Iron and hair loss?

Eruanna · 02-08-2008, 08:41 PM

I had trouble with hair loss due to PCOS almost three years ago, but I was able to get this under control with medication. During the past couple of months it has been falling out again so I had an appointment with the endo. All my results came back the same as they were two years ago, except for my iron levels. He found my iron was well below a healthy level which would cause hair loss. I've never had a problem with iron before, and when I've gone to donate blood my levels have always been very high.

If anyone has had this happen to them before, how long was it until hair stopped falling out? I'm still managing to fill up a hairbrush every couple of days. I've only been on the iron pills a few days so of course I don't expect instant results, but I'd be interested to know if anyone else had this occur before and how long it took before the rate of hairloss slowed.

ROSAURA · 02-08-2008, 10:14 PM

i was just going to make a thread about this when i saw your title of "iron and hair loss". I used to have triple the amount of hair as people that i knew. 6 yrs ago I found out anemic. and now i have thinner amount of hair.. not balding or anything that anybody would ever notice.but I know that I used to have thick hair that It would hurt my hands to just put in a pony tail of so much hair that i used to have.so 2 days ago I looked up the internet if their was a link between iron deficiency and hair loss and their is. I want to order
NutriHair.Supposedly it treats hair loss due to this problem. The only problem is that the only websites that sell this is from the U.K.

Eruanna · 02-08-2008, 11:22 PM

I hadn't heard of NutriHair so I had a look on the net for it. I've been taking silica gel to help make any new hair growth stronger, and of course the iron tablets, but I'm going to check out the health food store next time I am at the mall and see if they have anything similar.

I've been the same as you and used to have so much hair. With PCOS and now the low iron it's in a sorry state.

red clover · 02-09-2008, 12:05 AM

I used to have problems with anemia and then through diet (rare meat & green veg.) i got my iron levels back up to a healthy level.

My mother told me to rub olive oil into my hair to make it more healthy, at first i just thought it was one of those old country beauty myths but i decided it wouldnt hurt.

I also had a lot of stress, so what i did was reserve a day in the house for myself. And when i woke up i would rub olive oil into my scalp and then spend the rest of the day cleaning the house, giving myself a pedicure, exfoliating with oatmeal, reading and relaxing.
and then in the evening i would take a nice bath and wash the oil out, and go out with friends for supper or partying.

I think the oil really helped nourish the scalp and i had less problems with my hair falling out and it has grown back thicker; it took about 7 months.
I always had thin curly hair and when i started to do that my hair is much more healthier and stronger and has been for 7 yrs now.
Now when i go to the hair dresser's they need 2 ppl to blow dry my hair so it doesnt take so long.
So i think the better diet, olive oil and finding a way to reduce stress helped me in so many ways. Also if you dye your hair that will have a negative effect on the scalp.

blu_cypress · 02-09-2008, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eruanna

I had trouble with hair loss due to PCOS almost three years ago, but I was able to get this under control with medication. During the past couple of months it has been falling out again so I had an appointment with the endo. All my results came back the same as they were two years ago, except for my iron levels. He found my iron was well below a healthy level which would cause hair loss. I've never had a problem with iron before, and when I've gone to donate blood my levels have always been very high.

If anyone has had this happen to them before, how long was it until hair stopped falling out? I'm still managing to fill up a hairbrush every couple of days. I've only been on the iron pills a few days so of course I don't expect instant results, but I'd be interested to know if anyone else had this occur before and how long it took before the rate of hairloss slowed.

Hi, I have hair loss too. Last August my endo told me I was deficient in iron and vitamin D, which most likely contributed to my hair loss. I've been on supplements since then (as well as antiandrogens) and my hair is slowly coming back. It's thicker and healthier, and feels stronger. The massive shedding slowed within a few weeks.
As for why you're experiencing low iron now, my guess would be because your hormones have been balanced through meds....if you weren't getting periods before beginning treatment and now that you are on treatment AF has returned, that can definitely lower your iron stores.
I've read that vitamin C helps with iron absorbtion, so I make sure to take my iron supp with a vitamin c supplement. Good ways to raise iron stores through diet are to eat a diet rich in lean meats and dark green veggies (which us PCOSers should be doing anyway, lol). A tablespoon a day of blackstrap molasses is supposed to work too..although I've never tried it..don't think I could get it down

