helping a coworker, advice or not?

[alfonsina]

I have a coworker who is losing her hair rapidly. She is 65 y/o and diabetic.
She is hypo and is taking 75 mg Synthroid. She showed me her labs the other day and the only thing they did was the TSH which is 3.0 (upper range 4.50).

She says she feel pretty good except for her hair lost which is very obvious (getting bold on the top of the head).
I suffer from hair lost and I feel for her like it was myself, however I am not sure if I should talk to her much about other treatments, T3 and so on.

To me her hair lost is also caused by her menopause (when she first saw the difference). She does not have insurance and go to a regular doctor at the hospital.

I have been to those doctors and they are very conventional, they do not test FT3 and do not give #$#$ for that test or the results of FT4.
I talked to her about Armour and that this medicine could help her with the hair lost. I also told hair that her TSH was high and that it shoud be at leat between 1 and 2. However, I do not want to talk to much, because she is diabetic, 65y/o and I do not know how she would react to T3.

On the other hand she feels well overall....and the doctors she sees will never give her armour or accept her TSH be lower than it is becuase according to them is in "range".

I do not know what to tell her, I would like to help her, but I see it difficult.

Plus she does not have acces to internet. I thought about giving her a book with more info.

[alfonsina]

Thanks for your comments, very helpful :-)

I guess diabetes meds act in the same way than iron pills, when it is adviced to take them at least four hours apart from thyroid meds.

[Smilerdeb]

I had minor hair loss with T4 med....usually hairs when I wash my hair in the bath but nothing major.
Hairloss is not from the diabetes....usually it stress related, (alopecia) or can be from being Hypo.
As her tsh is at 3.0 , I dont think it would be from the synthroid.
Maybe a vitamin deficeincy too.,

But yes, diabetes meds CAN muck up absorbtion of thyroid meds so usually if you have diabetes, they say to take the T4 med just before going to bed.
Obviously your friend would be on diabetes meds twice a day (presumption on my part) so tell her to take diabetes meds early morning then last ones at last meal at night...allowing 4 hours if possible between diabetes meds and thyroid meds.
It all depends if your friend is on insulin or tablets.

Metformin absorbs thyroid meds in the gut so a bit of friendly advice in this area would help her a lot.
If her diabetes is 'out of whack' then so too , would her thyroid levels.
If she follows a Low GI diet and eats plenty of grains, oats, rye bread (NO SOY) then her blood glucose levels should be good.
But if she is on Vascular meds......its important that these be taken as these avoid the risk of Vascular and Cardiovascular disease which all diabetics are at risk of.

Usually Diabetics have vascular problems in the legs or bowel.......something to be aware of .

I hope that helps you more and now you can understand that this friend is going through a 'juggling act' with the thyroid and diabetes.
Not easy on her and great to see she has a friend who cares x

[alfonsina]

woou, I did not know diabetes meds absorb thyroid meds. I am not aware of the meds she is taking for her diabetes. I know for sure she follows a strict diet, reading labels and all that. She is very good at it and eats very well. She even dropped some weight when diagnosed with diabetes.

Her concern is hair loss and I know Synthroid is evil when it comes to hair...been there, done that.

Thanks!

[Smilerdeb]

Its very hard with someone with diabetes....basically a catch 22 situation.
In order for her to maintain good health, her diabetes comes first and foremost with most Doctors.

To start with....some diabetic medication absorbs the thyroid meds and so she is getting LESS thyroid meds.
As for T3, I doubt very much that any Doc will put her on it at her age for 2 reasons.....heart issues and Vascular issues.
Most diabetics are at high risk of vascular disease if the diabetes isnt controlled.
YET if she is Hypo, she will have some weight gain which is also not good for the diabetes.
Her TSH at 3,0 is very good for a diabetic and most Doctors will keep her between 2-3 in the tsh range.

Persoanlly I would discuss the diabtes first and take it from there.......
Ask her what meds she is on for it, if shes on a vascular medication and if she is diabetes mellittis I or II.

General friendly chit chat would be a start....and ask her if she is on metformin for the diabetes.
If she is , then theres not much she can do as metformin does sometimes counteract with a T4 med but ...as I said , its a catch 22 situation.

Good Luck :)

[alfonsina]

Yeap. We get too personal sometimes. I think I will keep distance unless she asks me again. She said she would ask her doctor about NT and Armour. But again, these are doctors who only follow TSH "in range."

I definitely would like to buy her a thyroid book. Probably  Broda Barne's one. It is old, but still very up to date and easy to read!!

I think a book will speak much better than any hypo-troubled-still not good-hypo person  like me :-)

[LazyMoose]

This is at work - touchy.  But if anyone anywhere has a desire to feel better, and you just say " I used to feel like @#?! too, but , i tried something different, and improved a lot" - if they what to know more , they will ask for help/ advice. If you are close to this person and you hang that lure out there, they will ask if they want help, its human nature.

Thats my opinion as a male in the workplace, which might be different from womens opinions. Sometimes people can get too personal in the workplace and not know it. The neutral approach is best. And some strictly only believe in their current doctor - too bad.

Also T3 at 65 yrs, depending on heart health might not be the answer, but proper thyroid levels regardless of med used is important.