Worried - Hair Loss

Is it common for Type 1 Diabetics to loss hair. I been losing hair for about 9 years. Now it’s noticable. I had my thyroid checked and it’s good. I started to see a new Endocrinologist. He told me with the blood sugars constantly going up and down can cause hair loss. But since I got extremely ill 3 years ago I have been majorly stressed out. I was in a semi coma for 3 weeks. My pych. put me on Ativan. It does’nt help much but don’t want him to increase the dose because it makes me sleepy. I’m trying rogain for women. Does anyone know what I can take to prevent my hair from falling. Majorly worried here.

when i lost my hair it was because of my low thyroid, maybe get that checked again. Somebody told me that even on a regulated thyroid scale you could be on the low or high side of it. Also maybe recheck your medicine and the side effects and of course discuss it with your doc. Good luck!
that being said, i do feel like my hair hasn’t been the same since i was diagnosed with diabetes and low thyroid. Even though i’m taking my medicine and everything right. Maybe that’s just how it is now because of that.

In case this helps, it depends on what thyroid tests were done. Some endos feel that the ranges currently accepted as normal, really aren’t normal & are low. An easy test you can do yourself for starters, is taking your temp first thing in the morning. Keep a thermometer on your nightstand. Mercury thermometers are most accurate. Don’t get out of bed, don’t move around, don’t go to the bathroom & take your temp for 4 days in a row. Low morning body temp can indicate low thyroid.

How are your eyebrows? Thinning eyebrows are another sign, as is feeling cold.

Connie
I also lost a lot of hair since I am diabetic. Guess just learned to live with it as I did with diabetes. But if you or someone else knows how to get the hair back I would be happy to know:)

Interesting topic, Connie. About three years ago, I hadn’t had my hair cut for ages and my other half decided to do it for me one Sunday afternoon. It was then that we discovered bald patches around the back of my head along the sides of my hairline and what I had thought for weeks was just a scab on the top of my head was also a bald patch.

I went to my GP who then referred me to a dermatologist. I was prescribed a topical steroid that I applied two or three times a day over a couple of weeks. All my hair eventually grew back (the dermatologist actually felt that there was every likelihood that it would). I still don’t know what the cause was. Nobody mentioned thyroid problems and I didn’t have any thyroid tests done. Some time after my hair had grown back I was reading through the patient information leaflets for the ACE inhibitors and statins I’ve been taking for years and some of them mention hair loss as a possible side effect.

At 28, I had a stroke which was completely unrelated to my type 1 diabetes (yes, I did win the health lottery!). Was in the hospital for three weeks where my body fought like crazy to stay alive and functioning. For 6 months to a year following this event, my hair fell out in piles it seemed, and it upset me quite a bit. I had to wear a hairpiece in my sister’s wedding because it was so bad. What I found out in this process, is that when your body is fighting to help itself somehow, it turns off “unimportant” functions. Are your nails chipping and ugly as well? I found this to be true. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything to help me with my hair loss, but it eventually stopped and my hair is now as thick and full as it always was. Maybe the variations in your blood sugar are causing this problem, but maybe you should have other tests run as well to be sure that something more serious isn’t going on? I feel for you and have been there. Losing your hair doesn’t sound like such a big deal until it actually happens to a woman and it’s devastating, I know. Good luck to you. If you want to talk, feel free to email me.

Thanks for letting my know Stephen. What was the topical steroid your demo. prescribed to you?

Can’t remember off the top of my head, but when I get home in a couple of hours I’ll send you the details.

I also remember why the dermatologist was optimistic about my hair growing back. When he examined the bald patches, they weren’t completely bald apparently because very fine, baby-like hair (or the fine type of hair an adolescent boy gets above his lip before years of shaving kick in) was still sprouting. These “shoots of growth” were fair in colour (perhaps that’s why I didn’t notice them) and the dermatologist said that a person’s natural hair pigmentation is the last thing to return to normal.

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Thank You Stephen. I’m seeing my dermotologist Monday and going to mention it to her. She was already keeping track of my hair loss 2 years ago but I slacked off seeing her.