Hi All,
My eyebrows are fast disappearing! I first noticed them looking patchy about 3 months ago so went to my GP for my thyroid to be checked. Results were normal and I guess I just got used to them looking the way they did (but would pencil in patchy bits). Now the last couple of weeks I've noticed them getting worse!
Needless to say I've booked another appointment with the GP for next week. Apart from the thryoid is there anything else related to Sjogrens which could cause this? I've checked online and can't find anything specific.
Have any of you experienced this?? I really hate the thought of having no eyebrows!
Thanks
Isn't there something about your adrenal glands and losing the lower 1/3 of eybrows as a symptom of adrenal exhaustion
Hi Reena :)
Are you SURE your thyroid readings are normal. Docs sometimes say "Well - they are within range" but the high end of the normal range for TSH, for instance, is often an indication that people do indeed have thyroid disease and would benefit with medication to reduce tsH to mid range or below. I'm not a medic but I am hypothyroid and I know from bitter experence that if my TSH is above mid range for 'normal' I feel really ill.
Outer eyebrow loss is often an indication of hypothyroidism.
Take care - Scottie :)
Hi Reena,
I'll second Scottie, as that is how I knew that my thyroid was not working well (I lost a lot of hair on my head/body, and the eyebrows started to disappear as well). The GP I was seeing decided that I was "within normal limits" (she was using the old standard .05-5.50), and that was that.
When I finally saw an endo, he did his own tests and determined that the scale the GP was using was an old one, and by the "new one" (.03-3.00), I was hypo (that along with the goiter and multiple nodules seemed to cinch the deal for him). I'm not in the medical field either, but I feel better right around 1.00, maybe a tad under.
Have you seen this website by chance? http://thyroid.about.com/blnwslnk.htm There is a wealth of information here, and you hopefully you'll find an answer or two as well.
Take care of yourself -
Patze
Now that you mention it mine have gotten a lot thinner in the last two years.I just thought it was my age and I have been waxing and plucking.Both of those over time will thin brows and make hair grow in finer. Let us know what you find out.
I am with the others on thyroid problems. My thyroid lab results were in the "normal range" but I was still experiencing hypothyroid symptoms (many of which are the same as sjs symptoms). I was taking only levoxyl (T4). Finally went to an endocrinologist who said - for some people we need to add T3 to the treatment because some people can't convert enough T4 to T3. (T3 is the active form for some tissues - especially brain). He ran all of my thyroid tests and prescribed T3 in addition to my T4. He reduced the T4 just a little. Within a week I was feeling much better. Within a month I felt better than I had in 3 years. The before and after lab tests were the same except for the T3 which had increased but was still in the normal range. He said that you can't rely on the normal ranges for thyroid - you have to go by how the patient feels. Now that we know where MY thyroid values should be he is going to adjust my dosages as needed to keep the levels on target for me.
Once again the right Dr makes all the difference.
Tuckerdog
Thank you so much for all your replies. I don't know what my results were last time apart from being told levels were fine. When I go on Tuesday I will ask for figures, not sure if my GP will print these off for me. Interestingly when I was pregnant I was almost diagnosed with a thyroid problem but levels were ok on a repeat test.
Patze - did you see a private endocrinologist? I had a brief look at the website - very informative.
Camj - thanks for pointer to adrenal exhaustion - again I had a quick at this and will definitely mention at my appointment.
Why does life have to be so complicated for us Sjogrens people! I've lost half my teeth, can't keep my eyes open some times, can't talk for 5 minutes without my mouth feeling like paper, tired and now look like I've been shaving my eyebrows off!
Sorry for the moan, I know some of you have more serious problems so I should be grateful for what I have (and I am).
Will keep you posted on how it goes for me on Tuesday :).
Thanks
Hey Tuckerdog, I'm so jealous that you have an endo that will add a bit of T3 to the T4, wow! I went through four endo's looking for one that would at least try to help (always got "the T4 is enough for you" routine; it was just too bad that I still felt miserable five years after starting T4 only protocol). The doctor I currently see for the thyroid is not an endo, but has a lot of hypo patients because she's willing to work with you.
