Ok so i was diagnosed with hypothyroidism like 2 months ago, but had noticed symptoms waaaay before that. Anyways im only 16 years old and i've been crying myself to sleep for a while now. Im really really really really really scared. My hair is falling out soooooo much, im afraid i might go bald. I have very thick pretty hair, and it was practically my identity at school. im a very happy fun person, but now im just sad, depressed and very self consious. I cant exactly talk to my frieds about it, they have nooo clue what im going through. The only thing they're interested in is hair and makeup, boys, fashion. The things i used to be concerned with until this stupid thyroid thing took over my brain space. I wake up thinking about it and go to sleep thinking about it. I dread showers, and started taking baths so the water wouldn't be so hard on my hair. I sometimes go days without showering now, gross i know but i hate pulling hand fulls and hand fulls of hair out. Hair loss isn't the only thing ive noticed, i've had unexplained weight gain, again i was very skinny i was 5'6' and 115 pounds, now im 135 in only less than a year. Im extremely athletic and eat healthier than anyone i've met in my life, my snacks are pecans opposed to chips, my meals are salads...i wont even touch a sandwich anymore because im scared of what the carbs will do to me. And believe me that's all girls look at and care about at my age, how fat or skinny you are, and this is the worst time for me to have this problem. im soooo frustrated! I've only been on my medicine for about 2 months almost. i really just wanted to talk to someone who's going through this or has gone through this, and want to know if it gets better and how long it takes. Will i lose weight? will my hair grow back? How long will this freaking take goshhhhh! PLLEEEEAAAASEE help me =[

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I saw your post here and wanted to reply. I was just diagnosed 3 months ago with hashimotos. It is an autoimmune disease where my antibodies are attacking my thyroid. I'm not hypothyroid yet but my dr. says one day I will be. I lost lots of hair before being diagnosed and still continue to lose after being on meds for 3 months. I cry myself to sleep as well. My doc says I need to give it more time to work. Hair goes thru different cycles and it will take a while to get it back. I take good vitamins, evening primrose oil and fish oil each day. I also eat healthy and try to get good sleep and exercise 4 days a week. I have not experienced the weight gain like you so not much help there. Try to exercise and eat very well and you will see results. Take control over the disease and don't let it control you!!!!!! I'm sure you are a beautiful girl!! Keep your chin up. I hope this helps you!!

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I have been on Synthroid medication for about 2 years now and I did not start experiencing hair loss until recently. Its been so severe that I seriously thought I was going to go bald! I have been doing some research online and found that there are benefits from taking evening primrose oil. I just started taking them and was curious to know if anyone is currently taking this for hair loss and if they have seen any benefits.

Thanks!
Alexa
www.cafepress.com/sarobey

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I have hair loss that first start 8 years ago after getting off birth control pills, I since had gone back on a more "hair friendly" pill at the advice of my doctor and also started taking the antiandrogen aldactone, that seemed to do enough to keep my hair, although I never got back the hair I once had it was enough to get by. I can't remember when I first diagnosed with hyopthyrodism, but I think it was probably 4 years ago. I was put on Synthryoid at 80mcg. Last year at my annual checkup it was increased to 100mcg and then this year it was raised yet again to 112mcg. Incidently this year and last year were the worst hair loss years of my life.. I mean ever, even worse than the massive shedding that occurred from getting off the pill. I think the higher dosages are causing me to lose SOOO much hair. I heard that armour is a good choice for people that that negative side effects from synthoid so I'm looking into finding doctors that prescribe it, hoping this will stop the exacerbated hair loss shedding I've been having the last two years, outside of what I normally experienced from androgenetic alopecia.

-Y

http://www.womenshairlossproject.com

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my doctor says that synthroid is very common to have a side effect of hair loss.

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I'm a twenty year old junior in college. I managed to avoid the freshman fifteen... my freshman year I actually went dropped two sizes (its amazing what happens when mom ad dad don 't do the grocery shopping). I've always been thin and an avid runner... I even take adderall. Last fall I noticed I started to gain weight and over the course of six months I put on a whopping twenty five pounds. I noticed my hair around the crown started appearing thin and I began to have trouble running. I attributed it initially to over indulgence, but considering I was doing nothing differently from my friends, I found it odd. I even worked out and ate better than most of them. A month ago I found out I have hypothyroid. I've only been on the medicine for a month and so far I haven't seen much different in my weight, but I'm hoping that over the next few months it will get better.

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I was on Synthroid for more than 17 years. The first symptom I had of a low thyroid was massive hair loss. My doctor prescribed Synthroid and since that time I had been taking some form of it (name brand or generic), adjusting the dose as needed (determined by the results of my TSH). I stopped losing my hair in massive amounts, but never really regrew the most obvious loss up top. I was able to convice by internist to switch me to Armour three months ago. While I don't think my dose of 1.5 grains is enough yet and my hair hasn't starting filling in, I'm not losing the amount of hair that I was on Synthroid. I, too, have read that hair loss can be a side effect of Synthroid and I'm really mad that it took me this long to figure it out. Anyway, I'll be seeing my internist later this month and hope to increase my Armour dose and see added improvement.

