Dealing With Hair Loss Related To Hashimoto’s & Thyroiditis Hair Loss
What if you have hair loss related to Hashimoto’s or thyroiditis?
Does this change how you deal with or treat your issue?
The answer is… not really, and here’s why.
It turns out that most patients in the United States who have hypothyroidism suffer from this condition as a result of Hashimoto’s.
In fact, it is estimated that up to 90% of patients with hypothyroidism have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis as the underlying cause.
So, patients with thyroiditis have all of the usual problems that most hypothyroid patients have, plus they have a few extra from the autoimmune and genetic aspect of Hashimoto’s which can complicate the hair loss picture.
What does that mean for you?
It means if you have Hashimoto’s you still need to look at all of the “usual suspects” including:
- Iron and ferritin levels
- PLUS: Sensitivity to hair and makeup products
Those who have Hashimoto’s will know that they are often very sensitive to inactive ingredients which include dyes and fillers in all products ranging from supplements to shampoos and conditioners.
In addition to all of the recommendations above, you will want to make sure that you also ditch out low-quality hair products which you may be reacting to.
These products can damage what little hair you have left and some of the chemicals may be absorbed transdermally .
And last of all, you may need to look into genetic causes of hair loss which may be caused due to your genes .
How Can Adding Supplements To Your Diet Help Reduce Thyroid Hair Loss
Hair loss can take a toll on your physical and mental wellbeing, a position Simone Thomas understands personally. Simone has experienced hair loss from an underactive thyroid before and among other health issues, is what motivated her to start Simone Thomas Wellness as a way to help other women suffering from hair loss.Taking the right medication along with Simone Thomas Wellness recommended supplements can benefit women and men experiencing hair loss by easing symptoms and encouraging fast, healthy regrowth. There are effective medications available to level out hormone production in the thyroid. Daily hormone replacement tablets may be prescribed for hypothyroidism, increasing the amount of hormones in the blood stream until the correct level is established and stabilised. For hyperthyroidism, hormone production blockers may be prescribed to slow down hormone production and redress your hormone levels.After recovering from her hair loss, Simone spent years studying how our diet and lifestyle affects our hair, focussing on supplementation to boost hair health, and gut health to look after the body.
How Thyroid Disease Affects Hair Loss
When your thyroid production drops, your body processes slow down and change. This slowdown of the thyroid may cause uncomfortable symptoms like cold intolerance, weight gain, tiredness, shortness of breath, constipation, dry skin, irregular menstrual cycles, fertility issues, depression, , or thinning hair.
All of these symptoms are troubling to live with and interrupt our daily lives. One particularly concerning symptom that patients present with is hair thinning.
For many, hair is intrinsically bound in our identity. It can make us feel confident and empowered it can even hold the weight of cultural significance. So, understandably, hair loss can be highly emotional as you feel at loss of identity or self-image.
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Role Of Thyroid Gland In Your Body
The thyroid gland is one of the most important endocrine glands in your body. It is located under your voice box at the front of the neck. It regulates body functions by continually releasing thyroxine hormones into your bloodstream. Thyroxine acts as a catalyst for maintaining the rate of oxidative metabolism in most tissues of your body.
If your body needs more energy in certain situations like pregnancy, recovering from illness, etc., the thyroid gland produces more hormones. The pituitary gland helps the thyroid gland to make the right amount of hormones.
Cells in your body receive their ‘cue’ from thyroxine. Thyroxine stimulates cells to perform their functions quickly and upregulates cellular utilization of energy. The thyroid gland’s functional defects result in
- Hyperthyroidism
- Hypothyroidism
Treating Nutritional Deficiencies To Stop Hair Loss
The most common cause of hair loss is nutritional deficiencies. A deficiency in one or more vitamins or minerals can lead to a thinning of the hair shaft and eventually bald patches. Thankfully, most cases of hair loss can be treated by correcting the underlying nutritional deficiencies.
Taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement is the best way to ensure that you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. If you are not getting enough protein in your diet, then consider taking a protein supplement as well. Some evidence suggests that biotin may help improve hair health, so you may also want to consider taking a biotin supplement as well.
