Aa
Dye it or No?
I had a total thyroidectomy March 2015, 2 months later in May my hair started falling out like crazy!!! Then the end of August it stopped. It is significantly thinner than it was. A dermatologist said it wasn't anything wrong as far as he could see had to be surgery related, the Endo I saw said it was from the surgery. Neither of them has said I couldn't dye my hair, I haven't because I've been scared to. Hair stylist I've talked to said if I wanted to use a dye like Garnier with the 3 different oils I should be ok. They know people who dyed theirs after hair loss due to surgery. I want to know what those of you who have experienced the same thing as me did yourselves or think. I have serious dark/gray roots.
COMMUNITY LEADER
I don't think the Miralax stopped working because of the Synthroid, I think it's less efficient because you're more hypo due to the low FT3... It's also very important to watch the diet to make sure you get plenty of fiber - that's always been a big problem for me because I don't get enough, so I have to really be conscious of it.
Even though your family doctor doesn't want to try you on T3 (treat thyroid), there's no reason she couldn't test your B-12 or ferritin, as that's not treating thyroid... Low B-12 and/or iron could be contributing to some of your tiredness/fatigue. If you have low B-12, leaving it untreated can cause other problems down the road - trust me, this is one I have great experience with as I suffer with permanent effects of years of untreated Pernicious Anemia (inability to absorb B-12).
Iron deficiency, itself, can cause hair loss, even without an accompanying thyroid condition...
You might want to point these things out to your primary care doctor and get these tests done.
I also notice that you have another thread going, that I didn't realize, previously and it seems that gimel and I are telling you the same thing in regards to thyroid medications.
Even though your family doctor doesn't want to try you on T3 (treat thyroid), there's no reason she couldn't test your B-12 or ferritin, as that's not treating thyroid... Low B-12 and/or iron could be contributing to some of your tiredness/fatigue. If you have low B-12, leaving it untreated can cause other problems down the road - trust me, this is one I have great experience with as I suffer with permanent effects of years of untreated Pernicious Anemia (inability to absorb B-12).
Iron deficiency, itself, can cause hair loss, even without an accompanying thyroid condition...
You might want to point these things out to your primary care doctor and get these tests done.
I also notice that you have another thread going, that I didn't realize, previously and it seems that gimel and I are telling you the same thing in regards to thyroid medications.
COMMUNITY LEADER
If she would have given you a T3 medication, your TSH would come down, as the FT3 goes up...
Calcium tends to constipate some people, so you should be careful about that. Also you need to make sure you aren't taking the calcium or multi within 4 hours of the Synthroid, as they can both prevent proper absorption of thyroid med.
Constipation is hypo symptom and again, would probably clear with a T3 med... Have you tried taking something such as Miralax, etc for your constipation?
Sounds like you need to find a different thyroid doctor.
Calcium tends to constipate some people, so you should be careful about that. Also you need to make sure you aren't taking the calcium or multi within 4 hours of the Synthroid, as they can both prevent proper absorption of thyroid med.
Constipation is hypo symptom and again, would probably clear with a T3 med... Have you tried taking something such as Miralax, etc for your constipation?
Sounds like you need to find a different thyroid doctor.
1 Comments
I have taken Miralax for years because of IBS. It stopped working when I started the Synthroid. The family doctor has started me on Amatisa. and it has started working. I asked the family doctor to try me on T3 meds to see if it would help and to check my B12 and ferratin levels but she doesn't want to treat me for the thyroid issue since I'm seeing an Endo. She went up on my bp meds to 10/20 since its been extremely high since I started on Synthroid and that's more than the Endo would do she told me I would have to see the Family doctor for that. Its frustrating!!!
Also she went up on the synthroid because she said she wanted my tsh at the 1 something range.
She won't check my levels again till 3 months. I'm not happy with her at all. She has me taking. Multi vitamin and calcium twice a day. I have had chronic constipation since going on synthroid and she told me I had to see family dr for that. Family dr started me on Linzess 4 days ago but nothing has happened. So I have to feel bad for 3 more months be fore I can ask her about the cytomel?
COMMUNITY LEADER
I don't believe an increase in Synthroid is what you need...
Rule of thumb (where most of us feel best) is for FT4 to be about mid range; your FT4 is just about perfect at the 50% mark. Rule of thumb is for FT3 to be in the upper half to upper third of its range; your FT3 leaves something to be desired, at only 32% of its range. FT3 should be higher in its range than FT4 in its.
You should ask your doctor about trying a T3 medicine, such as cytomel or its generic, liothyronine, to bring up your FT3 level. Symptoms correlate best with FT3 than with either FT4 or TSH...
The other problem I see is that your Vitamin D is too low in the range. Optimal Vitamin D is 55-60 - are you supplementing to bring that up? Vitamin D is necessary for proper metabolism of thyroid hormones.
You should also ask your doctor to test your ferritin level... Ferritin is the iron storage hormone and iron is necessary for the conversion of FT4 to FT3. Hair loss can also be caused by low iron levels.
Rule of thumb (where most of us feel best) is for FT4 to be about mid range; your FT4 is just about perfect at the 50% mark. Rule of thumb is for FT3 to be in the upper half to upper third of its range; your FT3 leaves something to be desired, at only 32% of its range. FT3 should be higher in its range than FT4 in its.
You should ask your doctor about trying a T3 medicine, such as cytomel or its generic, liothyronine, to bring up your FT3 level. Symptoms correlate best with FT3 than with either FT4 or TSH...
The other problem I see is that your Vitamin D is too low in the range. Optimal Vitamin D is 55-60 - are you supplementing to bring that up? Vitamin D is necessary for proper metabolism of thyroid hormones.
