Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Hair Loss...?

AJoy

By AJoy
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

AJoy Rookie
AJoy
Posted

I am new at this and have been seeing a lot about hair loss lately. Since I can remember I have been a profuse shedder - especially in the shower. I don't have bald spots or anything of the sort and unfortunately haven't ever noticed any thinning either. I always thought this to be somewhat normal for a girl with ultra thick long hair - is this in fact what people mean by hair loss in relation to celiac disease? I also had my thyroid checked when I was originally tested for Celiac about a month ago and it came back normal.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


AnnaR Newbie
AnnaR
Posted

I am new at this and have been seeing a lot about hair loss lately. Since I can remember I have been a profuse shedder - especially in the shower. I don't have bald spots or anything of the sort and unfortunately haven't ever noticed any thinning either. I always thought this to be somewhat normal for a girl with ultra thick long hair - is this in fact what people mean by hair loss in relation to celiac disease? I also had my thyroid checked when I was originally tested for Celiac about a month ago and it came back normal.

I have long hair (just past shoulders) and was losing handfuls of hair in the shower before I got my celiac diagnosis. I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis so it could be related to that, but the hair loss was one of my first problems to leave when I started the gluten free diet!

jess-gf Explorer
jess-gf
Posted

My hair stylist noticed this about my hair too a few months ago. I think over the past year I've just been slowly loosing hair whenever I wash it or comb or brush it, regardless of knots. Fortunately I have a ton of hair and nobody really notices it except for me and my hair lady. I'm just assuming it was from malnutrition and I'm hoping that soon it will go away.

SGWhiskers Collaborator
SGWhiskers
Posted

I also have long thick hair. I think long thick dark hair is just more noticable wrapped around a ponytail, on the bathroom floor, or in the shower drain. I never noticed thinning patches or clumps of hair falling out while on gluten. 3 months after going gluten free, my hair in the front center of my head started getting thin and my hairdresser commented on the amount of hair I was loosing. It turns out that after your body goes through a major stressor (illness, pregnancy, environmental, and aparently for me starting a gluten-free diet), the hair roots shift together into a neutral non-growing state. Then 3 months later, they naturally fall out and start the process of growing new hairs. It is a normal process that all the hairs on your head go through at some time or another, but usually not all at once. My thyroid is fine, and the hair grew back. I just went for a side part or pulled back while the hair was recovering. Now, I'm pregnant and my hair has stopped falling out almost entirely. I expect that after the 3 month dormancy period, my hair will be falling out in handfuls again. Probably just about time for delivery.

Get your thyroid tested, but if that is negative and you don't have other issues, consider waiting 6-9 months for the new growth to fill in. Buy one of those thick headbands. I got lots of compliments.

Bella001 Explorer
Bella001
Posted

I am new at this and have been seeing a lot about hair loss lately. Since I can remember I have been a profuse shedder - especially in the shower. I don't have bald spots or anything of the sort and unfortunately haven't ever noticed any thinning either. I always thought this to be somewhat normal for a girl with ultra thick long hair - is this in fact what people mean by hair loss in relation to celiac disease? I also had my thyroid checked when I was originally tested for Celiac about a month ago and it came back normal.

Yes, I had hair loss. I have long think and curly hair. I will also have some loss but it was getting out of control for a while before I figured out what was wrong with me and went gluten-free. Hair loss has slowed big time but when I get glutened, it's back with full force.

Ivy Rookie
Ivy
Posted

I am new at this and have been seeing a lot about hair loss lately. Since I can remember I have been a profuse shedder - especially in the shower. I don't have bald spots or anything of the sort and unfortunately haven't ever noticed any thinning either. I always thought this to be somewhat normal for a girl with ultra thick long hair - is this in fact what people mean by hair loss in relation to celiac disease? I also had my thyroid checked when I was originally tested for Celiac about a month ago and it came back normal.

I have had handfuls of hair during shampooing. Apparently for me it's alopecia. Probably related to my fibromyalgia, or not, who knows? I have yet to have any bald spots, and it does seem to grow back. Shedding seasons just seem to be extreme sometimes. I have found two things helpful. Vitamins (B's including sublingual methylcobalamin) and monitoring my stress levels. Also quit using shampoos with SLS and excessive alcohols.

tea-and-crumpets Explorer
tea-and-crumpets
Posted

I had a lot of hair loss, also thanks to PCOS. I started eating gluten-free a couple of months ago and I am tentatively encouraged that my hair is growing back, but I'm not quite sure yet.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

Hair will grow back and your fingernails will get stronger and better, the longer you are on the gluten free diet. B)

