Ferrous Sulphate - How long did it take to stop hair loss?

[Theeasypeasywoman]

I am 35 years old and my ferritin levels were 9 in april and I also have heavy periods every month. I had a really thick hair up until last year and this year due to low iron my hair has been a mess. I am losing so much hair every time I wash or brush my hair that it worries me all the time. I am on Ferrous Sulphate 200mg once a day since last 10 days. I have been taking it with vitamin C tablet on empty stomach. I don't have any side effects. I had all my bloods done by gp and everything else was normal including b12 and vit D. I also got my thyroid checked and it was fine. The only problem was low Iron and It isn't helping with heavy periods. I took normal iron tablets (14 mg ) for 3 months and literally didn't help and then did my research and found out about Ferrous Sulphate. GP didn't inform me anything and jist told me to take multivitamin with Iron in it 😐 which of course isn't enough when my ferritin is 9.
if any of you have been on ferrous sulphate, how long did it take for your hair to stop falling out? TIA

My ferritin is 8 cause they think by heavy periods. My GP also asked me to do a Fit test as the bleeding could potentially be from the colon

Months my GP said, your ferritin needs to be up to around 75 for hair growth
if you start having side effects take it every other day

I had all kind of tests done for my irregular and heavy periods and everything came back normal including ultrasound. My periods are regular again but still heavy for first 2 days. I guess my only issue is Iron.

You ideally need to see a gynae to establish the cause of your heavy periods. Fibroids can cause such heavy bleeding as can endometriosis. Any tests done over 6 months ago should be discounted and you need up to date test results.

I no longer have periods but started taking 500mg of ferrous fumerate a day (with 1,000mg Vitamin C) because I had lowish haemaglobin and was feeling really tired. My ferritin when I started on the iron was 75. After three months it was 125 so it went up about 17 a month. But you are taking less iron than I am and if you have heavy periods yours will go up less.

I read that the optimum ferritin level is 100 and anything less than about 80 can (but maybe not always) can cause hair loss. What were your other test results because what your GP will tell you is ‘normal’ may not be at an optimal level.

Hi OP - I was in almost the exact situation as you and I’m here to reassure you that you’re on the right track, but that it will take time.

The tablets should gradually build up your ferritin levels - and I mean gradually. Months is right! But you will start to see the shedding stop and eventually regrowth.

All in, I think the whole cycle from hair loss to growth took around a year - but hair grows in a three month cycle, so you have to be patient.

All the best OP. It’s a horrid thing to go through, but it will be ok.

You may also be able to make a few easy changes to your diet which will give you a bit more daily iron.
https://www.mkuh.nhs.uk/patient-information-leaflet/good-sources-of-iron

Ffs. Why are GPs so useless when it comes to iron

You poor thing, you must feel awful. Surprised they’ve not sent you for an iron infusion.

ferrous fumarate is apparently better than ferrous sulphate. Dunno why. Just mentioning.

Defo get checked out by a hunt. Or go for acupuncture to balance your period as clearly something isn’t optimum if you’re bleeding so much.

My dr suggested the Merina coil. It's helped

Thank you everyone for your replies. yes GPs are useless many times with their advice. I will get my bloods done privately soon and go to private gp as I am moving abroad and private healthcare is amazing there.
I had my bloods done in the end of april. I do feel slight better in terms of lathargy but as soon as my period ends, I feel so weak and tired until I build my iron levels back little bit and them whooosshhh... periods again.

I also had blood loss during delivery 4 years ago and needed 2 bags of blood transfusion at the end to recover from forceps delivery. So I guess I just haven't been back to my normal health since pregnancy. Its so shocking to see how much your body changes after pregnancy.

Can you tell us what your haemaglobin and B12 were measured as? Did they test folate as well?

My Haemoglobin was 123 and b12 was normal but I don't remember exact numbers.

I also get on better with ferrous fumarate. So if after a few months you are not getting where you want to be with the sulphate, it might be worth switching.

Ferritin needs to be above 50 to see much change in your hair. It typically would take 4-6 months of daily supplementation to get there.

Talk to your GP about Tranexamic acid for your periods. Mine became very very heavy after childbirth and providing I start taking this the moment it starts, it reduces the flow to a manageable level. I have endometriosis so there’s a known cause but there’s very few treatments for that apart from surgery (already done) a Mirena coil (don’t want) or stronger drugs with unpleasant side effects.

I second doing something to lessen the bleeding or you might end up being back at square one each month basically maintaining or just minimally improving your iron levels despite being on replacement. It will take forever to build up levels if you continue to have heavy periods.

