I just found out my thyroid is suppressed (borderline), so I my doctor is suggested thyroid hormone replacement. I haven't spoken with her yet about it. I have gotten quite a lot of hair growth back, but not 100%. Following my Explorer diet has definitely made a difference in that arena.

I wonder what brand of thyroid hormone is best.

Hey Chandon,

I was on thyroid meds for several years and really, you just have to try and see what works for you.  Synthroid did nothing for me, but Armour thyroid did work.  I do have to say though that my naturopath had said to me (almost two years ago) that if I got all the mercury fillings out of my teeth and did a heavy metal detox, my thyroid would get better.  I was sceptical....but what do you know....I'm completely detoxed and have recently discovered that I don't need my thyroid meds.  It was a LONG and EXPENSIVE process however...I'll warn you ahead of time!  It's really sad that in this day and age of health insurance, that they don't pay for the stuff that actually creates health (and this coming from a nurse! haha).  Anyway, you should definately try the meds if you are symptomatic (thyroid affects hair, skin, nails, energy level, gut function...), but only if you feel it is the right choice for you.  

Be well

I was thinking that in addition to the recommendations you are pursuing that perhaps going without shampoo would be helpful.  It seems to me that the less you strip your natural oils from your scalp, the less likely you'll have problems with your hair follicles.

I've been shampoo free for many years.  I use a commercially made conditioner to wash my hair and scalp.  I apply the conditioner and then massage my scalp, leave it on for a bit and then rinse.

Many have moved to a homemade conditioner but I've yet to make that leap.

It takes 2-4 weeks to adjust to no shampoo partially because the body overproduces oils to replace what's removed via shampoo.  A slow adjustment can make it easier.  If you currently shampoo once a day, try shampooing 3 times a week.  On the off days, massage your scalp with commercial conditioner or water or homemade conditioner.  

Uh ha - you have hair loss..? Look below at my picture If you find something that works let me know

I had lots of hair thinning for about a year (but I was on the wrong genotype diet for 18 months) and
now on my SWAMI since August, I notice lots of new hair growing back in.  

My acupuncturist worked on my hair loss, gave me teas and herbal formulas which I'm still taking...so
it's possible a combination of things helped.  I massage my scalp first thing in the morning while bending
my head down towards to my feet.  

I also take this product....http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/Item01400/Super-Absorbable-Tocotrienols.html

Also, make sure your shampoo doesn't contain sodium laurel sulphate....It is the same as dish detergent.

Interesting about the detox. I am an Explorer and am probably in need of detoxing. I don't think I have any mercury fillings at this point. I'll have to check with my dentist. I think I had an old filling that was replaced and that others are mercury free. I hope so! I wonder if all the x-rays we get at the dentist put us at risk for thyroid problems.

Gatherer's, I read somewhere that we don't need estrogen replacement.  But what about the creams?  Can someone give me advice that have gone thru this?  Can you PM me so I can be more specific.

If you have ever had mercury fillings in your life or have been vaccinated at any point......you have mercury levels in your body.  I would be willing to bet every single one of us has mercury in our body.  The bad part....it never leaves unless you detox.  Your body doesn't naturally get rid of it.....it just builds up over time and is stored in the brain.  Unfortunately, unless you get your fillings out, detoxing is pointless, because it just keeps getting released from the fillings.  

I actually had an incident with mercury as a child with a broken Etch a Sketch.

Well, nothing has helped much.  I have stopped loosing my hair in large amounts, but no regrowth.  I have been reading one of Dr Uzzi Reiss's books about bioidentical hormones. In a section about supplementing testosterone he says "caffeine may also be helpful in counteracting head hair loss".  

I had stopped all caffeine use when I went onto genotype, which was about 3 months after discontinuing wheat.  Maybe is that.  I will get to drinking some green tea and see what happens.  I stay away from any caffeine to keep my blood pressure from reaching a point where I have to take medication.

maukik...

i was just about to ask if you changed anything major 3 months prior to the start of the hair loss? My hair stylist told me that sudden, significant hair loss occurs 90 days after the "incident"... the incident being a dietary change, a major stressor, medication, accident, etc.

Also - over the last few years have you been on any anti-depressants or other similar meds - like for migraines?

A rare side effect is hair loss. A couple of years ago i had this problem and it was due to some migraine meds... and it took 90 days after discontinuing them for the hair loss to stop. Then it started again a couple of months later.. then stopped...then started again... and so on.  

Since you are an explorer... meds will probably just hang about your system/liver for a while. And after going off of them, it will take a while for it to leave your system so you;ll still lose hair for a while. This part of the reason i think i might be an Explorer... just waiting on my secretor test results to know for sure.

Also - commercial hair dye can cause hair loss - usually 4 weeks after application.

I found acidopholus, biotin & copper very helpful. good luck

From personal experience, and loosing lots and lots of hair, I can recommend getting a hair mineral analysis and checking for heavy metals.

I wish i had done this sooner !!

Hi, Maukik.

Since you are a B, have you tried coconut oil? I found that eating and applying coconut oil on my scalp and hair really helped my hair. In fact, my hair has grown longer and stronger. In addition, I do not have as much hair falling out, either. My scalp irritation is gone, too!

You can use the oil was a pre-wash before showering. Massage it into your scalp, let it sit for an hour or two and then wash your hair. Or, you can use it as conditioner (I do both the pre-wash and conditioner; the conditioner method lasts longer since the oil is locked into your hair when the follicles open up in hot water and the oil gets deposited). The conditioner method might leave your hair a bit greasy if it is short. You can dust baking soda and brush it out. It will give your hair amazing volume. My short shag-length hair (was a long pixie cut only a month ago) looks like it was blown out by a professional because of the volume. At first, the oil made it look flat but the baking soda helped.

