I am losing hair in large quantities. I run my fingers through it and 10 - 15 come off each time on each hand. No matter how many times a day. I am not pulling it, it comes away. There is hair everywhere. I do not color my hair, or process it in any way.
And I have this issue with sweating, and temp control in general.
And my nails are splitting horizontally and vertically. They used to be hard and tough, and easy to grow.
My last tests done in November showed my TSH to be 1.94.
T3 and T4 haven't been done since March. Then my free T4 was 1, and T3 was 67. Seemingly normal.
But it is getting worse. I don't know what to do.
Any suggestions?
Getting sorta desperate!
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Hi Lesley,
Sorry to hear that another problem has turned up. Hair loss is not a common side effect, but apparently something like 5 to 10 % of people who take LDN experience varying degrees of increased hair loss.
However, I'm not aware that nails are affected by LDN. So that brings to mind the possibility of low stomach acid. Low stomach acid can cause both hair loss and nail damage (plus other problems).
Absent or inadequate gastric acid limits our ability to digest and absorb proteins, vitamins and minerals. Minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, selenium, and zinc can become deficient. Low gastric acid can limit our ability to absorb vitamins such as B12, B-9 (folic acid), and B-1 (thiamine).
A selenium deficiency can inhibit the ability of hair to grow, and a zinc deficiency can cause hair loss. Likewise, a thiamine deficiency is known to cause hair loss. A calcium or magnesium deficiency can cause brittle nails, and an iron deficiency commonly causes nail splits.
Since low gastric acid limits our ability to digest food, it can reduce our absorption of amino acids needed for protein production. This limits our ability to form collagen, resulting in hair loss and muscle loss.
This can also be the result of long-term use of a PPI, but I don't recall that you're taking a PPI, so that leaves low stomach acid as a likely suspect. Obviously, since I'm not a doctor, and don't have any test data, I can't claim that this is your problem, but it's a possibility, so some testing might be in order.
Of course, I could be barking up the wrong tree, and if so, I apologize for wasting your time reading this.
I hope you can pinpoint the problem.
Tex
Sorry to hear that another problem has turned up. Hair loss is not a common side effect, but apparently something like 5 to 10 % of people who take LDN experience varying degrees of increased hair loss.
However, I'm not aware that nails are affected by LDN. So that brings to mind the possibility of low stomach acid. Low stomach acid can cause both hair loss and nail damage (plus other problems).
Absent or inadequate gastric acid limits our ability to digest and absorb proteins, vitamins and minerals. Minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, selenium, and zinc can become deficient. Low gastric acid can limit our ability to absorb vitamins such as B12, B-9 (folic acid), and B-1 (thiamine).
A selenium deficiency can inhibit the ability of hair to grow, and a zinc deficiency can cause hair loss. Likewise, a thiamine deficiency is known to cause hair loss. A calcium or magnesium deficiency can cause brittle nails, and an iron deficiency commonly causes nail splits.
Since low gastric acid limits our ability to digest food, it can reduce our absorption of amino acids needed for protein production. This limits our ability to form collagen, resulting in hair loss and muscle loss.
This can also be the result of long-term use of a PPI, but I don't recall that you're taking a PPI, so that leaves low stomach acid as a likely suspect. Obviously, since I'm not a doctor, and don't have any test data, I can't claim that this is your problem, but it's a possibility, so some testing might be in order.
Of course, I could be barking up the wrong tree, and if so, I apologize for wasting your time reading this.
I hope you can pinpoint the problem.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Lesley,
I forgot about the hyperhidrosis issue. I was reminded when I read your response in another thread.
It's possible that all this is related. Low levels of B-complex vitamins (especially B1) can adversely affect the way that the body responds to stress. The condition can cause oversensitivity, and as you are aware, hyperhidrosis is caused by an overreaction of the sympathetic nervous system to stress. So if low gastric acid is the problem, then correcting that (with Betaine HCL), should resolve all of these issues. It's possible that a B-complex supplement might help even without correcting the digestion problem, but if low stomach acid is the primary problem, then it needs to be addressed, of course.
One caveat: be careful if you take mineral supplements, because too much selenium for example, can cause the same problems that a deficiency causes, and worse.
Tex
I forgot about the hyperhidrosis issue. I was reminded when I read your response in another thread.
It's possible that all this is related. Low levels of B-complex vitamins (especially B1) can adversely affect the way that the body responds to stress. The condition can cause oversensitivity, and as you are aware, hyperhidrosis is caused by an overreaction of the sympathetic nervous system to stress. So if low gastric acid is the problem, then correcting that (with Betaine HCL), should resolve all of these issues. It's possible that a B-complex supplement might help even without correcting the digestion problem, but if low stomach acid is the primary problem, then it needs to be addressed, of course.
One caveat: be careful if you take mineral supplements, because too much selenium for example, can cause the same problems that a deficiency causes, and worse.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi Tex, and thanks for your detailed response.
This all started PRE LDN, so I don't think it is related. I am still on nexium, haven't managed to get off it though I did decrease it fairly significantly.
I did try Betaine-HCL once, but had a severe GERD reaction. I will get some and try it again.
I am taking ALL the Bs so I don't think that's the issue. I will try Betaine again, and get some selenium and zinc to add to my ever expanding list of supplements.
What is too much selenium?
Thanks again Tex! This disease many not be a killer per se, but it certainly is in many other ways.
This all started PRE LDN, so I don't think it is related. I am still on nexium, haven't managed to get off it though I did decrease it fairly significantly.
I did try Betaine-HCL once, but had a severe GERD reaction. I will get some and try it again.
