Thinning hair

Has anyone with chronic lyme has their hair start thinning and receding? Mine is doing this and freaking me out. I have always tested positive by IGM western blot with all 5 critical bands, but always negative on IGG western blot. I saw a LLMD in NY who was on the fence as to whether it was lyme. He sent my labs to several places and results were the same...my only positive is that IGM western blot. So if I had this for a long time then maybe my IGG response is gone or something...dunno.

I do know I have pain in most joints and chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, non-detectable vitamin D, lower back pain, muscle twitching, muscle jerking, weird tingling all over, esp in my ears -- very annoying, hip pain that shoots down my legs when I sleep on my side at night, and now disappearing hair. If I was a man, that would be one thing, but most women do not lose their hair!

Thought anyone??

D --

Is it thinning to the point where you can see the scalp in the front???

Yes its quite strange. I am going to see a dermatologist on Friday and have them take a look at it. My rheumy did not believe that it was thinning as I started out with TONS of hair. But when I can see the scalp pulling it back in a pony tail and I can see a little patch missing right in the front, its very obvious to me. It also pulls out easily.

So your lyme symptoms come and go?? Are you on antibiotics?

YES in fact everytime I put my fingers through my hair, hair comes out. I was just thinking about how worse it seems to be getting.

If you are having blood work done, ask them to check your thyroid levels.

Hypothyroidism can cause coarse/thinning hair. 

http://health.yahoo.com/hormone-symptoms/hypothyroidism-symptoms/healthwise--aa34887.html

At the very worst, you can cross it off your list if the results are negative.

For what it is worth, here is a link I found when searching for hypothyroidism and lyme :

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/lyme-disease/

Good luck.

I woke up one morning BALD on my left side ( worst affected side of my body ) ...actually this was quite a relief , in a strange sort of way. People had been telling me there was nothing the matter with me for so long - and as soon as I had this ( cosmetic ) problem all the doctors suddenly sat up and listened. I polished my bald spot whilst re-telling them all what I had been telling them for a year. Only NOW they listened. They believed  me . The hair grew back . Almost at the same rate as my self confidence.

Good Luck.

NB Thyroid / Adrenal / Pituitary tests were normal throughout !

Read about thinning hair in the paper the other day. thought it interesting.

Dear Dr. Donohue: I am a 44-year-old female whose hair is falling out. I do not wash my hair every day, because it falls out after washing it. I have had thyroid tests (which were fine), went to a dermatologist who found nothing wrong and went to my ob-gyn doctor for hormone testing. The results came back slightly elevated. I was told to take zinc and my hair would grow back. Please advise me why this is happening and what I can do. -- E.W.

Dr. Donohue: You have done everything that you can reasonably do and have seen all the doctors you could reasonably contact, but your problem remains. Although the following doesn't apply to you, I'm including it for other readers. An overactive or underactive thyroid gland can lead to hair loss. Iron deficiency is another cause for losing hair. Rapid weight loss can do it. Medicines are another possibility. Lupus is an example of an underlying illness that promotes hair shedding.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "slightly elevated" hormone test. Was that male hormone? Women do make male hormones, and some women are quite sensitive to it. It can cause hair to fall out, just as it does in men. Medicines can counter the male hormone elevation. This is the reason why so many menopausal women experience hair thinning.

Physical or emotional stress forces a larger number daily hair loss. The loss occurs approximately three months after some type of stress. Examples of stress include illnesses, especially those with a high fever, childbirth or any number of emotional conflicts. This kind of hair loss is telogen effluvium. The hair always grows back. Can you pinpoint anything that happened to you two or three months ago that might qualify as stress?

At any rate, don't pull your hair with any kind of hairdo that causes pressure on it, like a braid or ponytail. Limit permanents. Limit the use of a blow-dryer. If things don't turn around in another couple of months, go back to the dermatologist for another examination. If no cause is ever found, you can consider Rogaine.

Hi Damrak -

Sorry you're dealing with hair loss—I've been there and it is not fun. For me it was likely a thyroid imbalance but got much worse when I was eating a food powder that included a rice product that was sourced in a heavy metal area in China. Once I stopped eating it my hair grew back. You were smart to investigate the B's and folate. If you are processing them well it may indicate you don't have any DNA mutations that affect the processing of them but if that ever changes, that's something you can look into.

ALSO - I just wanted to bring to your attention that this thread is from 2008 so you might want to start a new discussion since most of the posters are no longer here - it might get more attention.

-p