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patchy eyebrow!

Hi I am a 28 yr old female and I have hashimoto's. I take 75 mcg per day since May this year. I noticed that upon looking in the mirror the middle area of my left eyebrow has a patch of hair missing. I know that hair loss is common with hashimoto's but I didn't think it would affect the middle part of my eyebrow, just the outer third?

I see my doc tomorrow, what are they likely to suggest? Thanks! x
Best Answer
1530171 tn?1448129593
U/S cannot reveal low levels of cortisol, as it is necessary to have adequate levels for normal thyroid function. Plus there's more with adrenals.
Yes to all your questions, weight gain is not a required criteria for hypo.
Please do the Dr. Barne's temperature test-look it up- to monitor your thyroid function. Below 36.6 Celsius it is hypo. If you need details let me know.
I must run know-
later.
Love & Light
Niko
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Avatar universal
Hi Niko thanks for your reply.

Yes, I agree with the adrenal aspect. Can adrenal dysfunction cause hypoT sufferers to not gain weight? I'm still very slim despite having an illness that is meant to cause weight gain so I feel a bit depersonalised - depersonalised in the fact that I'm hypoT which means I should be overweight, but I'm hypoT and NOT overweight. That's why I kind of doubt what I have.

Would my doctor be able to test for adrenal function? I'm on the UK's NHS so I don't know if to be tested for it is something doctors do routinely, or would I ask for my cortisol levels to be checked? I got where I was when I asked them outright to be tested for thyroid autoantibodies which came back high, so I can only assume I have to go the same way about getting my adrenals checked.

Come to think of it I had an ultrasound done on my ovaries (I had a lot of extreme pain during my period and I was tested before the hypoT diagnosis came out) and the ultrasound person scanned the adrenal glands which looked normal. Is it possible to have adrenal dysfunction with the adrenal glands looking normal?

Thanks

Lotus x
Helpful - 0
1530171 tn?1448129593
Hi dear Lotus.

Please read the following post that I posted yesterday to someone.
(cut and paste)"

"Wow. You are sure getting your share of health challenges.
This is turning out to be a wild goose chase.

Please!!!! Find a doctor who will treat you for hypothyroid, based on the symptoms and NOT what the blood levels show. You can have all the
thyroid hormones in your blood, yet if your cells cannot use them you are still hypothyroid!!
When your treatment is inadequate or totally ineffective this puts huge pressure on your adrenals and if this has been going on for some time. then you may also have adrenal dysfunction.

Stress, anxiety, synthetic thyroid meds, prolonged inflammation put a huge weight on the adrenals with dire consequences over time.
This can lead to low hormone levels of cortisol, which is used in many important processes, like reducing inflammation, stress etc, but very interesting in this discussion is the key role that cortisol plays in T3 thyroid hormone to be delivered from the blood into the cells.
So low cortisol=Impaired thyroid hormone to the cells (where it's needed for
mitochondrial function/energy production)

Therefore the thyroid hormone accumulates in the blood and showing up
in your tests as high, with persisting hypo symptoms, or if on natural thyroid may show hyper symptoms, not consistent with the normal intake of natural thyroid, which is caused really by low cortisol levels.

You may want to re-read this a few times, as here lie possibly some of the answers you're looking for!

To my opinion this is the FIRST and most important aspect of your health
that is SCREAMING to be brought back to balance.
Adrenals and then thyroid- in this order and NOT the other way around!

Of course deficiencies in essential nutrients and minerals cannot be ignored, low acid -common with hypothyroidism- causes acid reflux more commonly than excess acid!!!
Hypothyroid can  cause slower motility, weakened sprinchter muscle (at the end of the esophagous) resulting in acid reflux symptoms.
Low acid also means possible impaired thyroid hormone assimilation.
Acne, was this mentioned here? is another hypoT symptom.

Please DO NOT take any meds for various symptoms- I know there a lot well meaning members here- but you need to treat your adrenals FIRST,
and once this is done you get your doctor to treat you according to your hypoT symptoms and NOT the blood levels-I repeat myself purposely!!!
With natural desiccated  Thyroid only and starting with a low dose and gradually increase as needed every 6-8 weeks-this is how long it takes to work into the system.
  Most of your symptoms are likely attributed to hypothyroid andadrenal dysfunction (as a consequence).

This is a bit complex, but it's not a real issue for you.
The real issue is to find a GREAT doctor who is both knowledgeable and
WILLING to treat you properly!!!

If you want your health and your life back please look into all this information carefully. Time is of importance as your adrenal dysfunction
may be causing further damage, so ideally you should pursue this the earliest possible!

