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Thanks so much for the tips. I have also heard that zinc is an important one which can affect hair loss if it's simply vitamin related.

In the newspaper i read an article where it mentions that the herb Prickly Ash helps hair growth by improving blood flow to the scalp as blood carries important nutrients and oxygen to the scalp and hair follicles and it's also a remedy used by people who have had actual hair transplants. In some cultures women will bend their heads forward and massage gently each day for better blood circulation in the scalp area.

I guess at the end of the day there are lots of health tips and ideas out there, but the main thing to do is find out why each of us as individuals are experiencing precisely what we are experiencing.

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I too have decided to make an appointment with an expert rather than sitting around and wondering. I have an appointment in February with a trichologist and after speaking to him on the phone i was happy that he outligned all the points you gave as a result of your Cleveland appointment. He said the appointment will go for an hour and he will go through everything from diet to hormones and anything else inbetween. I'll do blood tests for my iron, hormones and thyroid and he too mentioned that so many gp's blood tests for thyroid are too general.

I did a bit more research and read how excessive Zinc and Vitamin E can interfere with Iron absorbtion. I wish i'd found this out before buying my Zinc the other day. I'm not sure now how much is too much. I'm only taking what it says on the bottle, but i thought if i was getting zinc from food anyway that the supplements could be too much as i really need all the iron i can get.

I'll post back in mid February once i've had my appointment.

I'll be anxious to hear from you Audrey! I'd love to hear any advice or tips your doctor gives you! :)

Hi littlebunnyfoo :) Where are you up to with your hair issues?

Today i visited the trichologist to see what is happening with my hair. He feels that my hair loss, which is fairly uniform all over my scalp, is related to my extremely low iron levels. He is very confident the problems can be reversed eventually.

He said iron levels should be 70 - 200 (new maximum levels is now 300) and should stay above 70 for a minimum of 3 months to enable visible signs of regrowth and less shedding. He wants to see my levels up to 150 and above as this allows enough measure for iron loss if it should happen again.

I told him that i have been on the liquid iron since last year and when he looked at the directions on the bottle he said that i could easily take double what was prescribed. I told him that i was afraid to 'overdose' and wasnt even sure what type of iron supplement to buy as my doctor offered no advice. He said he sees this problem often with gp's.

He has given me iron in a powdered form which cant be bought in a health food store or chemist, which he gets imported from the USA and something else which is an Amino Acid Complex made up of two different amino acids. He said protein is VERY important in the diet as is a complex multivitamin, but prolongued and constant use of Vitamins B12, D or E, zinc, calcium, copper and chromium stop the absorbtion of iron and can cause a defficiency in the long run. Dairy eg: cheese/milk can reduce iron absorbtion by up to 60% when taken with iron rich foods as can caffeinated beverages.

He said doing the right thing food-wise is all well and good, but he said that is simply not enough when your iron levels are severely depleted and that a strong iron supplement is required.

In 3 months time i'll have a blood test to recheck my levels as well as my thyroid as low iron levels can affect your thyroid also. If my levels are not up in 3 months then he will have to look into why this is happening, which can simply be as a result of a problem with foods containing gluten eg: wheat, or insufficient enzymes to help with food digestion as apparently it might not only be lack of iron, but your liver and stomach which also play a part in absorbing vitamins from your food and processing food etc. That's as simply as i can explain it, the doctor went through it all with me today and it all took an hour. I'm hoping it is only the lack of iron causing all this and not something else which is causing the lack of iron.

We did go through other issues eg: stress, oily scalp, blocked pores, follicles not getting enough oxygen, medication, shampoos etc, but he said that he couldn't see evidence of any of this and that mine was classic anaemia type hair shedding. He said majority of females who experience overall hair shedding are doing so due to aenemia, but eating extra meat or taking a multivitamin or your basic iron supplement will not get you up to where you should be for the problem to be gone. He said there is no issue with washing oily hair daily and he said it is likely more beneficial for daily washing if it is overly oil, but to do so with a mild non sulphate shampoo and not to scrub away at your scalp but to simply give a gentle wash.

Hope some of this helps and i'll definitely give an update in three months when i get a new blood test.

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I dont know where my levels are up to at the moment. This doctor didn't feel it to be necessary to have a blood test right now as he feels that my results from last year wouldn't have been improved upon sufficiently as my hair was still shedding.

I have been given this extra strong iron supplement and have to wait 3 whole months before having a blood test.

Last year my iron was 6 and my ferritin was 8. He agreed on having to be between 70 - 200 for ferritin for at least 3 months before seeing results, but he wants me up to 150. He also said there is a new range for ferritin now which is 35 - 300

Well, I guess we are waiting together!!

Hi littlebunnyfoo :)

How is the waiting going? I'm roughly at the halfway point and am still taking my medication.

Some weeks back i had some highblood pressure and generally wasn't feeling well, but i put that down to major stress at work. I went to my gp to get a sick leave certificate as i was taking a couple of days off work. After checking my bloodpressure he ordered a full blood test. I told him i didn't need one yet as i had to have one once i was finished my iron powder, but he wouldn't hear it.

In the end i was happy i did the blood test as it showed that my iron and ferretin had moved up and i was now 21 for iron (previously a 6) and a 29 for ferretin (previously 8). This cheered me up a lot and i can't wait to see my blood test in mid May.

The other weekend i was at some markets and my friend and i were admiring some nice hair accessories and i was saying what a shame i couldn't buy anything due to hair being so much thinner as a result of the iron. A lady who was also browsing asked did i have that problem too and she went on to say that my hair would definitely grow back and it will be so exciting to see it sprouting out all over the place. This really gave me hope.

In addition to the medication i'm taking care to not have caffeinated beverages with my main meals, but my only exception is my morning coffee with breakfast. I'm tending to buy more fruit/veg etc which is higher in iron and i'm rotating my foods a bit more. My only fear is that when my levels do get up to the required level, what happens if they wont stay there and drop back down?

Hope your levels are on the up and all is well with you :)