M.B.
Please have your Thyroid checked - hair loss (including the outer edge of eyrbrows) is a hallmark symptom of hypothyroidism (Autoimmune - also called Hashimoto's). It is MOST often triggered by childbirth. This is because during pregnancy, your immune system is suppressed so that your body does not reject the fetus (which is comprised of foreign proteins - we're all biologically unique). Post-partum, your immune system revs back up and in so very many cases will over-rev and trigger autoimmune diseases.
Your doctor MUST test for thyroid antibodies and if you have them the standard TSH test is meaningless for diagnosis. Please insist that they consider your symptoms. Here's a basic list:
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/basics_starthere/a/10signs.htm
The tests you want (and NEED) are TPO, Anti-thyroglobulin, Free T3 and Free T4 - they MUST measure the "Free" and not the "Total" values - the Frees are the bioavailable hormone. And, TSH, but keep in mind that TSH is a pituitary hormone and thus only reflects thyroid function under normal conditions - organ failure vs. autoimmune AND if you also have pituitary problems. TSH is more reflective of organ failutre of pituitary it is of thyroid status, although pituitary problems will impact thyroid function (all our hormones are inter-dependent).
If the tests are negative, I would INSIST on a sonogram. The auto-immune destruction of your thyroid begins BEFORE there are any palbable nodules. If you follow the conventional medicine approach and only start treatment if TSH is out of range, you will be so very miserable by the time you are diagnosed and will likely first be prescribed anti-depressants or told that your symptoms are just normal and just get used to it.
I have learned all of this over the past 5 years of being treated for hypothyroidism and BOTH my sons have autoimmune thyroid disease - based on a sonogram and only my younger son had antibodies. My older son was previously diagnosed with depression (but I refused drugs for that) and my younger with ADHD - I refused drugs for that.
You might also want to check out the Texas Thyroid Yahoo group:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Texas_Thyroid_Groups/
There's lots of experience with these same things (started with the hair/eyebrow issue and then cascading into a myriad of health issues, in particular depression, extreme fatigue). Many folks that have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Lupus and many other auto-immune diseases have autoimmune thyroid disease but unfortunately, it's either undiagnosed or inadequately treated. Most docs treat patients only based on lab numbers (as if we're all the same) rather than symptoms.
If you do nothing else, please go to the health section of your library and check out one of the following books:
1) M. Shomon: Living Well with Hypothyroidism
2) Ridha Arem: The Thyroid solution
3) Mark Starr: Hypothyroidism Type II
These books helped me see that some very subtle lifelong health issues were due to borderline hypothyroidism that didn't become a life impacting issue until after the birth of my first child.
Thyroid disease is rampant in our society - one of the theories is that those of us with this predisposition (which has a negative impact on overall immune function) would have died before the advent of antibiotics. Since then, we folks with hypo/auto-immune genes are producing generations of hypo/auto-immune predisposed people - my family is an excellent example. Both my mom and sister are hypo and now my two sons. It is appearing earlier and earlier in our children.
