Hair Loss & Vitamin D

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Micr0glitter
Micr0glitter Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys!

Bit of a weird one - hope I'm in the right category.

About a month ago I started noticing major hair shedding. I've always taken iron supplements due to anaemia. I've spoken to my Doctor, had loads of tests (thyroid, general bloods, etc) and they can't pinpoint what's going on exactly.

I've been reading about hair loss and Vitamins D deficiency. This would make some kind of sense as I generally don't get much sunlight/eat Vitamin D rich foods. My hair seemed to be resilient in summer, now it's colder, I seem to shed as the slightest touch (gets worse in the shower).

Has anybody else experienced this? I've started taking Vitamin D supplements as of today - how long would it take to see the effects roughly?

Thanks!

Replies

  • Carriehelene
    Carriehelene Posts: 178 Member
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    Peri menopause will cause this also.
  • VictoriaNWest
    VictoriaNWest Posts: 10 Member
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    A lack of adequate protein is the number one reason for hair loss. You can keep your calories fairly low if your protein intake is high enough. You especially need more protein if you're lifting weights. I aim for a minimum of 25 grams of protein per meal (I prefer 30-35). I try to keep my calories at 500 per meal. I usually have to drink one whey shake a day to keep my protein up this high.
  • avril2626
    avril2626 Posts: 699 Member
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    Vitamin B tablets can help if it could be stress related. Stress depletes many D vitamins. My doctor prescribed biotin in high dosage when I was losing a lot of hair recently. It ended up being an uncommon side effect of a medication I was on, and stopped when I stopped taking it.
    Definitely look at your calorie intake and macros per above comments. Better to lose slowly and feed your body the nutrients it needs.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
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    Micr0glitter wrote: »
    Hey guys!

    Bit of a weird one - hope I'm in the right category.

    About a month ago I started noticing major hair shedding. I've always taken iron supplements due to anaemia. I've spoken to my Doctor, had loads of tests (thyroid, general bloods, etc) and they can't pinpoint what's going on exactly.

    I've been reading about hair loss and Vitamins D deficiency. This would make some kind of sense as I generally don't get much sunlight/eat Vitamin D rich foods. My hair seemed to be resilient in summer, now it's colder, I seem to shed as the slightest touch (gets worse in the shower).

    Has anybody else experienced this? I've started taking Vitamin D supplements as of today - how long would it take to see the effects roughly?

    Thanks!

    You will notice that you stop shedding sooner than you will notice that you're actually replacing hair because of how slowly hair grows.

  • Micr0glitter
    Micr0glitter Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi all,

    Thanks for the input! I should have mentioned loads more in my original post but I was half asleep and kinda rattled off without putting the important bits in!

    I'm currently 172.8lbs at 5'7. I started eating better 4 days ago and I've never under eaten, always made sure I had a good vitamin intake from food sources and supplements where needed. My caffeine, water and protein intake has always been almost spot on, my main issue was junk food in the form of crisps and fast food, etc - although of a semi-regular basis could have been a lot worse.

    I've always been a stable weight, I'm only on one small daily dose of Citalopram, which has never affected it before.

    I've experienced some stress lately although nothing out of the ordinary. The only other thing I can think of is B vitamins (as mentioned above), and also I used to take Magnesium frequently which I stopped for a while.

    Anyway that's all my background info! Thank you everyone 😁
  • Daisy_Girl2019
    Daisy_Girl2019 Posts: 209 Member
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    Increase your protein. Sometimes genetics could play a factor also. Does your parents still have a full head of hair?
  • suzannesimmons1
    suzannesimmons1 Posts: 58 Member
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    nowine4me wrote: »
    1BlueAurora wrote: »
    I experienced hair loss because I was losing weight too rapidly. I was losing more than 2 pounds a week for three months and all of a sudden my hair was falling out, which I noticed in the shower and when I combed my hair out afterwards. You didn't share your height, weight, goals - but consider (if you haven't already) making sure you don't lose more than a pound a week and see if that makes a difference. It took me a LONG time to slow down the rate of hair loss.

    Ditto. And it took YEARS for my hair to bounce back. Take it slow.

    Same. Also fats are needed for hair so ultra low fat is bad.
  • kmhow3
    kmhow3 Posts: 1 Member
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    I also experienced excessive hairloss over a few months from the start of this year (particularly noticed it in the shower). Unfortunately I was slow to go visit the doctor. I had blood taken for iron studies and thyroid function, results showed that I was iron deficient and I was told to take vitamin D, vitamin B12 and iron tablets. After taking them for 2 months it seems like the hair loss has slowed but still waiting for it to grow back!

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