Anemia and hair loss - advice?

[DarkBeauty]

Hey, i finally figured out what has been causing my gradual shedding. It started about 2-3weeks ago, and the shedding became more rapid and increasing with every wash. I had a panic attack on monday because my heart suddenly started having palputations because the lack of iron in my blood. So now i'm on the iron tablets, but i've noticed my hair shedding is becoming worse than ever? It only used to shed around 60-80 hairs in the shower, it still does that but it's now even falling out when it's dry and when i brush it, it never used to before my panic attack. I want to know when the hairloss will stop? Because i've been on these tablets since tuesday and my hair loss is worse than ever, it's getting me depressed, i miss thick hair :(

[Sundial]

It does take a while before results are noticeable. But you may still want to get it checked out with a doctor. Madora had a really bad incident with anemia and she mentioned that she had to take emergency shots to get her iron levels up. So it could be possible that the level of iron still isn't sufficient.

Or it could be that your body isn't absorbing the iron well. It appears that certain things do interfere with the body's ability to absorb iron and this could be a cause as to why you are not reacting to the iron supplements. I think it was calcium that binds to iron and prevents absorption. I'm not sure if tea affects absorption levels too.

[DarkBeauty]

It does take a while before results are noticeable. But you may still want to get it checked out with a doctor. Madora had a really bad incident with anemia and she mentioned that she had to take emergency shots to get her iron levels up. So it could be possible that the level of iron still isn't sufficient.

Or it could be that your body isn't absorbing the iron well. It appears that certain things do interfere with the body's ability to absorb iron and this could be a cause as to why you are not reacting to the iron supplements. I think it was calcium that binds to iron and prevents absorption. I'm not sure if tea affects absorption levels too.


Yep, i've been avoiding milk, it even says on the tablet box :P Also tea does affect it too. But i think the iron tablets are working, my palputations are almost fully gone and i'm experiencing side effects from them, so they must be working, i'm just wondering why my hair is going worse? Shouldn't it be clearing up if the tablets are working? :l

[DarkBeauty]

Yep, i've been avoiding milk, it even says on the tablet box :P Also tea does affect it too. But i think the iron tablets are working, my palputations are almost fully gone and i'm experiencing side effects from them, so they must be working, i'm just wondering why my hair is going worse? Shouldn't it be clearing up if the tablets are working? :l

Forgot to add: Thyroid results came back normal, it's just hemoglobin levels that are low, everything is fine, how do i know if i can't absorb iron properly? I'm going for a bloodtest next wednesday, so i can find out more things about this.

[Seishin]

I've been diagnosed with iron deficiency anaemia and this may well have attributed to my increase in already major shedding. I shed loads anyway but past couple of weeks it has gotten worse. I'm also a holistic therapist and there is a phrase 'the healing crisis' that is often used to describe symptoms getting worse before the getter better when embarking on a holistic treatment. I'm on the iron tablets as of two days ago and it does take time for vitamins to get into the system. I'm to go back in 6 weeks to check my ferritin levels. A ferritin test is the most accurate test to assess levels of iron in the blood as ferritin is a protein that binds with iron. Tea and coffee make it harder for the body to absorb iron whilst vitamin c will aid absorption. I'm hoping this will help with my major shedding at the moment. PLease don't feel that you are alone in this. I completely empathise with your situation. I miss my thick hair. But I am hopeful for us both that the iron tablets are working, its just gona take time to see the results. I look at all the shed hair and think theres a new one on its way to replace it

[Madora]

@DarkBeauty...

I'm so sorry to read about your anemia problems.

Please, if you haven't done so already, make an appointment PRONTO with your physician and have him do a complete blood panel!

I had anemia several years ago except I did not recognize it for what it was. I thought it was respiratory trouble because I couldn't even walk half a block w/o sounding like Secretariat running the last quarter mile in the Kentucky Derby. Literally gasping for breath due to lack of enough oxygen in the blood.

Also, I had been losing a lot of hair for several weeks, and I erroneously attributed that to age. It wasn't. It was the anemia.

I was ordered into the emergency and all kinds of tests were done and I was given a number of transfusions. The doctors said I was low in everything.

My condition was due to years of poor nutrition and diverticulitis.

I'm now thankfully back to normal iron levels (I take iron 3 times a day, along with other supplements approved by my doc) but the hair that I lost has not returned. The hair on the right side of my head is thinner than the left side. Also, I have 2 small bald spots up near the crown.

Fortunately, I still have a moderately thick head of hair, but believe me, it is NOTHING like it was before the anemia appeared!

Please make that appointment (if you haven't already). Good luck to you!

