Hey everyone,
I wanted to share my story with you in the hope that it will help you in some way. Finding forums like this one saved my sanity.
Late June 2018 I noticed i was shedding more hair than usual. But due to our incredible heatwave here in London I presumed it was due to the weather. July was hot and still i was losing hair. On the 12th Aug i washed my hair over the bath with the shower head and saw my hair pouring into the plug hole. I gathered enough hair to make a wig for a baby! I was so shocked and panicked that i immediately vomitted into the toilet. I researched the internet for answers as to what it could be. Luckily i found a thread about a girl who turned vegan and didn't supplement properly therefore experienced hairloss due to low ferritin. I turned pescatarian at christmas and must admit I wasn't a huge veggie eater so i gathered this could be the case for me too. I booked an appt with my doctor for a blood test the following week to check my iron levels. The week spent waiting for my blood test was probably one of the worst weeks of my life. I was exhausted, consumed with anxiety, pale, couldn't eat due to the worry, and still losing clumps of hair everytime i touched it. I would estimate 200-300 hairs a day. My blood results came back as I had expected, my ferritin was very low at 14. I was prescribed Ferrous Fumurate 210mg twice a day. My doctor explained it takes time to build up your iron stores, at least 3 months. The thought of losing this amount of hair for 3 months filled me with fear of being totally bald. I even contemplated shaving my head on many occasions just to spare myself the pain of watching it fall out.
I decided to do everything i possibly could to build my iron stores rapidly.
So here is how i did it... I would take my iron tablet and B12 vitamin with fresh orange juice at 7am. Then i would not eat for 2 hours to make sure it was in my system and fully absorbed. At 9am i would have breakfast which was muesli with dried apricots, blueberrys and pumpkin seeds with a drizzle of almond milk. I snacked all day on apricots and pistachios. Lunch would be a sandwich with ham or sliced beef. Dinner would be meat, green veg and potatoes. I stopped all forms of caffeine as this prevents iron absorbtion. So no tea, coffee or chocolate, plus i wouldn't have dairy with my meals. If i ate meat i would drink orange with it so that the iron would be absorbed easily.
I was strict and disciplined. My hair was still shedding ridiculous amounts but i knew i had to continue. I also bought a lucky iron fish which i would cook with for that extra boost. I was told to book a blood test 8 weeks from starting my medication to check i was improving. 6 weeks into the course I was losing my mind with worry and now counting every individual strand i lost so i decided to take my blood test at 6 weeks rather than 8 weeks. My results came back at Ferritin 54! Hooray! I raised 40 points in 6 weeks. My doctor suggested i carry on with my diet as usual but now only have one tablet every morning.
I am now on week 8 and my hair loss is slowing down. Still losing more than the average human but no way near as bad as it was. Hair loss stops at around 70 so fingers crossed I am nearly there. I have lost around 50% of my hair now but i just tie it up each day and try not to look at it! Thankfully it is difussed hairloss so i have no bald patches, its just thinner all over. I now brush out around 20 hairs in the morning and maybe 40-50 at night max. I lose normal amount when washing. I never thought I would ever reach this day with hair still on my head. The stress hair loss causes is unbelievable. Last night i parted my hair in various ways and could see lots of little new hairs poking up! Thank goodness. I just wanted to say to all of you who are panicking, you will get there!! If I can help any of you please feel free to ask.
I wanted to share my story with you in the hope that it will help you in some way. Finding forums like this one saved my sanity.
Late June 2018 I noticed i was shedding more hair than usual. But due to our incredible heatwave here in London I presumed it was due to the weather. July was hot and still i was losing hair. On the 12th Aug i washed my hair over the bath with the shower head and saw my hair pouring into the plug hole. I gathered enough hair to make a wig for a baby! I was so shocked and panicked that i immediately vomitted into the toilet. I researched the internet for answers as to what it could be. Luckily i found a thread about a girl who turned vegan and didn't supplement properly therefore experienced hairloss due to low ferritin. I turned pescatarian at christmas and must admit I wasn't a huge veggie eater so i gathered this could be the case for me too. I booked an appt with my doctor for a blood test the following week to check my iron levels. The week spent waiting for my blood test was probably one of the worst weeks of my life. I was exhausted, consumed with anxiety, pale, couldn't eat due to the worry, and still losing clumps of hair everytime i touched it. I would estimate 200-300 hairs a day. My blood results came back as I had expected, my ferritin was very low at 14. I was prescribed Ferrous Fumurate 210mg twice a day. My doctor explained it takes time to build up your iron stores, at least 3 months. The thought of losing this amount of hair for 3 months filled me with fear of being totally bald. I even contemplated shaving my head on many occasions just to spare myself the pain of watching it fall out.
I decided to do everything i possibly could to build my iron stores rapidly.
So here is how i did it... I would take my iron tablet and B12 vitamin with fresh orange juice at 7am. Then i would not eat for 2 hours to make sure it was in my system and fully absorbed. At 9am i would have breakfast which was muesli with dried apricots, blueberrys and pumpkin seeds with a drizzle of almond milk. I snacked all day on apricots and pistachios. Lunch would be a sandwich with ham or sliced beef. Dinner would be meat, green veg and potatoes. I stopped all forms of caffeine as this prevents iron absorbtion. So no tea, coffee or chocolate, plus i wouldn't have dairy with my meals. If i ate meat i would drink orange with it so that the iron would be absorbed easily.
I was strict and disciplined. My hair was still shedding ridiculous amounts but i knew i had to continue. I also bought a lucky iron fish which i would cook with for that extra boost. I was told to book a blood test 8 weeks from starting my medication to check i was improving. 6 weeks into the course I was losing my mind with worry and now counting every individual strand i lost so i decided to take my blood test at 6 weeks rather than 8 weeks. My results came back at Ferritin 54! Hooray! I raised 40 points in 6 weeks. My doctor suggested i carry on with my diet as usual but now only have one tablet every morning.
I am now on week 8 and my hair loss is slowing down. Still losing more than the average human but no way near as bad as it was. Hair loss stops at around 70 so fingers crossed I am nearly there. I have lost around 50% of my hair now but i just tie it up each day and try not to look at it! Thankfully it is difussed hairloss so i have no bald patches, its just thinner all over. I now brush out around 20 hairs in the morning and maybe 40-50 at night max. I lose normal amount when washing. I never thought I would ever reach this day with hair still on my head. The stress hair loss causes is unbelievable. Last night i parted my hair in various ways and could see lots of little new hairs poking up! Thank goodness. I just wanted to say to all of you who are panicking, you will get there!! If I can help any of you please feel free to ask.