Humour me. Do the thyroid test.

[Hoppi]

http://betterhealthchannel.com.au/bhcv2//bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Iodine_explained?open

its says its also in kelp , good thing i take kelp tablets sinds its known to boost hairgrowth a little 2

does msm also improve this ? i orderd another box of 500mg

I'm not sure about MSM to be honest - it was suspiciously included in a rather intelligent person's regimen on another forum I am frequently on but I wasn't quite sure why he included it! Possibly just to boost hair growth, but it may have been a property I am not aware of

Sulforaphane seems like the killer over MSM, but then like I say MSM may have properties I don't know about!

Anywho erm, yes I heard that Iodine is in kelp - to be honest the reason why I refer to my regimen as my "probable final regimen" is because this discovery about my thyroid (amongst a few other smaller things) is quite new to me and I am still trying to establish the best way to deal with it.

Even though I really do like and trust Brian, I might take heynow1234's advice and pop to a local doctor as well and see what they think, I mean it never hurts to have more opinions. Something definitely isn't right in my body at the moment what with my skin changing and hair thinning in such a short space of time, and I would be surprised if the root cause of them isn't the same thing.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted about what I learn, and you guys can keep me posted too!

Oh, finally it's also important to work out, if we are registering low in the Barnes test, where the problem might be. Whether the thyroid isn't successfully producing enough hormones, our body isn't reacting to them as it should, TSH is too low, or even if something else is the cause for people's low readings (this seems unlikely, but possible, nothing can be ruled out).

Let's see how all this goes


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FVNgYHLeYs

(97.8-98.2 F is apparently normal/healthy... I am between 95.9 and 97.5, usually 96.8! eep! hehe )

 

[wesleyBelgium]

msm is instructed bij a hair transplant veteran in germany that is also a hairconsult
i talked to him on the prp session at prohairclinic , he adviced me to take msm in dose to 5 - 6000mg in combination with vitamin c for better uptake in the body

he says it would help my hairgrowth good , sinds he was impressed off al the meds i am taking , msm would give it a little more boost he says

even for me i'm currently fine-tuning my mega-regime...
so when i got my final regime i will change my signature

 

[Hoppi]

msm is instructed bij a hair transplant veteran in germany that is also a hairconsult
i talked to him on the prp session at prohairclinic , he adviced me to take msm in dose to 5 - 6000mg in combination with vitamin c for better uptake in the body

he says it would help my hairgrowth good , sinds he was impressed off al the meds i am taking , msm would give it a little more boost he says

even for me i'm currently fine-tuning my mega-regime...
so when i got my final regime i will change my signature

That's cool

But just try to be on the lookout for potential things that could be throwing your body off balance. Even a mild allergy could affect insulin levels (and/or the liver itself) significantly, which will throw off your testosterone, estrogen and DHT balance. Gluten is a good example of this. The reason I'm on the lignans all the time is I know that my body is probably still recovering from slightly elevated insulin resistance, and also stress, which apparently can give your SHBG a hit. Therefore I think that before I do anything I need to make sure my SHBG levels are optimal, or whatever I do I will be battling against potentially high free testosterone or estrogen, which is not the best start!

I guess I'm just trying to look inward in response to hair loss, examine myself and try to figure out what could be wrong.

Did you do the thyroid test? Also, you can monitor your blood glucose at different times I believe with strips like these.

I don't know much about the test strips though, but at the moment I'm just keeping an eye on anything carb or sugar heavy that might potentially spike my insulin. Chances are because I'm tackling potential low SHBG, thyroid problems and inflammation I'm probably fine, but better to be safe than sorry

I think that until all underlying medical problems have been examined for, any other hair treatment is... well it could be fighting against the current, you know what I mean?

And now again I'm not saying that we are any worse off than others, what I'm saying is perhaps, just perhaps... our bodies are just more sensitive to SHOWING it. As long as that is reversible (ie, correction of underlying problems corrects hair loss), I consider it (for myself and potentially many people) a blessing!

 

[Brains Expel Hair]

Gluten is not the best example of the point you are trying to make. Gluten in sensitive people is an irritant, an allergen, a trigger for an autoimmune malfunction, a neurological drug and a few other things.

A better comparison would be to see if the same sort of endocrine suppression could be seen in chronic exposure to other sorts of common allergies like peanuts, soy or corn. Don't bother looking at dairy allergens though because casein might have similar problems as gluten in those sensitive to it.

Blood sugar test strips are super easy to do, the testing instrument is normally free with mail in rebate at your local pharmacy because each of the monitors requires a specific brand of one-time use test strips but even those aren't really expensive and most monitors come with 10 or so already.
Seeing as how I already sliced in to my finger tips countless times while training to be a chef my opinion on the pain inflicted by those tests might not be entirely accurate, but it didn't hurt me one bit once I adjusted the lancet's depth correctly. All that's really involved in it is to put the test strip into the monitor, prick the side of your finger tip and squeeze a small drop of blood out and onto the tip of the test strip. Most monitors will give you back the result in a matter of seconds and then also store the results in memory so you can go through and look at how it changes.

