[khennigan1]

Hi!

I'm a college student and was diagnosed with Celiac in June. Since then, my hair has dramatically thinned out, and has stopped growing. It's very concerning to me, and I want to remedy the problem ASAP. Has this happened to anyone else? Could it be a symptom of something else? I had my iron levels tested because I thought it could have to do with low iron but they weren't too bad. My doctor doesn't really seem to care but it's a problem that really bothers me. I'd appreciate any help anyone has!

Thanks,
K

[mushroom]

Hi, and welcome.

In addition to the iron, you need to be tested for other nutrient levelsl--Vit. D, B12, A, K, folate, are the most common deficiencies in celiacs. Many of us have problems with hair loss, and it is usually due to lack of the proper nutrients in the body. Even if some of these levels are low normal, they should still be supplemented because you may not be able to use all that is measured by the tests. I personally improved immensely on D, B12 (I had injections but you can get sublinguals that dissolve under the tongue), and folate, with a B complex and a multimineral to boot. All my levels were in the "normal" range but were at the very low end of normal.

[Brittany2]

Hello,
Another thing it could be from is your thyroid, problems with the thyroid can come up in association with celiac. So when you go to your doctor next insist for them to test the Free T4, Free T3, AB and TPO levels, that displays if you have enough thyroid hormone circulating through your body, since that can be a cause of hair loss as well. The first two are the Free hormones through your body, the other two are to see if your antibodies are attacking the thyroid preventing it from producing the proper amounts of hormones.

Maybe you can be extra safe and buy gluten free shampoos, surprisingly the gluten in some hair products can react to the scalp, I use dessert essence organics which clearly labels their products gluten free.

I'm also a college student and understand how you feel, my hair has considerably thinned and falls out daily which is so unnerving and annoying.
I hope you can figure it out! Have a happy holidays and nice break.