Unexplainable Hair Loss! Please Help!

[MzLiz018]

Hello, this is my first time reaching out to the community. I have had no luck with medical professionals as of yet, to find an explanation and/or cure for my odd symptoms.

Brief History: In 2009 I was diagnosed with PCOS and was put on metformin to regulate my menstrual cycle. It did seem to work. About 2 years later my eyebrows began to fall out starting from the outside in. Progressively getting worse, my eyebrows have almost completely fallen out. The hair on my arms have stopped growing. My eyelashes have thinned. The hair on the lower half of my legs has also began to stop growing. I tend to have dry skin, be very tired and need extra sleep. The most disturbing to me is the lack of eyebrows hair. It does not grow back.

My thyroid has been tested and some autoimmune disorders. All of the tests came back normal.
The only abnormal result that continues to come up is high white blood cell count for 4 consecutive months. Doctors have yet to do anything about it. They just tell me to come back in a month to check if it is still high.

I really need to put my mind at ease and finally find answers. I've read that thyroid conditions sometimes come out normal but really aren't. Please if you have any ideas of what is happening to me I am open to them and especially open to healing.

Here are my test results:
TSH               1.02            0.35-4
Free T4          1                0.8-1.5
T3                 86                58-159
TPO AB      <3.0IU/mL      <=5.5

(at one point my TSH was 0.47. 1.02 is the most recent.)

[ingeb]

Any updates on this!?! Any regrowth or updates/ new information??

I have a similar condition and is undiagnosed. I have lost my eyebrows slowly over several years. Now, the right one is nearly gone and left one starting to disappear. They are thinning from the nose and outwards. I have been to several doctors and they all just say they have never seen anything like it, and that they dont think it is Alopecia or telogen, because I only loose eyebrow hair (none on the head+ not in spots, but diffuse). Doctors have checked all; vitamin levels, thyroid tests etc..all come back clear. I have been under MAJOR stress for several years (with almost constant heartbeat/ adrenaline rush + following fatigue. I wonder if this can be the reason for the hair loss? My other assumption is some autoimmune disorder. Doctors checked for it, autoimmune tests came back clear, except one of the "general autoimmunes»that came back positive, but my doctor said also many people without a autoimmune disorder got a positive result on that one. I take no medicine, otherwise healthy (except the fatigue and heartbeat/ adrenalin rushes), low on B12 and D-vitamin, but take supplements. Any experiences/ ideas what is wrong with me? Is this due to stress? Have any experienced regrowth after years of thinning brows? Should I try to get a further check for autoimmune disorder?

[ahmee]

Oops, meant "Hashimoto's", not just "hypothyroidism" in my last sentence.

[ahmee]

My doctor stressed to me the importance of supplementing vitamin D when low (and yes, many people in northern climates especially are low, but that doesn't make it ok)... thankfully it's one of the easiest vitamins to supplement if you buy the form that comes in little drops. You can easily put a few drops on your food each day and be done with it.

If you were already tested for TPOAb recently, you don't need to repeat the test. Just the test for TgAb and it will give a fuller picture. Those are the two  antibody tests for hypothyroidism.

[MzLiz018]

Thank you so much for your response.

I will see my doctor as soon as possible and tell him to test me for TPOAb, TgAb and Free T3.

You explained very well why Free T3 is important an important test. I had heard that it was important but never really knew why up until now. Thank you!

Yes my symptoms are very much like hyperthyroidism. Did your eyebrows ever grow back?

[MzLiz018]

I don't believe I have had Free T3 done. I will speak with my doctor as soon as possible to get that test done.

Doctors have seen say they have done "total" thyroid tests but seeing now that I can seem to find these results on my record I don't believe they have dug any deeper. What other thyroid antibody tests would you recommend I do?

Yes, I am deficient in Vitamin D. 18 with a range of 30-100
The doctors told me not to worry since mostly everyone is low in Vitamin D. I just take supplements of it and they occasionally give me boost doses of it. I don't believe I have been tested for other deficiencies.

Thank you for your response =)

[ahmee]

Both TPOAb and TgAb should have been tested. If you test positive for either one it can indicate Hashimoto's. Free T3 is also very important, as mentioned in the reply above, because it correlates best with patient symptoms. It is a more accurate test than Total T3 because it measures the amount of T3 in the blood that is available for the body to use. Total T3 is outdated and measures usable and unusable T3. A low FT3 result can indicate a low-functioning thyroid, no matter the TSH.

Your symptoms sound very much like hypothyroid symptoms. I too had hair loss, eyebrow loss, intense fatigue, and dry skin. Vitamins won't help much with these issues if your thyroid is malfunctioning. It is worth going back to your doctor if possible and requesting these additional tests.

[bedheadblonde]

Have you had Free T3 done? It looks as though the T3 you had done is Total T3, not Free, and though it's within range, it's a bit on the low end of it. Free T3 gives a bit better picture, but most find if their Total T3 is low, so is their Free T3, and most feel better with this range higher, with their FT4 mid range or so. Your Ft4 isn't too bad at all, and going off of TSH alone isn't really the way to go. What other things have you had done regarding thyroid antibody tests? Just the TPO AB, or have you had others?

What have you had done for vitamin tests? Any? Deficiencies in some of these can also cause hair loss/slow hair growth.