Bald Spots, Hyperthyroidism Postpartem

Updated on July 28, 2010
A.B. asks from Simpsonville, SC
7 answers

I need some info and some help. I am losing my hair and have bald spots due to hyperthyroidism postpartem. My baby is 4 months old. Anyone else out there had this? I was told to start on methimazole (tapazole) but have not after reading that postpartem thyroidism usuall reverts to hypothyroidism and if I am already on medication to lower the thyroid then I would be super low and have a whole host of other problems. Here are my questions...have any of you ever been dx with this? If so how long did it take to resolve and what was your treatment plan? Did you lose your hair and when did it come back? What did you do if anything to make your hair grow back? Someone suggested rogaine for women but stated that once you stop it your hair will fall out again. Any other treatment options? Also, this is not defintiely post partem related. I have to have more blood work completed and more follow up before they determine is this post partem or is this grave's disease.

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J.S.

answers from Dallas on

I have lost hair since I got prego with my second son, going on 18 months now with hair lose. Mine is Alopecia. It is actually normal to lose hair up to a year postpartum. Hang in here and see it if comes back on its own before you put chemicals in your body to bring it back.

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K.S.

answers from Atlanta on

Hi A.,

I am sorry you're going through this. This is exactly what happened to me when my son (now 4) was the same age. I have Graves disease.
My best advice would be to LEARN everything you can about thyroid problems and the blood tests that you have done. There are lots of message boards, books and articles by Mary Shomon and other resources to help. Find a good endocrinologist or internist with thyroid experience. I am not necessarily an advocate for lots of medical intervention, but you should know both sides because every case is different.
I started losing my hair, tons of weight, had muscle weakness, heart palpitations and just about every hyper symptom. My first doctor said it was just 'a postpartum thing' treated only the palpitations and I eventually lost every strand of my shoulder length hair and 80 pounds. Had I known what I do now I would have sought more opinions sooner and been more educated about the labs I was doing. (TSH, TSI, t3and t4 ) Looking back I can see that I was very sick and my tsh too low to have gone that route. Eventually I did take PTH and methimazole for a year and finally had surgery. I chose not to do the radioactive iodine because of my son and breastfeeding. As soon as I was on the anti-thyroid meds, my hair started growing back. Now of course I have to take thyroid replacement forever since I had a total thyroidectomy. I wonder if I had been treated sooner if it would not have gotten to the point of needing surgery so please do your research! Hopefully your levels are not that bad and can be treated without medication.

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L.Z.

answers from Atlanta on

It's possible that some of your hair loss is not thyroid-related. When you're pregnant, you don't lose all the hair you normally would--it just stops falling out every day like usual. After the baby is born and your hormones settle down, you lose all of that. It's hair you would have lost if you weren't pregnant, so it's not extra hair, but it still looks like a ton of it. Around 4 months after both of my kids were born, mine came out like crazy. That is normal.

Since you also have a thyroid problem, it's probably worse than usual post-partum hair loss. I have heard that the rogaine shampoos and treatments are the way to go.

N.P.

answers from San Francisco on

I have hypothyroidisms and have been treating it for years. Just get your thyroid tested every month or so until you stabilize, then have blood work done every three months to update your prescription. You may not end up needing any meds once you level out.

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M.H.

answers from Atlanta on

Hi A.,

Everyone of these things could be related to your immune system. Grave's disease, if it is that, is simply an autoimmune problem targeting your thyroid. There are several ways to build your immune system. If you want to talk more about everything, I'll be glad to listen and give my thoughts. I personally don't have any experience with any one of these issues but have known people who did and they improved with some immune support.

God bless,

M.

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V.T.

answers from Atlanta on

Just wanted to say that you should give it a couple more months. My hair fell out after my first child and after my second child, my daughter, it came out like mad for 6 months! I never thought there was a problem because my OB said this was normal.

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P.G.

answers from Atlanta on

Hi. I had the same thing happen to me and it was determined that I had graves disease. I had my thyroid removed and now take sythroid daily. My hair did come out a lot. Before I knew what was going on when I got a perm or color it would burn like my head was on fire. So I stop getting both. My eyes did start to potrude. After I got everything under control I had eye surgery to help correct them. (covered under insurance) Once you get the blood work and the meds get in your system you will feel better and your hair will stop falling out and you will see growth. I do suggest you have your levels checked frequently with your doctor. Hope this helps.

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