Hair loss and thyroid problems from low carb page 4

[Mireia]

Did you lose a lot of weight from not eating enough? Maybe you are not getting enough nutrients and calories? How many calories do you eat?

No I gained weight, only about 4 lbs, on 2000-2500 cals a day

[Mireia]

You mention thyroid problems 'way in the past.' Did you get Rx for that?

True thyroid problems (hyper or hypo) don't go away. The Rx is for life. If you had thyroid problems in the past, they remain with you, and your low carb eating is not responsible for your symptoms.

Yes, the Internet will tell you that low-carb eating will 'cause' thyroid issues--but no respectable endo would make such absurd claims.

Well I assume it depends on what caused problems in the past. I was likely Hypopituitary and have a sensitivity to gluten. Cut out Gluten and my antibodies went down, then my tumor shrank and the prolactin and pituitary was normal again which in turn caused my thyroid to function well. This lasted for over a year.
I am not saying my diet CAUSED hypothyroidism, I am only saying it might have aggrevated the problem.
.

[Mireia]

Finally, someone making sense on this thread. This is the internet meme that just will not die. Also, as pointed out by Sue above, any dieting that is low in calories and/or nutrients can have the same effect.

People are quick to do a correlation=causation blame assignment onto low carb because they want to go back to their cookies and bread. So, what happens is they drop the whole thing and eat more so the symptoms go away and the meme continues.

As I explained above I merely thought it might habe aggravated an existing problem.
No need to say I am trying to find a reason to go back on cookies. Incould simply do that if I wanted to. I would like to tell you that there are healthy carbs, that are paleo, which I am currently consuming. No cookie has come near me for months, I have been strictly Paleo for over a year and raise my son this way. No need to jump to conclusions.

[Mireia]

Anyway, OP, after reading through this thread again I concur with lucy. It doesn't sound like you ate few enough carbs long enough to have any deleterious health issues. How long has your hair been falling out? You've had hormonal issues in the past it sounds like. Please get a full range of lab work, because what it sounds like, due to past prolactin issues, it could be caused by an autoimmune disease, which also explains your low thyroid.

"There is almost an obligatory medical genuflection toward “genetic causation” of disease, and especially of thyroid disease, autoimmune disease, and other chronic or degenerative diseases. The fact that thyroid disease and autoimmune diseases are from five to ten times more frequent in women than men is somehow hasn’t increased medical interest in the pathogenic role of estrogen"

Thyroid: Therapies, Confusion, and Fraud

Look to get on cytomel, as it can only benefit you in this case.

Eating properly can only be beneficial though, so, yes, eat more healthy carbs like fruit, but I would definitely not listen to any armchair nutritionists on the internet before getting proper assessment.

I have an appointment with an endocrinologist on Feb. 12th, thwt is the earliest I could get. I am also waiting on labwork to get back (GP).
I ate low carb (49-59 g a day) from mid September to mid January. I was told around the 50-60g mark it would be considered ketosis and that low to moderate carb intake starts at 70g?
Someone enlighten me if this is wrong.
My hair started falling out in November, it worsened in December and January. My pituitary problems lasted from Summer 2009 to August 2011. I got it tested Frequently after and the pitiitary gland was functioning well in June 2012. What is weird about my hair loss is that it fluctuated a lot. At first Ineould have hair loss for a werk and then it would stop for a few days. Some days it was just 20 more hairs that normal, other days it came ozt by the handful. With my past hormone problems, it was not like that. I lost the same amount, more than normal every day. What stopped it then was meds to lower prolactin (pituitary). My thyroid levels also bettered on this drug. Later I was put on synthetic thyroid hormone and started experiencing other hypo symptoms like dry skin, acne, cold hands and feet, fatigue, kinky hair growth and brittle hair. My doctor was unable to adjust it right, that is why this time I want to get a second opinion from only the best physicians. My GP would have simply put me on 25mcg of levothyroxine.

[Mireia]

Our pediatrician (who apparently sees this a lot with new mothers) says that hair falls out 4-6 months after a stressful event. It stops growing due to stress, and then a lot reaches the natural shedding stage at the same time. I do not know if the same is true to dietary changes, but it is possible your hair is reflecting what you were doing or eating 4-6 months ago. Mine was falling out a lot around the time I started taking iodine--the hair loss didn't improve for probably 6 months.

That would fit the time frame of going low carb! I have some regrowth but the hair loss hasn't stopped
See, I never really knew about the whole low and high carb thing before. I simply got tired of my carb rich Paleo foods and from one day to another stopped buying them. I did not know I was eating low carb until someone asked me to post what I eat somewhere.
Oh boy, in 6 months I will be bald :/. I have noticeably thinned spots where my scalp is visible.
I hope this really is it. I have looked into so many possible causes but nothing seems to match up.

[itchy166]

My hair would fall out if I took a multivitamin. Just a thought...

[Paleobird]

Well I assume it depends on what caused problems in the past. I was likely Hypopituitary and have a sensitivity to gluten. Cut out Gluten and my antibodies went down, then my tumor shrank and the prolactin and pituitary was normal again which in turn caused my thyroid to function well. This lasted for over a year.
I am not saying my diet CAUSED hypothyroidism, I am only saying it might have aggrevated the problem.

No argument at all on that.

As I explained above I merely thought it might habe aggravated an existing problem.
No need to say I am trying to find a reason to go back on cookies. Incould simply do that if I wanted to. I would like to tell you that there are healthy carbs, that are paleo, which I am currently consuming. No cookie has come near me for months, I have been strictly Paleo for over a year and raise my son this way. No need to jump to conclusions.

