posted
A little history...I had untreated lyme and coinfections for 25 years. In 2008 finally got diagnosed. So much better now...but not better "enough"!
One of my most troublesome problems, which I feel is related to the lyme in some way, is my PMS and menstrual cycle....tremedous mood swings, cramps, sometimes unbearable.
So a year ago my OBGYN suggested progesterone. I take it 12 days out of the month. It helps my cramps maybe 50%, and the PMS is 50% better on it.
But, 50% is not enough. It is still torture.
My LLMD put me on a trial on Armour Thyroid 30mg. This was about 4 months ago. Within a week or two, I started to have more energy, my feet stopped being cold all the time, dry patches of skin were gone...and I could swallow food without it getting "stuck" in my throat. I feel like it really is helping me. (My thyroid tests came back "normal," but my LLMD believes in treating the symptoms.)
I started noticing an unusual amount of hair falling out of my head...and now it's really freaking me out. I am losing so much hair, that although noone else can notice yet, it's only a matter of time.
My hair, which has always been thick and in great shape, is so thin now. My LLMD took me is not sure what's causing it to fall out. She thinks it's either the Armour (which she does not think would cause it) or the Progesterone (which I recently increased).
She suggested that I try going off the armour for a few weeks, which I did, to see if there was a difference in the hair loss. The only thing I noticed during this time was that all my symptoms came back that the armour was helping me with.
So she said to go back on the armour. I have another appt with her next week.
I really don't want to go off the armour again since it is helping me.
I don't want to go off the progesterone because for the first time in forever, I have a somewhat tolerable cycle.
Any ideas or input? Which would be causing this - the armour, the progesterone, or the lyme and coinfections? I obviously need to take action here - whether it means going off of one of these things or whatever else.
Please advise! I cannot deal with this!! CB
Posts: 114 | From NY | Registered: Jul 2011
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annxyzz
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Honestly , I do not think thyroid meds are the problem . They help with hair growth !! And skin health also !
My guess is this : if you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed then the stress and anxiety is most likely the problem . I know this personally ! Divorce or loss of a child or a job or extreme stress often causes the grow shed cycle to be thrown off . I have seen it with myself and friends who had turbulence in their lives .
It will regulate again if you can manage your stress and moods and relax about the hair loss to a degree . Maybe you need a mood med or a supplement . I take low dose zoloft or prozac which is a lifesaver . Some people do well with SAM E , Ltheanine or other things. Fish oil will help with moods, hair and skin ! I would stay on the thyroid med . My improved immensely after starting it .
Some meds can cause hair loss that is usually reversible , like migraine meds. I think some parasite meds do too , but if you take them long enough to get to a maintenance dose , you will probably be ok .
STRESS and homone changes like pregnancy can cause hair loss ! Try to relax and remember thyroid helps your hair !
-------------------- annxyzz Posts: 1178 | From East Texas | Registered: May 2009
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annxyzz
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After each birth and pregnancy I lost lots of hair for a couple of months. Then it regulated ( the grow shed cycle ) . The best thing that happened to my hair ever is thyroid medicine ! It helped my hair look better than it had in my whole life !
-------------------- annxyzz Posts: 1178 | From East Texas | Registered: May 2009
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Lymeorsomething
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 16359
posted
It may be the thyroid meds but often this can be a temporary thing that will stabilize when your body adjusts to the new levels of thyroid hormone.
Keep an eye on ferritin level too. The hair needs it to be about 80-100. You need a proper ferritin level to handle the thyroid meds as well.
-------------------- "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." Posts: 2062 | From CT | Registered: Jul 2008
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TerryK
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posted
Get checked for diabetes. Ask for an A1c to see what's been happening over the past 3 months.
Some ppl feel treatment causes hair loss. There are posts in the archives about this.
Hope you get it figured out but for sure have yourself checked for diabetes whether you think you have it or not because it's hard to tell without some blood sugar numbers.
