Woman with Handfuls of Hair That Come Out Every Morning

(female)
I am 35 years old. My hair has been falling out for 2 years now and has become extremely thin. It comes out in HUGE handfulls every morning. It has pretty much stopped growing as well. Now the hair on my legs stopped growing and some eye lashes have fallen out and will not grow back. My cycles are regualr, dead on every month to be exact. My doctor says he sees no signs of disease in my scalp and my thyroid has come back normal. I am convinced this is not just a “cycle” of hair loss I’m going through. What else could it be? Please help. I am devistated.

Female hair loss is a difficult analysis and requires many tests, not just thyroid testing. I simply can not write a textbook on the subject on this site, but here’s a list of past posts that may help you understand what you’ve got going on:

1. Female Genetic Hair Loss Is Different From Male Genetic Hair Loss
2. Birth Control Pills and Hair Loss
3. Woman With Thinning Hair After Family Tragedy
4. Diseases Causing Women’s Hair Loss
5. Female Hair Loss

The first step in evaluating hair loss in women, after a detailed history and physical exam, is to rule out any underlying medical causes of hair loss which can be treated. If clinically appropriate, the following disease processes should be considered: anemia, thyroid disease, connective tissue disease, gynecological conditions and emotional stress. Furthermore, over 50% of women going through change of life hormone fluctuations (menopause) experience significant hair loss. It is also important to review the use of medications that may cause hair loss, such as (but not limited to) oral contraceptives, beta-blockers, Vitamin A, thyroid drugs, coumadin, and prednisone. The following laboratory tests have been recommended to rule out the aforementioned medical conditions:

Some common blood tests for female hair loss:

• Sex Hormone tests
• SHBG (Sex Hormone Binding Globulin) used to test status of male hormones
• Estradiol is a sex hormone
• FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) *not hair follicle but follicle in the ovary*
• LH (Luteinizing Hormone) is a sex hormone
• Free Testosterone
• Total Testosterone
• ANA (Anti Nuclear Antibody) used to test for Lupus or other autoimmune diseases
• TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) used to test for hyper or hypo-thyroid disease
• Test Iron status
• TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity)
• Ferritin
• Iron

I also discuss female hair loss in my book, Hair Loss and Replacement for Dummies — available in all good bookstores.