The cookies comment wa sabout low carb dieters in general, not directed at you personally. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

I was told around the 50-60g mark it would be considered ketosis and that low to moderate carb intake starts at 70g?
Someone enlighten me if this is wrong.

Those are good ballpark figures but every body is different. It takes a much lower level, like 20g/day, for some people to get into ketosis. So, if you were not testing for it you might never have been in ketosis at all. Dr. Peter Attia on the website called The Eating Academy calls this being stuck in perpetual carb flu land the "Zone of Misery". It is very stressful on your body.

Paleobird is the offspring of an Inuit who bred with a shark. She has no need for carbs and despises us weak mortal, carb eating scum. Dont worry about the contempt and judgment, she only sees you as a hunk of flesh.

Anywho, carbs may or may not be the reason for your hypo but i bet dollars to donuts that they will improve the symptoms.

Zach, bite me. Sure, carbs might improve the symptoms but wouldn't it be better to deal with the underlying problem?

My hair would fall out if I took a multivitamin. Just a thought...

You were kinda kidding around I guess but seriously, supplementation that is overdone can often be the cause of hair problems such as this.

[Mireia]

Paleobird is the offspring of an Inuit who bred with a shark. She has no need for carbs and despises us weak mortal, carb eating scum. Dont worry about the contempt and judgment, she only sees you as a hunk of flesh.

Anywho, carbs may or may not be the reason for your hypo but i bet dollars to donuts that they will improve the symptoms.

Lol. But donuts have carbs
But i agree, it might improve my symptoms, or rather it did improve some like fatigue and my PMS got slightly better and my acne is almost gone. I guess my hair might follow soon.
I also only assumed that it aggravated my problem, not that it caused it. That would not make sense since I mentioned a history of thyroid problems way before. So a few responses really surprised me .
I am not against low carb at all, but there is lots of information out there that says that going low carb to quick is too much for the body, especially people with thyroid and hormone related problems. Plus after having been on a standard high carb diet. Gradual adjustment would be a good idea if one wants to go low carb.
Way back in time, people would not have been faced with the problem of transitioning from a high carb, processed food diet.

[Paleobird]

Lol. But donuts have carbs
But i agree, it might improve my symptoms, or rather it did improve some like fatigue and my PMS got slightly better and my acne is almost gone. I guess my hair might follow soon.
I also only assumed that it aggravated my problem, not that it caused it. That would not make sense since I mentioned a history of thyroid problems way before. So a few responses really surprised me .
I am not against low carb at all, but there is lots of information out there that says that going low carb to quick is too much for the body, especially people with thyroid and hormone related problems. Plus after having been on a standard high carb diet. Gradual adjustment would be a good idea if one wants to go low carb.
Way back in time, people would not have been faced with the problem of transitioning from a high carb, processed food diet.

I could not agree with you more. The thing that happens too often in internet "wisdom" however is that a case like yours with a pre-existing thyroid issue gets used and abused to support anti low carb fear mongering rhetoric. I am very glad you are seeing an endocrinologist to get this issue resolved. Too many people self-diagnosing and self-treating based on web guru sites.

[Louisa655]

Dear Meira:

Just a few thoughts to add to this interesting topic. I jumped into Paleo around June 30th, 2012. I'm an 'all or nothing' kind of gal so I went 100% at it, and lost 21lbs, 11" in 12 weeks. I added my supplements which include krill oil, MCT oil, multi-day vitamin, Vitamin D & B, Iodine and Magnesium. I continue taking these supplements.

During my paleo journey, I found myself into Ketosis and enjoying being in that state. The weight dropped, I felt great, yadda yadda yadda.

Shortly into my 3rd month of enjoying my weight loss, I noticed lots and lots of hair loss. Hair would fall out in the shower, and then spontaneously onto my pillow and on my clothing. My hair was coming out faster than I could imagine! Simultaneously, I also noticed that my hair had lost its lustre and appeared a little sad and almost oily. I've never had oily hair so this was curious to me. I've always had very nice thick, Italian -type hair so this was very disconcerting to me.

I have been healthy my whole life, with no thyroid or hormonal issues --- no big weight issues, either.

I ended up going to see a hairdresser, who gave me a nice blunt cut which made my hair look less 'whispy' on the ends --- kind of gave me the illusion of having a fuller head of hair. He advised me to come in about every 4-5 weeks for another 'ends trim' to keep things looking good.

In the meantime, I increased my carb intake --- I increased my carbs from 10-20carbs per day to 40-60. I now add a little potato to my dinner but I eat clean about 98% of the time. Anyway, after a few months of increasing my carbs slightly, the hair fall out has been less. Only just in the past week do I feel that the hair appears healthier and happier.

Now, I cannot say with any certainty what caused me hair to go through this almost 'period of mourning'. My gut tells me that my body underwent some serious changes (albeit positive), and my hair was the barometer for the changes. Perhaps my hair would have improved had I stayed in ketosis, but I don't know. My gut tells me that MY body/hair seems to be healthier when I introduce about 40-60 carbs daily into my diet. I have some days know where my carb intake is 10 and other days when it's 70 or 80. I don't worry about mixing things up and I think my body enjoys me mixing things up.

Anyway, I just thought I would share my experience with you --- as we hopefully all learn from each other. I found it interesting that someone posted on this thread that his hair started falling out when he took a multivitamin. Maybe my hair loss was caused by the addition of the supplements into my life. I don't know for sure what caused the hair loss, but I do know that our bodies have clever ways of letting us know when something is 'not right'. Cheers/Lu