Patty

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Sweetie, I have three grown kids so I have some idea just how upsetting this whole thing has to be for you. I also was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and when it happened it came as a complete surprise to me. They started me on Synthroid and at the lower dosage I didn't have any hair loss. When they went up on the dose however, I started having massive hair loss. I have just recently changed over to Thyrolar (about a month ago) and started using Rogaine foam (once a day, even though it is for men, the doctor said that it was OK for me to use as long as I see no side effects). As of yet I still haven't seen any real regrowth although I haven't been losing quite as much as before. The doctor assured me that women rarely go completely bald, particularly from this kind of loss (telogen effluvium..lots of hairs going dormant at the same time). He also said it will take months before I see any real results from any kind of treatment...so be patient, Honey. It also caused my hair to become like straw so I got some Pantene shampoo and conditioner that is for badly damaged hair (it comes in a tube as opposed to a bottle like most of their stuff) and that at least tamed the texture and made what is left manageable. Another thing, from your posting I wonder if you are getting enough protein. Protein is very important for your hair. You also should look into the nutritional value of your salads. Often the salads have more calories and less actual food value in them than the sandwiches. There have been several studies done at McDonalds and Burger King (and others) that have shown that some of their salads have many more calories than eating one of their burgers. You should check online for the food values of their products if you have been eating out a lot. Yogurt is a great snack, you might try adding it to your diet as well. Activia is good and will help with your digestion, which sometimes can be a problem with Hypothyroidism. You need to eat at least 3 or 4 of their little cups a day for it to really help, but it will help. I have IBS and only use that and an enzyme supplement by Digestive Advantage and have mine under control. You didn't say if you were having this problem but I thought I would mention it just in case. I have also been told that evening primrose oil will help with the hair loss. I am planning on getting some and giving it a try but it will be a while before I will be able to report how well it works (or if it doesn't).
I know that it is very hard to have any kind of medical issues when you are a young woman. My daughter (who is now 20) has severe joint problems (since she was about 14) which affected her ability to dance (which she loved) and even walk her dog. It was very hard for her to adapt to and she still struggles daily with the problems her joints create in her life, BUT she doesn't allow it to ruin her enjoyment of the rest of her life. All through your life there will be good with the bad, you must remember when you are dealing with the problems in your life that without them you would not appreciate or really even notice how good the good things are. I have lived a hard life, having been raped and cut up and left for dead by the side of the road when I was 13. I also had a difficult family life so there really was no support system to fall back on. While I would never want to go through that experience again, I now realize that it gave me an opportunity to find strength and resources within myself and a faith in God that might have been unachievable had I not suffered through it and survived. It is not the way I would have chosen to receive that strength or faith, but it did allow me to recognize that they were inside me. You will find that there is some good that will come from this adversity. It may take a while before it becomes apparent, but rest assured, it will come. I will keep you in my prayers...you are already in my thoughts. Feel free to answer me on this web site, I will be checking it from time to time.
Take care,
Celeste

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Make sure your endos are checking your T3 levels. Many hypothyroid patients do not convert T4 into T3 properly which causes them to experience hypo symptoms even though their TSH isn't flagging high!! Trust me, I just went through this. Armour might be a good alternative b/c it contains T4 & T3. However, the amount of T3 can't be controlled in Armour. It's a fixed 4:1 ratio. You might want to try Synthroid or Levoxyl with a little Cytomel (T3) or switch to Armour. Either way, I have the most incredible endo in the world. He's extremely meticulous, checks ALL of your TFTs at every visit as well as several other hormones that affect thyroid patients, draws the blood in his office & exlains EVERYTHING to you.

I went through 6 endocrinologists before I found him! He just switched me to Armour to see if I feel better on it. It's only been a few days so it's too soon to tell.

Anyway, his name is Philip Felig - 212-534-5900. He's located in NYC & does not take ins., but he is well worth the trip & cost!!! Well worth it! Be prepared for him to run 1-2 hours late. He takes his time with each patient so think of the visit as a day off from work.

P.S. My hair started falling out when I dropped down to .100 mcgs of Levoxyl. VERY SCARY, but it stopped as soon as I went back up to .112 & has not come back. Your hair will grow back, don't worry!

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Take a breather, Sweetheart. It will happen soon. I had the same hair loss and just thought it was because I was getting older. My hair has always been my crown and glory also. I didn't even know I had thyroid problems until it was discovered by chance and two huge tumors were found in my neck. When, for 5 days I thought I might have cancer and only a few weeks to live if it was cancer because the tumors were huge, I realized there were worse things than hair loss. I know it is hard to believe at your age, but things will improve soon. I was told that my hair would not grow back once I got on thyroid medicine, but, that was not true. I started noticing new hair in about 3 months. And,when it started coming in, I got a lot. It has been a year now since I found out about the thyroid problems and I have new hair all over and the new growth is about 4 inches long which looks kind of funny since my hair is real long. Be patient, it will grow. No one likes you less because you have less hair. I saw a young girl in the post office one day that had cancer and she was bald as an egg. I felt so sorry for her and smiled at her and she returned the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. She made herself beautiful because of the inner grace she had. Be patient little one, shortly you will see that everything will start to be ok. You need to chill because stress is one of the biggest reasons hair falls out. Try to calm down and focus on something else and you will see, things will change. Good luck, Sweetie.

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I was using Synthroid for more than two years under doctor’s guidance with an organized dose. It stopped huge loss of hair. It is good medicine with no side effects, I feel glad to recommend to most of my friends. Find hair loss treatment centers and specialists from http://www.findhairhelp.com/

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