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What Causes Extreme Hair Loss?
Question: I started noticing thinning hair on my head about 2 months ago. Since then it has progressively gotten much worse and is now severe. The loss seems to encompass the entire scalp. I had some blood work done recently for an unrelated matter and my MCV, MCH and MPV levels all came back abnormal (MCV: 116, MCH: 39, MPV: 8). My doctor told me that these are nothing to be concerned about and are most likely unrelated to my extreme hair loss. The more I read online however, the more concerned I am becoming - especially with the MCV. So my questions are: 1. Could my hair loss be a symptom of one of these values being abnormal? 2. Should I be concerned with the MCV level? A couple of things to note are that my TSH, T3 and T4 are all normal, I take a vitamin B12 supplement, and my CRP was also slightly elevated at 0.4.
I also wanted to mention that my B12 and Folate levels were well within the normal range.
I also wanted to mention that my B12 and Folate levels were well within the normal range.
Brief Answer:
No these values are not of immediate concern
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query. I understand your concern.
The MCV is actually high but I am unable to correlate this with your hair loss. The common causes for high MCV have been ruled out by your doc, like B12 deficiency, folate deficiency, hypothyroidism, etc. Hence the best way to go about it is follow the complete hemogram after few months. If the Hemoglobin, white cells and platelets are fine then it should not matter.
However, we need to rule out if this is due to any drug. Can I get a list of the drugs you are on or have taken in last 3 months? Also did you have any MCV measured in last few years?
I am not too much worried about the CRP of 0.4. Depending on the lab range, this can be even normal.
Hope this helps. I will be available for further followup.
Regards
No these values are not of immediate concern
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query. I understand your concern.
The MCV is actually high but I am unable to correlate this with your hair loss. The common causes for high MCV have been ruled out by your doc, like B12 deficiency, folate deficiency, hypothyroidism, etc. Hence the best way to go about it is follow the complete hemogram after few months. If the Hemoglobin, white cells and platelets are fine then it should not matter.
However, we need to rule out if this is due to any drug. Can I get a list of the drugs you are on or have taken in last 3 months? Also did you have any MCV measured in last few years?
I am not too much worried about the CRP of 0.4. Depending on the lab range, this can be even normal.
Hope this helps. I will be available for further followup.
Regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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