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[Peacegirl]

Hi all,
I experienced around 50 percent hair loss which several G.P.s 'diagnosed' as 'female-pattern hair loss'. I say diagnosed but it felt more like I was written off. I also thought too it might be due to HRT. However I pushed to have this investigated further and a wonderful dermatologist who took the time, did a blood test and said that although my iron was in the normal range it was 'only just' and 'we like ladies over 50 to have slightly higher iron readings than that'. I'm sharing this in case anyone wants to delve deeper into their so-called 'normal' readings.  We are not all the same after all Oh and my hair loss has stopped and has grown back enough that I don't have to wear hair toppers any more.
Obviously I am generalising here (no exact readings) - it would be useful if we could access our full test results ourselves. I mean we're expected to take more responsibility for our own health more these days and rightly so but not always given the tools to do it.
Heres to being courageous and assertive to get our health needs acknowledged and supported!

[jaypo]

That's great news re your hair growth.my daughter has occasional hair loss and she has an ibd (inflammatory bowel disease) it's truly awful for a woman to lose her hair,I will tell her about the iron

[Kathleen]

Hello Peacegirl.

Thank you so much for your helpful post. At my surgery patients can obtain a printout of blood test results and the  normal ranges are included so it's possible to see how much your results differ from the average. Perhaps you can ask if this service is available to you?  A  lady on the forum was told that some people only feel well when their levels of stored iron are over 80 but I note that the normal range begins at 10!


jaypo  - I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis which is an ibd eight years ago. Low iron is often a problem due  to blood loss and they way the body processes iron in the presence of chronic inflammation. Your daughter is probably aware of all the issues but if not there is plenty of information online that can help her.

Take care ladies.

K.

[jaypo]

Thank you Kathleen,she was devastated when her hair went so thin,she has beautiful long red hair.it seems to be ok for a while,then starts thinning again,she's on so many vitamins,she takes some sort of granules every day for her ibd and it seems to have done the trick,she doesn't know if she has crohns or colitis,the specialist said it's treated exactly the same way,so no need for more intrusive examinations.
How are you with your ibd?

[Rosebush]

 So pleased for you P.C  what dosage are you taking? x

[Peacegirl]

How interesting peacegirl. There are so many tests where we're told we're ok and it turns out we're actually borderline, thus experiencing negative symptoms. The blood test for thyroid function is a good example.

I think I will try some iron tablets. Can't do any harm to do a trial for a few weeks.

I find i cant take too many as stools go very dark and i feel a bit ropey. I just take them a few days a week. Yes thyroid test is a perfect example as my mum was undiagnosed for years and her consultant thought it cause damage which kead to her terminal cancer. When I told my g.p. That she just shrugfed and said they only do the basic test!

[Peacegirl]

I think I'd only take supplements a couple of times a week, especially as I occasionally eat red meat, and have plenty of greens and eggs etc. Too much can cause constipation.

Good call 

[Kathleen]

Hello again ladies.

I have been prescribed iron tablets in the past and they have caused digestive issues and black stools. I have also used Floradix which is a plant based liquid iron treatment that claims to be gentler on the stomach, however I have found that Spatone, an iron rich spring water has been the best so far. It offers a small amount of iron so it needs to be used for a while but it was recently recommended to me by the doctor at my iron clinic. I am sure you're all aware that red blood cells live for 120 days so it will take four months to reach 100 per cent saturation! There goes Mother Nature again, making us wait before we feel better lol.

Hope this is helpful and take care everyone.

K.

[jaypo]

Oh it is Kathleen,I'm away to tell my daughter about it right now,like you,with her ibd,she can only take a couple of iron tablets a week before it upsets her gut.thank you

[Tc]

Hi ladies very interesting.
I started to have noticeable hair loss about 18 months  ago. I might have been in peri but I had no other symptoms and regular normal periods. The doc put it down to stress of my partner passing away.
Then about 6 months later I was called into the surgery as a routine bloods showed very low b12 and folic acid. I was put on the tablets for 3 months and a further blood test then showed I was bang on the lowest figure in the normal range. 1 point lower would've been out of normal range but the doc said it's still normal so stop taking the tablets and no need to come back.

I couldn't understand it either as there is such a big difference between the lowest and highest figures in the normal range.

It seems crazy that a low level which is causing symptoms would be treated with 3 months of treatment and then no further action necessary (my docs exact words, in fact she didn't even want to test again after the 3 months but I insisted.)
 
If there is a medical reason a person isn't absorbing b12 wouldn't you just be back to square one once you stop supplements especially after such a short course.and that is what happened to me. My hair started falling out again and I had weakness in my legs!!

So I've gone back on the tablets again. She refused to test and  made it seem like she was giving me the tablets to shut me up.

 To my mind it's one thing if you have a low level and are ok at that level with no symptoms but if you have symptoms why send you away with no further action after 3 months course.

Very interesting comments and advice ladies.wish you all well with trying new options
 

[Tc]

Thanks sparkle I will check it out.
I feel like all I've done is fight for the last few years. First for my wife who was terminally ill and now for myself. It's so draining.
Thanks for the replyx

[jaycee]

I have just found these posts about hair loss and iron, i have got the same problem, i am always being sent for blood tests, and because i have Haemochromatosis, told i need blood taking, i have argued that my iron or ferritin is too low for me, but my  consultant who  i spoke to said it is within normal range, i am so angry, because when i have blood taken, my ferritin drops drastically, even by 100, and i end up with a low count,even as low as 8
I am so pleased that i have these posts
I have decided that i am not having anymore blood tests or blood taken until i see my consultant in September
I have read on the internet so many times about low iron, and been told by hairdressers and even on Philp Kingsleys website ,a[A trichologist] that too low iron is the culprit,
I will get some Spatone and risk it, just to see if it makes a difference
Thanks to everyone who has posted about this

[Tc]

Ladies.

Did anyone see the interview abou b12 t on this morning few weeks ago. . The lady was symptomatic but refused treatment as bloods were "normal". She went private, got an injection and said her symptoms disappeared within days!!. The doc on there said it's an increasingly common issue that realy needs sorting  levels dont have to be dangerously low to cause debilitating and distressing symptoms.

Here are my latest results with ranges from the particular lab they used:

B12 is 196  normal is 191 -663

Serum folate is 3.9 normal is 3.9 -26.8

Ferratin is 36 normal is 30  - 400

Still my doc will not prescribe even though I have symptoms

What do you all make of that?
It's shocking.
X

[jaycee]

I have never had a printout of any of my results, so have no idea,but i will see my Dr again soon, as he has prescribed Evoral Conti, and from what i have read the  Northisterone in it causes hair loss,so not risking them

[MicheleMaBelle]

Hi TC- I've been to see a trichologist due to thinning hair. He advised that although my Ferritin levels are “ normal “ range, like yours they're at the bottom end and he advised that for optimum hair health they should be up at between 80 and 100. He also suggested taking a vitamin b complex supplement.
I've bought an iron spray which seems better than the tablets ( I've IBS so you need to be careful and choose a gentle iron supplement )
He also suggested taking a vitamin D supplement but haven't done this yet.

He wouldn't see me without blood test results and I got these done privately online through medichecks. Early days yet, he wants to see me after 4 months and to check the vitamin levels again before he gives me some topical treatment. He did say it could take anything up to a year to improve the situation. I don't have female pattern hair loss, I have overall hair thinning. I'm convinced in part that the progesterone doesn't help even although I'm on the most hair friendly one Utrogestan