iron deficiency and hair growth

[ikke1978]

Hi, i am trying to grow my hair and it breaks and falls out since 5 weeks... Losing lots of hair, horrible...
The docter checked my blood and i have iron deficiency. I am going to take some iron pills for it. Hoping it will stop, but it might take months before it will stop falling out. leaving me with less and less hair.

Has anyone else expierenced this?

[Sundial]

I had a similar issue except that my hair was shedding instead of breaking off. Once I started on iron supplements, my condition improved dramatically

[Sophie.Bold]

I wouldn't used Iron pills, Im using black treacle also named black strapped molasses from a organic shop, the pills worked after couple of months, BSM IMMEDIATELY!


Happy growth :)

[ikke1978]

I had a similar issue except that my hair was shedding instead of breaking off. Once I started on iron supplements, my condition improved dramatically

really? How long did it take before your condition improved?

[ikke1978]

I wouldn't used Iron pills, Im using black treacle also named black strapped molasses from a organic shop, the pills worked after couple of months, BSM IMMEDIATELY!


Happy growth :)

thanks, i am not sure what molasses are, i will look into that. I am from Holland, hope it is something they have here too

[Sundial]

About a couple of weeks :p It didn't stop immediately but eventually it slowed down dramatically. Even my DH noticed the difference in the amount of shed hairs he found in the shower - now I'm down to an average of less than 10 strands in the shower where before I gave up counting after about 40

[HairColoredHair]

thanks, i am not sure what molasses are, i will look into that. I am from Holland, hope it is something they have here too

Molasses and treacle are very similar, if you have treacle instead. :)

[Lee's Girl]

I've had iron-deficiency issues since I was around 13 or so, never realized it could be the cause of my insane shedding. I'll have to try the blackstrap molasses - I can't take Iron supplements, my body won't absorb the iron & if it does, it won't tolerate it well.

[ikke1978]

I've had iron-deficiency issues since I was around 13 or so, never realized it could be the cause of my insane shedding. I'll have to try the blackstrap molasses - I can't take Iron supplements, my body won't absorb the iron & if it does, it won't tolerate it well.


I have insane shedding as well... i am afraid to touch or comb it. I really hope i can get my iron level up, because this is terrible. i drives me nuts...

[Madora]

Oh, tell me about iron deficiency! Bottom line, I had a very serious case of anemia (required overnight hospitalization and several transfusions).

I'd thought that the hair I was shedding was just due to age. It wasn't. A blood panel was taken and I was extremely low in just about everything. I didn't understand the seriousness of the problem until the doctor called asking why I wasn't in the emergency room after he had called me an hour before!

As a result, I lost at least 1/4 of the thickness of my hair on the right side..thickness I have never regained.

Fortunately, I had very, very thick hair, so it wasn't the disaster it might have been.

By all means, get to a doctor and have your blood thoroughly checked. Have your doctor prescribe what you need to counteract the deficiencies (don't medicate yourself. You're dealing with trouble if you do!)

Be patient. Give your hair time to recover! Eat properly, drink plenty of water. Exercise in moderation and treat your hair gently (no blow fryer, straightening, teasing, using nylon brushes. Always DETANGLE with a wide tooth comb FIRST before you brush. Remove tangles with your fingers and not with your comb! Use products that are hair friendly.

I hope your hair dilemna is solved quickly! Good luck!

[ikke1978]

Oh, tell me about iron deficiency! Bottom line, I had a very serious case of anemia (required overnight hospitalization and several transfusions).

I'd thought that the hair I was shedding was just due to age. It wasn't. A blood panel was taken and I was extremely low in just about everything. I didn't understand the seriousness of the problem until the doctor called asking why I wasn't in the emergency room after he had called me an hour before!

As a result, I lost at least 1/4 of the thickness of my hair on the right side..thickness I have never regained.

Fortunately, I had very, very thick hair, so it wasn't the disaster it might have been.

By all means, get to a doctor and have your blood thoroughly checked. Have your doctor prescribe what you need to counteract the deficiencies (don't medicate yourself. You're dealing with trouble if you do!)

Be patient. Give your hair time to recover! Eat properly, drink plenty of water. Exercise in moderation and treat your hair gently (no blow fryer, straightening, teasing, using nylon brushes. Always DETANGLE with a wide tooth comb FIRST before you brush. Remove tangles with your fingers and not with your comb! Use products that are hair friendly.

I hope your hair dilemna is solved quickly! Good luck!

I my god, that is scary.
So your hair thickness didn't recover at all..
I am very frightend that it will only get worse and worse...
I have a doctors appointment tomorrow. My ferritinlevel is 10. very low.

