So down about my hairloss...

[Sarahlouiseis33]

Hi All,

I’ve been experiencing hair loss for the last five months and I am so very down about it all. I already have an underactive thyroid that is treated with medication. My ferritin levels are also very good. I’ve had blood tests but they have only shown very low levels of B12 and folate. Has anyone had anything similar? It started shedding suddenly one day in April and just hasn’t stopped. Anyone? I am beside myself with worrying.

Thank you

Sarah.

Same, my ferritin was low though. Taking iron and hair supplements did really help me. Are you taking any supplements at all? Regular trims really help, even though I’m losing lots of hair density, having a blunt cut makes me feel better as it gives the illusion that it’s a bit thicker.

Oh gosh I’m going through this post baby. It’s a nightmare. These are things that I’m doing to help stabilise the shedding. It might seem excessive I don’t which of these are actually helping as I started doing them all at the same time, but things have been really improving since making these changes;

1. Having a really good hair cut
2. Taking an iron supplement
3. Taking other vitamins/ supplements including B vits, vit C and D, zinc and omega 3 fish oil
4. Taking Nourkrin (these are expensive!)
5. Using Plantur shampoo and conditioner
6. Using a blend of lavender, rosemary and peppermint essential oils as a hair/ scalp mask
7. Using Natur Vital leave in hair loss tonic

have you had any stress over the last 3 - 6 months? Sometimes it can lead to hairloss a few months later.

Castor oil is amazing for hairloss, rub it into the areas at night and wash out the next morning, it's really sticky but really helps regrowth.

Also biotin supplement is great!

I second Biotin. I too was losing hair. Am 48. My hairdresser recommended Biotin and told me in a year, I would appreciate the difference.

Not a a scientific test by any means 😁 but three months in and my hair loss has stopped.

For me my thyroxine combined with Pregnacare Max helped with my hair loss - if you are of childbearing age then definitely consider a prenatal with omega 3.

Yes!!! And it is so hard to find anyone who will take it seriously!!! Try and get a referral to a specialist scalp dermatologist. Mine is SO much better. I am now taking a combination of spironolactone and minoxidil orally and it is helping me so much. Has taken a while to see the results (because hair grows so slowly) but I am starting to see it finally!!! If your problem is hormonal, (or suspected to be) that may help!!!!

@Justilou1 Did your hair loss come on suddenly? Mine did.

My gp suggested taking a silica supplement. I was really surprised at how quickly it turned things around.

OP lots of posters are suggesting biotin. There’s biotin in the Nourkrin supplement I’m taking as well as Marilex.

Definitely agree about the poster suggesting stress might be a contributing factor. My hair fell out dramatically about three months after our dog was put down some years ago.

Another thing I do (on top of the millions of others) is comb my hair with a very wide toothed comb in the shower when there’s still conditioner in my hair. That really helps minimise the loss

Hi dear, low levels of B12 can cause hair loss. Did they check if your body can absorb B12? if it can't you will need to have injections once a month. A GP should be able to advice you on what to do. I have high ANA ( anti nuclear antibody which are also cause of hair loss) and my body doesn't absorb B12. So I did some research about. Also take folic acid supplement may help. Good luck!

My hair loss was sudden after the thyroxine started but then as I continued and the dose was adjusted and I took prenatals it started growing back really quickly. Different texture too. It used to be a frizz bomb but then started to get properly curly.

Hair loss three months after stress is very common - it's called 'telogen effluvium'. I had it three months after serious illness and it was very sudden and dramatic. It did all come back, thicker and wavier than before, and I now take a biotin supplement every day which seems to be helping it generally.

@spiderlight mine has been shedding for five months solid though 😢

@Sarahlouiseis33 what have you been doing to combat it so far?

I’m having a similar problem OP. On the strength of the recommendations on the thread, I’ve just bought some biotin from the health food shop down the road 🤞.

Are you sure it's not ferritin related? What is your ferritin level if you don't mind me asking?

@LittleDancers My ferritin level is good at 108. I take ferrous gluconate tablets daily 😀

How long have you had Hugh ferritin for? It takes a bit of time after restoring ferritin levels for you to see changes in you hair, I have read 3-6 months but everyone’s different.

*high ferritin

Hi all, I'm a trichologist and would like to add a few point to the above, if I may:

• if you are already taking iron supplements, be very careful about taking another 'general' or 'prenatal' or 'hair and nail' supplements as well. The reason I say this is because some of these specialist blend of supplements contain iron. If you then also take a separate iron supplement or tablet you could be ingesting too much iron, which can be dangerous at high levels.
• re the suggestion of combination of spironolactone (aldactone) and oral minoxidil - this combo will only help in the case of androgenetic alopecia (female pattern hair loss) and will not be of any use in telogen effluvium. If this hair shedding has come on suddenly and from all over the scalp sound like it could be a diffuse hair loss (telogen effluvium) and this can come about for many reasons - stress, medication, deficiencies, malabsorption, poor diet, dieting, hormonal causes, thyroid etc etc. so many different causes
• you could ask your GP for a referral to a dermatologist with a specialist interest in hair loss, but from my experience, the NHS will not deal with hairloss. Their priority is (rightly so) skin cancer cases and the like, and there is just no budget to treat hair loss. The specialist dermatologist will likely refer any sufferer to a private practise where a trichologist will resolve the cause.

Op is your thyroid treatment optimal, your bloods good etc? If the dose is just enough to keep you in range you may not see much improvement, you need to be on enough medicine for long enough to see a change. Having said that, after I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid my (usually thick) hair remained thin even when on a good dose of thyroxine and didn't improve until liothyronine was added.

hairclinical would it really be possible to overdose as such on iron from taking a prenatal and an iron supplement? Would you not need to take many of these tablets per day to present with a dangerously high iron level?

I had this last year due to low iron. Since then I’ve taken Viviscal every day. Fingers crossed, all better!

They also do a shampoo, conditioner and hair leave-in treatment which is amazing. You can buy those on their website.

It’s expensive usually but this offer is great value:

www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/viviscal-hair-growth-programme-tablets-60083318?skuid=092533

I don’t work for them, by the way!