Terry I'm not a doctor
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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posted
OMG, diabetes??? I thought I had enough to worry about . I have had blood work done over the past few months, both at my LLMD and my OB/GYN...wouldn't they have picked up on diabetes? I never heard of an A1c....panic is setting in.
Stress and chaos in my life...just settled my divorce a few weeks ago to a man who relapsed into his drug and alcohol addiction, causing me and our four children the most stressful, horrific two years of our lives...I have lived in a constant state of panic for two years (not including the ten years of marriage to a depressed, emotionally abusive control freak). I have spent the past two years protecting my children from his rages and scary personality changes- order of protection, multiple arrests, etc...(his arrests, not mine!)... About a month ago things started to improve and I think he is in recovery - he is no longer being "crazy" and scary, and we were able to settle our divorce.
The point of my sharing that was to say that I have had more stress in my life than I ever dreamed possible - BUT...I don't see why my hair would start to fall out NOW? Things are finally at the point where I can relax and breathe a little...
I have been reading the archives and I have seen how some people say Armour has caused their hair loss - certainly this is possible. But I don't want to believe it...
I will ask my LLMD about my ferritin level when I go this week.
As far as Zoloft or something like that - I weaned off of it last year. I don't want to be on it again (or another SSRI) - I just hate how I feel on them.
I do happen to be weaning off of Adderall - over the past few months I have gone from 20 mg twice daily to 5 mg once a day. I wonder if the withdrawl from this could have anything to do with my hair loss?
Thank you so much everyone!!!
Posts: 114 | From NY | Registered: Jul 2011
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posted
I noticed that my hair was falling out over the years that I had Lyme and didn't know it, so I would vote for stress affecting the immune system. I don't think it's the thyroid med.
Posts: 13116 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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annxyzz
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posted
You sound very anxious and stressed. Believe me stress hormones can cause a multitude of abnormalities . Some of us ( like me ) over produce the stress hormones inherently . Digestive issues , difficulty sleeping , hair loss , and many other things can result from too much stress hormone production .
Also , give your hormones time to stabilize .
-------------------- annxyzz Posts: 1178 | From East Texas | Registered: May 2009
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Razzle
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Biotin may help - at least, it works when medication is the cause of the hair loss.
B Complex vitamins are also needed - they help with stress and with hair health.
Stress-related symptoms are often delayed, so yes, it would make sense that the hair loss would start after the major stress has stopped.
And every time I'm on steroids for allergies, about 3 months later, I have massive hair loss. This may be a response to the elevated cortisol from the steroids.
Stress increases cortisol too, so that may be a factor in the stress-related aspect of the hair loss.
As for the cramps & PMS, B Vitamins and Magnesium are important, especially B6 & Folic Acid (or P5P & 5-MTHF if you have methylation issues).
Also, I found my cramps, migraines & PMS improved dramatically when I stopped eating all gluten (wheat, rye, barley, spelt).
For me, the gluten was decreasing my progesterone relative to estrogen and causing the problem.
If I have perfect avoidance (including avoidance of airborne gluten), I have 0 migraines, 0 cramps, and minimal PMS.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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posted
It seems my hair falls out when I'm taking doxy. Are you on doxy by any chance?
Posts: 463 | From Sandusky, Ohio | Registered: Jan 2012
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posted
jlf2012 - No, not on doxy. Currently on Mepron and Zith. Before that it had been a while (about 4 months) since I had been on an antibiotic.
Razzle- I have been gluten-free for a year and a half, and dairy free for about 8 months...I haven't noticed ANY improvement in my PMS and cramps, unfortunately..however, I have noticed much less brain fog, and my stomach issues have dwindled significantly...
I admit I sometimes have a bit of gluten in a sauce or something like that - not often, but here and there. I can't seem to grasp that a tiny bit would prevent me from reaping the benefits of going gluten free. But maybe I should try?
Thanks everyone. It certainly helps to have input!
Posts: 114 | From NY | Registered: Jul 2011
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Razzle
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Yes, I have to be 100% gluten free to get rid of the cramps/migraines. One whiff in the bread aisle in the grocery store and I have cramps for any cycles within the following 6+ weeks.
