Hair loss, short-sight - myopia - and furry tongue, as diabetes indicators, or as diabetes symptoms

[LancsCarol]

Before my Type 1 diagnosis and treatment ...

- hair loss affected underarms, toes, forearms and head-hair - not eyebrows.
Head hair is still disappearing in brushfuls, 9 years after diagnosis.

- my tongue was always furry in the morning, and needed scrubbing - and I had bad halitosis - not acetoney.
Since the first insulin injection, the furry tongue now only indicates a high overnight glucose level; normal bg levels = clean tongue.

- my myopia was visibly worse, triggering investigation. A commercial opthalmologist noted it and I passed his note to GP surgery [ignored]; I bought and used a bg monitor and the pharmacist directed me to hospital; diagnosis that evening.
Since diagnosis, increasing myopia is always coupled with poor HbA1c levels

None of these three indicators are ever mentioned in symptoms.
[Blurred vision is non-specific - it could be short- OR long-sightedness]

Has anyone else noticed these symptoms?

 

[trophywench]

Hair loss is an absolute symptom of Hypothyroidism, which being another auto-immune condition shedloads of people with Type 1 D also get. When you have all your blood tests re diabetes, one of the things with everything else they usually test for is our TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) cos the result of that gets the ball rolling on the thyroid front.

Talk to your GP - tell him about the hair loss and ask to have a TSH test. Incidentally it's said by endocrinologists that people with diabetes, do much better with TSH at the lower end - 1.0 ish or less whereas without D, they don't bother up to 3.0 and will say it's fine. (or even with D, my GP surgery said a sudden 3 was fine - when mine had been well below 1 for years and years! - just waited till I next saw the hospital D clinic, who happily increased the dose of the tablets)

 

[PattiEvans]

I have severe hair loss which affects my head and the rest of my body. I have no body hair and no eyebrows. I do have hypothyrodism for which I take both Liothyroxine and liothyronine. I have also got antibodies indicating that I am allergic to my own hair follicles. Niiice, but there are some very good wigs around these days. My close friends know but honestly I do not think anyone else notices and I feel very confident in public. Even an HCP commented on what a lovely head of hair I have.

Meantime I have several other autoimmune conditions including psoriasis, kept at bay by an infrequent application of steroid cream. These things are manageable and life and fun go on!

 

[Leadinglights]

I have severe hair loss which affects my head and the rest of my body. I have no body hair and no eyebrows. I do have hypothyrodism for which I take both Liothyroxine and liothyronine. I have also got antibodies indicating that I am allergic to my own hair follicles. Niiice, but there are some very good wigs around these days. My close friends know but honestly I do not think anyone else notices and I feel very confident in public. Even an HCP commented on what a lovely head of hair I have.

Meantime I have several other autoimmune conditions including psoriasis, kept at bay by an infrequent application of steroid cream. These things are manageable and life and fun go on!

Would never have known.

 

[PattiEvans]

Aww thank you @Leadinglights !!

@LancsCarol I forgot... I was sent to an Endocrinologist for my under-active thyroid who told me that the eyebrows are usually first to go. I see from your initial post you still have yours... so it may be another autommune condition rather than the fault of your thyroid. You can ask to be tested for the antibodies that cause hair loss.

 

[LancsCarol]

Thank you PattiDevans. I do already, for many years, take Levothyroxine, since initally noticing head-hair loss. I did demand it, despite my apparently "normal range" of thyroid, because of the history of GP refusal to others desperately needing it in the family. When I had raging ITP, 30 years ago, I was told that antibodies were eating bloodstream thyroid. Thank you for the advice about hair-loss antibodies - I was unaware of that possibility. I shall attempt to get that checked.
I am delighted to be learning from you, and hope there may be some reactions to the furry-tongue and myopia symptoms too.

 

[LancsCarol]

Hair loss is an absolute symptom of Hypothyroidism, which being another auto-immune condition shedloads of people with Type 1 D also get. When you have all your blood tests re diabetes, one of the things with everything else they usually test for is our TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) cos the result of that gets the ball rolling on the thyroid front.

Talk to your GP - tell him about the hair loss and ask to have a TSH test. Incidentally it's said by endocrinologists that people with diabetes, do much better with TSH at the lower end - 1.0 ish or less whereas without D, they don't bother up to 3.0 and will say it's fine. (or even with D, my GP surgery said a sudden 3 was fine - when mine had been well below 1 for years and years! - just waited till I next saw the hospital D clinic, who happily increased the dose of the tablets)

Thank you trophywench - as you will see from my full reply to Pattidevans today 9th Feb 2022, I shall be making more effort to find out just why I'm going on the way to bald. 🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Hope the checks help clarify your situation @LancsCarol

I’ve not had much in the way of furry tongue as a symptom of high BG, but I certainly had a phase in my ”not doing as well as I convinced myself I was” period where blurry vision generally (and particularly distance-vision) was an indication that BG had been running high for a few days.

 

[PattiEvans]

Me too. A tube of Betnovate has been my constant companion for decades.

I'm lucky in that mine used to flare up every 3 or 4 years, stay for 6 to 8 weeks, then fade away again. The last time that happened was in 1982. Having said that, some patches never go away - both elbows, one knee and most annoyingly in my scalp.

I have Dermovate. Same difference! When I was still working and under a lot of stress it covered my hands and all my fingers were split open and used to bleed on the keyboard, but these days it’s just a little tiny patch on both elbows.

 

[PattiEvans]

Thank you PattiDevans. I do already, for many years, take Levothyroxine, since initally noticing head-hair loss. I did demand it, despite my apparently "normal range" of thyroid, because of the history of GP refusal to others desperately needing it in the family. When I had raging ITP, 30 years ago, I was told that antibodies were eating bloodstream thyroid. Thank you for the advice about hair-loss antibodies - I was unaware of that possibility. I shall attempt to get that checked.
I am delighted to be learning from you, and hope there may be some reactions to the furry-tongue and myopia symptoms too.

The condition is called Alopecia areata and it’s autoimmune. I saw a consultant at the hospital who suggested I use Regaine for men. My hair did grow back (frizzy whereas it had always been straight) for about a year, but then I became allergic to the Regaine and had to stop using it, at which point it fell out again.