Hair Loss in women – you need to think outside the square

I recently had a patient aged in her late 30s who had lost all the hair on her scalp 5 years before she came to see me. This condition of total scalp hair loss is called Alopecia Totalis and is very challenging to treat. With such a distressing condition it was predictable that this poor woman had been to innumerable specialist doctors and was not getting anywhere. She remained totally bald. She also complained of lack of menstruation and fatigue. Alopecia is an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks the hair follicles and the longer you have it the harder it is to get the hair to regrow. I found that this woman had slight liver dysfunction and gluten intolerance and these things are common in autoimmune disease. Her blood levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were not elevated so she was not menopausal.  Tests revealed that she was low in vitamin D and iodine and her thyroid gland was slightly sluggish. I said to her that we should be able to get some hair regrowth but in alopecia one is always guarded about being too optimistic. I prescribed the following program:
  • A low dose of porcine thyroid extract and Thyroid Cream
  • Thyroid Health Capsules, which contain proper doses of vitamin D, iodine and selenium. I always prescribe selenium for autoimmune disease, as it regulates the immune dysfunction seen in such cases.
  • Progesterone cream and a troche of low dose bio-identical estrogen; this would hopefully restore her menstrual cycle.  I also recommended FemmePhase capsules - 2 daily to support a more balanced level of female hormones.
  • A liver formula called Livatone Plus to improve her liver function, which would enable her immune system to calm down.
  • A gluten free diet and raw juicing.
I did not see her for 6 months during which time she also consulted a prominent endocrinologist, who had agreed with my treatment. At this follow up visit she told me that she was happy with her results, which were better than those obtained with previous treatments. Her menstrual cycle had returned and her skin condition was much improved. She had noticed that her scalp hair was starting to regrow after all these years, although in some areas it was like soft baby hair. I was relieved to see her happy and full of hope. We decided to wait another 6 months before proceeding to stronger hormone therapy if needed. I am very pleased with the results and I think this patient will gradually and slowly improve. With hair loss it is important to think outside the square and not just focus on the scalp. As seen in this woman’s case we had multiple areas of imbalance to treat including –
  • Sex hormones
  • Thyroid hormone
  • Gut health and diet
  • Liver health
When we address all these contributing factors we increase the chances of curing a challenging disease that is resistant to conventional therapies. The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.