Make sure you are drinking plenty of water each day, as dehydration can also lead to hair loss. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, as they are a good source of vitamins and minerals.
If you are still suffering from hair loss after correcting your nutritional deficiencies, then you may want to see a doctor to determine if there is an underlying medical condition causing your hair loss. If you are diagnosed with a thyroid condition, then treating the thyroid disorder will usually resolve the hair loss as well.
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What Role Nutrition Plays In Helping To Curb Hair Loss
lead into our next question, which is what role do you feel nutrition plays in helping to curb hair loss and what nutritional changes or supplements do you recommend for your patients who are experiencing hair loss? So I think, again, going back to the dietary stuff is, especially when it coincides with thyroid patients, a lot of my thyroid patients are complaining about things like weight gain.
And so often we get into this nasty spiral of a super restrictive diet, or theyre looking at really low calories. We saw this wave over the last couple of years. I dont think its as bad as it used to be, but where everybody was doing things like the HCG diet, so eat 500 calories a day for so often.
And then, it makes sense. Youre depriving yourself with nutrients, youre doing it in an unhealthy way. And on that note, youre going to rebound weight with that kind of a severe restriction that you have. But, you want to make sure youre getting a well balanced diet. I think looking at diets like the autoimmune protocol diet or anti-inflammatory diet really helps with things like gut health and absorbing the nutrients that you are taking, especially when youre watching the kinds of foods youre eating.
How Common Is It To Experience Hair Loss From Thyroid Medication
It’s fairly common to see some hair loss due to thyroid medication. Usually, this is due to overmedication, which leads to hyperthyroidism, because hair loss is a symptom of both low and high levels of thyroid hormone. In most people, this is a short-lived side effect that occurs in the first month of treatment.
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Faq + Other Thyroid & Hair Loss Questions
If your questions weren’t answered in the information above I’ve also included several frequently asked questions below:
Can Thyroid Problems Cause Hair Loss?
Yes, both low thyroid and high thyroid levels can contribute to hair loss.
Hair loss is a documented and well-known side effect of both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.
Can Synthroid Cause Hair Loss?
Yes, one of the side effects of Synthroid is hair loss.
This may be due to the medication itself or due to your dose itself.
Both high and low dosages of levothyroxine can contribute to hair loss.
Will Taking Levothyroxine Make my Hair Grow?
If your hair loss is due to hypothyroidism then taking Levothyroxine will improve your hair.
Many times the state of hypothyroidism results in a cascade of hormone imbalances and nutrient deficiencies that all lead to hair loss.
This means that you must address all of these problems for best results.
Does Cytomel Cause Hair Loss?
Yes, Cytomel and Liothyronine can both cause temporary hair loss that is usually self-limiting within 2-4 months.
In most cases, the hair loss side effect from taking Cytomel will simply fade with time.
Does Armour Thyroid Cause Hair Loss?
Yes, NDT including Armour Thyroid, Nature-throid, and WP Thyroid can all cause hair loss.
Does Hyperthyroidism Cause Hair Loss?
Yes, too much thyroid hormone in your body can also contribute to hair loss.
This can come from taking too much thyroid hormone as well.
Will Hypothyroidism Cause my Eyebrows to Fall Out?
Blood Flow And Hair Regrowth
Losing your hair can be distressing, but if it is caused by thyroid disease it is most likely reversible. To help you on the journey towards healthy hair, it is key to focus on blood flow to scalp as it directly impacts hair follicle. If one of the symptoms of thyroid gland you are experiencing is hair loss, scalp stimulation becomes even more important as your body naturally produces less hormones to stimulate your hair follicles, so dont skip on additional support to your scalp.
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Get Rid Of Inflammatory Foods
Foods such as refined sugar and grains cause inflammation which can exacerbate hypothyroidism hair loss. In general, people with a thyroid issues should avoid gluten, sugar, and dairy in order to decrease inflammation and improve health. When I followed a strict autoimmune protocol and took the right supplements, my hair loss stopped in a matter of weeks.
