Hair loss and low in iron

ALCarey

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I was diagnosed with type 1 in September and I’m now losing my hair. A recent blood test also shows I’m low in iron. I’m seeing my GP next week but it’s worrying me. Is it connected to diabetes? Your thoughts are appreciated.
 

TheBigNewt

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In a word: NO. Not hair loss and diabetes. And not iron deficiency and hair loss nor diabetes. Iron deficiency can cause anemia though.
 
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I can only speak from personal experience but I have not experienced hair loss since I have had type 1.
I have experienced iron deficiency but that was never linked to diabetes - another cause was identified and confirmed.
 

Mary1680

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In a word: NO. Not hair loss and diabetes. And not iron deficiency and hair loss nor diabetes. Iron deficiency can cause anemia though.
I disagree, as someone with chronic iron deficiency and hair loss, in my experience iron deficiency is clearly linked.
At first I blamed my hypothyroidism but my diabetes condition never crossed my mind as it has been stable for approximately one year HbA1c 5.7%. However, everytime I brought my iron within range with supplements, the hair loss would stop. Therefore, I found a strong correlation between iron deficiency and hair loss. Nevertheless, iron supplements need optimal vitamin C levels to be absorbed by the body and I found it useful to correct all vitamin deficiencies.
 
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Mary1680

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Yes
I was diagnosed with type 1 in September and I’m now losing my hair. A recent blood test also shows I’m low in iron. I’m seeing my GP next week but it’s worrying me. Is it connected to diabetes? Your thoughts are appreciated.
Iron deficiency in my opinion and experience, is connected to hair loss. Please read my response to @TheBigNewt one of the contributors in this thread.
 

TheBigNewt

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There should be a reason for iron deficiency, it's not normally a "chronic" condition like arthritis. The most common reason is blood loss, which can be quite slow and sometimes difficult to pinpoint. Not sure about malabsorbtion of iron and iron supplements though.
 

ALCarey

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Wow, thank you for your comments, interesting. I’ll see what I can find out at the doctors soon.
 

Mary1680

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There should be a reason for iron deficiency, it's not normally a "chronic" condition like arthritis. The most common reason is blood loss, which can be quite slow and sometimes difficult to pinpoint. Not sure about malabsorbtion of iron and iron supplements though.
I have multiple autoimmune disease one of which is chronic gastritis A, this is the cause of my chronic iron deficiency.
 

ALCarey

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When both myself and my youngest daughter were diagnosed, we both lost a vast amount of hair. After 3 maybe 4 months, when our bodies had recovered, it began to grow back and is now back to normal. In fact, my daughter's is slightly thicker than it ever was.

Thank you for your reply-good to hear so fingers crossed!
 

Diamattic

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I noticed hair loss about 3 months after I was diagnosed, as well as low iron. When I saw my doctor he checked my thyroid and concluded the hair loss was due to spending a long time with high sugars prior to diagnosis which put the body under a lot of stress which causes more hair to fall out then usual. The low iron was said to be from the high sugars as well my DKA caused my body to really mismanage nutrients and cause malabsorption issues.

Get checked out in case it is something else, but hair loss CAN be from a prolonged period of high stress (the stress can be caused by high sugars).

My hair has returned to normal and has all grown back (or at least enough that i cannot tell it ever left haha)
 
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Wurst

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I get low Iron levels and eventually anemia symptoms largely due to my exercise regime. Running seems to lower my iron levels and kill red blood cells :-( No hair loss though, but plenty of dizzy spells. I tried iron tablets ~ 50 mg with vitamin C but didn't help and caused stomach pains. Doctor recommended Floradix with iron, a liquid iron supplement , which seems to do the trick.

As a test I've stopped all Iron supplements for a month or so and noticed my running speed drop from 4:45 mins per km to 5:10 mins per km, a massive drop in performance :-(

Not directly connected to D but a byproduct of trying to control it !
 

TheBigNewt

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. Running seems to lower my iron levels and kill red blood cells
And how do medical professionals propose that your running kills your red blood cells may I ask? Hemolysis? That would be accompanied by an increase in red cell size and the reticulocyte ("baby" red blood cells produced by your bone marrow) count.
 

kev-w

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I've blamed my curls on 'male pattern baldness for the last 20 years' :)

And I apologise if levity wasn't called for....
 
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Wurst

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And how do medical professionals propose that your running kills your red blood cells may I ask? Hemolysis? That would be accompanied by an increase in red cell size and the reticulocyte ("baby" red blood cells produced by your bone marrow) count.

Yep, Hemolysis is believed to be the culprit. The increase in the reticulocyte count would only be noticed if it was specifically tested for in the blood test. That test doesn't come as standard here and was told I'd have to pay for it myself. Turned out it was cheaper to get Iron supplements :-0
 

TheBigNewt

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Yep, Hemolysis is believed to be the culprit. The increase in the reticulocyte count would only be noticed if it was specifically tested for in the blood test. That test doesn't come as standard here and was told I'd have to pay for it myself. Turned out it was cheaper to get Iron supplements :-0
Retic count is cheap. I read about all the fancy blood tests they do there for antibodies and other stuff why not diagnose hemolytic anemia correctly instead of prescribing a maybe supplement? And maybe buy better shoes.
 
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Wurst

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Retic count is cheap. I read about all the fancy blood tests they do there for antibodies and other stuff why not diagnose hemolytic anemia correctly instead of prescribing a maybe supplement? And maybe buy better shoes.

Cheap where , in the USA ? I don't live there
 

acshakir

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I lost hair after my diagnosis, I think a mixture of having high blood sugars for a long time and the stress you go through. It comes back though don’t worry
 

Dodo

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I was diagnosed with type 1 in September and I’m now losing my hair. A recent blood test also shows I’m low in iron. I’m seeing my GP next week but it’s worrying me. Is it connected to diabetes? Your thoughts are appreciated.
For the for the first 50 years of being diabetic, I can honestly say that I never suffered hair loss, in fact my hair was always extremely thick. However, the last 2 years I have had a fair bit of hair loss, which has been linked to hypothyroidism, an autoimmune condition that is often caused by diabetes.
 

Fearless36

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Hairloss can also be due to thyroid function being over or underworked too so it may be worthwhile having bloodwork done to assess your thyroid condition. Hairloss is often a case of hypothyroidism. I noticed my hair was thinning and for a while thought it was just vanity, but then mentioned it to the nurse at my centre and she did the bloodtest and said I had a hypothyroid condition.
 
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x Carol x

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Also have you ever had your active B12 levels checked? Hairloss can be due to having low levels.