I used to regard the term ‘Chronic Telogen Effluvium‘ as somewhat of a “non-diagnosis”; a label provided where the Practitioner really had no idea as to its cause. I’ve begun to re-think my previous skepticism and now believe these hair sheds are a very early indicator of impending hormonal-metabolic collapse.
Two client cases have recently emerged; one a post-menopausal registered nurse (RN) and the other an early 30’s professional woman who for 2-3 years both reported unremitting hair fall - ‘chronic’ Telogen Effluvium - despite all contemporary treatment interventions. Each woman reported being ‘always tired’; both struggling with their respective body weights, and we were unable to replete the zinc levels of the former (and the iron storage of the latter) despite intense + sophisticated supplementation.
The baseline ‘thyroid’ blood testing for both women revealed little although their overall symptoms and history suggested metabolic disturbance from some area. I always endeavor to have my client’s thyroid panel tested in-depth: TSH, T4, T3, Reverse T3 (rT3) + Thyroid antibodies - along with Iodine + Vitamin D. These were repeated at approximately 3-6 month intervals (understandably much to their respective Doctor’s chagrin…) but little changed in the testing and only my ‘gut feelings’ remained.
With no further increase or severity of symptoms, the respective thyroid conditions of each unexpectedly and dramatically emerged; the post-menopausal RN revealing autoimmune thyroiditis - Graves’ Disease - and the younger woman Hashimoto’s autoimmune thyroiditis.
I have observed this in other (predominantly female) clients but I was unable to track their progress due to discontinued contact. Hair (as an appendage of the skin) is one of the most metabolically-active body tissues. Hair growth is extremely sensitive to changes within the body’s internal environment - particularly nutrient availability and hormonal fluctuations.
Hair growth, hair ‘quality’, and variation in usual follicle ‘growth-fall’ cycles are frequently an early indicator to underlying disturbance within the body. In part - this is because hair is a ‘non-essential’ tissue in nutrient-metabolic terms; first to reveal signs of internal distress - but the last recover.
With further research, I believe ‘phasing changes’ in scalp hair follicle cycles that lead to ‘chronic’ Telogen Effluvium may prove to be a reliable diagnostic indicator or ‘red flag’ early warning to autoimmune thyroid disease.