Ferritin And Hair Loss
Studies suggest that people with low levels of ferritin may experience hair loss and thinning, especially those suffering from female pattern hair loss and male pattern hair loss. Ferritin is a protein that contains iron and is the primary form of iron stored inside of cells. When there isnt enough iron in the diet, the body takes ferritin stored in non-essential tissue, like that in your hair bulb, and gives it to essential tissue, such as your heart. Because your hair bulb is where all your hair cells are produced, this leeching of ferritin can cause your hair to shed before it reaches its maximum length.
The small amount of ferritin that is released and circulates in the blood is a reflection of the total amount of iron stored in the body. A quick boost of ferritin is available through eating lean red meat or fish or vegetarian and vegan options include iron-rich foods like kale, spinach and other dark leafy greens, also lentils, red kidney beans and pumpkin seeds that need to be combined with Vitamin C-rich foods to improve absorbency of iron into the bloodstream.
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How To Slow Or Reverse Hair Loss
The best way to restore your hair is to treat underlying conditions like hypothyroidism. Although it can be hard to wait, be patient with your body as it learns to adjust to your thyroid medication.
Aside from medication, there are several other steps you can take to boost hair thickness and growth.
Eat a well-balanced diet
Hair requires plenty of nutrients that are abundant in wholesome foods like vegetables, fruits, and meat. To increase the rate your hair grows and for more density, eat foods with plenty of iron, keratin, zinc, and vitamins A, B, C, D, and E.
If you try a supplement to boost your nutrient intake, you may wish to look for one with biotin. Bear in mind that biotin can interfere with some thyroid lab results, so check with your lab to ask if you should avoid taking biotin before testing your thyroid.
Note: Paloma Health’s lab uses a specialized assay, so there is no need to delay your medications or supplements, including biotin. You may also take the Paloma Health at-home thyroid test with or without regard to food, so no need to fast.
Limit harsh styling practices
Coloring, permanents, and hot styling tools are some of the most harmful things you can do for your hair. However, many of us use these practices to get the look we want. If you style your hair with anything that may cause damage, try to limit it as much as possible.
Treat any underlying scalp infections
Thyroid Function And Hair Loss: How Are They Linked
The key to seeing where your thyroid and hair may be related is to take action. Your doctor should know if you have hypothyroidism, but it can be difficult for physicians to find out if all of the symptoms aren’t accounted for. The good news is that there are other places, besides your thyroid gland, that secrete thyroxine so even if there’s a problem with this gland we’ll want to also see what the levels of this hormone in other parts of our body look like.
It will only take about 10 minutes of your time and will help you to better understand the relationship between your thyroid health and hair growth.
Your doctor can also do a blood draw to check not just for thyroxine but also for antibodies that are associated with Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder that is the most common cause of hypothyroidism. This blood draw can also help to determine the cause of your hair loss, even if you don’t have any symptoms of thyroid disease.
If you’re experiencing diffuse hair loss and think it might be related to your thyroid health, don’t wait-consult a specialist and get yourself self medically reviewed! You may need medication to bring your hormone levels back into balance and help to reverse some of the effects, like hair loss, that has already occurred.
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Thyroid Conditions And Alopecia Areata
Many people with thyroid conditions such as hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism suffer from autoimmune thyroid disease. People affected by autoimmune thyroid disease have a greater risk of developing other autoimmune conditions, such as alopecia areata.Alopecia areata is a type of autoimmune hair loss in which the bodys immune system targets and damages the hair follicles. Hair follicles that are targeted by the immune system can stop producing new hairs, resulting in hair loss.
Hair loss from alopecia areata usually occurs in small, often circular patches, rather than the receding hairline or crown hair loss of male pattern baldness or the diffuse thinning of thyroid hair loss. Some people with alopecia areata develop bands of bald skin, called ophiasis.
In severe cases, alopecia areata can also cause total hair loss on the scalp, as well as loss of hair in the eyebrows, eyelashes and beard area. Some people with alopecia areata may notice that their nails become slightly red, with a weak, rough and brittle texture or may have pitting in their nails.
If you have a thyroid condition and believe youre suffering from alopecia areata, contact your healthcare provider.. Several effective treatments can help you to manage the symptoms of alopecia areata, including corticosteroids.
Medications that stimulate hair growth, such as minoxidil, may also help to promote hair growth in people with alopecia areata.