Dry hair, low mood, heavy periods.....
Posted , 5 users are following.
Have been struggling with heavy periods for about 10 years but my mood dipped about a year ago and at times I've been quite depressed. I lose my hair on and off due to low iron linked to my periods. My hair started to get very dry and frizzy last year. I started on a combination of oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone about 13 weeks ago. Very few side effects to date but my hormone levels are now too high and I'm having to reduce the dosage. My periods haven't got lighter at all. My mood is improved but not better, and hair has got drier which affects my confidence more as it's never really grown back as thick as it was. I feel mentally exhausted with trying to cope with it all. Any suggestions as to improving things? I guess I could be in a perimenapause state for years yet! Is there life on the other side!
0 likes, 13 replies
Tammy123 angieB48
Posted
angieB48 Tammy123
Posted
Thanks for the reply. It's tough isn't it! I've had a couple of ultrasounds and they indicate fibroids, a polyp, enlarged uterus and thickened uterus lining but no one seems that worried! I'm going for the mirena coil in the hope it lightens my periods or stops them and that might help with everything else. The hair loss is difficult but I keep being told it's an aging thing - that we all have less hair as we get older. Maybe I would b ok if it was just one thing to cope with and not everything else! The drugs and my periods seem to be making this worse and sometimes you just want to shout why me!
maddysmom2015 angieB48
Posted
Hi Angie,
I was told the hair loss was an aging thing by many doctors. My hair got very coarse (normally it is baby fine) and came out in clumps. My head looked black and white striped with the amount of scalp that was showing. I had never been more depressed about anything physical, truly.
But I knew that hair loss didn't run in my family for women, so I set myself to investigate. For me it was a couple of things. I had gone off my birth control pill and that can cause temporary telogen effluvium--a temporary hormone related loss of hair. (A lot of moms go through this about 3 months after giving birth--a massive shed of hair.)
And on top of that I had a bad vitamin deficiency, especially Vit D. You can google vit d and hair loss. The results are really clear. I would try supplementing your vitamins. Are your periods still heavy? Low iron levels can also really contribute to hair shedding.
It took me a while, like 7-8 months of consistent supplementing to really see the difference, but my hair is pretty much back to normal. I can tell within days if I go without the vitamins my hair feels like a scrubbing pad.
There is life on the other side of this--I promise.
angieB48 maddysmom2015
Posted
Thanks! Yes my periods are very heavy and I know that means any other stress in my life will result in hair loss! The 2014 hair loss was kicked off by a few weeks of health and personal issues and my first blood test had an iron level of 13. I've been supplementing with a range of vitamins including vit D but having just had my bloods done again although my vit D is in the normal range it's only about halfway so I did a bit more research and noticed that some professionals recommended a daily dosage of 5000iu and I was only taking 2500iu so I've increased it. Whatever I do I can't seem to get my iron levels up much above 90 and the optimum for hair growth is 150! I guess that's the periods so I'm now pushing for the mirena coil and hope that resolves it! Why it's gone so dry I don't know. Whatever conditioning treatment I use it's useless. As you say it's really depressing. We can hide most things but not the condition of our hair!!!!!
maddysmom2015 angieB48
Posted
Are you taking an iron supplement? That's great for your hair but might be contributing to the IBS symtoms you are dealing with. We can't win!
angieB48 maddysmom2015
Posted
Yes I take 400mg a day plus a Spatone sachet. I don't get IBS just the hair, moods, periods. I think that's enough! I take it you do! Yep it feels like everything we try causes something else!
debbie12340 maddysmom2015
Posted
Hi, so sorry to hear your story. I fully understand how lowering it is ! My hair has gone so thin and dry and has been over processed which has caused breakage ! It's really upset me and cshsed my anxiety to go through the roof. Can I ask what vitamins you take please ? I already take B12, Magnesium, iron and cos liver oil, plus just started biotin.
Hugs
Debbie x
maddysmom2015 debbie12340
Posted
Hi Debbie,
I am so sorry for your anxiety! Hair thinning is really upsetting and made me more anxious than just about any other symptom I had.
I take Vit D, about 7000IUs each day, Vit B complex which gives me about 100% of my B vitamins, B12 (separately as a larger dose for energy) and Vit E about 400 IUs.
My hair loss/thinning was I am sure in small part due to age and in large part of a Vit D deficiency. (I tested at 5 out of 70. When I asked the doctor if that could cause the shedding, he said, no. Jerk.)
I am careful to take my Vit D and E with a fat that has cholesterol because that is how those fat soluable vitamins are best absorbed. (I am also gluten intolerant and people who are Celica or gluten sensitive often have trouble absorbing fats.)
The iron you take should help a lot too. Are you still low even though you are supplementing? Iron deficiency can really cause hair loss/thinning. Often the peri bleeding from fibriods or very heavy periods can cause low iron.
The Biotin is part of the B complex vitamins, so that's great. The cod liver oil should help with shine too.
This might be a weird question, but does the magnesium give you a lot of bowel movements? (I've used it to get things moving!) And I wonder if your food is in transit too quickly.
As stupid as it sounds, I found using a really high end shampoo helped with the breakage.
Feel free to PM me and we can brainstorm some more. I was so proud of my Anne Boleyn hair. It's how I planned to catch a rich, powerful husband who maybe wasn't as good a lute player as he thought he was.
angieB48 maddysmom2015
Posted
Interested in your comment about taking your vit D and E with a fat that has cholesterol. Can you expand on that? I take most of my vits in the morning on an empty stomach! I may need to increase my vit D if 7000iu is ok to take. I've only just increased to 5000iu but if that doesn't improve things I'll up it. I use a sulfate free shampoo from Aveena which I love and I agree a high end shampoo is needed. I also have started using a carrot oil daily to moisturise my hair and it's working ok! The iron supplements mean I'm often constipated but have only just started taking magnesium so will watch out for the extra benefits.
maddysmom2015 angieB48
Posted
There are the KEDA vitamins, potassium, (Vit K) Vit E, Vit D and Vit A that are called 'fat soluable' vitamins. Unlike water soluable vitamins, like B which go in with any fluid and get eliminated that way too, the KEDA must be taken with a fat to get absorbed.
I found that when I took my Vit D on an empty stomach or with vegetables, not much happened with my hair. Now, as embarassing as it is, I take my fat soluable vitamins like D and E with 1/2 hamburger to make sure they get in. Things are way better.
With hair, I had to be very patient. There are 3 hair cycles, the growing, resting and shedding phase. Each lasts about 2-3 months. So if you are going through a shed right now, improvement will be visible in about 6-9 months. You can see the little hairs growing in the front. That is a good sign!
angieB48 maddysmom2015
Posted
Haha. Loving the hamburger routine. Well that might explain why I don't see much improvement. I'll have these vitamins at lunch instead with something high in fat. Thanks for the advice. As I have shoulder length hair it tends to take me over a year to see noticeable results to full length but my hair does grow fast.
debbie12340 maddysmom2015
Posted
Hi Maddy,
Thank you so much for your reply. It's so kind of you to take the time to give me so much useful information. I'd love to brainstorm some more. Shall I give you my e mail, it might be easier than on here ? x
maddysmom2015 debbie12340
Posted
Hi Debbie,
You can just click on my picture icon and there will be an option to message me. We can email through the site and decide what is easier. I don't want you to post your personal email for the pharma companies to find!
XXOO