brain Injury, I use Fixodent (with zinc) for dentures from said injury. My menopause started about the same time as the hairloss with serious hot flashes and mood swings. My mother and cousin both have thyroid issues, and now, finally I do as well. My score is 8.
The alopecia is usually due to antibodies against the hair follicles and as your other Docs have indicated there is no good treatment. However if you are hypothyroid it could also be due to antibodies(TPO antibodies) against the thyroid and if this is the case(your Doc can tell by just measuring the TPO antibodies) your thyroid should be treated with enough thyroxine to lower the TSH down to around 1.0 to avoid progressive goiter formation. Sorry but I doubt if treating your hypothyroidism will help the hair loss.
Experience: Endocrinology and metabolism practice for 35 years
I forgot to mention that every summer, except this one, my eyelashes have grown back to some extent.... and in the fall with less daylight hours (I assume) they fall out again???? Is there an explanation for that?
the only thing that I can think of that changes with the seasons is Vitamin D levels, higher in the summer(from more sun) and lower in fall/winter. Might be worth a measurement of your vit D in the fall to see if it is low(the test is 25 hydroxy vitamin D)