You can also use tiny amounts (pea-sized) on your ends. However, you may want to look into conditioning your scalp. Some people do the pre-wash/hair conditioner method on a weekly basis. I work for home these days so I am taking advantage of doing it every other day.

If by chance, you have thyroid issues which is affecting the hair, try ingesting the oil. The coconut oil is supposed to balance it out. I noticed that my skin and hair were less dry just from eating the oil, at first.

Good luck!

Quoted from passionprincess

Hi, Maukik.

Since you are a B, have you tried coconut oil? I found that eating and applying coconut oil on my scalp and hair really helped my hair. In fact, my hair has grown longer and stronger. In addition, I do not have as much hair falling out, either. My scalp irritation is gone, too!

You can use the oil was a pre-wash before showering. Massage it into your scalp, let it sit for an hour or two and then wash your hair. Or, you can use it as conditioner (I do both the pre-wash and conditioner; the conditioner method lasts longer since the oil is locked into your hair when the follicles open up in hot water and the oil gets deposited). The conditioner method might leave your hair a bit greasy if it is short. You can dust baking soda and brush it out. It will give your hair amazing volume. My short shag-length hair (was a long pixie cut only a month ago) looks like it was blown out by a professional because of the volume. At first, the oil made it look flat but the baking soda helped.

You can also use tiny amounts (pea-sized) on your ends. However, you may want to look into conditioning your scalp. Some people do the pre-wash/hair conditioner method on a weekly basis. I work for home these days so I am taking advantage of doing it every other day.

If by chance, you have thyroid issues which is affecting the hair, try ingesting the oil. The coconut oil is supposed to balance it out. I noticed that my skin and hair were less dry just from eating the oil, at first.

Good luck!

Me too, PP....my hair stopped falling out in the last 2 weeks just by making all my fat/oils coconut oil...I'm rubbing it all over my skin after a shower....eating it....rubbing it on my scalp at night, washing it out in the AM....putting a little bit all over my hair after I wash and dry it.  Also not washing hair as often....using latherless shampoo that has no sodium laurel sulphate...
(WEN)

I've changed shampoos dozens of times until I found WEN....Hair and scalp feel clean...but
nothing in the formula is harmful to my hair's roots.  I notice in some places where little
hair sprouts are growing, they're growing in areas where my forehead hair was creeping
backwards and hair was starting to thin out and not grow back....I am seeing little sprouts
of new hairs that look fatter/stronger/dark instead of wispy grey.

I'm not going to live this way long term....eating 3 T of coconut oil per day....but I think I
was severely deficient in medium chain fatty acids.....perhaps overly burdened with long
chain fatty acids....and my balance was just "off"....My hair has been thinning for years...
I quit eating soy foods to see if it would stop. It didn't....A few weeks ago, I had so much
hair on my hairbrush...and so much hair on the shower drain that I started reading everything
on the web about hair loss....and many coconut oil articles came up.  I also have Bruce
Fife's book and he speaks about hair/scalp/skin and the lauric acid/monlaurin in coconut
oil.

I've always craved coconut oil...While following the BTD for A, CO was a toxin...but now for
me it's a diamond food....As a child I ate a lot of coconut...drank a lot  of coconut milk.  My
dad used to travel down to FL (we lived in Ga) and bring back a lot of coconuts.  We always
had raw coconut in our refrigerator....and out of my entire family, I was the one eating it up.
I don't get coconut on my SWAMI, but the oil just feels so right for me.  Perhaps my thyroid
has been given the boost it needs.  Better than taking meds....better to eat something totally
natural that acts like medicine.

I'm wheat free too. I'm also gluten free....Everything is about balance.....I honestly think CO
is one of my missing links.....When I feel balanced again, I will go back to some of my other
beneficial oils.....I still use a little ghee in cooking....but now instead of olive oil/butter/other
fats, I'm subbing CO.....Some days I crave it so much I literally just eat a few T out of the jar..
My body wants CO really really badly!  Nutiva is my favorite brand.  Many other brands taste
like soap.

I also want to add that in addition to changing my diet by ingesting more coconut oil, I'm also taking Cortiguard.  It's possible that being very stressed out causes hair loss.

I'm not sure which has been more beneficial...the Cortiguard or the CO. Perhaps both!

Just feeling more energetic and sleeping better.....hardly any anxiety.

But also doing more yoga, more alternative nostril breathing.....qi gong a few times a week.

Glad to read of all of your good benefits from coconut oil. Coconut oil went from a SF to an avoid for me.  Not sure what I put into SWAMI to make the change. I have Nutiva.  I will use it topically and report back.  At least it has stopped falling out so drastically.  

Zen, never taken anti-depressants or other meds.  The only medication I take is Cytomel (T3), bioidentical estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.  Without changing my dose of testosterone, I just found that my blood level did increase over the year.  I have just had my doctor call in a lower dose.  I also just increased my thyroid dose.  TSH was 2.2, but doc said we could increase my dose.  Maybe that will help.  I plan to go to Armour after I adjust to my lower dose of testosterone.  Gotta make one change at a time.

Steph- the hair analysis may be something in my future.

topically, this says emu oil combined with coconut oil is a good combination to re-grow hair

http://immortalhair.forumandco.com/t3492-report-on-emu-coconut-oil-topical-combo

Thanks, Chloe!  I have both.  I will give them a try.

You may want to "oil wash" your hair and use a fine tooth comb to comb out the oil while in the shower. That way, the oil stays in your hair and you are getting rid of the extra greasiness.