Low B12/Folate Hairloss...

[Sarahlouise1980]

Can low b12 and folate cause hair loss?

I've been blaming my thyroid but my blood tests are good.

Thank You...

[greygoose]

Hair-loss can be due to many, many things. Mine was mainly due to low ferritin/iron, but all my other deficiencies didn't help. There's no way of actually knowing, we just have to try things to see what helps.

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to greygoose]

Thank you greygoose,

My most recent results are:

TSH 0.005 (0.38 - 5.00)

Free T4 17.0 (7.00-16.00)

Free T3 5.8 (3.9-6.00)

My results have been the same or around the same for over three years with no hairloss.

Ferritin 108 (Range goes up to 200)

Again my ferritin has always been around this level.

I tested negative for the intrinsic factor so am now starting to supplement folic acid and vitamin b12 as they were low. I am also on loading doses of vitamin D.

I keep trying to blame my thyroid for my hairloss as it started after a reduction from 150mcg after daily headaches but since increasing back to 150mcg the daily headaches are back so i think 125mcg is the right amount for me.

(I had to reduce my levo from 150mcg back to 125mcg after i stopped taking sertraline. I think it was me starting sertraline that increased my need for levothyroxing several years earlier)

[greygoose in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

It would be better if you took a B complex containing methylfolate with your B12, rather than just folic acid. The Bs all work together so need to be kept balanced. And that will give you biotin, which is good for skin and hair. But, remember to stop the B complex one week before any blood test, because the biotin can skew the results.

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to greygoose]

Thank you greygoose the gp has given me 5mg folic acid, should i not take them? Also do my most recent bloods look okay?

[greygoose in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

Well, I wouldn't take them, I'd get my own. Did your GP also prescribe you B12? What exactly did he prescribe? How much?

Your results look good. But, how do you feel with those levels?

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to greygoose]

A 5mg folic acid tablet daily and 50mcg x 3 cyanocobalamin tablets daily for three months and then retest. I've tried 1000mcg sublinguals but had an acne type skin rash so trying the lower dose to see if i can tolerate it.

I feel okay, its just the hairloss that's worrying me. I've lost a lot over the last 7 months.

I though it may have been because i reduced from 150mcg but i had headaches on the 150mcg that went away when i reduced. I've tried to go back to 150mcg and start with headaches again plus aren't my results good enough on the 125mcg?. I certainly don't think i'm undermedicated. Plus my gp keeps trying to reduce my dose down!

I am so worried as to the cause of this never ending hairloss!

[greygoose in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

Ah, ok, if the normal type of B12 we take brings you out in a rash, that makes things more complicated. But, I imagine that your B12 has been low for a long time - it doesn't happen over-night - so possibly not the cause of your hair-loss.

So, those results were on 125 mcg? If so, then you probably don't need 150 mcg anyway. Your FT3 would have been over the top of the range on 150 mcg, and that can be as bad as having it too low. It's all trial and error to find the right dose for you.

You're obviously not a very good converter, in that you need your FT4 over-range, in order to get enough T3. It's T3 that causes symptoms when it's too high or too low. But very few doctors actually know that. I expect your doctor wants to reduce your dose because of your low TSH, because he doesn't understand how that works, either. Have you tried going any lower than 125 mcg?

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to greygoose]

Yes i tried reducing to 112.5mcg and the hairloss was worse. Also 100mcg and it still got worse. I'm so confused should i keep on the 150mcg to see if the hair loss stops? The only thing i had done differently before the hair loss started was reduce my levo from 150mcg to 125mcg. I reduced at the end of January, then i had a blood test in the middle of march results :

Tsh 0.005 (0.38-5.00)

Free T4 16.00 (7.00-16.00)

Free T3 5.1 (3.8-6.00)

Then the hairloss started in the middle of April and hasn't stopped since.

[greygoose in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

So, it wouldn't appear to have anything to do with your dose, then. I'm afraid I really don't have any other ideas. Unless you could possibly try reducing your levo and adding in some T3.

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to greygoose]

B12 was at 119 when the bottom of the range is 150. Folate was also under range.

[greygoose in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

Have you ever had B12 injections? I should think you ought to, with such a low result!

[Sarahlouise1980 in reply to greygoose]

I tested negative for the intrinsic factor so am trying tablets first. So low b12 won't be the cause of my hairloss??

[greygoose in reply to Sarahlouise1980]

No-one can say that for certain, but even if it isn't, you still need to bring that level up.

And, just because you don't have pernicious anemia, doesn't mean you won't benefit from B12 shots - especially as the tablets don't suit you. That should have been the first thing to try, to bring up desperately low levels quickly.