hi everyone, i'm new here.

my ferritin level was at 16 over a year and a half ago (range is 10-300) when i went to the doctor with an anemia checklist from the internet with EVERY symptom on it!!! dr said all labs were normal and did nothing.

in july, i went back to the dr. because the hair loss was becoming severe with no regrowth. all my tests were "normal" again so dr referred me to dermatology with an appt 3 months away! then i read about iron being overlooked in hair loss. my ferritin is at 14. so two weeks ago, i called to push the dr. who said it wouldn't hurt to take some iron. i'm losing 400-800 hairs per shampoo!! started ferrous sulfate (1-65mg + multi vit 36mg) two weeks ago.

appt with derm. this week. he said "your iron is low. could be that." no trmt other than take iron and in december he wants to do a biopsy on scalp to pinpoint cause. has anyone done a scalp biopsy?

Hi,

Sorry about your hair problem. I had alopia and lost all my hair for ten years. Not one hair on my entire body. Save money on the bikini waxing. It started after the birth of my first child. All the doctors said it was normal after giving birth. Went to all kinds of doctors. Was never given an answer. I wish I had know what I know now. First get your hgb count. For a healthy woman it should be at least 12 if you are still in the child bearing years. But your ferritin is getting low. From what I have read your ferritin should be around 70 for hair.
You can be iron deficent and not be anemic until you hemaglobin drops below 10. My hematologist said a normal ferritin should be at least 50.

Now my hematologist keeps and eye on my ferritin and anything under 50, I go in for more iron IV. My lst hgb was 13 but ferritin 16. in three months I went from 14.1 hgb and ferritin of 49. The only thing they can think of what is causing this is my periods and by body not obsorbing iron. All my male drs want to take out body parts, but hell i like my body part.

I would suggest to everyone to be your own dr/ ask for all lab results and go to a good hematologist. Most pcp do not look at blood results esp ferritin the same as a hematologist. Also for your hair, have your thyroid checked out, make sure you get the T3, T4 and TSH results. While doing all these blood work last year, they found out that I have hypothyroid.

According to my hematologist, I had been a suffer of either iron deficit or on and anemic. I had all the classic symptoms, ridges in the finger nail, eat ice, low energy, brain fog, cold, etc. But I never went to the dr to tell him of these things, what i thought was a silly thing. But they are all pieces of the puzzles. You just have to find a doctor who will listen or be close to your death bed before they take you seriouly.

Also the more you stress about lossing hair the more hair will fall out.

Just got the call, need anothe iv iron. time to find a good book to read

thanks for writing! hgb is 13.7 and tsh and free t-4 are in range. haven't had t3 lately. i've had tons of bloodwork to rule out everything. twin pregnancy went great(although i did have anemia during it which they said was normal) but it's definitely been a downhill slide since then--until acupuncture which cleared all issues except skin (hives), hair, cold, ridges on nails, lots of blood clots during period but that is improving now.

i have had hypothyroidism since i was a teen but it's been a few years since i have been on anything for it (western meds did NOT work for me, only a natural bovine supplement was effective) because i go to acupuncture to manage all my various sensitivites and it's been in range since i started there.

no one has suggested a hemotologist! just derm for the hair, neurology, gi specialist, rheumatologist, ob/gyn, and on and on. and the weird thing is that i feel better than i have in years! most of my sx have gone except the hair issue and HOW can a person not be stressed about that? and did your hair come back in when your levels came up or are the follicles dead or something?

chek this site out it give you alot of information:http://www.keratin.com/ab/ab014.shtml#02

Debratheartist, you mentioned you also have hives with the anemia along with your hair loss.. what kind of hives? how long have they lasted? are they all the same? ie..size, type, ect. the reason I am asking is that in 2004 I started haveing pains shooting thru my stomach..went to emergency room and then to a stomach doc..later..upper and lower gi, ultra sound, body scans ect...they couldnt find nothing wrong. put me down for a gall bladder surgury anyway..then got a call from the same doctor..wanted to know why I was still walking around?? my blood test showed a blood count of 7 she put off the gall bladder surgury and sent me to a gyno doc and he put me down for a hystrectomy..ok I can live with that better than gall bladder surgury. once that was done the doctor told me that my female parts were fine but he took them out anyway the only thing once inside is he found alot of scar tissue and basically all my guts were growing to my back bone. before surgury my blood count within a day had fallen to 5. I had to get 2 pints of blood on halloween night of 2004 LOL..anyway I had the wipped out feeling, hives, mussel pain, craved Ice like a junkie craves drugs, minor hair loss.... now I am experiencing hugh amounts of hair loss, fatigue, hives,brain fog depression, and yes, how do you stay calm when your bathroom drain and floor is covered with your hair that is comming out in handfulls?? etc..I am not yet craving the ice like before.

