Hair loss and Gluten

[Farrah711]

Because of a Malabsortion finding on a lab test of my hair and a DNA test I have gone gluten free. I am 1 and a half in and my hair is coming out double the usual amount. I am female.

Would you say this is to be expected?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

 

[cyclinglady]

A celiac disease diagnosis usually involves antibodies testing (blood) and an endoscopy to obtain small intestinal biopsies.  About 35% of the population carries the genes that could develop into celiac disease but only a few do.  So, genetic testing is used to only rule out celiac disease, it is not used to diagnose it.  A lot of people have the celiac genes!  

But all celiac disease testing requires you to be on a daily gluten diet and you are already gluten free.  You can either stay the course and stick to the diet (which can take up to a year or longer to heal) or go back on gluten for 6 to 12 weeks and get tested. Times are crazy, so staying  gluten free for now (avoiding even gluten-free processed foods to insure you are eating healthy and getting proper nutrients), might be worth considering.  

But many diseases or even stress can cause hair loss.  Like some autoimmune disease like thyroid issues, alopecia, etc.   If you do not have celiac disease, the diet is not going to cure hair loss.  Even if you do have celiac disease, you can have concurrent autoimmune like alopecia, PCOS, or Hashimoto’s which can  require different treatments.  

Who did these tests?  What was the advice they gave?  

I wish I could be of more help.  

[mrsmjs]

9 hours ago, Farrah711 said:

Because of a Malabsortion finding on a lab test of my hair and a DNA test I have gone gluten free. I am 1 and a half in and my hair is coming out double the usual amount. I am female.

Would you say this is to be expected?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

 

I am coeliac and for the last 12 months I have been losing my hair at a far greater amount than before. My GP just said it was normal for my age (65), but I am not convinced. I'm also having trouble with my teeth, one front tooth just snapped off flush with the gum. I will watch this post and hopefully some kind person will respond  

[cyclinglady]

56 minutes ago, mrsmjs said:

I am coeliac and for the last 12 months I have been losing my hair at a far greater amount than before. My GP just said it was normal for my age (65), but I am not convinced. I'm also having trouble with my teeth, one front tooth just snapped off flush with the gum. I will watch this post and hopefully some kind person will respond  

Have you had celiac disease follow-up testing?  This includes running the antibodies testing again to see if your celiac disease is active or not?  Running annual deficiencies tests is also recommended.  Your thyroid should be checked as well.  You could have something like alopecia as once you have one autoimmune disorder, you can develop more (I have three!)

These are difficult times with COVID-19, so you might have to wait to see your doctor.  In the meantime, be extra careful and adhere to the gluten-free diet.

 

 

[GFinDC]

10 hours ago, mrsmjs said:

I am coeliac and for the last 12 months I have been losing my hair at a far greater amount than before. My GP just said it was normal for my age (65), but I am not convinced. I'm also having trouble with my teeth, one front tooth just snapped off flush with the gum. I will watch this post and hopefully some kind person will respond  

Welcome to the forum!

My uncle is 92 years old and his teeth haven't snapped off.  Except the ones that kind of rotted off due to chewbaccy use!  So I think your GP is mistaken. 

Celiac can cause malabsorption of nutrients.  So we can become low on minerals and vitamins that our bodies need to heal and maintain themselves.  Some people get low on minerals like boron and calcium, and some celiacs are low on Vitamin D.  All 3 of these are needed for proper bone health.  If you are not eating dairy it is important to get some other form of calcium and vitamin D.  Boron is a trace mineral but we still need to get some in our diets.

A good way to do the gluten-free diet is to stick with whole foods you cook yourself at home.  Avoid most processed foods and oats for 6 months or so.

Edited April 12, 2020 by GFinDC

[Farrah711]

12 hours ago, mrsmjs said:

I am coeliac and for the last 12 months I have been losing my hair at a far greater amount than before. My GP just said it was normal for my age (65), but I am not convinced. I'm also having trouble with my teeth, one front tooth just snapped off flush with the gum. I will watch this post and hopefully some kind person will respond  

I also have had teeth snap off.

On each occasion it was a front tooth. The dentist (I am a Dental Assistant) said he had never seen this happen.  Each tooth needed an implant. 42hundred  a tooth.

Both were crowns (caps).

I asked a hair loss question on this forum like you and it was almost like the person who answered had not even read the question. How long have u been gluten-free?

