(female) regarding hair loss. I have tried it all, propecia, rogaine, the works. what i’d like to know is, I take loads of vitamins and supplements. I have hashimoto’s which I read I should take among others Vit.A and/or omega 3 fish oils. I was taking 5,000-10,000 of A and 400 iu of D. Then I thought I should get my a & d from fish oil instead. I take (2) 2500 Vit a and 250 vit.d a day.My question now becomes this. Would I need to take the same amount of Vit.a & d in the fish oil as in a regular a/d capsule which is from say carotene. I know a & d can become toxic and causes loss of hair and I’m wondering if that is my problem. What is a safe amount?? And which/ or both do you suggest.
As a rule, a normal healthy diet should provide you with ALL the essential vitamins and minerals for a normal healthy person. Millions of dollars are spent on marketing supplements to a health conscious society and it gives a skewed perspective on our health and subliminally gives us the message that we need to take these extra supplements to make us better (lose weight, grow hair, increase our sex drive, build muscle, feel happy, get smarter, reverse aging, etc). As long as things are not done in the extreme and it seems to help, there is nothing wrong with taking supplements. But there is no hard medical science to support majority of the claims.
With respect to Propecia, it is only FDA approved for male pattern hair loss in men. It is not approved for women. For more information on the use of Propecia in women, see: Treatments Available for Female Hair Loss. With respect to Rogaine, you can try it out, but it would take about a year to notice any benefit. I do not know if you had tried it for a year before you abandoned it. With respect to vitamins and supplements, if they work for you, then I see no reason to change the regimen. With respect to your thyroid condition, you should follow up with the doctor who is overseeing your treatment and follow his recommendation. It is not something you cure with just supplements.