I am taking ALL the Bs so I don't think that's the issue. I will try Betaine again, and get some selenium and zinc to add to my ever expanding list of supplements.
What is too much selenium?
Thanks again Tex! This disease many not be a killer per se, but it certainly is in many other ways.
Lesley,
I doubt that you will have any success trying to use Betaine HCL as long as you are using Nexium. They work in opposite ways, so one will antagonize the other (depending on dosages), and if they are balanced, one will simply cancel out the other.
If you are low on selenium, a safe daily dose is 400 mcg. Too much can cause the same symptoms as a selenium deficiency, and a daily dose roughly 10 times that amount (4,000 mcg) can be lethal. Here's a link to an article about selenium toxicity:
http://www.news-medical.net/health/Sele ... icity.aspx
Both the hair and nail problems may be due to the Nexium:
http://www.drugs.com/answers/does-nexiu ... 04713.html
If you can't stop using the Nexium, you might try taking a biotin supplement to see if that helps your hair and nails.
Tex
I doubt that you will have any success trying to use Betaine HCL as long as you are using Nexium. They work in opposite ways, so one will antagonize the other (depending on dosages), and if they are balanced, one will simply cancel out the other.
If you are low on selenium, a safe daily dose is 400 mcg. Too much can cause the same symptoms as a selenium deficiency, and a daily dose roughly 10 times that amount (4,000 mcg) can be lethal. Here's a link to an article about selenium toxicity:
http://www.news-medical.net/health/Sele ... icity.aspx
Both the hair and nail problems may be due to the Nexium:
http://www.drugs.com/answers/does-nexiu ... 04713.html
If you can't stop using the Nexium, you might try taking a biotin supplement to see if that helps your hair and nails.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I am taking biotin, but it doesn't seem to be helping.
I tried so hard to stop the nexium, but the resultant GERD pain and nausea were overwhelming. I have decreased it significantly for the most part, but I still need it daily.
I have been taking it for years, and a much higher dose. I wonder why it started to affect me so badly now?
I wonder of apple cider vinegar would help?
I tried so hard to stop the nexium, but the resultant GERD pain and nausea were overwhelming. I have decreased it significantly for the most part, but I still need it daily.
I have been taking it for years, and a much higher dose. I wonder why it started to affect me so badly now?
I wonder of apple cider vinegar would help?
I hope you find something that helps. I started taking selenium several years ago when I was taking Cymbalta. The doctor that prescribed the Cymbalta suggested I take 200 mcg of selenium twice a day. Thank goodness hair thinning was the only side effect I noticed from the Cymbalta. It stopped me from losing any more hair. I don't take Cymbalta any more but I still take the selenium. A couple of years later, I was advised I should be taking selenium if I have low thyroid.
Brenda
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I will get some Jean. I have no idea if I can tolerate them. I couldn't tolerate cashews, at least when I did Enterolab. I wish I could repeat those tests. I would LOVE to know what the new ones would tell me.
I need to find Brazil nuts. I haven't seen them in years!
I actually bought a soy free chicken - EXPENSIVE but worth it because there is almost no fat, no waste and it is delicious! I seem to be able to tolerate it now. At least the soy free one.
Thanks!
I need to find Brazil nuts. I haven't seen them in years!
I actually bought a soy free chicken - EXPENSIVE but worth it because there is almost no fat, no waste and it is delicious! I seem to be able to tolerate it now. At least the soy free one.
Thanks!
Did you try taking an H2 antihistamine in place of Nexium when you tried to stop taking the Nexium? PPIs won't allow us to stop taking them after we've been taking them for a while. So we have to take an H2 antihistamine that will do virtually the same thing as the PPI, for at least a couple of weeks or so, to provide acid control long enough to allow most of the rebound effect of the PPI to fade away. After that, you should be able to wean off the H2 antihistamine. If I recall correctly, H2 antihistamines only last for a few hours or so, so they have to be taken at multiple times during the day, in order to maintain control. This is one of the reasons why PPIs are so popular — because of their easy, once-a-day schedule.Lesley wrote:I tried so hard to stop the nexium, but the resultant GERD pain and nausea were overwhelming. I have decreased it significantly for the most part, but I still need it daily.
Long-term use causes cellular dysplasia (changes in the physical structure of stomach cells). For all we know, long-term use of PPIs might cause dysplasia of the intestinal mucosal cells also.I have been taking it for years, and a much higher dose. I wonder why it started to affect me so badly now?
It's well known that they can limit the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals, and those vitamins and minerals are absorbed in the small intestine, not in the stomach. So I'm guessing that they cause dysplasia of intestinal mucosal cells also. I'm not aware that anyone has ever extensively researched this possibility, though (at least I've never seen such research data).Apple cider vinegar is a very mild acid, compared with the very low pH levels of the stomach when food is being digested. It's nowhere near acidic enough to digest food, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't help.I wonder of apple cider vinegar would help?
Of course those low pH levels no longer exist in the stomach of someone taking a PPI. I can only guess, but I have a hunch that it wouldn't make much difference. Of course guesses are usually not worth much. That's good news on the soy-free chicken.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
In the alternative medicine world apple cider vinegar is said to help regulate stomach acid production (up & down). If you decide to try it, have 2 tablespoons of organic, raw, unfiltered ACV into half a glass of water prior to meals.Lesley wrote: I wonder of apple cider vinegar would help?
Lilja
Collagenous Colitis diagnosis in 2010
Psoriasis in 1973, symptom free in 2014
GF, CF and SF free since April, 2013
Psoriasis in 1973, symptom free in 2014
GF, CF and SF free since April, 2013