Hi Reena, yes I do see a private doctor for the thyroid, and I pay out of pocket as she does not take my insurance (she's expensive, but oh so worth it). And like Tuckerdog, I feel better than I have in five years (still not great, but a noticeable difference just the same). I do realize that a lot of members are on T4 only (they are doing well on it), but I guess my old body just needed a bit more than the T4 only (I take a combo pill daily).
Take care of yourselves -
Patze
I've had the results of my blood tests and my TSH is normal, GP thinks is probably to do with the Sjogren's and is going to refer me back to the Rheumatologist. I'm non the wiser! Will let everyone know if I ever find out what's causing it.
Hi Reena,
I will be interested because my eyebrows are behaving a bit oddly as well just now. Am going to ask GP for another thyroid test. I believe that Plaquenil can sometimes cause hair loss but I've been on it nearly 6 years now and it hasn't caused anything yet.
Take care - Scottie :)
Glad someone brought this subject up.
Ive been having to pencil my eyebrows in of late. Thought it must be age related!
Funny because my hair is so thick and not losing that..
I'll take on board what has been advised here, and me thinks another visit to the Docs is needed..
Hope Reena gets some answers soon, Dolly
LOL. My eyebrows have been sparse as long as I can remember. Now it's the hair on my head that has me upset. Wahhhhhhhhhhh.
I just realized that I did not mention this in my earlier post. A classic sign of hypothyroid is the loss of the outer 1/3 of the eyebrows.
Tuckerdog
I thought I was going crazy or crazier ;D But, I've noticed my eyebrows getting very thin...but hair is much thinner too. hmm
The doc has me on thyroid med and i test ok.
Hi Reena,
Have you seen an endo about this yet? I know a lot of GP's can treat this, but sometimes you just need to chat with an endo to get his expertise/opinion. And yes, I lost that third of my eyebrows, and it took a long time for them to grow back.
What scale is your doctor using for the TSH? And please remember, just because you might be within the stated "range", does not mean that the level is right for you (I feel better with my TSH a bit under 1.00 (my TSH was close to 5.00 when this all started)).
Take care now -
Patze
I tell you what my frows grow so thick and fast I sure hope if any thing leaves first it would be them, hoping they will thin down nicely. Having to pluck them is a job. I try to keep them up, but if I let a week go by? Forget about it!
Bernice, quit bragging about your lush brows. When I pluck mine, it's one or two hairs on each brow. If I take one too many, I'm bald up over my eye. Lucy
Eye,
LOL! But believe you me they ain't nothing to brag about. I never knew having thick brows was something anybody wanted! I bet if I go say a month without a puck I would probably need a weed wacker! As if I don't have a million other things I need to do just to look human! ::)
Mine have to be thinned out then shaped ALL around, that takes some doing! I remember in the 80s when it was fashionable to draw thin brows, I had to shave those bad babies, on a daily basis!
I have to draw mine on, too. I think the loss came along the same time as Hashimoto's. My question is:
Do they ever grow back?
C
I don't know about growing back, lol, but Bernice..........dear...................NO ONE should ever shave their eyebrows off. I am LOL about to fall off the chair.
Mine don't have to be shaver, or trimmed all around. I have to find which one or two will make them look a little more shaped. I do sketch on a bit of feathery strokes of eye pencil too. Oh.shaving.........Now, I've seen ladies out in public who maybe should have thought of such a thing.
I notice not even fellows get their eyebrows waxed. I've seen them in the beauty shop. I had to stop from lauging.
Hi Calli, now I don't know on what thyroid med you're on, but when I was on Levoxyl (for several years), mine would never grow back either. I was told by an endo told me that it would take five years for my hair to grow back :o ::), and five years later, nope, it didn't.
I finally found a doctor that would work with me (treating the thyroid), and changed me to a combo med. Low and behold, the eye brows started growing back as did the hair on my body (except for my head, it figures! ;) :)).
Hi Lucy, wow, guys getting theirs thinned out? Good on them!
Take care now -
Patze
combo med for thyroid? Can I ask what med that is? thanks
Quote from: Patze on February 26, 2010, 04:21:56 AM
did the hair on my body
Do the combo thyroid meds affect the hair on the "south forty" if you know what I mean?
Hair on my legs I don't miss...but other places.....I do.
