Hair thinning and bruising.

[tradkita]

Hello all. I’ve been on injections (now weekly) for the past 9 months. Lots of my neurological symptoms are nearly gone with my current regime. That said, the past few months I seem to be loosing a lot of hair and bruising fairly easy. Does this sound like another vitamin deficiency or are these B12 related issues? Is it odd that they’ve progressed while my neuro symptoms are better? Seeing a GI soon so hopefully I’ll get some answers.

[Nackapan]

I had hair loss when my ferritin levels dropped. I think lack of vitamin k can make tih bruise more easily.

Worth looking this yk tk start with.

Good news your symptoms have improved so much. Wonderful.

[JanD236]

My hair has been thinning for quite a while now despite other B12d symptoms being much improved (apart from tinnitus).

I don’t have bruising though and think you should ask for this to be investigated.

[Litatamon]

Could be a vitamin d deficiency.

[tradkita in reply to Litatamon]

I haven’t had that tested. I’ll look into it.

[Sleepybunny]

Hi,

Have you had iron , folate and Vitamin D levels checked recently?

Have you had any thyroid tests? Losing hair can be associated with thyroid problems.

In UK, doctors often only tests TSH and there are other thyroid tests they can do.

I suggest you put any thyroid results on Thyroid UK forum on HU.

[tradkita in reply to Sleepybunny]

I had my thyroid tested prior to injections and all was normal. Iron and folate are good but I haven’t tested Vit D. I’ll look there.

[jillc39]

Goodness I had never associated my b12 fortnightly injections with thinning hair. So pleased that many of my neuro symptoms have almost vanished I hadn't thought to associate it with my hair. oh dear,I am sure my gp wont believe me - she has no time for b12d anyway.

[tradkita in reply to jillc39]

I’m not so sure it’s B12 related as it has started months after my treatment. That is unless it’s a new symptom.

[JanD236 in reply to tradkita]

If you’re testing vit D you could ask for zinc too as low zinc can give rise to hair loss. Mine was one above the bottom of the range so I don’t know how much, if at all, that’s implicated in my thinning hair.

[Cherylclaire Forum Support]

Although premature greying and hair loss are often listed as a B12 deficiency symptoms, and I've seen evidence on videos of original-colour hair regrowth once B12 injections were administered at correct dose, there are probably not many GPs that have had that access.

My GP checks my ferritin and folate if my hair starts frizzing up and then falling out in webby handfuls, which it still does from time to time. It does seem to be a balancing act between B12, ferritin and folate where the ferritin and folate need to be in top 1/3 of range. GP says ferritin should be above 60 ug/L for symptoms to go, consultants have said they are happier if it's at 80 ug/L. After 4 years of trying to get the right balance and keep it (which is the hard bit), I think I'm pretty much there. Hair intact and grey just time-served I think.

She now regularly checks these - although obviously not the B12 any more - just to ensure high but not too high and no signs of plummeting these days. It really made no difference what I ate, I needed supplements.

Sleepybunny is right: vitamin D and thyroid need checking also. Because NHS usually check only TSH and T4 generally, you might want to consider doing a private postal blood-test initially for full panel thyroid results. I had one done for £59 which worked out at around £10 for each of the tests- quite reasonable I thought. Thyroid UK can help interpret if you post results.

My thyroid was okay (but signs of struggling at the time) but my vitamin D is now on prescription because of osteoporosis of the spine- this was Dexascan-checked and flagged up only because I broke both shoulders - one 10 years after the other, not (luckily) both together !

Don't think I've ever had zinc checked, but since you're asking for the others, might as well.

Good luck.

[linkays]

Have you had your thyroid checked? That can cause hair loss, dry skin, fatique and more.

[tradkita in reply to linkays]

I haven’t since my PA labs. Having new labwork done soon.