Talk to your GP about tranexamic acid (helps clotting so reduces bleeding, but can't have if high risk for clots) or a Mirena coil.

If the tests were on the NHS can you see the results on your NHS record using the NHS app. I can see mine in there.

My haemaglobin was 123 in March and I felt exhausted - coming home from work and falling asleep exhausted. How do you feel? While technically it’s not anemic according to the NHS scale it is at the low end of the normal scale and you will likely have more energy if you can get it higher.

To make haemaglobin your body needs iron, B12 and folate. Your ferritin (iron stores) are low but to get your haemaglobin production up you may also need more B12 than you currently have. That’s why it’s important to find out your result if you can. The folate from your multivitamin is probably enough to keep producing haemaglobin.

re your iron the NHS website says you can take more than one tablet a day. If you are not getting side effects from one tablet per day perhaps try upping the dose and see how that goes.
https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/ferrous-sulfate/how-and-when-to-take-ferrous-sulfate/

Yes. Check attached results I found on my nhs app. B12 and Folate are normal so my issue is only ferritin I guess. I have been taking b12 tablets since 2 years now as I am vegetarian.

There’s a mix of numbers on this thread so I’ll throw in my very different advice. My levels went to 6 but I’ve been having regular blood tests and my “normal” is 25-30. I don’t go above this. At over 20 my hair is fine.

i take 4x 210mg a day of a variation of ferrous fumerate (can’t remember the name but ferrous fumerate made me feel sick all the time).

That’s good folate and B12 levels.

the NICE guidelines which all drs are supposed to follow to ensure consistent treatment across the country includes a table of the different elemental iron in each type of ferrous supplement.

You are currently taking one 200mg tablet of ferrous sulphate per day so that is 40mg of elemental iron plus whatever is in your multivitamin.

i have been taking two 210mg of ferrous fumerate which is 130mg of elemental iron (plus I take a multivitamin). So I am getting over 3 times the elemental iron per day and I don’t have periods any more. And my ferritin is going up about 17 a month on that level of supplement.

i would try to take more iron if you can. I get my ferrous fumerate from the pharmacy - you have to ask the pharmacist but don’t need a prescription. Mine costs £4.99 for 84 tablets of 210mg which lasts me 42 days as I take two a day. I think it’s even cheaper if bought online.

(Edited to say that I think the table shows but drops and tablets for sulfate and the dried version is tablet so comparable to fumerate but one tablet is still not enough to bump your levels up and combat those heavy periods - try to increase your dose)

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/anaemia-iron-deficiency/prescribing-information/iron-content-in-different-iron-salts/

Do you take Ferrous fumerate with vitamin C and on empty stomach? I do that with Ferrous Sulphate so asking if I increase my dose and go for ferrous fumerate. Because I am pretty sure if I increase my ferrous sulphate dose, It will definitely make me sick.

I read it can take 9 months + so keep at it.

I also read you need a level of 90+ for hair re growth but I’m in a different country and so can’t convert that to what I need here.
90 seems enormous to me !!!

Doctor said take Active Iron, and I read to take it with vitamin c also. All the best x

I take all my vitamins and supplements together and before bed (so usually 2 hours after a meal - sometimes not if I have had a snack).

I tried working out a schedule but as I drink coffee all morning so couldn’t take my tablets till two hours after lunch there wasn’t much time left! In one batch in the evening I take:

2 x 210mg of ferrous fumerate
1,000mg vitamin C
1,000mg B12
5,000mcg Vit D
multivitamin for over 50s which has 14mg iron in it.

I don’t feel sick (although I am asleep). I poop every morning but I almost always have all my life. It seems to be working for me as my blood results improved after three months.

Iron bisglycinate is more absorbable than other iron tablets - may be worth trying.

One big thing I would suggest is doing something to lessen or stop your periods, e.g. taking the pill without gaps. It's very hard to build up iron levels at all if you're losing a lot of blood every month. This is a massive factor.

Following this one with interest OP as I’m in a very similar boat to you. 36, have a toddler, ferritin was 12.8 and I’m suffering with the terrible fatigue and hair loss. My haemoglobin is higher than yours, and my b12 quite a lot lower (299) but both still in the normal range.

I have been taking one ferrous fumarate tablet every other day since mid May and so far not seeing much improvement, but based on the above responses it seems like this is going to take months to build back up at this point! I took a reduced dose to limit the gastric impact. Heavy periods I believe are also the cause of mine (though I do also have endometriosis diagnosed in 2019).

Really hope the advice above helps you, and I am now also going to adjust my supplements based on it! I am also still breastfeeding which I don’t think helps!