You should also ask your doctor to test your ferritin level... Ferritin is the iron storage hormone and iron is necessary for the conversion of FT4 to FT3. Hair loss can also be caused by low iron levels.
Went to the Endo today and she is increasing my Synthroid from 88mg to 100. I got the results back from all the blood work I did 7 days ago. This is it....
Free T3 2.9 ref. range 2.3-4.2
Free T4 1.06 ref. range 0.61-1.50
Vitamin D 45 ref. range 30-100
TSH 4.01 ref. range 0.34-5.60
PTH Intact 53 ref. range 12-88
Magnesium 1.9 ref. range 1.8-2.5
Sodium 141 ref. range 136-144
Potassium 4.3 ref. range 3.6-5.1
Chloride 105 ref. range 101-111
Carbon Dioxide 29 ref. range 22-32
BUN 14 ref. range 8-20
Creatinine 0.9 ref. range 0.6-1.1
Glucose 109 ref. range 74-118
Calcium 9.4 ref. range 8.9-10.3
EGFR Non African American >60
EGRF African American >60
Anion Gap 7 ref. range 3-14
BUN /CREA RATIO 16 ref. range 6-22
Free T3 2.9 ref. range 2.3-4.2
Free T4 1.06 ref. range 0.61-1.50
Vitamin D 45 ref. range 30-100
TSH 4.01 ref. range 0.34-5.60
PTH Intact 53 ref. range 12-88
Magnesium 1.9 ref. range 1.8-2.5
Sodium 141 ref. range 136-144
Potassium 4.3 ref. range 3.6-5.1
Chloride 105 ref. range 101-111
Carbon Dioxide 29 ref. range 22-32
BUN 14 ref. range 8-20
Creatinine 0.9 ref. range 0.6-1.1
Glucose 109 ref. range 74-118
Calcium 9.4 ref. range 8.9-10.3
EGFR Non African American >60
EGRF African American >60
Anion Gap 7 ref. range 3-14
BUN /CREA RATIO 16 ref. range 6-22
August 6th results
TSH 0.56 Reference Range [0.34-5.60]
WBC 8.9 Reference Range [4.0-11.0]
RBC 5.29 Reference Range [3.69-4.87]
Hemoglobin 15.8 Reference Range [1.4-14.4]
Hematocrit 47.0 Reference Range [33.0-41.0]
MCV 88.9 Reference Range [79.0-95.0]
MCH 29.8 Reference Range [27.0-33.0]
MCHC 33.6 Reference Range [34.0-36.0]
RDW 13.0 Reference Range [11.9-15.1]
Platelet Count 299 Reference Range 165-353]
MPV 9.8 Reference Range [7.5-10.7]
ANA Direct negative Reference Range [Negative]
Testosterone, Serum 13 Reference Range [3-41]
Free Testosterone 3.4 Reference Range [0.0-4.2]
DHEA Sulfate 96.1 Reference Range [41.2-243.7]
TSH 0.56 Reference Range [0.34-5.60]
WBC 8.9 Reference Range [4.0-11.0]
RBC 5.29 Reference Range [3.69-4.87]
Hemoglobin 15.8 Reference Range [1.4-14.4]
Hematocrit 47.0 Reference Range [33.0-41.0]
MCV 88.9 Reference Range [79.0-95.0]
MCH 29.8 Reference Range [27.0-33.0]
MCHC 33.6 Reference Range [34.0-36.0]
RDW 13.0 Reference Range [11.9-15.1]
Platelet Count 299 Reference Range 165-353]
MPV 9.8 Reference Range [7.5-10.7]
ANA Direct negative Reference Range [Negative]
Testosterone, Serum 13 Reference Range [3-41]
Free Testosterone 3.4 Reference Range [0.0-4.2]
DHEA Sulfate 96.1 Reference Range [41.2-243.7]
These are the results of my blood work done August 6th 2015 shortly after that I was changed from levothyroxine to synthroid so they have waited to do my next blood work October 20 and I go see the Endo Oct 27th. I have never had my T3's and T4's done. She's ordered PHT intact, magnesium serum, basic metabolic panel, triiodothyronine free serum, TSH plus free T4, vitamin D, and 25-hydroxy for the 20th. I was thinking of using henna to color my hair as its all natural no chemicals.
COMMUNITY LEADER
The first thing you should do is make sure your thyroid hormone levels are where they need to be... Hair loss is a hypothyroid symptom and once your levels are where they need to be, your hair should start growing back again; if it doesn't, perhaps your thyroid levels are not yet adequate.
Why not post your current thyroid levels, with reference ranges, so we can better assess your status, then we can go from there. Your body must be healthy in order for your hair to be healthy. I would not be willing to color my hair unless it was healthy enough to withstand the color, which has a lot of chemicals and tends to be harsh no matter how gentle it's purported to be.
Why not post your current thyroid levels, with reference ranges, so we can better assess your status, then we can go from there. Your body must be healthy in order for your hair to be healthy. I would not be willing to color my hair unless it was healthy enough to withstand the color, which has a lot of chemicals and tends to be harsh no matter how gentle it's purported to be.
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From what I've read, henna does not cover up roots or highlights and once you've used henna, many stylists won't use permanent color on your hair because it will do more damage... Some hennas will leave hair with a weak orange color; others with a bright red. Some hennas also have metallic salts or other compounds that can damage your hair.
You should also be aware that henna is a permanent dye and can only be grown or cut out, so if you don't like it, you're kind of stuck...I'm not trying to talk you out of anything; I just want to make you understand that "all natural" isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be and may not be what you expect it to be... Personally, I'd rather have a few dark roots and wait until both my body and hair are healthy enough to be colored properly than take a chance on something coming out with a bright red color or orange color - especially yours (I looked at your profile pic), which is a very pretty color and it would be a shame to destroy it.