Hair loss can be a symptom of a short-term events such as stress, pregnancy, and the taking of certain medications. In these situations, hair will often grow back when the event has passed.
As an endocrinologist, Dr. Friedman will focus on hormonal causes such like hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s), hyperthyroidism, fluctuating thyroid levels, Cushing’s Disease, vitamin D deficiency, growth hormone deficiency, high testosterone/DHEAS/dihydrotestosterone (DHT), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), excessive progesterone, high prolactin, low estrogen, or iron deficiency (low ferritin).
Dr. Friedman’s approach to hair loss is optimizing hormones. This includes optimizing thyroid hormones, examining for growth hormone deficiency, treating low ferritin (target level around 70 ng/mL), treating low estrogen (target estradiol 50-100 pg/mL), raising 25-OH vitamin D to at least 30 ng/mL, and gluten-free diet is recommended for celiac diseases). Dr. Friedman will also test for high bioavailable testosterone (> 8 ng/dL) and/or DHEAS (>250 ug/dL).