Does Hair Loss Stop When On G.f. Diet?

[kerrygirl15]

I know this is only a small issue but I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced hair loss with celiac disease and if so does it improve with the gluten-free diet?I had really long hair down to my waist until I was 17.Had chemo,radiation etc at 17,18 so lost it all.At 19 it finally started growing back after treatment.I'm 22 now and it's nearly down to my waist again but it's really really thin and is coming out in clumps.When I have a shower the shower gets blocked because of all the hair that falls out.When I get up in the morning my hair is all over the pillow.I put my fingers through my hair and so much comes out.I really don't want to cut it because it took so long for it to grow back but I'm really embarrassed now about it so I probably will have to cut it.I'm afraid if I cut it it won't grow back?Is the hair loss due to celiac or is it something else?Maybe it's the ms meds?If anyone could suggest anything that might help that would be great thanks.Again I know this is only a small issue but I really don't want to be bald again!

[cristiana]

Hi again Kerrygirl.  I have been told that iron anemia can be responsible for hair loss.  I certainly lost a lot when I was anemic, I got quite a shock when I saw how much I had lost.  It has got better - although I never had the thickest hair in the first place, but definitely, there has been an improvement.

[kerrygirl15]

Ok,thanks Christiana.Hopefully when my bloods improve my hair will too.It's not the most important thing right now anyway.Thanks again

[nvsmom]

Many celiacs find that hair thickness improves after a couple of months gluten-free.  Mine did too, but I have other autoimmune problems so I still go through bouts of hair loss a few times a year (I'm not anemic at all or have any vitamin deficiencies).  

 

I tend to wear my hair in a short bob, and straight, to disguise the loss of hair.  I can't wear bangs because they would be too thin.  Sometimes I let my hair grow out a bit but then I resort to ponytails to disguise the thin spots... My ponytail is probably smaller than a dime.  

 

Some members found BioSil was a helpful supplement for getting hair back.  Could be something to try.

 

Give it a month or two before you worry though.  I do remember being gluten-free about 2-3 months and having patches of 1 inch long hair re-growing up out of the top of my head.  It just took a few months to get there.  

[HauntedEyes]

I have been gluten free for about 3 years, except for a few months last year when I decided to get extra testing so needed to do a gluten challenge. I've had a big problem with losing lots of hair, most noticeable in the drain after I shower (enough to block the drain each morning, then still a handful in the hair brush afterward). However, at the start of this year I started using PatchMD vitamins (a vitamin supplement that is a patch, so totally bypasses the digestive tract and goes through the skin directly into the bloodstream, a big plus for a celiac who is still healing up). I can't say for sure how truly well the patch works scientifically because I haven't had any blood testing to confirm, so can only say how I have observed my health improving while on the patch. 

 

When first starting the patch, after being on it for a while I just happened to notice I wasn't having to clean lots of hair out of the shower drain. Then there was about a month I ran out of patches and had to wait to order more. The time period I was without the patch, my hair loss in the shower started up again. When I received more of the patch, my hair loss stopped again within a couple weeks. I stopped a couple weeks and started up again to confirm, and had the same results. So for me, for sure, the hair loss is malnutrition/malabsorption from celiac. And after several months on the patch, my hair is growing longer, faster, without the scraggliness and breakage I had in the past. 

 

I've also noticed much healthier looking fingernails and toenails, and my skin and complexion look and feel much better. My facial skin had been really dry the last few years, but I've noticed with my patch supplements my skin is getting oilier again (not oily in the bad way that promotes acne, etc., but the healthy way that your skin naturally takes care of itself). 

 

The last two months, I've also managed to feel alert, more energetic and awake throughout the entire workday, which is something I have not experienced in more than 20 years. And the brain fog is slowly going away.

 

So, yes, I do think the malnutrition caused by celiac disease can cause hair loss and the proper combination of nutrients can help. For me, most of the various multi-vitamin pills just don't work ... they make me vomit, and I just don't think I absorb them correctly. Besides gluten, I am also intolerant to soy, corn, potato, rice, dairy, and eggs, which in one way or another are used as binders or fillers in the various vitamin pills and probably are what causes me to vomit them. The PatchMD vitamin patches have helped me a lot -- at least for hair, skin, nails, energy/alertness, and mental clarity. I take their multi-vitamin patch, the Vitamin D/Calcium patch, and the B-complex patch. I still have not experienced the brighter yellow urine a person will get when you've taken too much Vitamin C or the B vitamins, so I don't think I've overdone the B's yet. If my urine winds up becoming yellower, I'll stop the B-complex, since I'll assume that will be a sign I'm finally getting enough B from my food ... but for now I'm not getting that so I believe I still need the extra B's.

[kerrygirl15]

Thanks everyone for your detailed answers.As it turns out I am having high dose chemo at the moment so I have lost 90% of my hair again .In a day or too it'll all be gone.Hopefully other people will benefit for your answers.Thanks again.