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Sam Jones

by Sam
(Australia)

Hi,

If can please trouble you for some advice as I don't seem to be getting very far with my problems. I have jotted down what has been going on over the past few years and would love if you could give me some advice.

I have a question on hair loss as it is a huge thing for me at the moment.

I have had so many different things been told to me about hair loss that I am so confused and I have now become very depressed.

Here is my story.

From Nov 13 to Feb 14 I was under a lot of stress at work and have had a lot of stress in my life over the past 7 years due to a son with a drug problem. This has got better with him but I think I was in shock over it for a long period of time and pushed through life but I pushed myself even more between Nov 13 and Feb 14.

I was not well between Nov 13 and Feb 14 with weird symptoms and had several visits to the dr with fluid in my ears, a bad cough, I had extremely bad nausea between Nov 13 and Feb 14.

Then at the end of Feb 14 I had a bout of vomiting for 6 hrs and felt very unwell after with nausea. I then had very swollen glands under my jaw and especially behind my right ear which is the same ear I had fluid in earlier. Then in the middle of March I still had extremely swollen glands behind my right ear and I also noticed I had hair loss and a very sore scalp and I still had the nausea.

I then visited a dr who told me I was making things up and I had no hair loss and I had none of the symptoms I had and told me I just wanted something to be wrong with me.

He did some blood tests to check my hormones and everything came back fine.

I have been to numerous hair specialists, drs and dermatologists and everyone has a different opinion. The last dermatologist I went to said it was impossible for my hair loss to be female baldness as I have lost so much hair in such a short period of time (I had a photo of what my hair use to look like). I have now lost over 50% of my hair and it continues to fall out. The hairs that do fall out still have the bulbs on them and I have lost hair all over not just the top and sides. The strands of hair have become very brittle they were not like that before the hair loss started and I have noticed many of hairs have very tappered ends not the end that is connected to the scalp but the other end. My hair just seems to snap, and it seems to come out very easily.

I have tried Spironolactone and it made me very depressed and the 4 weeks I was on it I lost even more hair. I have also read that hair loss and depression can be side effects of the medication.

I have had problems with iron, B3, and Vit D and currently I am taking supplements for all these. I also had very bad eating habits for the past 5 years with skipping meals as I have had stomach problems. I also have low blood volume.

I had a hair analysis done which showed I had very high levels of copper. I also get a funny rash on my face, shoulders and neck after showering and I am not sure if this is related to the copper in our water. The dr that did this test thought I had adrenal fatigue. I always have had low-ish blood pressure and cholesterol, my insulin levels have been a bit up and down but my blood sugars have been fine. I had slighted elevated liver test and I also had an elevated IgG4 test. I have hyperplastic polyps in my stomach. All of these I have been told is fine and I just need to get over things .

I have had one dr prescribe me natural progesterone to help if I am estragon dominant and he said this will help with the free testosterone that effects hair follicles even though my tests haven't really shown much.

I wanted to know your opinion on the matter, also is it better to have low SHBG levels in women so the hair does'n't fall out or is it better for the SHBG levels to be high so there is not as much free testosterone? If the SHBG levels have to be in high range to keep hair on the scalp what can you do to increase the SHBG levels and what is considered low?

Also the halo's around hair follicles how quickly do they appear in womens hair loss, do they take time to appear as I am assuming womens hair in female baldness does not all fall out all at one time and it takes a years to progress?

This whole matter has affected everything I do in life, I have quit my job, I don't leave the house and I don't really speak to anyone as I just don't feel like myself and have lost all confidence that I did have as a 40 year old self employed person.

The hair continues to fall out each day, this part is heart breaking.

Stress wise I would so I felt like I was on the edge between Nov 13 and Feb 14. I had lost my libido and also felt like I did not have the patience for anything. I was working extremely long hours including the weekends and getting about 5 hours sleep a night before I go the vomiting.

The hair loss started as I mentioned with very swollen glands behind my right ear and a sore head and I had bad nausea, this was all after the vomiting I had for 6 hours.

I had an hair analysis was done end of May but no one gave me any advice on what to do , other than telling me I had adrenal fatigue. I also had high Calcium, Magnesium and iron these were the nutritional elements and my Cadmium and Aluminium were above the reference range.

The ratio scale shows I have low ZN/CU ratio and Na/Mg ratio .

The test was done by InterClinical Laboratories.

After seeing 4 x dermatologists - 2 x saying no to female pattern hair loss - as they think it should have progressed over time and I don't really have any blood tests to show high androgens

1 x biopsy done that 2 x dermatologists think is incorrect ad they don't think female hair loss can happen as quick as mine and in the manner that is falling out and continues to fall out and how quickly it came on

One dr thinks it due to the fact I have low blood volume and the fact I have not eaten well for a long time.

And now a naturopath thinks its the Copper that the issue.

I am so tired and run down with the whole situation, I wake up each morning like I have not slept and I am pretty depressed about it all. I don't have elevated cortisol levels at the moment as they were checked, but I do feel anxious and depressed.

Honestly this has been the worst experience in my life , after so many years with dramas with our older son I thought this year was going to be the turning year for us. However it has left me overwhelmed, unsure of myself and at times suicide has even crossed my mind. I know that sounds terrible but I just don't feel like myself, always tired, funny symptoms with no answers and now hair loss (which is a big thing for a women).

I have never used birth control for a long period of time, maybe for 2 years around the age of 17. I had my first child at 17 and second one at the age of 25. I had my gall bladder removed before I was 25, tubes tired at 28. We used no birth control at all between the 8 year gap between our two boys as I just didn't fall pregnant, actually i had a miscarriage in between.

