notsurewhy
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What an unbelievable relief to have found this forum...
My hair has been thinning as of late and I'm really in between two possible causes that might account for it: I am 23 yrs old and in late June I started an acne treatment, Accutane, which is said to cause hair thinning in 7-10% of its patients. The thinning is supposedly temporary, though there have been reports of rare cases in which patients have suffered permanent hair loss as a result. But here's the strange thing: I was only on the half-dosage (40mg) of Accutane and stopped mid-way through (2.5 months as opposed to the 5-6 months) because I was afraid of thinning. I haven't experienced ANY other of the more common symptoms of the drug that nearly every patient experiences, such as the dry skin an severely chapped lips... I've searched the internet and the women that do complain of hair loss generally have done more than one course of the treatment (ie: at several different times in their lives) and at much higher doses...
But I just realized today that the other factor that could be causing this instead is that I am subclinical hyperthyroid. I don't know why I didn't put 2 and 2 together before today... my TSH level (though I haven't check in well over a year) was last WAYYYYY below normal... about 0.01. I do suffer from other symptoms of hyperthyroidism, such as horrendous mood swings, dislike of heat, etc... but have chosen to ignore these factors in my life (until now!)
What my hair looks like: only I can notice. On the top, I notice its thinness especially when I am in the bathroom and a light is shining directly overhead... I can see my scalp more than I normally could otherwise. The partings (middle and sides) seem slightly thicker than usual... overall, my hair is just not as thick as it used to be... mostly on top, but I've noticed the thinning is really throughout. It's just totally lost its volume.
The strange part of this all is that I don't lose any more hair than normal in the shower, when I brush, or just day-to-day shedding. Nothing out of the ordinary. I've even been collecting and counting my hairs. I'm seeing a derm on Friday and will see an Endocrinologist hopefully soon re my hormone levels and my thyroid.
Does it make sense to you all that this could be a result of the Accutane? Or could my hair have been thinning well before I started the drug in the summer as a result of my hyperthyroidism and was too subtle to notice?
I'd be SO appreciative to hear what inklings you all may have!!!
THANK YOU!
My hair has been thinning as of late and I'm really in between two possible causes that might account for it: I am 23 yrs old and in late June I started an acne treatment, Accutane, which is said to cause hair thinning in 7-10% of its patients. The thinning is supposedly temporary, though there have been reports of rare cases in which patients have suffered permanent hair loss as a result. But here's the strange thing: I was only on the half-dosage (40mg) of Accutane and stopped mid-way through (2.5 months as opposed to the 5-6 months) because I was afraid of thinning. I haven't experienced ANY other of the more common symptoms of the drug that nearly every patient experiences, such as the dry skin an severely chapped lips... I've searched the internet and the women that do complain of hair loss generally have done more than one course of the treatment (ie: at several different times in their lives) and at much higher doses...
But I just realized today that the other factor that could be causing this instead is that I am subclinical hyperthyroid. I don't know why I didn't put 2 and 2 together before today... my TSH level (though I haven't check in well over a year) was last WAYYYYY below normal... about 0.01. I do suffer from other symptoms of hyperthyroidism, such as horrendous mood swings, dislike of heat, etc... but have chosen to ignore these factors in my life (until now!)
What my hair looks like: only I can notice. On the top, I notice its thinness especially when I am in the bathroom and a light is shining directly overhead... I can see my scalp more than I normally could otherwise. The partings (middle and sides) seem slightly thicker than usual... overall, my hair is just not as thick as it used to be... mostly on top, but I've noticed the thinning is really throughout. It's just totally lost its volume.
The strange part of this all is that I don't lose any more hair than normal in the shower, when I brush, or just day-to-day shedding. Nothing out of the ordinary. I've even been collecting and counting my hairs. I'm seeing a derm on Friday and will see an Endocrinologist hopefully soon re my hormone levels and my thyroid.
Does it make sense to you all that this could be a result of the Accutane? Or could my hair have been thinning well before I started the drug in the summer as a result of my hyperthyroidism and was too subtle to notice?
I'd be SO appreciative to hear what inklings you all may have!!!
THANK YOU!
Sadly, with women's hair loss it is so hard to tell. Definitely the drug could be a major factor plus the thyroid issue but other causes may apply as well.