aplastic anemia and hair loss

[NYS123]

my girlfriend is having a relapse of aplastic anemia...being tired, sluggish, no energy, she gets dizzy and also out of breath sometimes.

recently she is experiencing further hair loss, which is horrible because she was already having some thinning from the condition.

what can be done about hair loss from aplastic anemia? anything medication-wise, or vitamin supplements?

please help

[FLFLOWERGIRL]

Many of us here have IDA (iron deficiency anemia), which results in a low ferritin (iron storage in the bone marrow and organs) and hair loss for many. This can also be due to other things such as thyroid, hormones, balding patterns, medications and such. For me my hair had always thinned but when my ferritin was 2 and stayed under 10 for many months I experienced profuse shedding and it really scared me. Then my ferritin went up with oral iron therapy and it went back to normal loss which I really don't know if it is normal or not? I take synthroid, could be that, low ferritin, hormones, who knows?

Regarding your girlfriend's diagnosis, I don't know if she has special treatments or meds that may contribte to it or not. I don't think her therapy is the same as IDA, I don't know if it would be from a low ferritin or not. Sorry I wasn't much help, but you are a great boyfriend! FLFLOWERGIRL

[Audrey-B]

I'm not familiar with 'aplastic' anemia and how it differs from other forms of anemia. If i was to give my 'inexperienced' opinion, i would say that no matter what sort of anemia you have, so long as the ferretin is low for a long enough period there is definite possibility that hair loss will result for quite a lot of people. There are very few people on this board who haven't experienced hair loss of some description. Most people who have gotten their ferretin levels back up into higher figures have noticed a lessened amount of hair shedding. The point at which hair stops dramatic hair shedding will differ from person to person. For ferretin, the figure of 40 has often been mentioned at which some will notice lessened hair shedding, but some may have noticed it earlier than when their ferretin reached 40 as we are all individuals and our bodies dont work thesame.

Hair loss due to low iron can also bring on very early 'alopecia' (a form of female balding or thinning on the top of the head/crown as it might in males due to hormone issues i believe), whereas females who aren't predisposed to alopecia will instead simply get uniform shedding all over the entire head.

This is why i feel that no matter what form of anemia you have, as hair loss seems to be often mentioned as a symptom, your girlfriend will need to raise her ferretin to see the hair shedding either decrease or stop. Often when you are anemic or even when your ferretin is out of the anemia stage, yet still very low, it can take a while for some people's figures to go up. If it's simply a cause of anemia due to the wrong diet then correcting the diet and taking iron supplements usually gets their ferretin back where it should in next to no time.

I also agree with FLFLOWERGIRL. Your g/f might have other health conditions or be on other medication which could be causing the immense hair shedding. With me, my low ferretin levels ended up affecting my thyroid. It wasn't that bad that i needed medication, but bad enough to cause side effects. This is why it's important that her doctor check all possibilities, including vitamin/mineral defficiencies as a lot of people who are anemic are also lacking in one or more vitamins/minerals.

Keep us posted on how she goes and i hope she is better soon

[michelledelen]

I'm going through the same exact thing right now - diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia in late September 2007, underwent a round of ATG immunosuppressive therapy with slight improvement and currently my hair is falling out in clumps. If your girlfriend is also transfusion dependant, she probably isn't low on ferritin or iron - might be a side effect of the drugs (just can't figure out which because there are so many). I've got long hair and it is a bummer sweeping up clumps each day so I've decided to take charge and get a Victoria Beckham short cut for awhile and if it falls out more, I'm going to buy some really expensive looking scarves to look awesome. It is really discouraging to go through this on top of everything, almost broke down a few days ago but I just keep reminding myself that we can kick it and with stem cell research in the future, maybe find a complete cure other than BMT.

Michelle