C
Lucy, that was the style back then, briefly, thank God! I got a picture to prove it! ::) ::) One that you and the world will never ever see! What was cute then, not so cute now! I told y'all I used to try most anything that was hot at the time!
Shoot, Girl I thought I was looking g ::) ::)d sitting on my honey's lap (future husband), full face of makeup with my drawn on eyebrows. With him grinning like he got Miss. America or somethang! ::) ::);D ;D ;D
The worst thing about it was that sometimes if you weren't careful one of them would get wiped off leaving you looking strange, had to keep a check on that.
Comeon don't anybody remember this??
Calli66, I know what you mean cus THAT'S where I lost mine, came out in patches. Not a appealing sight (site)! Might as well goneon and get rid of the rest! I thought this was due to getting older, I even asked my oldest sister, cause she's older than me, but she laughed and said she didn't have this issue, so I just didn't know what else to think! Good Lord! :'( :'( :'( :'(
Wow, the things I read on here that ring bells with me as well! I started losing patches of my eyebrows 4 years ago! I have mainly blown it off (and used an eyebrow pencil) because I figured if I mentioned this thing to a doctor (in addition to all the other weird things I tell them), they'd just give me another roll of their eyes. And I'd end up looking wackier to them than I do a already. But now, well, yeah, I'm going to bring it up because it could mean thyroid issues. My sister has Hashimoto's and has to get biopsied several times a year to follow it. My thyroid blood tests always come back normal, but as my sister tells me, her routine thyroid blood tests are always normal too. Her Hashimoto's was diagnosed by biopsy.
Interesting thread . . . . . . I too have the missing part of my eyebrows . . . . ::) If I take a mirror and go to the window where the sun is shining through - there are hairs there, just very, very light. I'm trying to remember how long it's been like this - I would guess "maybe" 10 yrs (or more). I don't remember exactly how long I've had an underactive thyroid - some time after my son was born, and he's 14 now.
I got out my wedding pictures and my eyebrows were okay in them - we've been married 18 yrs. in March.
Ya know, nobody in all these years has mentioned anything about it being related to my underactive thyroid!! I always thought it was something I was doing - although, I know I wasn't plucking my eyebrows, so who knows what caused it?! ::)
Here's another question - what's the difference between hypothyroidism and Hashimoto? Aren't they pretty much one in the same? Is the Hashimoto diagnosed more along with autoimmune issues whereas just hypo is your underactive thyroid? I've only been dx'd with hypo.
Interesting . . . . very interesting!!
Bucky
P.S. Reena - by the way, welcome to Sjogren's World - not sure if I welcomed you or not! :)
Which one of these thyroid problems causes weight gain? That's the one I need to check into!
Hypothyroid (not enough hormone). Because it can make your metabolism slow down, and then you gain weight.
With Hashimoto's, you have anti-bodies that damage the thyroid gland. Hypo is underactive thyroid, caused by who knows what. I'm not sure there's much difference
C
QuoteWhich one of these thyroid problems causes weight gain
Bernice: About 90% of us would like to give you some weight to gain. Girl, you must be careful of posting things like that on a board.
First, you tell us you have lots of eyebrows when we have none and then you're looking to gain weight. If you feel a chill, you'll know it's all of us.
My sisters had those thin shaped eyebrows in the 80's but I never did. I never knew why--I didn't have enough to ehape. I sure as h don't now.
lolLucy
Naw, naw! I ain't skinny! ;D Used to be just a few years ago, that's why Im wondering if I need to have thyroid checked to see what's going on here! I need to, well would like to loss about 20lbs. though my doctor does not seem to concerned about it, we need to do SOMETHING!
So naw, don't be hatin' my way. ;D
Shoot as far as eyebrows go that and my ingrown toe nails are a source of concern for me, I worry that if I ever get down or too old I will not be able to manage them. I don't allow anyone to upkeep them. My toe nails need special attention when cutting otherwise they hurt real bad and brows need to be shaped just right. I have visions of me laying in bed looking like a mad banshee or something with long curled toe nails and eyebrows that meet! ::) ::) ::) ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Oh Bernice, please oh please take some of my extra weight (take a lot of it, I wont' mind, honest!)! Even though I'm on a combo med, it doesn't help with the weight loss, oh well, I see...more exercising in my future! ;) ::) :D
Hi Lagringa, can you see an endo maybe? Yeah, I was diagnosed by a biopsy too, and I hate needles.