You may pm me personally, if you feel overwhelmed with all this
and I can try to answer any questions you may have or explain further anything that is not clear to you."

The part that is most pertinent to you Lotus is the unreliability of the blood tests that may have very little to do with proper dx and treatment in regards to hypoT

Note that this is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.

Wishing you well.
Love & Light
Niko

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks Niko.

Going gluten-free sounds a more worthwhile thing to consider. Where we get our shopping sells gluten-free food although they don't have a lot of variety as it's a small place!!

I also went to the doctor who agreed on the patchy eyebrow. He did ask me if I had experienced any hair loss on my head but because I have fine blonde hair and very fair skin it's very difficult to see so in the end I said no on that, although my head hair is getting dry the minute after I wash it now! Usually I would only wash it every 2 days but I don't really want to wash every day because I'm sure that'll damage it.

The doctor suggested I have my blood test sooner if I can get one early enough and luckily I've got one booked for this Friday and a follow-up consultation with the doctor who's more or less in charge of the whole thyroid issue itself.

Thanks x
Helpful - 0
1530171 tn?1448129593
Sorry to hear this Lotus.

Thyroid dysfunction has some unexplained type of possible symptoms,
nonetheless, specific enough to know it is attributed to it, so this allows the sufferer to concentrate in getting it successfully treated and managed (in theory at least,as we all know the serious defects of our medical system.)

It might be a good idea to consider the gluten-free diet for a few weeks,
since there's no cost involved, however, it might be a little tricky to implement, as gluten is in so many different foods.

Anyway, stay strong to see this through. You're so young and have a full life ahead of you, so please don't lose hope. It will get better.
If you ever need any information or advice, please get in touch with me
by posting here, or just send me a message.

Love & Light
Niko


Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi again Niko thanks for your answer!!

I thought it might be alopecia areata, but because my eyebrows are so thick the hair loss did occur at my outer 1/3 but seemed to grow back. It keeps looking thinner but when I look again the hair's come back! I can only assume that the Hashimoto's is progressing or that the Levo is not doing as much as it should if the hair loss is happening at the middle of my eyebrow and why it's just affecting one is beyond me.

I've not tried to go gluten free but I was tested for celiac disease at my former doctor a year ago and that came back completely clear. The Gliadin test sounds like a good route to go down, provided it does not cost much as I don't work (I left my previous job because the hypothyroidism made me so tired and depressed.)

Thanks x
Helpful - 0
1530171 tn?1448129593
Hi again Lotus.

Hypothyroidism is a multi-symptomatic condition-in your case it's Hashimoto's Disease (autoimmune hypothyroid disease) and one of the many possible symptoms is hair loss, including eyebrows.

Normally it would involve the outer 1/3 of the eyebrows, so in your case it is possible it's Alopecia Areata, often associated with hypothyroid.

Since you are already reactive to Levothyroxine, with this extra symptom,
you may want to talk your doctor into prescribing Natural Desiccated Thyroid (Armour), on the basis of necessity!
As I mentioned to you earlier, in the UK the NHS does not normally allow doctors to prescribe Armour unless there's a specific reason for this.
One more thing I would also recommend, is to ask to get treated according to your symptoms and not your lab test results since they are not reliable
on their own for treatment purposes.

75mcg levothyroxine is a small dose and that's usually a starting dose and gets increased as needed according to blood levels AND symptoms and this is  checked about every couple months or less (the time for the effects of the supplementary thyroid hormone to show).
So perhaps a similar dose in Armour will be sufficient to take if you were not fully benefiting from Levothyroxine (synthetic T4).
And if it's not, then the dose has to be increased.

Finally, have you tried to go gluten free and see if your Hashimoto's symptoms, will subside?

Look into Gliadin test (urine), by Cyrex labs. They test 12 forms-not just the alpha ordered by most doctors- of gliadins regarding gluten intolerance (not necessarily digestive).
Now they can also test which part of the body is affected!
Just do a search under Cyrex Labs for details.
Most Hashimoto's sufferers have gluten intolerance and don't even know it!
The gluten molecules-mostly but not exclusively from gmo grains- resemble the TPO molecules and thus the immune system in its response against gluten, attacks the TPO in the Thyroid also!

It may sound complicated if you are a newly diagnosed sufferer,
however, should you have any further questions or need more details please let me know.

I hope this helps, however, it is not intended as a substitute for medical advice.

Best Wishes.
Love & Light
Niko

Helpful - 0
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