Thinning hair - one solution

Why do doctors still dismiss everything as menopause/ age related? It is because it costs time and money to actually check and DO something, and most of us take this dismissal without a fight.
If you want your iron checked, go to a blood donor session - the initial drop test is just that.
I am on mirabegron which is helping to fix my leaks after 20 years of "exercises" and "its natural" - a locum woman GP

Skydancer

I don’t think you should take iron unless you definitely know you need it.

I find that if I take more iron than needed, I know straight away - my poo turns black and I know I am back up to right levels

That's awful sparkygran. It's not easy that's for sure. I agree. You lose the person you were. It takes your femininity and confidence. I'm no longer the person I was. I wear a hair system so no one would know. The trouble is that I know.

I have some very thin patches and I've been taking biotin for years and also Viviscal and Nourkrin, I sometimes think it has improved a bit but the thing that has helped me with my confidence is hair fibres, I wouldn't go out without using them, they cling to the hair you have got and come in lots of different shades. I use Boldify and Thick Fibers.

Polly7

Really annoying if gp fobs off with jib comments like getting older, or simply menopause, as what's the 'root cause' of that ?- you loose your sex hormones and many go hypothyroid as well and a main symptom of that is hair loss too
...it's coming that all women should replenish ostregen maybe totestetone and progesterone if have a womb to keep its lining thin
...it is the old thing to say 'it's something to get through' It's like dark ages. Thank goodness for Louise Newson and Davina McCall.

Not all women can top up their hormone supplies. Many of those of us who've had breast cancer are on oestrogen suppressant drugs such as Letrozole or Anastrozole to deplete the hormones which feed the cancer. Davina MacAll is all very well but she does a lot of generalising. I'm rather fed up with her - anyone would think she'd invented the menopause. My hair is a bit thinner since I started on Letrozole a couple of years ago. My hairdresser is delighted as mine was SO thick and now it's much more do-able!

I find wigs really itchy though. And too hot in the summer. I have a couple but have never actually worn them in public.

Can I say to everyone on here with hair loss - get a wig. I know from bitter experience over many years that supplements and topical products simply don't work. There is absolutely no need to suffer the devastating loss of confidence that having sparse hair brings. Wigs nowadays are undetectable if you choose the right one, and here I recommend using a company called Simply Wigs online. They have masses of styles to browse, their staff are never less than friendly and helpful, and you can return anything that turns out not to suit you without quibble. I have found my perfect wig through them and nobody ever realises it's not my own hair. I refuse to put myself through the agony of appearing in public with my pathetic strands of candyfloss type hair - no, I plonk my wig on and am transformed, ready to go. I admit that a good wig isn't cheap, but I spend virtually nothing on hairdressing bills so it works out even stevens. And never will I waste yet more money on useless supplements and products. I advise anybody with the same problem to d

I wear a hair topper as my hair is thin. It’s much,much better than a wig and much easier.

While I feel sorry for men who suffer with baldness, I feel it’s generally accepted that a man can lose his hair and most people wouldn’t make any comments. But for a woman it’s horrendous, I had a teenage girl follow me once when I was shopping shouting ‘baldy’ at me. I ignored her but it really upset me. When I visited Hampton Court recently the ticket checker was shouting Sir! Sir! I didn’t tealise she meant me until someone tapped me on the shoulder. I hate looking at myself or combing my hair. It has affected me, my husband doesn’t care but he also ignores me most of the time now. I feel I have lost myself.
I feel so sad for us women who do suffer with any form of alopecia. An old colleague had full alopecia and wore a wig, I know how much she hated it.

Like graciemabel I've also been on estrogen blockers for a few years and my previously thick hair has thinned dramatically. I tried high-dose biotin but had no luck with that. I actually had high ferritin at one point but it has since gone back to normal. As I will have to stay on the estrogen blockers for a few more years I fear I will just have to get used to having thin hair or otherwise buy a wig.

I have androgynous pattern baldness (basically losing hair on my crown, round bald patch size of a tea plate and severe receding hair line.) I use minoxidil foam every day, I take hair skin and nails, ( my nails are so strong and grow like mad now) I have been mistaken for a man several time from the back and I HATE it. My male gp said it’s menopause and there is nothing that can be done! I went back a year later as it was upsetting me so much and a female gp referred me to a demonology female consultant who did a biopsy and prescribed spironolactone, which helps to reduce male hormones and improves blood pressure to your scalp. I’ve only been taking it for a couple of months and it says it can take 6 months to show improvement. I am 66 now and will be visiting a wig specialist in the new year. I would rather have complete alopecia than end up looking like Friar Tuck. 😢

The psychological effects of hair loss on women can't be underestimated. It has totally ruined my life and also nearly my marriage. I had a very traumatic childhood and for this to happen in top of that drove me to the edge.

I too have thinning hair and very low ferritin. I am seriously considering an infusion as I currently take a load of tablets (blood pressure, thyroid etc. etc.) plus have 3 monthly B12 injections so don't wish to take any more. I'm convinced it would help. When I discussed the blood test results with my GP he said that it was in the accepted parameters (which OK it was) but as I said to him, if he took an exam and scored 24 out of a possible 350 - would he feel that was a good result?

