Re: HELP ! My doctor said I need to treat my female hormones - HAIR LOSS ANSWERS?

[Guest guest]

Jackie, I don't know enough yet to answer any hormone related questions, but I can give you some suggestions for your hair loss issues. I've been losing hair for more than 10 years and started to see a big fall when I started on Synthroid. (yuck!).

There are several things you can do to help with hair loss, though none are a cure.

Iron:

To help bring up your iron levels, take vitamin C with each meal.

If you take iron supplements, take them with something acidic like orange juice.

Cereal and grits are two good sources of easy iron. Each serving has about half a day's RDA of iron. I'll have two packets of grits for breakfast sometimes to start the day off right.

Supplements:

Biotin is a great hair supplement. It helps the hair to grow faster. I've even had people comment about my eyelashes when I take it.

Evening Primrose Oil -- very important to take when you're suffering from hair loss. Maybe even one of the most key supplements to take.

Omega 3's/Fish Oil -- good for skin, hair, eyes. Good general anti-inflammatory. Part of hair loss can be connected to inflammation issues.

Vitamin D

Have you had your Vitamin D tested? Thyroid issues can cause depression, as can PCOS, but a deficiency in Vitamin D can also contribute. Most of us are deficient. Have your doc test Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy.

"Vitamin D deficiency is being linked with bone trouble, lower back pain, heart trouble and now depression." http://longevity.about.com/od/mentalfitness/a/vitamin_D_depre.htm You can do a search on "Vitamin D deficiency" and "depression" and see what you'll come up with.

Lysine

There's a good page on this supplement and hair loss in general at http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/hairloss.htm, with a supporting statement from Shoman.

In a recent study, Dr Hugh Rushton, a professor at Portsmouth University, also found that 90 percent of women with thinning hair were deficient in iron and the amino acid lysine. Lysine is the most difficult amino acid to get enough of via diet. Lysine helps transport iron, which is the most important element in the body and essential for many metabolic processes. When lysine and iron levels are low, the body probably switches some hair follicles off to increase levels elsewhere. Meat, fish and eggs are the only food sources of lysine. There are also supplements that contain lysine.

Some other natural ways to deal with hair loss include:

Arginine Cysteine Green Tea Polysorbate 80 Progesterone Saw Palmetto Trichosaccaride Vitamin B6 Zinc

High testosterone levels:

I see your testosterone is high/above the range. High testosterone is typically a marker for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, or PCOS. PCOS brings symptoms of hair loss, irregular or missed periods, acne, sleep apnea, weight gain, infertility and other issues. Your doctor can prescribe Spironolactone to help reduce testosterone levels. Mine prescribed it specifically to help with hair loss. Saw Palmetto is an OTC supplement that is good for hair loss. The label will say it's for prostrate health and for men only, but it is often used in women with high testosterone.

For me, the "biggies" that I work on are increasing my iron and taking both Evening Primrose Oil and Biotin. I'm also starting to add Lysine, particularly since it seems linked to iron.

Other folks have tried Rogaine with some success, but I didn't see any results, unfortunately.

I hope this info is helpful.

Subject: HELP ! My doctor said I need to treat my female hormones before treating my RT3To: RT3_T3 Date: Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 11:17 AM

I had a doctors appointment yesterday. He's redoing most of my lab work and I'm finally getting Ferrtin tested. I asked if he would give me Cortif for my adrenals and he said NO, you don't need Cortef. My saliva results for Adrenals are7:00 0.310 0.025 - 0.600 12:00 0.010 < 0.010 - 0.330 4:00 0.019 0.010 - 0.200 11:00 < 0.010 < 0.010 - 0.090I asked what he is going to do about my High RT3 362 90 - 350 and he said that my female hormones need to be treated first. These results are from a saliva test.DHT 36 15 – 75 pg/mlEstrone 9 35 – 65 pg/mlEstradiol 11 postmenopause- no HRT 1 -4Progesterone 44 5 – 95Free Testosterone 21 8 - 20I'm losing tons of hair, can't sleep, very bad depression, tired, very emotionallly upset, I don't want to get out of bed in the morning and I don't socialize because of the way my lack of hair looks, and anxiety. I've have been to many doctors, and I

was told that my labs are fine. My thyroid labs from August are T4, Free Direct 1.02 0.61 - 1.76 TSH 0.942 0.450 - 4.500 Free T3 2.7 2.3 - 4.2 Right now the only Med I'm using is Progesterone cream 15 mg. I get this from a Compounding Pharmacy with out a prescription. The doctor gave me SeroQuel XR he said it will help me sleep and calm me down. I googled it when I got home , their is no way I'm taking this. I just went through years of doctors giving me numorous meds to cover my problems.Is their anything I can take for the anxiety to get through what seems like is going to be a very long process before I feel well and stop losing hair?Do you think this doctor is right about treating female hormones before the adrenal and RT3?Please any advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Jackie