The reason behind my hair shedding

[amiraaah]

I posted weeks ago about my hair shedding and i was so concerned! Someone recommended me to do a blood test and thank god i did. I found out that i’m mildly anaemic and i was prescribed iron pills.
if you have gone through this or have any information about it, how long does it take to start noticing hair regrowth because my hair is a little thinner than it was And is it enough to take iron pill for my hair or should i start doing more than that for my hair?

[elise.autumn]

Wow, glad you found this out!

I don't know much about anemia. Once a doctor said I had "unusually high amounts of heavy metal" in my blood, and I wanted to say "yes, I do like to listen to metal". This is the extent of my iron knowledge.

Maybe give it some time to see if the pills help? If you can have overall health as a base, I expect that would be reflected in your hair as well.

[Lucy McLucyFace]

Check for baby hairs along the hairline over the course of the next month. That should be the easiest indication that your shredded hair is growing back. Just be patient, it won't happen over night

[Amy-Lee]

This may help you. I eat 1 packet of Instant cream of wheat original flavor every single day because it's loaded with vitamins and minerals, along with soymilk. Then I make sure to have enough protein in my diet. I don't eat meat, but I get it by consuming Boca burgers original patties (13g) and a can of giant eagle red kidney beans (24.5g). I also include spinach which has a good source of iron. I get all of my vitamins and minerals through food. In my case, it took exactly one year for my hair to stop shedding excessively. It's because I didn't know exactly how much iron and protein I should have been consuming and I was crash dieting. Once I have figured it out, my shedding is now considered normal and my hair is starting to thicken. Heavy metal toxicity can lead to hair loss as well. If you can, start juicing cilantro. It may taste a bit gross, but it will help detox. There are other ways as well. Just google how to detox heavy metals from the body safely. Hope I helped! :o

[GordonMurphella]

This may help you. I eat 1 packet of Instant cream of wheat original flavor every single day because it's loaded with vitamins and minerals, along with soymilk. Then I make sure to have enough protein in my diet. I don't eat meat, but I get it by consuming Boca burgers original patties (13g) and a can of giant eagle red kidney beans (24.5g). I also include spinach which has a good source of iron. I get all of my vitamins and minerals through food. In my case, it took exactly one year for my hair to stop shedding excessively. It's because I didn't know exactly how much iron and protein I should have been consuming and I was crash dieting. Once I have figured it out, my shedding is now considered normal and my hair is starting to thicken. Heavy metal toxicity can lead to hair loss as well. If you can, start juicing cilantro. It may taste a bit gross, but it will help detox. There are other ways as well. Just google how to detox heavy metals from the body safely. Hope I helped! :o

This isn't a really healthy diet and I'm concerned about googling heavy metal toxicity. If you have health concerns a doctor is a better bet than someone handing out freebie info on the internet.

[sipnsun]

I had a severe iron deficiency about 5 years ago and lost roughly half of my hair. It took about 6 months of taking a supplement before I had a halo of baby hairs sticking up all over my head. So glad you got tested, I had no other symptoms other than occasional tiredness so was very surprised when I got diagnosed also. It may take a little time and being patient is hard but hang in there!

[NicoleLionne]

Glad that you discovered the problem! It's not fun, but it's at least fixable :).

I have had to deal with low iron/being anaemic a lot over the years (pretty much since I was 11-12 years old). Eventually we found out that my body is not very good at absorbing iron from food, so I really need to be on top my iron intake. A few tips that have helped me to stay in the safe levels and were given to my by my doctor:
- vitamin c helps with the absorption of iron (both animal and plant-based), so make sure you get enough of during the day. Your body can't store vitamin c, so it's important to eat/drink foods that contain it multiple times a day.
- calcium and caffeine make it harder for your body to absorb iron, so if you eat a meal with a lot of iron be careful with dairy, coffee and black tea.
- too much iron is not good for you either, so don't take more iron pills than you need. In my case I take an iron supplement right before and during my period to help my body recover from the loss of blood. Or when I had a very heavy workout, since that can increase your body's need for iron as well.

It's a bit of experimentation, but for me upping the amount of vitamin c and lowering my cafeine consumption already helped a lot. I hope you'll find a good balance soon! If I had a big shed, about a month later I could see a lot of little baby hairs popping up. It may depend a bit on how much your body has te recover. But my hair has always bounced back fairly quickly and once my levels were solid again.

[Ylva]

You've gotten some good tips on how to get more iron (however, I'd also be extremely wary of any "detox" tips online). I think red meat, including organ meat, is the absolute best food to get iron from in terms of quality and bioavailability (go for grass-fed and grass-finished). And good quality dark chocolate is another delicious option.

You should also take a look at how to slow down your iron loss. Are your periods heavy? That is suggestive of estrogen dominance which can exacerbate anaemia.

[Amy-Lee]

This isn't a really healthy diet and I'm concerned about googling heavy metal toxicity. If you have health concerns a doctor is a better bet than someone handing out freebie info on the internet.