 

[wesleyBelgium]

wel i believe that hairloss has more the one mechanism that kills the hair...
but do not forget that its also because you have double androgenic receptors on top of your head... so even if you can balance your hormones out , you still produce dht.... and the receptors take this up , not a good thing for the hairfollikels
so people with male patern hairloss will have hairloss if they keep making dht and you cant block that without a 5ar blokker...
the people that only have a puberty hairline or just some temples (adult hairline) , they are blessed with low androgenic receptors on top...

so to combat hairloss to every different mechanism , you cant escape a 5ar blokker...
maybe some stuff slows it a little down , but it would always keep damaging more hairfollikels over the years

 

[KANGA]

Hmm, interesting.

I've had brittle nails since I was (as I can remember) 18... which is when my hair started thinning in my crown. I literally can't grow my nails without more than a few millimeters without them chipping. I don't do extreme high contact exercise (I pump weights, yes).

But, I don't get sick (at all, really)... but I also have the worst memory in the world. Sometimes I feel that I'm going to go down the path of my Grandpa, he ended up with extreme alzheimers. He had tones of hair until his 50's, and then went right to a high Norwood.

I wonder if this is a thyroid issue.

 

[Jacob]

Yes..it could be thyroid related.

Other things to look at if it isn't....biotin...silica(Jarrosil..Biosil..etc)..gelatin- here's a combo of MSM, Vit C(MSM works best with vit c and bioflavanoids), and gelatin: http://www.natureshealingremedies.com/product/1005

Here's an interesting hair product that also contains biotin and silica: http://www.europharmausa.com/products/milasan/
http://www.europharmausa.com/DBFiles/Greensheet/32.pdf

That same company also has come out with a silica product: http://www.europharmausa.com/products/trica-sil/

 

[Brains Expel Hair]

Hmm, interesting.

I've had brittle nails since I was (as I can remember) 18... which is when my hair started thinning in my crown. I literally can't grow my nails without more than a few millimeters without them chipping. I don't do extreme high contact exercise (I pump weights, yes).

But, I don't get sick (at all, really)... but I also have the worst memory in the world. Sometimes I feel that I'm going to go down the path of my Grandpa, he ended up with extreme alzheimers. He had tones of hair until his 50's, and then went right to a high Norwood.

I wonder if this is a thyroid issue.

If you haven't recently, it sounds like it would be a good idea to get some blood work done. Nails/hair are good warning signs of internal problems, go see a general practitioner or an endocrinologist and see what your internal levels of vitamins/hormones are and discuss with him any low or high numbers you find.

 

[Hoppi]

wel i believe that hairloss has more the one mechanism that kills the hair...
but do not forget that its also because you have double androgenic receptors on top of your head... so even if you can balance your hormones out , you still produce dht.... and the receptors take this up , not a good thing for the hairfollikels
so people with male patern hairloss will have hairloss if they keep making dht and you cant block that without a 5ar blokker...
the people that only have a puberty hairline or just some temples (adult hairline) , they are blessed with low androgenic receptors on top...

so to combat hairloss to every different mechanism , you cant escape a 5ar blokker...
maybe some stuff slows it a little down , but it would always keep damaging more hairfollikels over the years

That's interesting, but Brian Simonis and others I know through him have all controlled their (quite spread out) male pattern hair loss without any serious DHT blockers.

That's an interesting idea about 2 separate receptors though - where did you find that out?

As far as I know the follicles just convert T to DHT with 5ar, or take DHT directly. I'll look into this one


EDIT -- Oh sorry, I understand what you mean now! You mean that they are "double" in that they react to 2 different androgenic stimuli, right?

Well, this is true, but as I understand it the baseline systemic DHT levels of your average young male... probably won't affect the follicles much. Not as far as I can tell. As far as I can tell it's more down to ELEVATED testosterone and DHT levels that starts to cause problems, amongst other factors. If your testosterone goes too high or I believe even particularly low, I think your DHT will systemically rise, and that is why you see follicle damage.

For some people of course they will be particularly sensitive, but for most... this seems to be the case, as long as other factors such as inflammation, free radicals etc are under control. And don't forget the androgen receptors and follicles probably heal as well, so in summary often I don't think the follicles are destined to fall out even if they have a genetic vulnerability to your body's androgens.

 

[KANGA]

Yes..it could be thyroid related.

Other things to look at if it isn't....biotin...silica(Jarrosil..Biosil..etc)..gelatin- here's a combo of MSM, Vit C(MSM works best with vit c and bioflavanoids), and gelatin: http://www.natureshealingremedies.com/product/1005

Here's an interesting hair product that also contains biotin and silica: http://www.europharmausa.com/products/milasan/
http://www.europharmausa.com/DBFiles/Greensheet/32.pdf

That same company also has come out with a silica product: http://www.europharmausa.com/products/trica-sil/

Hmm, interesting.

