Hi ladies,
A neighbor of mine has noticed thinning hair. She’s due for her annual physical in about 4 weeks but wants to compile a list of questions or at least areas of inquiry before that time. Here’s her summary:
She’s in her mid-late 60s, generally healthy, with no recent changes in health issues, medications, diet, etc. and obviously post-menopausal (nearly 20 years). She’s had sleep apnea for many years and uses a CPAP machine, but is still usually kind of tired. Still, she exercises (gym classes, weights, walking) and leads an active lifestyle (mows the lawn, runs the snowblower, etc.). She has always had fine hair, but thick (meaning a lot of it). She wears it fairly long these days, occasionally loosely stuck up in a clip but nothing really tight. She noticed last fall while looking at pictures from a wedding she attended that her hair seemed thinner. Upon closer examination in the mirror, she says she could see much more of her scalp than before. There aren’t any bald patches, just an overall sense of thinner hair. She has some more hair in her brush, but she wrote that off to longer hair in general. She seems to have some wispy pieces by her temples – not sure if that’s breakage or new growth. She also noticed the typical hair pattern changes elsewhere (less hair on her legs, very little in her armpits, and occasional new hairs on chin and upper lip) – those seem normal for her age.
I saw her recently for the first time without a hat (we had a LOONNGGG winter in New England!) and she pointed out her concerns. While her hair seems healthy (not excessively dry or damaged), I did notice that I can see more of her scalp than I had ever noticed – not that I was ever really looking at it before she called it to my attention. But I can see more of the rounded shape of her scalp (seeing skin, and not just at the edge of her forehead or in her part) rather than just hair. I hope that makes sense. She doesn’t have any noticeable scalp condition – no itching, no scaly patches, etc.
She has taken meds for hypothyroidism for about 30 years. She takes levothyroxine .1 mg. (down from .125 mg. which she took for many years). The reduction happened 3 years ago when her doctor ran thyroid tests, but then she had to change doctors due to insurance reasons, and the new doctor did an annual physical with full lab tests and confirmed the lower dosage. So, 2 doctors, 2 labs, 2 sets of tests. She takes a comprehensive, high-grade, patented supplement approved by her doctors, which has consistently improved her lab results in many areas over the past 10 years, improving her immune system and eliminating or reducing medications for a number of things. So, by itself, this reduction in thyroid meds wasn’t unexpected. She also takes fish oil as recommended by an orthopedist after a knee problem, but again, this has been noted and approved by her 2 regular physicians.
Due to her fixed income (Social Security), she let her hair grow long and she stopped getting it professionally colored. She does her roots herself (Clairol Root Touch-Up product, I think) but observes the time limits on the product. About every 5 months, she does her whole head. She’s done this for 3-4 years I think. She doesn’t over-wash her hair, rarely dries it (maybe once a week), and there’s no other processing like perms or highlights.
Does anyone have any experience with this or any suggestions of what she should either ask her doctor, what lab tests she should discuss, or what else she should keep track of between now and then? She’s thinking about going back on the higher dose of thyroid meds even though the reduction occurred well over a year before the hair thinning. If she were to go beyond her regular internist, where would she go? Or would that depend on lab results? Obviously she’ll discuss with her MD (whom she likes and who seems thorough), but any suggested areas of discussion or investigation would be appreciated!
ETA: Yes, she does wait at least the 4 hours between thyroid meds and supplements. Thanks for bringing that up though! She gets more than a full amount of B vitamins in what she takes, and she's not supposed to monkey around with additional single vitamins/minerals with that, lest it upset the balance of what she has. That's per the food scientists. She also gets the full battery of thyroid tests, not just the basics. I didn't ask about nails but I will - thanks for that!
Stress can thin hair.
It can be genetic as you age. It doesn't always have to be at the part (although this is usually where it starts) but it can be all over. Her mother may not have had it as she aged, but her dad's mother may have.
Anemia can do it as well.
My mom's hair thinned in her 60s and she always had thin hair. Not "see your scalp" hair but thin - which she and my dad passed on to me!! OH JOY! Thin hair is great! (NOT!)
Vitamin D3 - helps with the tiredness. I was tired all the time, like let me take a 30 minute nap every few hours tired - so not like me - went to the doctor and my Vitamin D levels were low. Getting more sun (arms MUST BE EXPOSED) helped but taking Vitamin D3 has me back up and operational.
My girlfriend is on thyroid medication. She has to take it wwwwaaayyyy before or wwwaaayyy after she takes vitamins and supplements.
Don't you sell supplements? Have you checked your list to see what you have that might help her?
Before I got to the last paragraph, I was going to suggest that she revisit her dose of levothyroxine with her doctor. I'm glad she is planning to do this. She should get her TSH, T4, and free T4 retested (not just TSH, which is the easiest to test but not the most sensitive).
She should also be careful about what she is taking at the same time that she takes her levothyroxine. She should take it at a different time of day than her supplement and always take it with water, not milk or other dairy products. I don't know what is in the supplement she takes, but calcium, iron, and other common supplement ingredients can decrease the ability of her body to absorb the levothyroxine. So even if she is taking it a dose that previously worked for her, she may be absorbing less of it than she was before if she takes it at the same time as the supplement.
Under adjusted thyroid will cause hair (and nail) problems.
My doctor tried to lower my thyroid medication and my hair and nails simply stopped growing.
I went back and told him - I hadn't cut my nails in 2 months - I need a higher dose.
Once my medication was raised back to it's prior level my hair and nails were growing again.
Not all doctors want to work with you regarding thyroid issues.
Besides thyroid and post menopause hormones - she should be sure she's getting the nutrients and minerals that hair and nails need to grow strong and healthy.
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses per day - for the sulphur
1 teaspoon FOOD grade diatomaceous earth per day - for the silica (put it in oatmeal or smoothies)
and a daily B vitamin complex
should help her hair and nails grow strong and maybe a little faster.
It works for me - but hair under arms, on legs, and my eyebrows grow faster too so need to trim more often.
My hair became thinner in my sixties. I have increasing male pattern thinning as well as all over thinning hair. It's genetic. This happened to most of my female relatives in my parents'.generation. My grandmother had thick healthy hair. I wish I'd gotten that gene.
I have a friend with this problem. She uses Monat shampoo, conditioner, etc. It’s all natural, leaves hair soft and supple, and actually helps hair grow back. If you want more info on Monat, message me. (My husband and I use the Monat system, too, and have found that my balding husband is losing far less hair and that it is actually filling in a wee bit.)
i'm almost 60 and mine is thinning a bit. i've always had thin hair so this is not a welcome development.
it's not severe enough that i'm doing anything about it (yet), but for occasions where it's super important to look fab and feel confident i use Toppik, a powder that claims to thicken the hair follicles. no clue if it does or not, but what it DOES do is just what i want- to very discreetly and elegantly tone down the pinky scalpy thing.
i don't use it often because i hate having 'product' in my hair. that and laziness are the reasons i keep my hair cut so that i don't have to do anything but towel dry it. i don't use a blow dryer, curlers or hair spray.
khairete
S.
