Please help! Blood test results! Been losing hair for six months!

[Samantha303]

Can anyone please take a look at my blood test results? I don't know how to upload pics so if I miss any figure or miss any test please let me know! I really really appreciate your help!
Been losing hair for six months and scalp is showing under artificial light!
My doctor refused to refer me to a derm becos I'm not completely bald yet!!! Yes that's exactly what the two doctors I've visited said!




Free androgen index 1.4 (ref. 0 - 5.6)
Serum sex hormne binding glob 64nmol/L (ref. 20 -110)
Testosterone 0.9 nmol/L (0 - 1.8)
Calcium 2.38 mmol/L
Serum free T4 level 15.5 pmol/L (reference 9 - 24)
Serum TSH level 1.6 mu/L (ref. 0.2 -5)
Vitamin B12 502 ng/L (150 - 900)
Folate 13.1 ug/L (3 - 16)
Ferritin 22.2 ug/L (reference 7 - 90)
Vitamin D3 34nmol/L (Optimal Level >75 nmol/L)
HbA1c level - IFCC standardized 30 mmol/mol (Tight Glycaemic control <48 mmol/mol)




So apparently having been taking iron tablets for the past 4 months hasn't helped to increase my ferritin level significantly. I took my blood test at the end of February. Please please give me a hand to see what I should do apart from boosting my ferritin and vitaminD3 level!!!




Thank you so much!

 

[TheDoe]

Keep up the iron and vitamin D. Mine was low like yours for a long time and it wasn't until my hair started to fall out that I realised the low iron in particular was pretty severe - lower than yours. But I did start taking an iron tablet every day and 2 x VitD tablets every day at least 18 months ago now and finally it started to turn around. In my case my body doesn't store iron so I need to take it constantly. It hasn't made my iron levels go up much but taking it every day means my body has some to play with. That means it has enough to provide my hair! While I was waiting for it to thicken up I was using a concealer that you shake on and it made all the difference. You couldn't see the thinning hair any longer and then I think I stopped worrying about it - and I'm sure that helped too. I still use a concealer (I use boost n blend), but my hair looks a hellova lot better than it did 18 months ago. Hope this helps you.

 

[Eliza1990]

Sorry to hear that, I have the same issue of low ferritin. It takes a while to get it up.

 

[mimi333]

I would keep at your Doctor for help> Seriously.
I went to my Doctor in 2011 after already losing too much hair. She did tests then and said there was nothing.
I went back a couple of months ago and she tested again. I went last week pretty much in tears saying I need help.
I've lost over half of my hair....so depressed. She referred me to a dermatologist but they haven't called. Hope they call
but wish that had been done when I still had more hair

 

[TJU]

Your ferritin and vitamin D levels is within the normal range. It represents stored iron. Iron and vitamin D have not been shown to have much of an impact on hair re-growth unless you are deficient in these, which you are not. All your other labs are also within the normal range. I would suggest getting that referral to a dermatologist to have them assess the type of hair loss you are dealing with. Good luck

 

[Ladymuck]

My ferritin was 4, managed to get it up to to 110 and within six months it's back down to 40. People are saying my hair is soooo much better but the scalp patches are still there. it is definitely better but not at the scalp I can't quite make sense of it. 22 is a low number for ferritin but is seen as 'normal' for docs. I don't quite get it.

 

[3boyz2keep]

Hang in there!

I started supplementation in October with a ferritin level of 4 and am just now starting to see results in mid February. My ferritin level was at a 4, by mid December it had gone to a 20. I was frustrated with such a small increase and doubled up on my iron. Just this week my hair has started shedding less and I see crazy short hairs like a halo popping out. I won't get my ferritin levels rechecked until the end of March. I was so discouraged and honestly it seems like things changed overnight. Please hang in there. :heart:

 

[Greengrocer]

Your ferritin and vitamin D levels is within the normal range. It represents stored iron. Iron and vitamin D have not been shown to have much of an impact on hair re-growth unless you are deficient in these, which you are not. All your other labs are also within the normal range. I would suggest getting that referral to a dermatologist to have them assess the type of hair loss you are dealing with. Good luck

Actually having a vitamin D level that is deficient or insufficient and having ferritin levels at or below 60 are both linked separately to hair loss. The vitamin D effect is strong in both males and females, while the ferritin issue is mainly a women's problem.

The normal range in women for ferritin was set at a level where they thought women had no problems. However plenty of women report symptoms of breathlessness, tiredness and decreased endurance when their ferritin levels are at the lower part of the normal range not realising it's due to not having enough iron. Some women only have these symptoms when on their period to start with and so think it's an issue with their periods, then find in a few years they have iron deficiency anaemia.

Both sports scientists and trichologists (some are dermatologists others are just hair stylists) who deal with what medical doctors including some dermatologists consider are healthy patients have found this in their research. (I have doctor mates and was giving them sports science articles by academics. They were shocked that they didn't know about healthily bodies so looked into it more.)

In the case of vitamin D if your levels are below 60 nmol/l you should be taking a minimum of 5,000IU vitamin D3 daily in winter. You then should get a blood test in 3-4 months to check what your level is. You need to stop taking the supplements for 48 hours before the test.

The NHS will not pay for this so you need to get a private test. The NHS rations tests to one every 6 months for adults and you only get them if you fall in certain groups. (There is a lab in Birmingham UK that is linked to an NHS trust that does private finger prick tests for around £30. They do send out kits internationally.)

You need to get your level to into the optimal range. Once you do you should decrease the dose of vitamin D3 to 1-2,000IU daily. You should then get a test every year to check your level. Unless you are tired or have other symptoms you will need to do the test privately.

In the case of ferritin it can take anything from 6 months to 18 months to get sufficient levels. The regime for iron deficiency aneamia is not the correct one to raise ferritin levels. You actually only need around 60mg of elemental iron daily to raise your levels e.g. two of the feroglobin type supplements.

You need to avoid drinking tea, coffee and red wine within 2 hours of taking the iron tablets. So in short you need to stop drinking these things and avoid other tannins. Plus avoid dairy products as well at the time of taking the tablets. You should take a vitamin C tablet at the same time. You should also take a vitamin B complex vitamin to get enough B12 and folate. Over supplementing with B12 isn't dangerous as not all B12 is absorbed in the body, but it is not advised.

With vitamin D3 you need to take it with a meal with fat in it so lunch or dinner. While your calcium consumption is probably sufficient if you eat dairy products, fish and/or leafy green vegetables you should take a magnesium supplement and vitamin K2 as well. However I only have ever taken magnesium and it's one just under the RDA. (I've had a test for magnesium and I was not over supplementing. )

In regards to retesting iron levels most GPs do not do tests for ferritin levels as routine. So if they want to test that you are anaemia ask them if they can test your ferritin levels as well.

Finally if you are on any form of hormone birth control this can cause problems as well with hair loss. However the advice is to continue taking it as stopping it can trigger hair loss, and get your vitamin D and ferritin levels up. Only when these levels are in the optimal range and you still have hair loss problems should you seek an alternative birth control.