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Hair loss for me has been a constant for years, with illness, with antibiotic use, and then really bad for no particular reason, I thought. Turns out it was gluten. My hair became very thin and sparse around my front hairline, like a lol, and I thought, heck, I'm not that old. Since gluten free it has grown back in again.

jessicalw28 Apprentice
jessicalw28
Posted

I have thick, curly hair and have always noticed that it seems like it sheds more than normal. I wasn't sure if it was anything to worry about or not. I always seem to have a lot of hair get caught in my brush and have to clean the shower drain every day. My fiance is always picking stray hairs off of my clothes. I'm just starting my journey with the gluten free diet, so hopefully it will help. It never looks like my hair is missing, but it does make a mess.

jebby Enthusiast
jebby
Posted

I lost a ton of hair when I first started to get sick, it started to grow back after about 3 or 4 months of being gluten free and is now back to normal. My fingernails grow much faster now too.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,677
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Nancy Magil
    Newest Member
    Nancy Magil
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Rejoicephd
      Draft gluten-free ciders… can they be trusted ?

      By Rejoicephd · Posted

      That and my nutritionist also said that drinking cider is one of the worst drink choices for me, given that I have candida overgrowth.  She said the combination of the alcohol and sugar would be very likely to worsen my candida problem.  She suggested that if I drink, I go for clear vodka, either neat or with a splash of cranberry.   So in summary, I am giving ciders a rest.  Whether it's a gluten risk or sugars and yeast overgrowth, its just not worth it.
    • Inkie
      Tea Bags and Gluten

      By Inkie · Posted

      Thank you for the information ill will definitely bring it into practice .
    • Scott Adams
      Tea Bags and Gluten

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      While plain, pure tea leaves (black, green, or white) are naturally gluten-free, the issue often lies not with the tea itself but with other ingredients or processing. Many flavored teas use barley malt or other gluten-containing grains as a flavoring agent, which would be clearly listed on the ingredient label. Cross-contamination is another possibility, either in the facility where the tea is processed or, surprisingly, from the tea bag material itself—some tea bags are sealed with a wheat-based glue. Furthermore, it's important to consider that your reaction could be to other substances in tea, such as high levels of tannins, which can be hard on the stomach, or to natural histamines or other compounds that can cause a non-celiac immune response. The best way to investigate is to carefully read labels for hidden ingredients, try switching to a certified gluten-free tea brand that uses whole leaf or pyramid-style bags, and see if the reaction persists.
    • Scott Adams
      Inconclusive results

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      This is a challenging and confusing situation. The combination of a positive EMA—which is a highly specific marker rarely yielding false positives—alongside strongly elevated TTG on two separate occasions, years apart, is profoundly suggestive of celiac disease, even in the absence of biopsy damage. This pattern strongly aligns with what is known as "potential celiac disease," where the immune system is clearly activated, but intestinal damage has not yet become visible under the microscope. Your concern about the long-term risk of continued gluten consumption is valid, especially given your family's experience with the consequences of delayed diagnosis. Since your daughter is now at an age where her buy-in is essential for a gluten-free lifestyle, obtaining a definitive answer is crucial for her long-term adherence and health. Given that she is asymptomatic yet serologically positive, a third biopsy now, after a proper 12-week challenge, offers the best chance to capture any microscopic damage that may have developed, providing the concrete evidence needed to justify the dietary change. This isn't about wanting her to have celiac; it's about wanting to prevent the insidious damage that can occur while waiting for symptoms to appear, and ultimately giving her the unambiguous "why" she needs to accept and commit to the necessary treatment. This article might be helpful. It breaks down each type of test, and what a positive results means in terms of the probability that you might have celiac disease. One test that always needs to be done is the IgA Levels/Deficiency Test (often called "Total IGA") because some people are naturally IGA deficient, and if this is the case, then certain blood tests for celiac disease might be false-negative, and other types of tests need to be done to make an accurate diagnosis. The article includes the "Mayo Clinic Protocol," which is the best overall protocol for results to be ~98% accurate.    
    • Scott Adams
      Medication

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Welcome to the community! Generally, for a gluten challenge before celiac disease blood tests, Tylenol (acetaminophen) is considered safe and should not interfere with your antibody results. The medications you typically need to avoid are those like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) that can cause intestinal irritation, which could potentially complicate the interpretation of an endoscopy if you were to have one. However, it is absolutely crucial that you confirm this with either your gastroenterologist or your surgeon before your procedure. They know the specifics of your case and can give you the definitive green light, ensuring your surgery is comfortable and your celiac testing remains accurate. Best of luck with your surgery tomorrow
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.