Actually, a plant based diet is extremely healthy when you include fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and herbs. Also, my father, a retired doctor, has hypertension and diabetes. He knows ZERO about nutrition. Doctors don't know everything. Btw, there is nothing wrong with googling heavy metal toxicity and how to detox the body naturally. Thanks for your concern though. :o

[amiraaah]

Thank you for your response! elise.autumn Your comment made me smile. I will try to give the iron pill some time to see what’s going to happen hopefully my hair will recover fast.

[amiraaah]

Check for baby hairs along the hairline over the course of the next month. That should be the easiest indication that your shredded hair is growing back. Just be patient, it won't happen over night

Thank you! :flower:

[amiraaah]

Thank you! Amy-LeeSo you didn’t take iron pills. You just made dietary changes only?

[amiraaah]

I had a severe iron deficiency about 5 years ago and lost roughly half of my hair. It took about 6 months of taking a supplement before I had a halo of baby hairs sticking up all over my head. So glad you got tested, I had no other symptoms other than occasional tiredness so was very surprised when I got diagnosed also. It may take a little time and being patient is hard but hang in there!

I’m sorry about this! I hope you’re doing well now. Thankfully i’m not severely anaemic, i have a mild anemia. It’s really hard to be patient especially because i have been having these symptoms for months now and i never thought about the blood test.

[amiraaah]

Glad that you discovered the problem! It's not fun, but it's at least fixable :).

I have had to deal with low iron/being anaemic a lot over the years (pretty much since I was 11-12 years old). Eventually we found out that my body is not very good at absorbing iron from food, so I really need to be on top my iron intake. A few tips that have helped me to stay in the safe levels and were given to my by my doctor:
- vitamin c helps with the absorption of iron (both animal and plant-based), so make sure you get enough of during the day. Your body can't store vitamin c, so it's important to eat/drink foods that contain it multiple times a day.
- calcium and caffeine make it harder for your body to absorb iron, so if you eat a meal with a lot of iron be careful with dairy, coffee and black tea.
- too much iron is not good for you either, so don't take more iron pills than you need. In my case I take an iron supplement right before and during my period to help my body recover from the loss of blood. Or when I had a very heavy workout, since that can increase your body's need for iron as well.

It's a bit of experimentation, but for me upping the amount of vitamin c and lowering my cafeine consumption already helped a lot. I hope you'll find a good balance soon! If I had a big shed, about a month later I could see a lot of little baby hairs popping up. It may depend a bit on how much your body has te recover. But my hair has always bounced back fairly quickly and once my levels were solid again.


Thanks for your tips! :flower: i don’t get enough vitamin c in my diet now and i drink a lot of soft drinks and coffee so this is probably a reason as well. Do you recommend specific foods that help?

[shelomit]

Wow, I am glad you have an answer now! When my mother was diagnosed with anemia, the nutritionist recommended her to eat liver. I don't know if your family makes this, but we have a dish called "kebdah iksandarani" (hopefully I am spelling it okay). It's cooked with garlic, fresh peppers, cumin, coriander, and vinegar. My mother doesn't like liver and this recipe is the only way she will eat it ; D

[amiraaah]

You've gotten some good tips on how to get more iron (however, I'd also be extremely wary of any "detox" tips online). I think red meat, including organ meat, is the absolute best food to get iron from in terms of quality and bioavailability (go for grass-fed and grass-finished). And good quality dark chocolate is another delicious option.

You should also take a look at how to slow down your iron loss. Are your periods heavy? That is suggestive of estrogen dominance which can exacerbate anaemia.

The problem ylva is that i stopped eating red meat months ago and since then i started having these symptoms. I really don’t want to make any direct relationship between cutting meat and being anaemic but this is what happened to me. I used to eat red meat 3 times a week and i haven’t experienced such an extreme hair shedding. The problem is that i don’t feel like eating red meat again.
My periods are extremely heavy to the point that i cannot go out during my period. I don’t want to say gross stuff but i literally wake up to blood dripping on my legs to the floor.

[amiraaah]

Wow, I am glad you have an answer now! When my mother was diagnosed with anemia, the nutritionist recommended her to eat liver. I don't know if your family makes this, but we have a dish called "kebdah iksandarani" (hopefully I am spelling it okay). It's cooked with garlic, fresh peppers, cumin, coriander, and vinegar. My mother doesn't like liver and this recipe is the only way she will eat it ; D

Yes that’s exactly how we make it. I’m amazed that you know it’s name, kebdah iskandarani” is the only liver recipe i used to eat too. The problem is that i stopped eating red meat at all for months now and i don’t feel like eating it again. So now i feel that it will have to start eating it again.

[lapushka]

Thank you! Amy-LeeSo you didn’t take iron pills. You just made dietary changes only?

Before you jump on that bandwagon. If your doctor prescribed you iron pills... they don't just do that if it isn't extremely necessary. Just FYI. :flower:

[Amy-Lee]

Thank you! Amy-LeeSo you didn’t take iron pills. You just made dietary changes only?


You're welcome! I didn't take any iron pills at all. I got my recommended amount of iron (10-14mg) through oats, cream of wheat, spinach, beans, and tofu. I also made sure I was eating enough protein daily.. average is around 45 grams for women. If you eat meat, liver has a good source of iron. :o

[amiraaah]

You're welcome! I didn't take any iron pills at all. I got my recommended amount of iron (10-14mg) through oats, cream of wheat, spinach, beans, and tofu. I also made sure I was eating enough protein daily.. average is around 45 grams for women. If you eat meat, liver has a good source of iron. :o


But in that case you were not anaemic right? Because 10-14 mg is a very little amount to cure anemia.
I don’t eat red meat or soy so i am going to focus more on pulses and greens.

[amiraaah]

Before you jump on that bandwagon. If your doctor prescribed you iron pills... they don't just do that if it isn't extremely necessary. Just FYI. :flower:

I agree lapushka i won’t stop taking my iron pills! I was just asking to know what foods are good in my case.

[Amy-Lee]

Yes, I was anemic. I was making sure I was getting 12 mg of iron daily. Too much iron is toxic. In your case, I would follow your doctors orders. When you are in the clear, the foods I listed can actually help you with your iron intake as well. :o

[MusicalSpoons]

My periods are extremely heavy to the point that i cannot go out during my period. I don’t want to say gross stuff but i literally wake up to blood dripping on my legs to the floor.

Hey amiraaah I'm sorry to hear you have such heavy periods - that's not normal. If you haven't already seen a doctor, please do, and don't let them brush you off by telling you it's normal because it's not. Keep persisting until they actually investigate what's going on, and especially if you have a lot of pain too. There are some causes of really bad periods that can lead to further problems later on if they're not treated. It's really important that they try to find out what's causing them, and if treatment can help them be less heavy it will also help your iron levels too :flower:

[florenonite]

Hey amiraaah I'm sorry to hear you have such heavy periods - that's not normal. If you haven't already seen a doctor, please do, and don't let them brush you off by telling you it's normal because it's not. Keep persisting until they actually investigate what's going on, and especially if you have a lot of pain too. There are some causes of really bad periods that can lead to further problems later on if they're not treated. It's really important that they try to find out what's causing them, and if treatment can help them be less heavy it will also help your iron levels too :flower:

I agree with this. The average diagnosis time for endometriosis is something like seven years because so many women think the pain and heavy bleeding is "normal" - and even if they think there's something wrong they get brushed off by their doctor and told to suck it up and deal because it's just what happens when you have a uterus.

To be clear, I am NOT saying you have endometriosis (I'm not a doctor and even if I was I couldn't diagnose you from a comment on an internet forum); that's just one example of a condition that presents symptoms like heavy menstrual bleeding that doctors often brush off as "normal".

[NicoleLionne]

You're welcome! And we all have very different body's, so what works for me, may not work for you etc. For some people like Ylva, organ meats and red meat may help. In my case, cutting out meat and dairy entirely did wonders for my iron levels and period-related blood loss (I have endometriosis). It's a matter of (educated) trial and error. Cutting out meat without replacing the nutrients with something similar is a sure way to become aneamic. Eating lots of meat, but only poor quality, same story. Not all doctors know a lot about nutrition, but some do! So I would try to find a medical specialist that can help you as well. The internet is a wonderful source of information, but incomplete and contradicting as well.

For me, besided my normal diet I make some extra effort to eat whole citrus fruits and lots of berries. I prefer to eat them whole since you also get the fibers and I'm lazy so it's less work. But it should help with keeping your bloodsugar level stable as well. I personally don't believe that carbs are evil and fruit sugars should be avoided. At least for me, my body is a lot happier with them than without. Again YMMV. Those fruits contain a lot of vitamin c and anti-oxidants and are quite easy to incorporate as well. So I eat an orange or grapefruit with my breakfast, some berrries for lunch and dinner with lots of colourful and green vegetables. I like kiwi fruit as well and carrots as a quick snack.

I eat plant-based, so for my iron I eat lots and lots of legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, tempeh, quinoa, oatmeal etc. As well as taking the iron supplement for a week during my period. Perhaps adding a few different sources of iron can help as well. My body isn't good at processing animal derived iron, but seems to be responding better to the plant variety.

Good luck and I hope the iron pills will help you as well! As Lapushka said, to cure aneamia you will probably need a bit more than just dietary changes :).

[NicoleLionne]

And as MusicalSpoons and florenonitesaid, definitely get heavy periods checked out!! It took me 7 years of complaining and 5 different gyneacologists to finally get the diagnosis of endometriosis. Heavy blood loss and awful cramping is NOT normal. It really sucks! Not that it has to be endometriosis in your case of course, there are quite a lot of things that can cause these symptoms. Not all medical specialists know a lot about these issues either. I would try to ask your doctor if they can find you medical specialists who have a lot of experience and knowledge about the menstrual cycle and possible causes of heavy bleeding.