[pixistixx]

take your iron with orange juice or lemon water, eat red peppers, cabbage, things high in vitamin c, it helps absorb. Your levels have to be around 40 to stop shedding hair, and around 70 to regrow new hairs, so although your iron level may be raised enough to stop the heart palpitations, it may not yet be high enough to stop the shedding. It takes a couple of months at least to get to a healthy level, also, the ferrous sulfate form is harder to absorb.

[ange1ito]

It's the tannins in tea or caffeine based drinks that stop the absorption i think. Yep I do the orange juice thing with most meals now, pixistixx. I had a major shed last year and also had to change my diet. I started the changes around september last year and am now having a growth spurt with new hairs. It will take some time for your body to recover so don't be disheartened if your shed seems ongoing, all the resting hair will have to fall and regrow. Also try castor oil massage's to scalp. Madora has such thick lovely hair now, so there is still hope for us!!

[McFearless]

I agree with what everybody is saying. You won't see regrowth immediately but it will get better. Just be patient and take care of your health. Your hair is the last of your body's concerns, so it will take weeks for you to see a difference. In the mean time just be gentle with it and don't think about it too much. Best of luck to you. *hugs*

[DarkBeauty]

Thankyou all for the replies, i've booked another appointment to see if they can refer me to a hair specialist just -incase- it isn't the anemia, it's all about the waiting game now :P I'm trying to stay positive and not let it get me down, because i know there are people out there with far worse hair loss (alopecia ect) and cannot grow their own hair, so i have to think myself as lucky.

[catiebloo]

Oh lovely you have my complete sympathy. I've been anaemic on and off since i was about 13 (i'm 29 now) and have gone from an iii thickness to an i (although i was dying with chemical dyes too) My body has a problem absorbing and holding onto the iron so i have hardly any stores and need to go to the hospital roughly once a year for a 9 hour infusion. I think at my lowest my levels were 9.6 (normal is between 18-160)

Like the others have said take your tablets with OJ and avoid any caffeine or dairy for about an hour afterwards. You might also want to up the fibre in your diet too as most ferrous sulphate tablets cause horrible constipation. You should see an improvement in your overall health in about 6 weeks or so, but your hair won't magically be thicker. You'll need to wait for re-growth unfortunately.

I don't know if you get these where you are but we have a thng here in the UK called Spa Tone - http://www.nelsonsnaturalworld.com/en-gb/uk/our-brands/spatone/ - It's sachets of iron-rich mineral water and i seem to have more luck in upping my iron levels using these than i do by following an iron rich diet or taking vitamins. Maybe you have something similar where you are??

[Ocelan]

I'm resurrecting this old thread because I was just diagnosed with anemia today thanks to my starting at work physical check. Doctors haven't really believed me before when I've said I might be anemic since the few times my hemoglobin has been tested it's been barely on the good side. Now they did a full blood panel and all the tests showed that I was anemic. I have had slow hair growth, felt tired and had heart arrhythmia quite often. Also they did breathing tests because my work includes exposure to dust and my breathing tests showed lowered levels of breathing capacity which was not asthma linked.

So atleast now I know it really is a problem and I will go back to my iron supplements no matter how much I hate them. And I thought I would be ok with iron since I've been drinking green smoothies with lots of spinach every day. Go figure! Apparently normal food isn't enough for me to keep my iron levels high enough. I will be taking my supplements with fruit juice from now on since before I've kind of taken them with whatever (even tea with milk in it, bad!). This time I will really try to be good to get myself back on track!

[Sisko]

Been there and have the thinner hair to prove it. My body wouldn't tolerate tablets so I supplemented with liquid iron. Do know that it can take a long time to restore iron levels in the body (around 4 months) and some of us need continuous supplementation.

A tip: Liquid supplements are generally better absorbed and have the added bonus of containing vitamin C. Something of this (http://www.amazon.com/Salus-Haus-Floradix-17-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B0010EI0CA/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp) nature would work well.

[Ocelan]

I actually had liquid iron supplement which I used earlier. I should go back to that as it really suited me. Last time I tried these tablets a doctor friend gave me I got some bad side effects. I think I'll take your tip and go for the liquid version which I can mix in my juice. Thanks for reminding me!

[leslissocool]

I have anemia problems! Mine run in my family.

Diet is HUGE when it comes to it. I eat plenty of red meat and dark leafy vegetables (steamed with lemon, vitamin c helps iron absorption). Vitamin b-12 and anemia are connected, so I take b-12 supplements. My doctor told me to take prenatal vitamins because they are higher in Iron than regular vitamins (and no, it doesn't affect your hormones or anything). Proteins (amino acids too) help your body absorb iron too, I take a why protein shake daily.

I hope this helps! My count is stable now, and it's been 6 years since I had to be put on an IV because it was too low and I was getting very sick. I can't believe I missed this thread -_-.