[racrane]

Get that taken care of! I had anemia last year for about my whole year of college. I didn't understand until later why I lost so much hair in my brush and the shower, but once I was diagnosed and went on iron pills, I improved. It took about two months for it to look much better, but it did get better. I hope you feel better! <3

[pepperminttea]

I have heard of monster sheds that just never stop that have turned out to be due to iron deficiency, though the person I'm thinking of seems to be getting plenty of regrowth thankfully. Fingers crossed you can get things sorted soon. :flower:

[christine1989]

I had the same problem- very low iron causing massive shedding. After taking an iron suppliment for around 2 months it was back to shedding a normal amount and in around 6 months it had thickened back up again. If low iron is the only cause of your shedding then all you need is a suppliment and plenty of patience! Hopefully your hair makes a speedy recovery. :)

[Firefox7275]

If your doctor has prescribed a mineral supplement please take it, it's very difficult to control the amount you get from molasses. If your next set of blood tests don't show the improvement your doctor hopes, you won't know whether you need a higher dose or a different approach altogether. By all means review your diet alongside, make sure you are meeting or exceeding your government's recommendations for healthy eating. Do you know why your iron levels are so low, is it down to illness, poor diet or problems absorbing nutrients?

I know it's easy to say but try not to worry as that will not do your general health any good! The important thing is you have been diagnosed and starting treatment. After diagnosis, many people find it beneficial to learn about and practice lifestyle healthcare, it helps them feel in control of the situation. Do your best to keep your stress levels down - consider your sleeping patterns, method of relaxation, whether you get enough (gentle) exercise. :)

[Mesmerise]

Hmm I wonder now if this is what happened to me last year?? I had a few months of massive shedding, and well I had no idea why. BUT I did go vegetarian before it happened (I started off as a strict vegan too), and maybe my iron went down as a result?

Well whatever... after a few months the shedding stopped and my hair seems to be coming back now... it will be forever before it's normal again though :rolleyes:.

[banglaminerva]

I have an appointment next week to start everything to find out why my iron levels are so low. I went through this a couple of years ago and we couldn't find anything and the multi vitamins took care of it. But I've gotten bad about keeping up with the pills and Doc wants to rule out other causes.

But, I haven't been having any shed. Rather, my hair's the thickest it's ever been and it's very noticeable.

uurrggg... I so do not want to go through the testing again. I just want to go back to taking my pills.

[ikke1978]

My ferritin is only 10, but i am not anemic. So my doctor won't describe me iron supplements.... I als have a vitamin D defiency.. He will give me something for that. Should i go to another doctor??

[Mesmerise]

Can't you just buy iron supplements? I mean, if I needed extra iron I wouldn't wait for a doctor to prescribe some for me, I'd go buy some from the local pharmacy. Or, I'd take a multi vitamin/mineral that contains iron (as often if you're low in one thing, you'll be low in others too).

That being said, I think it's stupid that a doctor isn't giving you a prescription for iron tablets if you're really low! I mean, anaemia is a serious deficiency, but you don't need to be anaemic to HAVE a deficiency! Any deficiency should be cause for concern, and should be addressed before it gets worse.

[GourmetChica]

There is a medical study on Pubmed that concludes that a ferritin level of 70 ug/L is needed to prevent excess hair shedding in females.

(If anyone wishes to see it I can try to dig it up for you, but in should come up on a search.)

[Belisarius]

Molasses and treacle are very similar, if you have treacle instead. :)
If you are dutch, buy "Rinse appelstroop".

[dinnee]

I was going to say that too! Appelstroop is really high in iron and an 'old ladies method' against anaemia. When I had my growing spurts as a kid my mum would make me sandwiches with appelstroop to take to school. I remember we had a brand that was thick and sour, in stead of runny and extremely sweet. I loved it. I don't remember the brand though, I should ask my mum!

Oh yeah, for vegan's and vegetarians out there it's a good way of getting the iron levels up.

[ikke1978]

thanks, i will absolutely buy and try the appelstroop...

[Firefox7275]

My ferritin is only 10, but i am not anemic. So my doctor won't describe me iron supplements.... I als have a vitamin D defiency.. He will give me something for that. Should i go to another doctor??

Nutrients work synergistically and in opposition, it's best to only supplement with a complete multi-vitamin/ multi-mineral plus anything your doctor prescribes. Iron supplements are very constipating, which can be bad enough to need hospital treatment! :o It's absolutely fine to ask why your doctor does not want you to take ferrous sulphate, if you are not happy with the response certainly seek a second opinion. Bear in mind sometimes different units are used in different countries. Most importantly address whatever dietary issue is contributing to your deficiencies.

[hairyfairy]

I had this. The shedding decreased after two months of supplementation and I started seeing new growth coming in after about four months. I have not regained my original volume yet, but difference between the new thickness and the old hair remaining from the shed is quite noticeable.

