Hair Loss

[Pamw31]

I am a 55 year old female with loss of hair on her forearms and eyebrows.  I have a some thinning at the temples.  My TSH is 2.570 - which my GP says is normal.  He thinks hair loss may be a result of stress, however, I have not been under any more stress than normal life.  I have had high cholesterol and osteoporosis for many years, which have not responded to meds.  What do you think?  Can you have a normal TSH and still have a thyroid issue?  GP wants me to see an dermatologist and not an endocrinologist.  Help!  I am really upset about the hair loss.

[Pamw31]

Wow!  Thanks for the advice.  Would the body hair loss and the persistent cholestrrol and osteoperosis be symptoms?  Why is GP so insistent upon referring me to a dermatologist?  I asked for a referral to an endocrinologist and he said no!

[Barb135]

Yes, you can have normal TSH and still have hypothyroidism.  TSH is a pituitary hormone and is an indicator of thyroid status, at best.  It should never be used alone to diagnose or treat a thyroid condition.  

You need to have the actual thyroid hormones, Free T3 and Free T4 tested.  Those are the hormones that the thyroid actually produces and are the determining factors when diagnosing thyroid conditions.  You should also be tested for thyroid antibodies, which would determine if you have Hashimoto's Thyoiditis, which is an autoimmune thyroid disease, in which the body sees the thyroid as foreign, so produces antibodies to destroy it.  Tests to be done are Thyroid Peroxidase Antibodies (TPOab) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TGab).  You need them both, because some people have one, some the other and some have both.

With Hashimoto's, it's not uncommon for symptoms to start before labs (TSH, FT3 and FT4) actually indicate a problem.