Just ordered some!! Been on Estrogen suppresant meds for 6 years and my lovely locks badly affected so see how this goes, thank you.

Furret

I posted ages ago looking for advice on my thinning hair; how to slow down hair loss or even stop it. Lots of help on how to cope but little hope offered.

Did some research. Lots of it. Again little hope.

Then I happened to make a rare visit to my GP - last seen in 2022 - general malaise. He ordered blood tests and, while my haemoglobin levels were fine my ferritin was low. Of course I googled this and one of the effects of low ferritin levels is … hair loss. Started on an iron supplement.

That was many months ago. Re-tests more than six months later ferritin was within the normal range and far less hair loss and it’s feeling thicker.

I’m not saying this is the cause for everyone, but worth having it checked out. Incidentally not as tired any more.

Furret

I was hospitalised for a month in June with Pancreatitis which due to meds and stress caused me to start losing handfuls of hairs. When I was able to return to my hairdresser some weeks after leaving hospital she was shocked at my hair in her basin and brushes. She refused to tint my hair (which it desperately needed), use spray or do even a little backcombing.

My hair is generally blonde, fine but full, shoulder length with a flick. I was so afraid I would look like one of those old ladies who ended up bald with just a single tuft of fine hair on top of my head!!

I did alot of research and came across Biotin Growth+ from GeekNutrition.
It was available on Amazon at £6:99 (for 90 tablets @ two-a-day).
10,000 (c) reviews at 4.5%.

So I bought some. At £6:99 it was a no-brainer. After seven weeks my hair had stopped falling out and I was able to have my 3.5" regrowth sorted!

So I'm going to keep with them. The tabs also make my nails speedgrow! You can almost see your hair and nails grow -like bamboo!

I very much recommend. Worth a try?
.

Most vitamins and minerals need taking at different times of day and with various things ( I’ve only recently realised that).

Really annoying if gp fobs off with jib comments like getting older, or simply menopause, as what's the 'root cause' of that ?- you loose your sex hormones and many go hypothyroid as well and a main symptom of that is hair loss too
...it's coming that all women should replenish ostregen maybe totestetone and progesterone if have a womb to keep its lining thin
...it is the old thing to say 'it's something to get through' It's like dark ages. Thank goodness for Louise Newson and Davina McCall.

And yet Vit D needs fat for absorption. Take mine with my eggs in the morning.

I lost a,lot of hair after a major operation, plus another 8 days later when it was found that stitches in underlying stomach wall had come undone. I was very ill for some weeks.
Anyway, I went to Holland and Barret and bought Biotin hair complex tablets, which I took every day for 3 months.
I have got my hair back now.

Skydancer

I don’t think you should take iron unless you definitely know you need it.

Mine has been prescribed by my doctor. Even though I probably take far more supplements than I need iron is one supplement that I’ve never taken because I know it’s dangerous to take if it isn’t necessary.

I don’t think you should take iron unless you definitely know you need it.

AmberGran

Furret

Obviously no one else has this problem 🌹

Probably quite a few people do but it's not always easy getting blood tests at the doctors. We have to jump over hoops to get any tests at all.

About 15 years ago my hair was falling out in patches - I had bald patches and the temples were receding. Three doctors told me it was the menopause and explained very kindly that hair thinning happens when you get older and there was nothing I could do. I explained very kindly to each of them that bald patches was not 'thinning hair' and that it was more likely to do with the burst ulcers I'd had (which they were meant to be investigating). Despite the bleeding ulcers they never referred me for tests, and the head gastroenterologist told me 'there was no evidence' that it was linked to the ulcers. I never went back.

Just a note though for anyone taking iron - it should be taken separately from calcium, zinc, turmeric and magnesium.

I take mine in the morning on an empty stomach with a mug of water. I only realised recently that having a cup of tea or coffee with a meal interferes with the bodies absorption of vitamins and minerals. And that you need vitamin C along with the iron. I now wait an hour or so after eating before I have a drink.

I certainly do have this problem Furret. I have alopecia (no hair) and I know from experience that there is nothing to be done.

Furret

Obviously no one else has this problem 🌹

Probably quite a few people do but it's not always easy getting blood tests at the doctors. We have to jump over hoops to get any tests at all.

About 15 years ago my hair was falling out in patches - I had bald patches and the temples were receding. Three doctors told me it was the menopause and explained very kindly that hair thinning happens when you get older and there was nothing I could do. I explained very kindly to each of them that bald patches was not 'thinning hair' and that it was more likely to do with the burst ulcers I'd had (which they were meant to be investigating). Despite the bleeding ulcers they never referred me for tests, and the head gastroenterologist told me 'there was no evidence' that it was linked to the ulcers. I never went back.

Just a note though for anyone taking iron - it should be taken separately from calcium, zinc, turmeric and magnesium.

Thanks for posting Furret, I know quite a few people who find their hair getting a bit thinner during the menopause, It's good that you have found something that helps.