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Hair

LucySW

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,974
Location
Denmark
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
My hair got rather thinner over this last year, and I thought this was down to high blood sugar doing bad things to scalp circulation and therefore to hair growth. But will this reverse itself, if this was the cause? I’ve had nearly normal blood sugars since August, but see no sign of newly thickening hair ….

Does anyone else have any experience of this?
 
It would seem that just having diabetes can be the cause, never mind BG control. Different medications will also be implicated in some way or another. I get the impression that most medics don't really care so there doesn't seem to be much empirical evidence to go on, but a lot of anecdotal information.
 
But if your BG is actually controlled, surely there isn't anything else going on in the body that is 'having diabetes.' Don't the unpleasant consequences all stem from the high blood sugar? I'm not on any medication, except insulin.
 
Unfortunately my hair has been thinning for quite a few years and I'm certain it's genetic. My mother's hair was thin on top and that's the way I'm going too. What was/is your Mum like? I shed a lot of hair pre and post diagnosis, but luckily that's stopped now.
 
PS to my comments, my Mum was not diabetic.
 
Ah June, well yes, there is that, and neither was my mum, and her hair was too. So I know I'm going there. But even so my q is, Can good low BG reverse this a bit?
 
Sorry I can't help but I am interested in replies. Mine has been getting thinner over the last year or so, I know some of it is because of scalp psoriasis but it seemed to get worse while my BG was very high. I'm on iron pills because last time I lost half my hair i was aneamic, but that's not the case now.
My mum was also diabetic but she had really thick hair her whole life, I think I get mine from my dad!
 
I've always had very thick hair and so it was very noticeable when I was losing what seemed to be handfuls before and just after diagnosis.
Everything got back to normal until about 18months ago when I started losing hair again.I was diagnosed with hypothyroid , went onto thyroxine. Now, I'm no longer blocking up the plughole every time I wash my hair.
So for me hair loss has been associated with high glucose levels and low thyroid levels but seems to be fine when both are under control.
 
I had a serious illness three years ago,legionares disease,I lost all my hair,which I was told due to shock,that was thought to cause my diabetes.
It has grown back again,and its thick ,Im a redhead and I have kept my colour,I expected it to come back gray being as in 73,so Im very pleased,being diabetic hasnt affected it.
 
LucySW said:
Ah June, well yes, there is that, and neither was my mum, and her hair was too. So I know I'm going there. But even so my q is, Can good low BG reverse this a bit?
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I don't think they can reverse it. Good bg levels and no thyroid problems can stop the downward decline, but if it's genetic, I don't think there's anything we can do.
 
I can't answer your question @LucySW but just thought I'd tell you about something that may help, there is a hair care range called Nioxin, it can be expensive but if you want to thicken hair back up its fantastic x
 
I've also lost a lot of hair over the past six months the ingredients in novorapid made me concerned as there is hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide in it which in small quantities may do no harm but is in itself highly corrosive, i’ve been suspecting as i raised the dose of novomix for better control its been affecting my hair.

This may be the issue for me as i’ve seen some reports online that novorapid may cause hairloss and i can see why. But we all are aware that raised blood sugars cause hairloss too.

The only thing i am concentrating on now is effectively lowering my insulin dose by the lc diet which is proving successful and see what happens, trying to stay healthy, exercise regularly and eat good foods.

nb. I had my thyroid checked usually at the same time my hbA1c is done and all was ok so i cant blame that.
 
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Same here, but I also have an under active thyroid.
 
My hair is thin anyway and I also dye it but since the summer my hair has been very brocken, ie split ends. I thought the dye was doing this, reading on here maybe not.xx
 
Well I don't have diabetes (my son is type one) and I've been doing low carb since November and my hair is coming out loads. My thyroid has been checked and is fine, so I'm thinking it can only be my diet. I'm obviously missing something.
 
Just an observation with no scientific backup whatsoever.. I dated a girl with an eating disorder once.. I also spent 3 years in a dance college back in the late 80s & there was a hair correlation with a few of the girls with diet issues there too..
 
A lot of women find that their hair gets thinner/more brittle during peri & menopause - something to do with the hormonal fluctuations. Often it will thicken up again when the hormones settle down.
 
Safi said:
A lot of women find that their hair gets thinner/more brittle during peri & menopause - something to do with the hormonal fluctuations. Often it will thicken up again when the hormones settle down.
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Agree with that
 
LucySW said:
I have to check thyroid. No ones mentioned it yet.
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Thyroid problems often cluster with type 1 diabetes so maybe that's the explanation for the anecdotal reports - and why it would be independent of blood sugar control.

Or as June said maybe it is just the normal progression of genetics and getting older. :-(
 
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