Eyebrow Loss Help

[lexitt]

Hello everyone,

I'm a 21 year old male and since around July '09 I've been losing my eyebrow hairs daily and first noticed them on my pillow each morning.  ABout 3 months after encountering this problem, I develoepd an itch and flakes in my eyebrows.  My dermatologist brushed this off as seborreic dermatitis and prescribed a cream to help with the itch and flakes BUT I still continue to lose my eyebrows hairs

I'm able to pull several of them out with VERY little force.  This is not the only place I have this problem but also on my legs, chest, arms, although defintely not as bad as my eyebrows.

I have a family history of thyroid problems.  My mother was hypo and then had her thyroid removed, her mother and both brothers are either hypo or hyper.  

My question to you guys:  Does the ease in pulling out my eyebrows sound like hypothyroidism?  I'm losing hair across the whole eyebrows and not just the outer third.  Are people who have this problem able to pull their brows out with very little ease?

Bloodtests: TSH, 3rd Generation: 3.28.....T4, Free: 0.9.....I also had a vitamin d deficiency..11L

Any help is greatly appreciated!, reply to ***@**** if you aren't a member.

[sandib17]

I have in the past 6months + lost my eyebrows, hair on my arms, head hair has stopped growing and my skin is real itchy, but only in a couple of places. I have also put on weight which I don't understand as my diet has only changed for the better, even that is not a drastic change.
I am on HRT, have been for past 15yrs, as had ovaries removed at a young age.  have gone through an early menopause.  
Has anyone any suggestions as to what could be going wrong???
Thanks in anticipation.  

[MANmom]

I had Hashimotos, so did my dad.  He hardly had any hairs on the outside edges of his eyebrows.  My mom once said to me "you should not pluck your eyebrows so much".  I didn't at all.  When I had my thyroid removed due to cancer, my eyebrows are now growing back in.  Also, my joints feel better.

[Sue9823]

Yes they are easily pulled and fall out simply by washing my face with a cloth.  I also had a scalp problem that started last May and is now just under control.  I have been fortunate that I don't have any gray hair yet (genetics plays a big role) but I started to have an itchy scalp. The problem started as just a small sore but quickly progressed to large patches. A small red spot would suddenly appear then burst with a yellow liquid, something like a chicken pox blister.  Then the itch was unbearable. The skin was lifting off in chunks and then left a bald spot.  I tried cortisones, antibiotics, antifungals, alcohol, peroxide, vitamin A, vitamin E, even vinegar - but nothing helped. I used all the known shampoos for scalp issues then I noted that there were very coarse thick white/clear hairs that were growing in these itchy spots so I started to pluck them out.  The itch stopped.

I saw my doctor who didn't recognize this as anything he'd ever seen but said it was obviously systemic - gave me some strong antibiotics and a prescription fungal shampoo.  Nothing seemed to help until I managed to pluck all of the clear/white hairs out and then the shampoo cleared up the infection.   As well as a hypothyroid gland I also have an autoimmune called Sarcoidosis so we're not sure what the cause was.

However, every time I wash my hair, since last summer, I pull out handfuls of wet hair and my hairbrush gets emptied every other day. My son complains about the hair all over the house and my vacuum cleaner is full.  My hair is getting sparse but I'm surprised that I have any left at all!

[lexitt]

Interesting...were the hair follicles weak to the point you could pull them out with little force?  The reason I ask this question is because I may have another condition such as alopecia but the hairloss doesn't look like typical alopecia bald patches.  The hair also looks normal where those with alopecia have hair that grows in a unusual shape.  The meds I was on breifly for alopcia didnt't work so I'm now looking at thyroid problems as maybe the cause of this.

[lexitt]

Sorry it was 2.38, thanks for the help.  I had these tests done in January and had 2 more tests done in July and September.  I'm going to go get copies of those and compare my results.  

[gimel]

Was that TSH 2.38 or 3.28, like in first post?  Anyway over 7 years ago the Amer. Assn. of Clinical Endocrinologists recommended that the range be changed from .5-5.0 down to .3-3.0.  Unfortunately most labs and doctors still cling to the old range.  Don't forget though that TSH is just an indicator.  Symptoms are most important, followed by FT3 and FT4.  

Also, the ranges for FT4 and FT3 have never been similarly revised and in my opinion are far too broad.  That is why we frequently hear from Forum members that have FT3 and FT4 (like yours) in the lower part of the range and still have symptoms.  

[Sue9823]

Lexitt, I have the same eyebrow problems... flaking, itch, loss of hair. The new hair coming in is so coarse that it causes even more itch - to the point I have to pluck what little I have left!  I also noticed last summer that the hair under my arms and on my legs wasn't growing anymore (good for a woman I guess!) and that a hysterectomy scar that used to be covered was now about two inches above any hair growth.  Not only did I have low vitamin D (0.01 yes off the scale), my ferritin level was at 21 and should apparently be around 100.  I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's and hypothyroid and have been on 100mcg of levothyroxine for over 10 yrs without incident until last summer. I was being treated for depression and couldn't understand why I was sooooooo TIRED - until the bloodwork was done.

[lexitt]

Gimel,

Ref Ranges: TSH 3rd Gen.....0.40 - 4.50......Again I had 2.38

T4, Free.........0.8 - 1.8........I had 0.9

I've had some joint pain in my knees, and dry itchy skin which developed around the same time around the hairloss from the eyebrows.  I've gained approx 20 pounds within the past 7-8 months.  But that may or may not be due to increased appitite from a short stint when I tried to quit smoking.  I want to say depression too but that may be due to other reasons.

[gimel]

It would be helpful to know the reference ranges for those tests, since they are lab specific.  That would help us understand your situation. If you don't have the info, it is always good to get a copy of lab reports for reference.  Doctors are required to provide a copy upon your request.
Have you noticed any other symptoms of being hypo?  Certainly your family history and your hair loss suggests the possibility.  This needs to be followed up with additional testing.  TSH is a pituitary hormone that is inadequate as a diagnostic for hypothyroidism.  At best it is an indicator to be considered along with other more important indicators which are symptoms, as well as levels of the actual biologically active thyroid hormones, free T3 and free T4.  FT3 is the most important because it is four times as active as FT4, plus FT3 correlates best with hypo symptoms.  Doctors usually assume that don't need to test for FT3 if they test for FT4, because they are also assuming that the body is converting T4 to T3 adequately.  In view of its importance, why not just check and be sure.  

Also, the ranges for FT3 and FT4 are very broad, and we frequently hear from members that symptom relief necessitated that Ft3 was adjusted into the upper part of its range and FT4 was adjusted to at least midpoint of its range, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.

So I would go back and insist that they test for FT3, and also while you're at it, ask to be tested for thyroid antibodies, TPO ab and TG ab.  These latter tests would be to try to determine cause for being hypo.