I also had abnormal cells in my uterus when I was 17 that were burnt out.

Also since Nov 13 I would say I have been more constipated as before I didn't have that problem is was the other way around plus I feel cold more often.

I have had gut issues since 2008.

These are some of my recent blood test results- would you class these as normal for someone who is 41?

normal testosterone – mine was .9 (range is .3 to 1.7), free testosterone mines was 13.6 (range is 3-24), DHEA - mine was 3.5 (range 1.65-9.15), SHBG – mine 46 (range 32-128), Androstenedione mine was 4.9 (range 1.0 to 11.5).


I can't really think of anything else but I really would appreciate any extra information from someone that knows about these issues.

Thanking you in advance.

Comments for Sam Jones

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Nov 23, 2014
 Sam Jones
by: Wray

Hi Sam Wow! Where to begin? At the top might be an idea, so please look at our page on Hair Loss. I've tried to gather as much info as I can on it. One thing is certain, with loss like that, and those symptoms, it's not in your mind. Please have a Vitamin D test done. It appears your level could be very low, it often is in people in Australia. It's essential to get it high, between 70-100ng/ml or 175 to 250nmol/L. You are taking supplements for it you say, but a minimum of 10,000iu/day should be taken. Are you taken this much? You will keep getting infections, hair loss too, it plays a big role in healthy hair. You say your hormones were checked, but the ones you gave me are not those I need. Besides they were all in range, although it's the ratio which is more critical. It seems they did not take the oestrogen and progesterone levels? Did they check your thyroid hormones? This website here has a comprehensive list of symptoms. A lack of thyroid hormones can cause hair loss, it will also become brittle too. A lack of progesterone can cause hair loss too. So if you combine thyroid problems, progesterone and vitamin D deficiency, you have a recipe for feeling ill. Sore scalp can be due to a vitamin B2 deficiency, in fact all the B vitamins drop when Stressed. Has anyone suggested taking probiotics for your stomach? B. infants has been found to be good for IBS, but should be taken with the others as they are essential too. Glutamine is excellent for the gut, it's the only thing the lining can use to heal itself. It can help nausea too, so can progesterone, and if your magnesium is low that too cause it. Substance P is a nociceptive, neuropeptide involved in causing pain and nausea. Substance P inhibits progesterone, see here, but if enough is used, progesterone suppresses substance P, see here. "Accumulating evidence indicates that the neuropeptide substance P is predominantly involved in neurogenic inflammation and pain perception...... Intriguingly, decreased pain sensitivity is found to be associated with high plasma progesterone levels. We hypothesize that progesterone may attenuate nociception and associated inflammatory response." Oestrogen stimulates substance P, see here. So it's essential to use enough progesterone to inhibit oestrogen. A lack of magnesium causes substance P to rise, see here and here. I have heard that CarnoSoothe helps nausea. If magnesium and calcium levels are high it can cause depression, are you taking supplements? Magnesium is the more important, as it's often very low in our food. High oestrogen will cause copper to rise, zinc to drop. Please consider taking 100mg zinc per day for a month, a high dose, but you need it. Then reduce to 15mg/day. The zinc will cause copper levels to fall, high copper leads to depression and psychosis. Androgens do play a role in hair loss, but so do many things! We do have a page on Anxiety you could look through. Feeling cold is both a thyroid and progesterone issue, so it could be both. My guess is your vitamin D is low, your thyroid hormones too and progesterone. Your adrenals are probably very stressed too. Take care Wray
Dec 02, 2014
 Sam Jones
by: RJ

Hello Sam!
I'll say wow too. So sad to hear your story. What comes to my mind over and above all of Wray's recommendations is Hashimoto's. I just read an article about it. I've copied and pasted it. Who knows it may help you out. Never give up. You asked your son to never give up with his drug issues and he is still with you and seems like he is trying. Work together as a team...different situations, but still difficult paths to go down. The balance will come in time. Stress is terrible for all. I know the more progesterone I use, the calmer I feel. Just as Wray answered a woman the other day on any negative effects while she is using 2,000 mg a day....all Wray feels is more calm. I feel that way too and on some days I take a long afternoon nap. My prayers are with you. Ask the Lord for help...well I think he already has...you found Wray's site and you will find lots of help here. God Bless! RJ

"Here is a comprehensive list of tests take to your doctor and can ask for tests for Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism. Be sure to request a copy of your thyroid labs so that you can see them yourself and ensure that they are interpreted correctly.

TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)- This is a pituitary hormone that responds to low/high amounts of circulating thyroid hormone. In advanced cases of Hashimoto's and primary hypothyroidism, this lab test will be elevated, (read post about interpreting this test HERE). In the case of Graves' disease the TSH will be low. People with Hashimoto's and central hypothyroidism may have a normal reading on this test.

Thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPO Antibodies) and Thyroglobulin Antibodies (TG Antibodies)- Most people with Hashimoto's will have an elevation of one or both of these antibodies. These antibodies are often elevated for decades before a change in TSH is seen. People with Graves' disease and thyroid cancer may also have an elevation in these thyroid antibodies, as well as TSH receptor antibodies.

Thyroid Ultrasound- A small percentage of people may have Hashimoto's, but may not have thyroid antibodies detectible in the blood. Doing a thyroid ultrasound will help your physician determine a diagnosis.

Free T3 & Free T4 -These tests measure the levels of active thyroid hormone circulating in the body. When these levels are low, but your TSH tests in the normal range, this may lead your physician to suspect a rare type of hypothyroidism, known as central hypothyroidism.

If your doctor will not order these tests for you, you can pay out of pocket and order them yourself thought a company like Direct Labs. To view a list of recommended labs click HERE."

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