It takes at least 6 weeks for gluten proteins to be eliminated from the GI tract, and up to 1 year for gluten proteins to be eliminated from the nervous system.
So yes, 100% avoidance is necessary.
Oh, and for me, I also have to be corn-free. I can cheat with corn starch, but otherwise any corn meal, corn on the cob, cooked corn, popcorn, corn flakes, etc., is out. If I just get exposed to corn, I don't think it is enough to trigger the cramps.
For me, the combination of gluten + corn, or when I was still eating corn but was gluten-free, I was still getting cramps. So I had to eliminate corn too.
-------------------- -Razzle Lyme IgM IGeneX Pos. 18+++, 23-25+, 30++, 31+, 34++, 39 IND, 83-93 IND; IgG IGeneX Neg. 30+, 39 IND; Mayo/CDC Pos. IgM 23+, 39+; IgG Mayo/CDC Neg. band 41+; Bart. (clinical dx; Fry Labs neg. for all coinfections), sx >30 yrs. Posts: 4166 | From WA | Registered: Feb 2011
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AuntyLynn
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Hair Loss is a classic sign of hypothyroidism. I would say stick with the Armour, it has an excellent reputation as being better than other thyroid drugs.
Your hair loss after you started Armour may just have been the result of your thyroid condition BEFORE started medicating. How long does it take a hair shaft to grow? I know that Blood cells take 90 days - so I'm guessing that it will take 90 days on Armour (at least) to see a reduction in hair loss. Just an educated guess.
Posts: 1432 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jan 2012
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Catgirl
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Member # 31149
posted
I agree with Razzle, I'd jack up my B vitamins, and also take some herbs for adrenals. Also, evening primrose oil.
Lyme sucks so many nutrients out of us--it makes sense that we need more supplementation when stressed out.
Also the vit. D. It actually turns into a hormone. My vit D levels have always been low, even though I supplement with 5000iu/day.
However, I recently started forcing myself to sit in the sun (even though it's humid outside) for 15 min a day with a magazine. What a difference that is making for me. It calms me down. Such a nice feeling (I forgot that form of peace).
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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posted
Look at sulfite allergies. My friends son who is Lyme found out he had allergies to this that caused hair loss, swollen lymph gland and a host of other issues. Sulfites are in tons of products just not foods.
Posts: 620 | From Ks | Registered: Oct 2011
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posted
Look at sulfite allergies. My friends son who is Lyme found out he had allergies to this that caused hair loss, swollen lymph gland and a host of other issues. Sulfites are in tons of products just not foods.
Posts: 620 | From Ks | Registered: Oct 2011
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momlyme
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When I was living in the house we found to be VERY MOLDY... I was losing massive amounts of hair. I know many other people who have had massive hair loss from mold.
Mold can also hold down your immune system and make the Lyme symptoms worse... plus many of the symptoms of mold and lyme overlap.
Toxic mold was suppressing our immune systems, causing extreme pain, brain fog and magnifying symptoms. Four days after moving out, the healing began. Posts: 2007 | From NY/VT Border | Registered: Aug 2010
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Kudzuslipper
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Member # 31915
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Caanan, my hair was thinning too. I was blaming abx/Lyme. I also have had a hair transformation... My naturally curly hair is all of a sudden straight. I switched to a sulfite free shampoo/conditioner and it seems to be thickening again. But still straight. It is baffling me.
Tip from my hairdresser to share with you about stimulating hair growth, don't know if your Lyme will allow you to do this. But in the shower if you can rinse your hair bending forward massaging your scalp under hot water as you go. It does stimulate hair growth. Do both for shampoo and conditioner.
My alpha lapoic acid also has biotin it it... Biotin can't hurt.
Posts: 1728 | From USA | Registered: May 2011
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. I have had blood work done over the past few months, both at my LLMD and my OB/GYN...wouldn't they have picked up on diabetes? I never heard of an A1c....panic is setting in.
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