Hair loss and low ferritin

[WhatHaveYouBecome]

Hi,
I’m wondering whether anyone has been in a similar situation and what the outcome was please.

A few months ago I started to lose a lot of hair and there were noticeable bald patches on my head. I spoke to the GP and had some bloods which showed I was deficient in ferritin, folate and vitamin D and I was told these were probably linked to the hair loss.

I took supplements and had a further blood test. The folate and vitamin D are normal and although the ferritin is, it’s on the low side (20).

My GP is saying that everything is normal, nothing else needs to happen. Only my hair has started falling out again and I’m feeling very tired. I was made to feel like a massive nuisance for questioning why my ferritin is still only 20- told it’s normal but it doesn’t seem right to me that it can still be borderline after taking supplements. I’ve been told it will be diet linked but there wasn’t a single question about my diet and no advice about what I can do to improve things.

I’m wondering if I need to be pushing for more help here. Any advice please?

I’m 33 and generally in good health.

“Normal” drives me nuts!

Normal isn’t the same as optimal. you can be symptomatic with ferritin levels below 90.

What supplements were you taking?

I was prescribed ferrous fumerate and told to take it 3 X a day. When my levels dipped again I just bought it and took it myself. Can’t remember where I got it but it was this.

caplet-pharmacy.com/product/vitamins-and-supplements/vitamins-minerals/ferrous-fumarate-210mg-84-tablets/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_tWRBhAwEiwALxFPobF7lqK5iPzRxBt-t3n32pHCMOwBAhfXhhLGszIpKW3CW-h9Nldp7hoChxAQAvD_BwE

It can cause serious constipation though, or upset stomach in some, so it may be better to build up the dose slowly so your body can adjust.

Did the GP diagnose you with a particular kind of hair loss? Have they referred you to a dermatologist? If not, see one privately.

It is important to investigate & try to work out the cause.

I was recently diagnosed with alopecia areata, the cause of which the dermatologist says is the covid vaccine booster + another unrelated vaccine close together triggering an immune response. The hair follicle usually enjoys 'immune privilege' but sometimes this breaks down. Just sharing FWIW. I also had lowish ferritin (33-38) even on twice daily iron supplementation. I went for an iron infusion privately which cost a load but I needed to get it sorted.

My hair has started to regrow (I have only 1 patch). The derm gave me topical steroids and an antihistamine to take daily. Had that not worked I know the next step is usually steroid shots.

So don't leave this with your GP - they are not all well informed and frankly as hair loss is misguidedly viewed as a purely cosmetic issue, you will struggle for assistance. Waiting for an NHS derm appointment is also going to take you several months.

Other things which can cause hair loss, but of the more diffuse variety are hormonal medications like the pill/coil etc.

Good luck.

Ferritin should be above 100

Anything under 50 you are very deficient
Under 30 is severely deficient
Under 10 anaemic which is acute

Get an iron infusion. I’m afraid you have to go private in England and pay c £800 but worth it. Very difficult to get levels up through oral supplements- impossible through diet.

See Cambridge iron clinic or similar and get referral from GP so you don’t have to pay for blood tests.

@Bobodebo

Ferritin should be above 100

Anything under 50 you are very deficient
Under 30 is severely deficient
Under 10 anaemic which is acute

Get an iron infusion. I’m afraid you have to go private in England and pay c £800 but worth it. Very difficult to get levels up through oral supplements- impossible through diet.

See Cambridge iron clinic or similar and get referral from GP so you don’t have to pay for blood tests.

Is this true? I’ve just had results of 33 with range 11-307 so told it was fine?

@LividLaVidaLoca it’s not fine, 33 is low, it just means you are not anaemic. The NHS sets the normal range way too low. Just look at other countries like Japan. However it depends if you have any symptoms- and the symptoms are many. An iron specialist would recommend an infusion if you are below 50 and experiencing symptoms.

Mine were....
Dizziness
Fatigue
Sore Achilles’ tendon
Sore feet
Heavy legs, restless legs, cramps
Migraines
Pale
Hair loss
Breathlessness
Heart palpitations

My ferritin was 26

... and all my symptoms disappeared within a week of the infusion!

Lots of those symptoms.

I have an underachieve thyroid and assumed they were linked to that.

They did flag my Vit D which was 44 with a range of 50-250. I've been supplementing Vit D throughout the pandemic and been on Pregnacare as breastfeeding a toddler and ttc, so thought my D shouldn't have been so low.

Hard to know what the cause of symptoms is when they're quite non-specific like the ones you describe. Not sure if I'm perimenopausal/exhausted from toddler/thyroid incorrectly dosed or what.