stacey88 · 02-09-2008, 04:00 AM

i have iron defficiency aneamia.i was a chronic aneamic since the age of 13 (same time i got dx with PCOS) i take iron tablets daily and yes, you do loose ALOT of hair with low iron levels, but they would be really low for it to be really terrible.it also redusces memory and brain function.
i have noticed that taking my mediction slows it right down, but with the combination of that AND pcos it is really hard to stop completely.(and to regrow what you have lost)i still loose hair alot more than i should.
i rarely if ever eat meat and thats why i was put on medication my levels were so bad last year that they had me booked in for a transfusion but i managed to get it up on my own with taken my meds as much as i could tollerate them.
they do terrible things to your body and make me feel like crap but its so worth it.
DEFFINATELY take a vitamin C cap with them (even if you have a mixture tablet, i take ferro-grad c which is both and is the best and highly recommended) but i still take a c tablet too.
if you are TTC you can get FEFOL which is iron and folic acid and is usually prescribed to pregnant women who need to maintain a good level of iron.
i went off this as it gave me terrible migranes and bad bouts of the hiccups.lol.
i dont know why.
my ferratin levels were only 3.8 and i have gotten them up to 27 in just under a year, its slow, but you just have to do it.i'm at least out of the danger zone now.but still on the very low end of the scale.

stacey88 · 02-09-2008, 04:02 AM

also..something you can take to promote hair grow is SILICA which comes in tablet or liquid form and it also helps you skin and nails as well.
i noticed my hair grew alot faster on this.
and they do no harm to anything else.

HTH.

stacey88 · 02-09-2008, 04:08 AM

also also (haha)
IF you are getting put on iron treatment (tablets)
MAKE SURE you eat a good balanced diet or take something like metamucil daily because they cause terrible constipation!
i still have problems with this now and its been a very long time, and i also have to be on the iron tablets for the rest of my life because my body wont store iron at all.
they do cause nausea too, so invest in some ginger tablets, i find they really help with that.and take the tablets ALWAYS with a meal.

sorry if ive talked too much.haha.ive had this for a long long time now.
ox

Eruanna · 02-09-2008, 05:46 AM

Thanks for all your feedback

I feel so much better about it now.

Red Clover - I'm going to give the oil a try. I've been using a scalp tonic I got from the hairdressers but it seems to have a cold, tingling feeling when I rub it in, which I don't feel can be doing it too much good. I've been in a stressful job recently too, but the end is almost in sight there.

Blu_cypress - I'm not too good with my green veggies, but I feel I should be forcing myself to eat them. Glad to hear the loss slowed down in a few weeks ... that's more than enough incentive for me to be getting into the greens!

Stacey - thanks for the heads up on the constipation! I never realised that. I took silica a couple of years back and my hair was breaking less and my nails were so strong, but I was silly and decided to stop taking it. A few months later my nails were back to soft again. I'm trying the liquid this time so hopefully in a couple of months the great results will be back again. I've never had problems with iron before so this is all new. Even when I was a strict vegetarian my levels were high.

Thanks again for all the info

jackie_h1 · 02-10-2008, 02:53 AM

Hi there!
I'm also anemic (both B12 & Iron deficient). I have very thin long hair. If it's hereditary (which I believe mine is, in conjunction w/PCOS) then I may need a wig before I'm 45.

Moonshoot · 02-16-2008, 03:21 PM

Thank you for all of the info.

Belini · 02-17-2008, 07:46 PM

Hi Stacey, im from Sydney too. Im Anemic and I have the same iron levels as u and after taking Ferro Grad c my iron went up. Can I ask where can u get silica tablets from?? as my hair is thinning quite badly.

red clover - when u say olive oil, do u mean cooking olive oil? im confused.

stacey88 · 02-18-2008, 04:50 AM

belini-- you can get silica just at woolworths or a place like that i think.
i got mine from a health food shop.but i'm pretty sure that blackmores actually make one, which could be found almost anywhere that sells blackmores. or even natures own etc.
they are about $8-$10 for maybe 100 tablets. the ones i got were chewable 3 times a day or you could disolve them in a bit of water.make sure you read the bottle though because i didnt know that mine had to be chewed or disolved, i was just swallowing a tablet and they wont work as fast or effectively.

i am really confused by this olive oil thing too :S

red clover · 02-19-2008, 05:23 PM

yeah you can use regular olive oil and doesnt have to be the expensive kind.
i know it sounds odd, but thats what i used and i think it just helps moisturize the scalp and keeps the hair stronger. In ancient Greece they would use olive oil to clean themselves because of the shortage of water and olive oil is good for the skin.
My mom is from Latin America but she told me its good for the hair, so i tried it and now i have thicker hair; plus more iron in my diet and stress releif.

If you want to get superstitious some Gypsies beleive if you cut a piece of your hair and burry it under a willow tree during a full moon you will have longer fuller hair.
And to never cut your hair during a wanning moon or it will grow slower.
Theres Gypsie in my latin side so i was also told about this, and i have never buried a peice of my hair under a willow tree, but i try to cut it during a full moon.
also when i showered i always rinsed off conditioner with cool water and that helped it from falling out when i would comb it later.

stacey88 · 02-20-2008, 12:51 AM

thanks for the tips red.

i think i will do the full moon cutting at least. i dont know if i can come about putting olive oil in my hair.
my hair already gets very greasy only after a day or so so i dont know if that would worsen it or not.