[ikke1978]

I had this. The shedding decreased after two months of supplementation and I started seeing new growth coming in after about four months. I have not regained my original volume yet, but difference between the new thickness and the old hair remaining from the shed is quite noticeable.

The shedding is horrible now. it is falling out like crazy. Good to read that your hair is getting thicker now. I am afraid if this continuous two more months, i will be bald.

[ikke1978]

Nutrients work synergistically and in opposition, it's best to only supplement with a complete multi-vitamin/ multi-mineral plus anything your doctor prescribes. Iron supplements are very constipating, which can be bad enough to need hospital treatment! :o It's absolutely fine to ask why your doctor does not want you to take ferrous sulphate, if you are not happy with the response certainly seek a second opinion. Bear in mind sometimes different units are used in different countries. Most importantly address whatever dietary issue is contributing to your deficiencies.

I have an appointment with my doctor in half an hour. I will def. ask all him all about it. It drives me crazy... all this shedding

[Toadstool]

Can't you just buy iron supplements? I mean, if I needed extra iron I wouldn't wait for a doctor to prescribe some for me, I'd go buy some from the local pharmacy. Or, I'd take a multi vitamin/mineral that contains iron (as often if you're low in one thing, you'll be low in others too).
.
Please be careful: it is possible to die from taking too much iron- it says so on my iron tablets. I don't mean the amount of iron in a multivitamin. I mean higher amounts.
I hope you find the cause of your shedding soon.

[ikke1978]

Please be careful: it is possible to die from taking too much iron- it says so on my iron tablets. I don't mean the amount of iron in a multivitamin. I mean higher amounts.
I hope you find the cause of your shedding soon.

I just came back from the doctor and now he is giving me 55 mg iron a day. He says that is enough to get the iron level up to 70 or 80 (i have 10 now). It might take some months for the shedding to stop, but if the iron definiency is the cause of the shedding it will regrow after some months.. That is what he is saying. I really hope so

I am also going to start eat very healthy and doing more sports to keep me healthy.

Maybe the vitamin D supplements will help me too

[Madora]

@ikke...

Glad to hear you've got the medication you need to combat your iron deficiency problem. Be sure to follow the directions as given (don't try and take more than is called for).

Drink plenty of water too.

Vitamin D was prescribed for me, too, when I had my close call with anemia in 2006.

Your hair regrowth will take time..but it will return. Good luck!

[ikke1978]

O my God. Let me wake up from this nightmare.

My hair keeps falling out. My doctor just says it is Telogen effluvium. Probably because of iron definiciency or because of medication i took (but i alrady finished those meds more than 4 months ago)

I even went to a Chinese doctor, who says my body is out of balance and my blood cirlulation is very bad. He blames all the problems on that. He gives me chinese herbs and tablets.
I take iron supplements from my doctor.

I hope something will help very soon, because if this continuos i am left hairless in a month.

AAAAHH!!!

Sorry, just needed to get this of my chest.

eva

[Aredhel77]

Just for info, there is an iron supplement for women called Florisene that is supposed to help address telogen effluvium associated hair-loss. However if the doctor has prescribed iron supplements, that is probably the best way to go :shrug:

[Panth]

O my God. Let me wake up from this nightmare.

My hair keeps falling out. My doctor just says it is Telogen effluvium. Probably because of iron definiciency or because of medication i took (but i alrady finished those meds more than 4 months ago)

I even went to a Chinese doctor, who says my body is out of balance and my blood cirlulation is very bad. He blames all the problems on that. He gives me chinese herbs and tablets.
I take iron supplements from my doctor.

I hope something will help very soon, because if this continuos i am left hairless in a month.

AAAAHH!!!

Sorry, just needed to get this of my chest.

eva

*hugs* I know it's frustrating and annoying, but you're going to have to give the iron tablets more than 8 days for them to do their job!

[growingpains]

When I was a teenager I lost a lot of hair from iron and other deficiencies. It shed so much it was embarrassing. I was SO worried when it started happening that it would never grow back or I'd so bald. But I improved my health and it stopped shedding so much and regained fullness. Then about 7 years ago when I was twenty I had health problems again, along with low iron and other deficiencies. I again lost much thickness, though the shed rate was not as noticeable. Unfortunately I never regained that thickness.

However, at the same time I was twenty and having health problems I also started dying and straightening my hair much more. So, I have hope that now that I am finally no longer using heat and have close to virgin hair that I will gain a bit of fullness back.

Take care of your health problems and your hair should improve!

ETA: major hugs!!! You will in all likelihood regain the hair!

[ikke1978]

Thank you girls... for the support and the hugs.