I've been adding extra Vit D and Solgar Gentle Iron supplements, which I guess I should ramp up.

I had a blood transfusion three years ago and the iron tablets after that bunged me up (tmi), but perhaps I should push for more...

My haemoglobin is 124gl which is apparently also within range, though now I'm googling it appears to be v low...

(Sorry for hijacking your thread, OP.)

How are your periods OP? My post pregnancy periods were the cause of my anemia.

A year on the contraceptive injection and no periods seemed to sort me out and gave me enough time to raise my iron levels.

Dermatologist told me that low ferritin would cause diffuse hair loss not alopecia areata (bald patches) but said ferritin should be above 70 for hair growth. I went to the iron clinic in London for infusion, they were v good.

DS's hair was falling out, his ferritin was found to be only 4.

Get thee to a specialist iron clinic!

Interested to read this as my ferritin was 7 this week and the GP wasn’t bothered despite crippling fatigue, hair loss, muscle pain and breathlessness. Bought some 15mg tablets but not sure that’s strong enough?

I have a similar problem: general hair loss. Ferritin ranges from 11 - 18 with supplements. Can't get it any higher but doctors insist it doesn't matter! So frustrating.

My ferritin is 13. Have had severe hair loss and I suffer from constant fatigue. I spend most of my days sleeping (SAHM). I have zero energy, and GP isn't really interested. My levels move up a few after taking ferrous fumerate but eventually returns to same level. I'm scared to have an iron infusion privately in fear of anaphylactic shock which seems to be one of the risks

This is interesting. My ferritin was 30 something the GP told me it was fine but to eat more green leafy veg. I have been taking florodix but guessing this is probably not enough?

Thanks everyone for your replies.
To answer a couple of questions - I had
ferrous sulphate 210mg 3 x per day
Folic acid 5mg x 1 per day
Cholecalciferol 40,000 unit 1 per week for 8 weeks

Ferritin was originally 6 and came up to 20ish.

Periods aren't particularly heavy and never have been.

My hair loss is actually patchy rather than actual bald patches I suppose. The GP didn't examine me it was a phone consultation.

Can't really afford a private infusion- why aren't they available onto he NHS? Has anyone found that they have an underlying condition causing these symptoms - surely being anaemic isn't normal?

I got my GP to send me a copy of my blood tests last week and it says on the report that the normal ferritin range is 30-300 so it sounds like there is some disagreement over what ‘normal’ means.
Your ferritin level wouldn’t matter if your haemoglobin is normal (this is what is used to diagnose anaemia, not ferritin), and you weren’t having any symptoms - except you are. Take a supplement for at least 90 days and try to get iron in your diet. It’s best coupled with vitamin c and avoid having tea/coffee and calcium with it.
Here’s a good list to give you an idea of how much is in different foods: www.swbh.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Iron-in-your-diet-ML3395.pdf

Chronic anemic here... Ferritin below 30 warranties an infusion. You might have to fight your GP over it, but I did, and now have an open referral with a gastro that will refer me for an infusion as soon as my ferritin hits 30 or below. I'm symptomatic when it's below 20, and once it does my HB goes below 100 within weeks.

My Ferritin at last blood test was 6 so I’m on 3x day iron and folic acid.
I was getting so much hair loss along with cold fingers/toes and extreme fatigue.

Posted too soon…
Been on the tablets for about 6 weeks now and just starting to see some improvement despite the joy of high dose iron tablet side effects 😬

Just checked my historic readings and it’s never been over 62 in 13 years. Why he no one ever told me it ought to be higher?! Found the protocol for my local hospital which suggests high oral doses or an infusion of under 30 so a bit pissed off that the GP has left me with a 7 to rested in 8 weeks. Ffs. Have ordered the 323mg tablets suggested on the hospital protocol twice/day rather than the 15mg ones I have been taking!!

My ferritin was 5 recently and only given 1 x iron tab a day and 1 x folic acid for 3 months. It’s been as low as 3 and never been offered an iron infusion. I’m sick of getting like this, taking tablets to raise it up to about 20 and then they stop the tablets. So frustrating !

After reading this thread earlier I ordered Ferrous Sulphate 200mg online. Seems easier than getting through to the GP to be told I’m within range, frankly.

My ferritin has always been low, I cope. But sick of it now as DD is worse than me, she's been as low as 4, now she's been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, but I just think it's her low ferritin. Two consultants didn't believe low ferritin is an issue, apparently lots of children have low ferritin and it's not an issue. She's 16 now, utterly exhausted and won't consider a transfusion as the consultant says they are too risky and has scared her off. I darent book a private one anyway as I'm so worried about the risks.