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.

Check the NICE guidelines for iron deficiency people.

Ferritin under 30 means your deficient - simples.

I was diagnosed with CFS twice. That was 12 years ago and I hoped things would be better now. Seems they are not.

@LividLaVidaLoca can I ask which one you have ordered? I am currently taking floradix and thinking it might not be strong enough?

@DeedIDo

Check the NICE guidelines for iron deficiency people.

Ferritin under 30 means your deficient - simples.

I was diagnosed with CFS twice. That was 12 years ago and I hoped things would be better now. Seems they are not.

Thanks, just saw the NICE guidance. I am very frustrated by this. I was originally advised I would be referred to gastroenterology if things weren't OK after taking supplements. But I felt like I had totally made this up when I mentioned it at follow up!

I have low iron and anaemia for a couple of reasons - can you also change your diet? If you take iron tablets taking them with orange juice or vitamin C also helps absorption.
B vitamins also help make red blood cells so you could also ask your pharmacist for a B vitamin supplement.
I changed my diet too and reduced calcium and tea and coffee intake.

I have just seen restless legs is one of the symptoms. I have this and it causes chronic insomnia. I put it down to the peri menopause but am now wondering if it’s my low ferritin. Does anyone else have this, is it a common symptom?

I looked into appropriate food to eat and have increased my intake but it was already a pretty balanced diet.

I will ask about vitamin B, thank you. I haven't reduced my tea intake, I really should make more effort to though x

Everyone is different but over the years I have had a couple of iron infusions. They really help so much. I feel better, my hair stops falling out, happed, not tired etc etc

OP all these symptoms can be linked to Celiac disease. Did your dr test for this? It's extremely under diagnosed. Gluten attacks parts of the digestive system resulting in being unable to absorb some nutrients. Hair loss can be a symptom as can anemia and low vitamin uptake. A lot of drs are very uninformed about Celaic/coeliac A good friend of mine was losing hair for years until she had a son who was diagnosed with Celiac because of failure to thrive. It runs in families so she was tested and sure enough she had it. Coeliac/Celiac is an autoimmune disease NOT an allergy.

Although Celiac/coeliac symptoms are often GI it can present in all sorts of ways where you have no apparent gut issues. There is even "Silent Celiac" which doesn't show any symptoms until it becomes very serious and then is found to be the cause.
(I spell it differently as I am in the USA).

www.coeliac.org.uk/information-and-support/coeliac-disease/about-coeliac-disease/what-are-coeliac-disease-symptoms/

Same here, taking iron twice a day (mine was as low as 5) also take Vit D, Biotin, Collagen and my hair now has never been better. It takes ages though, I think about 8 months to start noticing a difference so you need patience and perseverance. If it is falling out try tea rinsing before showering, its magic and you won't lose one hair in the shower if you do it

You cannot eat your way out of iron deficiency. It’s impossible. Yes, a vegan/vege diet can cause iron deficiency. But once you are very low, you need oral supplements or iron infusion.

Unfortunately oral supplements can be a very slow process to get up to 100, which I’ve never managed. I’ve got up to 50, but had terrible digestive problems. Whereas within a month of the iron infusion I’m over 300 and feel fantastic!

The NHS generally only gives infusions to patients diagnosed with cancer, gastrointestinal conditions, or in pregnancy. Very difficult to get an iron infusion if you’re not diagnosed as anemic or have a chronic condition which causes it.

Also the risk of anaphylaxis from infusion is teeny tiny. It’s the reason it’s administered in a hospital setting so they can treat you if you have anaphylaxis. So it’s not really a risk you need to worry about.

It’s very quick and painless. The only painful but is departing with £800!

I bought some 323mg ferrous fumerate from the pharmacy today- £1.99 for 28 tablets. Plus some vitamin c tablets to take alongside. Makes the 15mg ones look like a joke. If a steak is 5mg and the advice is 646mg/ day if your ferritin is under 30 how is anyone supposed to eat enough iron?!

This is v interesting, thanks to the posters who’ve mentioned iron infusions, I did not know they existed

I have had borderline anaemia since my teens (so, 30 years), and low vit D too: taking supplements.

IME GPs are not bothered at all, I feel very let down. Hair is vv thin, hormones normal

I’d suggest doing your own supplements of iron, vit D & B

I plan to pay for vit D blood work privately (it’s about £30 for a test by post).

I have never had problems with floradix, iron tablets have given me some stomach problems on the past

For the bald patches/hair loss, I highly recommend simonethomaswellness.com/products/the-ginkgo-hair-care-plan - worked a treat for me. x

I was diagnosed with anaemia in September and prescribed 2 x 210mg ferrous fumarate daily. I had very thin hair. Since then my hair has started to grow and get much thicker. It also doesn't go crispy at the ends any more. It is very noticeable how thick it has got. The only downside is that I now have lots of 3 inch hairs sticking out all over the place!

Bear in mind if folate, iron, B12, or D etc is coming up low, then often micronutrients they don’t usually test for like zinc, copper, magnesium will also be low, but you won’t know. So it’s worth getting on top of all of those.

I had low ferritin and hair loss. It was due to undiagnosed coeliac. The cause needs to be identified

@Thoosa do you have any recommendations for zinc, copper, magnesium?
Tia

[quote Wouldntitbenicetobeinyourshoes]@Thoosa do you have any recommendations for zinc, copper, magnesium?
Tia[/quote]
Bearing in mind I’m not qualified in this but it’s based on dietitian advice after I had a couple of deficiencies (due to malabsorption) treated and symptoms still persisted.

I switch between brands depending what’s good value. I have some nature’s aid ones on the go ATM. Previously I took Holland & Barrett. You just need to research what optimal intake levels are and be careful about not overdosing on the fat-soluble vitamins/minerals (water soluble ones just wash through you). You normally need to combine two or three supplements to get it all covered if you are suspicious of multiple deficiencies.

My hair/skin/nails are all much improved now.

@Tainging99

I had low ferritin and hair loss. It was due to undiagnosed coeliac. The cause needs to be identified

Thanks to those of you mentioning coeliac. They did a blood test for this but it came back normal and I don’t have any symptoms. There’s a strong family history of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases but I haven’t got any symptoms other than the bloods not being right.

Bloody hell, I remember my ferritin levels were recorded as zero once!

I’ve been anaemic on/off throughout my adult life, now I’m heading for 50 & peri menopausal, I went to my GP the other day as I’m feeling utterly rubbish in general so had bloods taken to measure iron levels again. I can’t tolerate those ferrous tablets & was put on the waiting list for an iron infusion but that was just before covid & then it was forgotten about.

To help myself I got these from Boots
www.boots.com/vitabiotics-feroglobin-capsules-30-capsules-10131412

The blood test I had a few months after taking them religiously everyday (as I’m a bugger for remembering to take tablets) came back as borderline- no action needed, so I guess the capsules did work to an extent.

6 weeks post iron infusion... my ferritin level - previously languishing in the 30's is now 220.

@Blackswan Wow! Amazing result. Do you feel any different? Did you have to go private?

I’ve just had another blood test today.
My last ferritin was 23 and, as the Dr deemed that ‘normal’ he actually removed ferrous fumerate from my repeat prescription!
I can’t wait to see the results.