Hi Calli & Reggie, now this is just my humble little old opinion (not in the medical field whatsoever or anything like that), it's not as simple as hair regrowth, because nothing is guaranteed with any med (a T4 only or a combo in this case). Some people will never regrow their hair, loose weight, whatever (what has regrown on me is fine, and if I don't have my glasses on, I can't see it anyway....ugh. Don't know which is worse, the hair regrowth or my eye sight getting worse.....but the eye brows are a bit bushy!).
Please don't misunderstand me, most folks do okay with a T4 med (as does one of my doctors, and she swears by it), but I am in the minority. If I were to go back to T4 only, my cholesterol and triglycerides would go back through the roof (I won't take statins as I get horrible side effects from them), I'd still be gaining weight like no one's business, and so on.
The best advice I can give you is that if you are thinking about wanting to try a combo, talk to your doctor about it, see what he says. Have you seen this website? It has some interesting information about the thyroid and different meds. http://thyroid.about.com/
Welcome Reggie to the SJS World!! Please do tell us a bit more about yourself so we can get to know you a bit better!
And I bet you were a beautiful bride Bucky! :D
Take care of yourselves -
Patze
Patze - I had a quick look at my results as GP was going through them and noticed TSH was 1. something - which I gather is perfectly normal. When I get my hospital appointment I will ask them to investigate all possible reasons. On a side note - my results showed low albumin so now my GP is going to check whether I'm leaking protein from kidneys and in meantime has given me nutritional supplements to keep protein topped up. I'm also going to get VIt D by injection. On top of this I have a UTI which I think may not have cleared with antibiotics as I have a had a horrible pain in lower tummy for days!
Anyway back to eyebrow loss - mine have gone patchy from random places but I guess more so from outer thirds. Bernice - I used to have really thick brows - jet black! Now I miss them :'(. I feel I can't leave the house without 'colouring' in with black shadow - I don't even bother with other make up at the moment because just doing my eyebrows makes me look like I've had a makeover!
Thanks for the welcome Bucky - I'm sure you did welcome me when I first joined :).
My GP said eyebrows will grow back.. but not so sure now. I also think I'm losing eyelashes - I can see small gaps appearing in bottom lash line. I really hope this isn't the start of alopecia!
Hi Reena,
Yeah, I just did the donation to the local vampires, and am looking forward to see what the tests results will be this time around (looking to see if my malabsorption problem has gotten better).
Good luck with the UTI, and I sure hope that it fades away like a bad B movie! ;) :D
Take care of yourself -
Patze
Don't they have eyebrow implants, seems like they can implant everything else :D
You have a good point there Epson! I'll ask the next time I see the doctor! ;) :D
Patze
Seeing as we have eye problems............do not mess with having cosmetic eyeliner or that kind of thing. Infection, all kinds of troubles. But, now the eyebrows are far enough away from the eyes.....................Epson, how about it, if I go for it, will you? eyebrows. Ludy
:) :D ;D
Eye,
About permament liner another thing to consider is how it looks as we age. Now I hope I do not offend ANYONE, but most I've seen that have had this in the past now look gastly with it as they age. And Lord knows those that have had something injected into their lips to make them peramently larger. The thing is IF you are not 100% sure that you will age gracefully then these need to be left alone!
Remeber what I'm saying when in about 10 years or so we have alot of people walking around looking sulken with black lines around their eyes and huge lips on a sagging face. Not cute! Also keep in mind we fight dryness and with that you have to be very careful with the amount of makeup we apply, it does not look good with heavy makeup and dry or wrinkled skin. In this case it's best to look as natural and airly as possible. No amount of surgery can stop aging, it can improve it, but can not stop it and at some point most will have a limit of the amount that can be accomplished over time.
We have to think longterm with cosmetic procedures is all I'm saying.
Lucy, I don't have any problem with my eyebrows, I let my nose hair grow really long and comb it above my eyes ;D
All right Epson, you owe me a new monitor!!!!
Patze
::) ::) ::) Epson, Epson, Epson!! ::) ::) ::)
I knew that would get a good joke out of you, Epson.