Thinning hair, how to get my doctor to pay attention?

[WildThong]

So I have mentioned it to her before but got the 'shrug' it's probably age type of answer. I just think it's not my age, although I am 49. My late dm and my 3 dsis did/do not have this so it's not in the family. It began 2 years ago at a busy time - when I was moving house and yo yo dieting using Alli. I also had my thyroxeine increased to 75mg at that time, the levels were actually all within acceptable limits but I was still experiencing the symptoms of under activity so she increased it - blood tests since have remained ok. Recently the hair loss has got worse and I just have the feeling there is some underlying cause. I sometimes get, not an out and out itch exactly, but just an underlying creeping/mild itchy feeling in my scalp, I have no dandruff (or nits). What can I say to make my point properly and get some doctorly attention?

75 mcg thyroxine is below the standard starting dose, unless you are elderly or suffer from a heart complaint. It may be that you are under-medicated and your blood tests, while OK. are not optimal.

Also B12/folate and ferritin (iron stores) are implicated in hair loss, so those need to be tested. Ask for a full iron panel if you can get it.

If those tests don't show anything actionable and the situation with your hair is still the same, re-post.

Rockin thankyou

I am surprised at the dosage thing - I was on 50 mcg for about 10 years before it was put up to 75 - I thought it was high dose!

My appt is Monday so I will update then..

My hair fell out when I was very underactive. Also after my DH died it got much thinner, from grief I was told. But if your Thyroid blood tests did not show a serious degree of underactivity, and you have been on Thyroxine for 10 years it seems unlikely , but everyone is different. The stress of moving house could have been the cause of your hair loss, but 2 years on to be worse. At 49 you will most likely be menopausal too - that's when I noticed a big change, but HRT helped me there. But did not notice my hair falling out.
Did the increase to 75mcg 2 years ago help with your other problems?

digerd, yes it really helped the tiredness, but the hair got worse..
I wondered about the menopause but I'm still as regular as clockwork.

an update:

8 blood tests, including iron, thyroid, liver and kidney function - cant remember the rest!

7 came back within normal range - blood glucose came back high (didn't expect that) I googled the symptoms of diabetes and a lot of them are the same as mine. I have to speak to the doctor tomorrow about the result - what should I expect, could it be because I hadn't anything to eat when the bloods were taken?

You need to find out your ferritin score because the normal range is vast from about 30 - 150 I think but optimal for non hair loss is about 70/80 - you could try taking gentle iron such as spat one, feroglobulin or floradix.

Are your periods heavy?

The reason I'm posting is I also have thin ish hair and some hair loss due to heavy periods which led to low ferritin

Blood glucose should be well within the normal range if you haven't had anything to eat. It's normal to take a fasting sample when testing it.

Thanks both, I will ask about the ferritin tomorrow, I have a telephone consultation to talk about the results.

within normal is pretty vague for thyroid, you actually want tsh below 2 and probably below 1, with t4 high in range. ask what your levels are and get a printout of them all

well, I just spoke with the doctor - I am really rubbish at remembering to ask the right questions.. but the upshot is that my iron level is 12 - should be between 10 and 30 - so a little low, and the transferrin (sp) is 20% - given my symptoms I have to take an iron supplement 3 times a day for a few months. The ferritin didn't get checked with this test.
Also the Glucose fasting sample was 6.6, again just a little low so I have to get that checked again in 2 weeks.

Onwards and upwards....

and the tsh?

good that you have found out about the ferritin. spatone snd floradix are good if you find the iron supplements too yuck