I've had brittle nails since I was (as I can remember) 18... which is when my hair started thinning in my crown. I literally can't grow my nails without more than a few millimeters without them chipping. I don't do extreme high contact exercise (I pump weights, yes).

But, I don't get sick (at all, really)... but I also have the worst memory in the world. Sometimes I feel that I'm going to go down the path of my Grandpa, he ended up with extreme alzheimers. He had tones of hair until his 50's, and then went right to a high Norwood.

I wonder if this is a thyroid issue.

If you haven't recently, it sounds like it would be a good idea to get some blood work done. Nails/hair are good warning signs of internal problems, go see a general practitioner or an endocrinologist and see what your internal levels of vitamins/hormones are and discuss with him any low or high numbers you find.

Thanks for the tips and links, guys...my GP is on vacation this week and the earliest I can get in is on the 22nd. I might just pop by a walk-in clinic to get an earlier test done before the visit with my GP (couldn't hurt, right?)

I know my temples receding is male pattern baldness, but I truly don't think the rapid thinning of my crown at 23 yrs. is.

I'll report back with the results... as well as the temperature test that Hoppi posted!

 

[Hoppi]

Cool

 

[dougfunny]

Ok, first off you do not diagnose hypothyroidism by taking your temperature. You do it by taking a blood test and testing for the level of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in your body.

I actually suffer from the condition. The treatment is is taking replacement thyroid hormone, not iodine.

Also trust me if you have hypothyroidism, hair loss is going to be the least of your worries.

 

[Hoppi]

Ok, first off you do not diagnose hypothyroidism by taking your temperature. You do it by taking a blood test and testing for the level of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in your body.

I actually suffer from the condition. The treatment is is taking replacement thyroid hormone, not iodine.

Also trust me if you have hypothyroidism, hair loss is going to be the least of your worries.

Come on man before you come in saying things like this please do a bit of research. It seems very commonly recognized that common thyroid blood tests (which I have had) do not show up mild hypothyroidism or thyroid hormone sensitivity, only severe. I really cba to link to a bunch of stuff other than this vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FVNgYHLeYs

But I keep reading about it everywhere (from reputable sources). Apparently it's something mad like your thyroid has to be 70% off before the blood tests actually pick it up! lol

Iodine is supposed to correct the thyroid, not just compensate for it. Again, I'm a noob and I'm not one to record a whole bunch of citations I just commit things to memory as I learn them Google it all a bit and you will understand what I mean!

It's an exciting possibility though for many, as it means thyroid conditions are very underdiagnosed, meaning that they could be contributing to a great many people's problems and they are relatively easy to fix, certainly in mild or simple hormone resistance cases.

Aaaanyway, see you round (and I'm sorry to hear you have a stronger thyroid issue, I hope it's ok),

Hoppi

 

[dougfunny]

The tests show mild hypothyroidism just fine. The controversy is over what values the laboratory considers out of range. Many labs consider a TSH above 3.5 to by hypothyroid, whereas in reality anything above 2.0 in questionable.

Taking your temperature does not reveal sh*t ;-)

 

[Hoppi]

The tests show mild hypothyroidism just fine. The controversy is over what values the laboratory considers out of range. Many labs consider a TSH above 3.5 to by hypothyroid, whereas in reality anything above 2.0 in questionable.

Taking your temperature does not reveal sh*t ;-)

I see. Well you may have a lot of very intelligent, very qualified people to argue with there dougfunny

 

[dougfunny]

or not ;-)

 

[Hoppi]

good comeback...

 

[Bryan]

Here's a copy/paste of what I just posted on the other thread:

I've heard none other than Dr. Robert Atkins (of "Low-Carbohydrate Diet" fame) say that almost EVERYBODY comes up low on the Barnes test (not just balding people), so it must not have that much to do with whether or not you're balding!

And now I'm back "live" again: obviously Dr. Atkins was very dubious about the value of the Barnes test, if most people fail it in the first place. I'm neither challenging his opinion, nor lending my voice in support of it; I'm just telling you what Dr. Atkins said.

 

[Hoppi]

It makes little difference to me what Dr Atkins says lol

 

[Mopless]

As far as I understand it, Americans get plenty of iodine for their thyroid from bread and multivitamins. Only 3rd world countries tend to have real thyroid problems in a massive scale.

This isn't to say it doesn't happen to Americans, but its incredibly rare. I am only pipping this in as I once thought I might have a thyroid problem, and it may have been the cause of my hairloss. So I began searching Iodine supplements to help bring it back up to speed. At least until I realized that my multivitamin I have been taking well over a year already contained the daily recommended dose of 100mg Iodine.

Also, I remember a test for Iodine levels. Put a 2 inch diameter circle of Iodine Tincture on your forearm or thigh. If it disappears within an hour, you are Iodine deficient. If it is still there 4 hours or longer, you're fine. Iodine Tincture can be bought from your local pharmacy for around a $1.