Losing faith in my ferritin tablets!

[Twoanklebiters]

I’ve been taking ferrous sulphate 200mg twice a day for 12 weeks now - my ferritin levels at the start were 13. I only had the blood test as I noticed my hair was feeling thin and I had an area where you could see my scalp at the front. During the last 12 weeks my hair has got worse, the thinnest patch at the front looks so bad in my bathroom light, I have hardly any hair left there now. I can also see tiny bald patches at the sides when I put my hair in a ponytail. I’m also taking Perfectil HAIR and vitamin D high strength, and trying to be more conscious of eating nutritious food.
My gastro consultant (have IBS) doesn’t think my ferritin tablets will do anything as my actual iron levels are fine, she thinks my hair is stress related - but I don’t feel very stressed, apart from about this!
GP won’t retest my levels until 6 months have passed with no improvement, but I feel like I’ll be bald in places by then. The thin patches just look like they’ll never recover.
I suppose I’m just after some reassurance and/or encouragement. Feel quite down about it now. Thank you

Bumping

Bumping again before I throw them in the pond 😂

Don't necessarily give up!
It's frustrating that HCPs don't realise that some people can have low ferritin even with a reasonable circulating iron.i used to be one of them.
I'm not an expert on hair loss but I would assume it's going to take a little while to really improve and you probably are stressed about the hair loss.
One other thing is that when my ferritin was very low I used to be on 3 ferrous sulphate a day.

I had really low stored iron levels, 5 whatever the unit is. But haemoglobin was OK so think that made me iron deficient rather than anaemic. My main symptom was extreme fatigue and headaches. It took a loooong time to feel better, I'd say 3 months? I took the tablets before bed with orange juice. I also cut dairy from my diet as that can hinder iron absorption.

When I was anemic my hair started falling out. It was really upsetting.
Then I had a couple of iron infusions. It’s now almost back to notmal.

Do you have plenty of vitamin C? It helps with the absorption of iron.

Yes I take my tablets with a glass of orange and when I remember I try to drink a bit with an iron rich meal too. (Don’t always remember!).

@Serenschintte

When I was anemic my hair started falling out. It was really upsetting. Then I had a couple of iron infusions. It’s now almost back to notmal.

Do you mind me asking how long it took before you noticed any significant regrowth? I can see some very tiny thin hairs in my parting, but only a few and none in the more troublesome/balder areas ☹️

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

Don't necessarily give up! It's frustrating that HCPs don't realise that some people can have low ferritin even with a reasonable circulating iron.i used to be one of them. I'm not an expert on hair loss but I would assume it's going to take a little while to really improve and you probably are stressed about the hair loss. One other thing is that when my ferritin was very low I used to be on 3 ferrous sulphate a day.

That’s interesting. I wonder if I should increase to three.

My ferritin is 4. I belong to several FB, low ferritin support groups. It can take a long time to get your ferritin levels up, some people on these groups are still struggling a year later, it’s frustrating but don’t give up. Apparently taking the iron every other day has better results, not sure quite how that works but several are suggesting this works better than every day. There is also a good group called The Iron Protocol.

Have you lost hair anywhere else as well? Eyebrows?

@RedPandaWanda

My ferritin is 4. I belong to several FB, low ferritin support groups. It can take a long time to get your ferritin levels up, some people on these groups are still struggling a year later, it’s frustrating but don’t give up. Apparently taking the iron every other day has better results, not sure quite how that works but several are suggesting this works better than every day. There is also a good group called The Iron Protocol.

Yes perhaps I’m being too impatient. It’s hard though when things seem to be getting worse! With regards to other symptoms, I do feel significantly better in myself now than I did. Not perfect, but so much better. I guess hair takes longer but honestly, it’s terrifying.

@bestbefore

Have you lost hair anywhere else as well? Eyebrows?

None, so far! REALLY hope I don’t either!! Argh now I’m panicking that’s coming!

You need to give it more time...3 months is just not long enough

I was just thinking it might be frontal fibrosing alopecia - but that normally includes eyebrows...I'm a sufferer sadly

Best before - Oh goodness me I do feel for you. It’s utterly traumatising. How is yours? And how did you get diagnosed? I’ve now been googling and convinced myself I’ve got it too.

How is your folate level?

@Hawkmoth

How is your folate level?

Apparently normal, but I didn’t receive my actual results from the GP. But then theoretically my ferritin was normal, at 13

TBH it's a horrible condition. It's diagnosed by dermatologists but sadly not much that can be done - it's characterised by the scarring where the hair has come out. I've lost my eyebrows, body hair and hairline sadly. Hope it's not the case for you as hairless can be caused by lots of things