I had an endoscopy in 2011

Only gluten-free this year. I think maybe our hair gets worse before it gets better.

Good luck!

[cyclinglady]

1 hour ago, Farrah711 said:

I also have had teeth snap off.

On each occasion it was a front tooth. The dentist (I am a Dental Assistant) said he had never seen this happen.  Each tooth needed an implant. 42hundred  a tooth.

Both were crowns (caps).

I asked a hair loss question on this forum like you and it was almost like the person who answered had not even read the question. How long have u been gluten-free?

I had an endoscopy in 2011

Only gluten-free this year. I think maybe our hair gets worse before it gets better.

Good luck!

I think I tried to address your earlier question on another post.  

Symptoms can overlap in many illnesses.  Celiac disease has over 200 symptoms.  Dental issues and hair loss can be attributed to celiac disease.  But so can things like  hypothyroidism and Crohn’s.  Treatment is different for each illness.  I can not tell from the information you gave me as to whether or not you actually have celiac disease as the tests you had are not recognized by mainstream medical for celiac disease diagnostic protocol (you had hair analysis and DNA test). What did that endoscopy in 2011 reveal?  

If you do  have celiac disease, a gluten free diet can heal the small intestine improving nutritional deficiencies that can impact hair loss.  Once teeth are damaged, I am not sure they can be improved.  Maintaining dental health might be your only option (like good hygiene, avoiding hard foods, etc.)  If you have had undiagnosed celiac disease for years, some systemic damage can be permanent.  Some celiacs are non-responsive or refractory.  There is no healing without pharmaceutical intervention (if fortunate).  

I had some hair loss before my celiac disease diagnosis.  But I also was experiencing thyroiditis (both hyper and hypo).  Once my thyroid leveled out, my hair loss stopped.  My hair loss was not attributed directly to celiac disease, but to Hashimoto’s which is linked to celiac disease.  

I see my dentist ever three months.  I had a snapped tooth years ago (from a carrot), so no raw hard veggies, nuts, hard candy, etc. for me.   I also have osteoporosis from celiac disease.  I try to eat a healthy nutritionally-dense diet to combat that issue and exercise.  

There is no easy solution for healing from celiac disease.  Everyone is different.  

For those who are new to the gluten-free diet, most members report taking up to a year or longer to heal.  It all depends on a variety of variables such as the extent of your damage, age, mastering the diet, concurrent illnesses, etc.  For example, my hubby was gluten free for 12 years prior to my diagnosis.  I already mastered the diet, so I did not make mistakes.  I spent the first year healing from fractures, identifying new intolerances (e.g. Xanthan Gum), stabilizing my thyroid, going through menopause, etc.  It took me a year to really feel good. 

Finally, any abrupt changes in your diet can cause issues.  But actually going gluten free should not cause hair loss )unless maybe you live off of junk food).  Maybe the stress of remaining gluten free or not getting the appropriate nutrients in your new diet could be contributing to your hair loss.  

Edited April 12, 2020 by cyclinglady

[Awol cast iron stomach]

On 4/11/2020 at 1:42 PM, Farrah711 said:

Because of a Malabsortion finding on a lab test of my hair and a DNA test I have gone gluten free. I am 1 and a half in and my hair is coming out double the usual amount. I am female.

Would you say this is to be expected?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

 

My personal experience is yes. I get increased hair shedding. I do not get large clumps, but increased hair shedding overall. Even after being gluten free if I inadvertently get cc I experience gi, skin eruption, and hair loss. 

[Dan581]

I have celiac, confirmed a little over 9 years ago. My hair started falling out, and no one in my family has hair loss. I see a dermatologist for PRP therapy and it has stopped and even slowly reversed my hair loss. I know it won't all come back, but I am happy it stopped falling out. Of course, I have to pay for this. Insurance would laugh at me if I tried to get them to pay. 

[Farrah711]

On 4/16/2020 at 5:30 AM, Dan581 said:

I have celiac, confirmed a little over 9 years ago. My hair started falling out, and no one in my family has hair loss. I see a dermatologist for PRP therapy and it has stopped and even slowly reversed my hair loss. I know it won't all come back, but I am happy it stopped falling out. Of course, I have to pay for this. Insurance would laugh at me if I tried to get them to pay. 

Thank you Dan

Were you gluten-free when your hair started to fall out ?