Help! Need some success stories- low ferritin andhair.

[njshep]

Im 52 and the last almost 5years I have had extremely heavy periods due to a fibroid. Had unsuccessful surgery two years ago. Periods throughout most of this time have been 20-24days apart and lasted sometimes 10 days. Flooding, horrific clots ,etc. at worst my hemoglobin was 99 and my Ferritin a 3. Only recently do I think I may be close to the end.I’m day 40 with no period and the last few have been noticeably lighter.
Moat recently, my ferritin was 25,the highest it has been in years. But it along with transferrin saturation and tibc still show iron deficiency. I take iron but it has not been able to keep up with the loss. Like filling a bath tub with no plug.
I need some hope that without the periods being so frequent andheavy that I might be able to get my levels up to a point where it will make some difference in what once my once healthy and full of body hair but now thinned and lifeless.it’s so discouraging.
Hasanyone seen any reasonable improvement once ferritin gets up on their hair specifically?

Bump. Nobody?

There's a specific vitamin for this exact problem I used it and it few years ago and it worked. I thunk it's called ferotine or something similar. It was from boots. It gets your levels back up to stop the hair loss. It worked made my hair much thicker but it did increase appetite.

Floricine

When you had a ferritin of 3 you should have been given an iron infusion. You would have been in many other countries apart from the UK/NHS.

Was a progesterone considered to reduce your bleeding?

As for now, what's your TSAT?

There are plenty of threads about getting ferritin up orally in here, I'll link one. There is research to suggest you need a ferritin of 75 to stop hair loss and over 100 for regrowth. This is also important for the rest of your health.

Need to hear success stories of hair regrowth after low ferritin! Am so worried. http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/styleandd_beauty/4388784-Need-to-hear-success-stories-of-hair-regrowth-after-low-ferritin-Am-so-worried

My TSAT (Transferrin Saturation) is .09 where a reference value of .20-.50 is considered normal.

My TIBC is 77 where 79 is the low range of normal).

hemoglobin is normal at 125.

The hair loss could be for a different reason. I have high ferritin (noone knows why) and suffer hair loss. I think the hair loss is hormonal, so loss of estrogen and increase in androgens.

Correlation is not causation.

What iron supplement are you using? I've had terrible problems with hair loss due to low ferritin over the years. I found that I absorbed iron bisglycinate best, followed by iron gluconate. A lot of the supplements are a bit crap and hard to digest and absorb.

I'm 2 years post menopause now and that has helped massively. I still drink gallons of tea and the tannin in tea inhibits iron absorption so I still supplement but only a couple of times a week now, as opposed to daily.

Given OP's blood results and medical history, a more relevant phrase would be "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras"

That TSAT is not good. Could you afford an infusion privately?

I could afford it, yes. I’m in Canada and my dr was hesitant to prescribe an infusion due to having anaphylaxis (shellfish).
Wondering if I should push it…..

I followed an iron protocol. Iron and Vit C. I think every two days, but look it up/speak to Dr and see which is approved.

I also have an anaphylactic food allergy and was aware there is a small risk with the iron infusion, but it was never mentioned as a reason not to have one. You're in a medical setting should anything go wrong. I would ask about the different infusion options, the newer ones had improved safety when I had mine (years ago). And yes, push for it. But then keep getting regular ferritin tests to see how it lasts, you may then need to add in iron supplements to maintain.

Another option is heme iron, not easily available in the UK when I last looked, but should be in Canada. Eg Proferrin. This is the form of iron found in meat and is better absorbed, and caused less GI symptoms.

I had terrible hair loss (think - inch wide side parting) with low ferritin. I take ferrous fumerate daily and it's made a massive difference. My hair returned to normal (better than it's been for 25 years in fact) after a couple of years though even with daily tablets it is difficult maintain over 75 it's more usually around 60. It doesn't grow as fast at the front of my head as it does at the back but is infinitely better than it used to be.