hi cantell, if you had your female parts removed, you are probably having all kinds of hormonal adjustments going on! sorry to hear about what you've been through!

the hives started about eight years ago with bright, mishapped patches of pink color on the skin that were very warm to the touch for like a half an hour. it progressed over the years to more and more of them that last about an hour and now have big white welts in the centerish of them. they happen with no pattern: wherever there is pressure on the skin, i get them. the derm says it's dermatographia which means histamine is in my system but no one knows why and it's not worth treating. i had scratch tests that started out with mild sensitivities to three or four things and two years later, i was up to a hundred moderate reactions!!! so basically, my immune sx is overreacting more and more. i also get a tiny blister here and there that itch and the derm said, "i have NO idea what that is." so that is about how well things are going on the skin front and they don't see any connections between skin and hair issues but acupuncturists do. liver and kidney meridians are part of the issue and so i am continuing to try from that angle.

Thanks Debra for the reply. on the hair loss thing..IT completely SToped falling out...yes just like that. a couple of days ago after shower 1-3 hairs thats it...OTG.. it had been falling out for over a year..just anough to be a little concerned..then for the last two months it started coming out in hand fulls and falling out everywhere. just to put shampoo on my head and rub it in I would look at my hands and they would be covered with at least 20 to 30 hairs each!! stressfull to say the least..thank you god it stopped..why??? I do not know I never went to a doctor over it. I have always had thick hair now I am down to thin hair that looks thick until you put it in a pony tail or plate it. hope it comes back.

The hives that I have continue :dizzy: it would be nice if they would also get tiard of tormenting me and go away too..LOL I have 3 different types... I call them 3 different eninity's...one type its red swollen wheels, the second is small pea size raized red ones like skeeter bites gone bad..these also appear in the form of very large ones which can cover (just to give you an idea) 1/3 of the side of my back. they dont discrimanate they will be anywhere scalp, butt, legs, back arms, legs, face etc..they are very red, sowlen, itches, burns and very hot to touch.

The third type is very large knot..looks kinda like a chicken egg..these just hurt to touch and itch..it is also hot to touch and if you scratch it it turns red and swells more for your trouble.

I went to a rumy for anemia and hives also a skin specilist who did the alergy test..nothing showed up on that but he did say it was chrionic Urticaria..no medication helped..and I stopped taking it. I feel like I was born with a wierd body..its a night mare. something goes wrong its a emergency room trip. they still cant find anything and before its said and done I have surgury..oh, before I forget rambling on here..that doctor told me my female parts was fine..losing blood cause; to much scare tissue from c sections..two children pior..but he took it out anyway and left me an overy..since I didnt want any more children anyway he was saving me the trouble later down the road. how nice of him. the blood doc who attended in on the surgury came in the next morning and seen I was swollen and looked like a deformed pumpkin..he said you get hives alot? I told him yes and he said I have just the thing for you that will help not cure them..its called Hydroxyzine and it HELPS. I am out now of course. he said this stuff had been on the market for years and it was not expensive..go figure 4 years and 3 doctors before him could not figure it out. LOL

I hope this all makes since..hives again this morning and back, neck, shoulder and knees are really making me work to breath...grrrr anyway..I just thought the hives and anemia were connected somehow and are the hives the same monsters I have..I do get the blister kind of ones on my fingers..but didnt think of thoes as hives..they are itchy but are minor compaired to these other ones I have. :wave:

meds didn't help me either for the hives, urticaria is the same thing, means hives. i'll look into the medication you listed. do you need a prescription to get it or is it OTC? i'm super sensitive to medication so the only thing i ever take is children's benadryl allergy tablets. i only take one and only to sort of stop the waterfall chain of events when it's totally out of hand.

if your having trouble breathing, that sounds serious-like a very serious allergic reaction. i'm not sure if that's related but it's worrisome.

yeah, your hair stopped falling out, wow!

noooo sorry ..I was being funny I am Not haveing trouble breathing. LOL
just hurt to breath because the hives was on my ribs and the in and out breathing i guess streching them out hurt.
it is not over the counter it is a perscription medication the doctor told me it has been out for years so it is not a new drug..oh, and by no means do I mean to imply in any way that just because it helped me that it does not mean it will help you...check with your doctor before taking any medication I know you know that. I know all people are different and react differently to everything.

I hope you find what you are looking for and you feel better. :angel:

Me I am still looking for that alussive cure. ( I am being funny again)

:wave: