Low ferritin hair thinning and its making me distressed

[princesstal]

My worst nightmare is happening again and I'm so distraught. I suspected my hair was thinning and a full iron blood test has proven me correct. My hair is half its thickness pretty rapidly and my scalp is itchy. My ferritin is 8! I am to receive an iron infusion but its been delayed too long as the request form was taken to an elective procedures unit (11 days post blood results). I live with serious health issues and its making me very dizzy and short of breath.

My lung specialist is finally fast tracking for me to have it done tomorrow. Has anyone kept their length in a similar situation? I had a trim over a month ago. I don't want to cut my hair off like I had to last time this ferritin mess happened.

Sorry for the rambles, I am just so distressed. Any way I can retain whats left of my hair now that this iron infusion is FINALLY happening?Product/care recommendations would be appreciated. I am so distressed that I can barely look at myself. I have a birth defect so my hair is my only fave feature.

[foreveryours]

Wow, sorry to hear that. No experience with iron deficiency that I know of. I'm now experiencing quite the opposite. I began taking iron supplements last winter when I found taking naproxen for more than a day or two caused me severe bleeding and just kept up with it since since I don't eat alot of green vegetables or red meats. But recent blood testing indicates I'm slowly poisoning myself with iron overload (80% saturation) so I've cut cut and will retest in a few weeks. My hair doesn't seem to have been adversely impacted though by all the iron around. In fact it seems better than ever right now. So certainly I'd expect your infusion to help alot. Good luck!

[lapushka]

Man I am here wondering why your docs don't have you scheduled for regular blood tests, especially if this is a recurring problem? Or maybe it was and it just slipped back too fast? In any case: it sucks! :( I am so sorry you are going through this.

Thank goodness you can have it done fast now.

There is no reason to cut your length. Now you have thinner/thinning hair and long hair. Better than the same thing but with shorter hair. Right? The length doesn't make the difference one bit!

[Lady Stardust]

I’m sorry to hear you’re so upset :grouphug: I hope the treatment will make you feel much better and I’m sure you will see improvements in your hair.

[princesstal]

Man I am here wondering why your docs don't have you scheduled for regular blood tests, especially if this is a recurring problem? Or maybe it was and it just slipped back too fast? In any case: it sucks! :( I am so sorry you are going through this.

Thank goodness you can have it done fast now.

There is no reason to cut your length. Now you have thinner/thinning hair and long hair. Better than the same thing but with shorter hair. Right? The length doesn't make the difference one bit!

I had it 6 years ago and it hasn't been checked for some time. Its happened pretty rapidly since having two viruses two months ago.

[Bri-Chan]

I'm sorry for your situation! If it can give you some hope, years ago I discovered I had mild anemia and very low ferritin (around 5, not joking), but my hair was at waist back then, and as you can see my hair has grown a lot. After you'll start recovering, your hair will grow back and your growth will become faster. And that's no reason to cut your hair if you like it as it is.

[Finda]

I hope you will feel better soon!

[Potauvert]

Hope you will get better very soon ! I'm sorry to read about your situation.

[lapushka]

I had it 6 years ago and it hasn't been checked for some time. Its happened pretty rapidly since having two viruses two months ago.

Ooooh yikes. 6 years, and they don't check you yearly? :( I would be so angry!

[Jane99]

Knowing the root cause of problems is a good thing. I’m glad you’re starting treatments soon. What a pain though, I would also be distressed. Feel better soon!

[illicitlizard]

I'm sorry it's taking so long to get resolved - keeping on top of the deficiency as best you can, the iron infusion will help. I wouldn't cut your hair if you don't otherwise want to! Thinner long hair might be a different look for you, but it's not an inherently bad one :o
Wishing you and your hairs a speedy recovery

[JasminxCat]

Sorry you're going through this. I had iron deficiency anemia when I was pregnant. So it was a mixture of shedding from pregnancy, high stress, and iron deficiency. I never lost so much hair at once in my life.. I had bi weekly infusions for a few months and it took a few months after my last infusion for the shedding to slow down, and a year to fully recover. I didn't do anything special other than taking better care of my health. I recommend starting multivitamins that have biotin. I wish you a speedy recovery

[princesstal]

I got lucky and had my infusion today!

[Kibrah]

So sorry to hear you are going through this. I'm glad you got your infusion. I hope you feel better very soon. As far as cutting your hair goes. I see no reason to. If it bothers you, you could always maintain at your current length until the thickness catches up.

[cestlavie]

Sorry you have to deal with this and I hope you feel better soon. I had an iron deficiency once in my life and I lost a lot of my hair. When I got an iron infusion the shedding stopped rather quick and my hair grew back faster too. When everything was leveled out it went back to my regular growth rate. I wish you a speedy recovery!