Hair Loss And Misscarraiges/baby Died With Anencephaly

[jennifervan]

I was just wondering if anyone has heard of hairloss as a symptom.

I have the mark on my Dna for celiac. I have been gluten free since Dec 26 2005. My hair still falls out once in a while (not as bad as before). How long do you think it will be till I will be better?

In addition I was wondering if anyone has hear of a connection with miscarraiges and or higher levels either spinal bifida or anencephaly with children of Celiacs. I had two healthy pregnancies, then two miscarraiges at 6- 7 weeks pregnant. Finally, we had a son who lived five days and died due to Anencephaly. This was all before I was diagnosed with Celiac . I know that lack of folic acid invitro can cause spinal bifida and anencephaly (which is the opposite of spinal bifida) so I was wondering if there have been any studies that show a connection with Celiac?

Thanks,

Jennifer

[Guest nini]

sorry for your losses, unfortunately YES, there is a connection between undiagnosed Celiac and miscarriages and birth defects. I had 2 miscarriages prior to my dx.

I also had hair loss... my husband used to freak out about it and thought it was from all the years of coloring my hair, but alas, it was from being undiagnosed. I have been gluten-free for almost 3 years now and my hair is finally starting to stop falling out in clumps. It takes time, but it does get better. I can't remember where I found the studies of the links between celiac and miscarriages and such, but it's out there... google around and I'm sure you will find it.

[Carriefaith]

I'm sorry

Miscarriage and hair loss are connected to celiac disease. I personally had more than normal hair loss when I was really sick.

[Guest BERNESES]

Jennifer- I'm so sorry about your losses. That must have been very difficult. I asked my doctor about Celiac's and miscarriages and she said that once you go gluten-free you have the same rates as everyone else. If you are undiagnosed, you have a much higher rate of miscarriage.

[mouse]

I was only able to carry one child to term. The two pregancy's after her, resulted in miscarriages. The first at about 7 weeks and the second one at 6 months. The last one was the hardest to bear emotionally. This was almost 40 years ago and I had never even heard of Celiac. And yes there is a big possibility of this being a result of celiac disease. In Italy they test every women for celiac disease, who has one difficult pregancy or miscarriage. I am so sorry about your losses. They are so rough to bear, but things do get better. Just give yourself plenty of time.

[Ursa Major]

As everybody else says, yes to all your questions. I had eight miscarriages before I finally gave up wanting a brother or sister close in age to our youngest, who is six years younger than the rest, due to miscarriages (she should have been a twin, too, and I lost the twin). Nobody could find the cause. Now I know why I had those.

My mother (who undoubtedly had Celiac disease) had five miscarriages before the first live birth, who was early and lived a week, and lost one at six months in between her eight kids. My sister (another undiagnosed Celiac if I ever saw one) had three miscarriages, one at three months, twins at six months, and the last one died inside of her at eight months, after which she got her tubes tied, and later had a hysterectomy.

I am very sorry about all your losses, I know how hard it is, and you never really forget. But maybe, after being gluten free for a couple of years, you will be able to have a normal pregnancy.

[maxcarr]

Hi Jennifer, sorry you've had such a tough time with this. I was diagnosed at 40, after having three kids, no miscarriages, thankfully. I did have hair loss, which continued after a year of being gluten-free, then I realized my thyroid levels were changing as my body healed. I have hypothyroidism, and adjusting that level helped my hairloss alot. Good Luck.

[GC1]

What a sobering thread... guess us men don't think about these things like we should. One can only imagine the number of people who have poorer health because a (or both) parent is Celiac...

Sorry to hear of you women having this happen to you... it really is more important to spread the word [about Celiac] than we might sometimes think!

GC

[jennifervan]

Thanks for all of your kind words. We are in the process of adopting a little girl. We did have two sons biologically that were healthy but early. I just wish I would have known about the connection with celiac and miscarraiges and birth defects before. I am blessed to have found out now.

I have never felt better in my life since being gluten free these past 2 months .

Thanks for your support,

Jennifer

[sspitzer5]

I was just wondering if anyone has heard of hairloss as a symptom.

I have the mark on my Dna for celiac. I have been gluten free since Dec 26 2005. My hair still falls out once in a while (not as bad as before). How long do you think it will be till I will be better?

In addition I was wondering if anyone has hear of a connection with miscarraiges and or higher levels either spinal bifida or anencephaly with children of Celiacs. I had two healthy pregnancies, then two miscarraiges at 6- 7 weeks pregnant. Finally, we had a son who lived five days and died due to Anencephaly. This was all before I was diagnosed with Celiac . I know that lack of folic acid invitro can cause spinal bifida and anencephaly (which is the opposite of spinal bifida) so I was wondering if there have been any studies that show a connection with Celiac?

Thanks,

Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,

I'm very sorry to hear about the miscarriages.

Hairloss is also a symptom of low thyroid. I'd check with your primary care physician and have them do a blood workup. Women with thyroid problems also tend to have more miscarriages. And, Celiac and thyroid problems seem to go hand in hand.

S

[Guest nini]

Hi Jennifer,

I'm very sorry to hear about the miscarriages.

Hairloss is also a symptom of low thyroid. I'd check with your primary care physician and have them do a blood workup. Women with thyroid problems also tend to have more miscarriages. And, Celiac and thyroid problems seem to go hand in hand.

S

I had low thyroid before going gluten-free, but ONLY 6 MONTHS after starting the diet, my thyroid levels were completely normal.

[key]

Jennifer,

I am sorry to hear about your losses. I can only imagine how hard it must be.

I had undiagnosed celiac with my 3 kids. My oldest son had a birth defect called "sagittal Craniosynostosis" and required several surgeries on his skull bones to fix his mishapen head. He is fine now and looks beautiful, but the surgeries were depressing and hard to deal with. Then my second child was born without problems and then my third son has something called Neurofibromatosis1, which is a genetic disease and then on top of that he has Celiac and that is how I found out I had it. He too looks normal, other then being very small, but he is smart and doing well so far. It is more of a problem usually once he hits his teen years and it may affect him more, but 60% if cases if NF1 are mild. So we are hoping it only affects him this way. It is a hard disease to explain, but I feel it was caused by my undiagnosed celiac.

Anyway, take care and this site has alot of information.

Monica

[Guest BERNESES]

Monica- I'm so sorry about the difficulties you've experienced. I hope things get better for you and your family.

Jennifer- that's so great that you are in the process of adopting! I was adopted and it was the best thing that ever happened to me.

[key]

Jennifer,

Congratulations on adopting. I am considering adopting a little girl someday. I haven't looked into it much, but I have three boys. I would love to have a little girl, but all that we have been through with kids with health issues and then my health not being 100% makes me nervous to be pregnant again. I am waiting to see how I feel in a year.

Good luck and glad you are feeling better.

Monica

[bluelotus]

I am so sorry about everyone's loss - those of you that have lost a baby. That must be hard (I haven't tried yet, so I wouldn't know, but can imagine).

About hair loss - yes!! As everyone has said, this is a very common symptom, even young children with celiac disease might have hair loss, not just women. I have been gluten-free for over a year, with plenty of accidental glutenings, so I haven't had much time to heal, but when I have been gluten-free for an extended period, my hair loss gets better. I am also on Target brand rogaine, with the hope that it would help. It doesn't and now I am afraid to stop b/c I don't want my hair to get worse. Grrrrr. Anyone else with this problem? My dermatologist said that I could try stopping it, but said I could go either way.