Comments for Hair loss in women and low vitamin D

Hair Loss in Women
by: Kerri Knox, RN-The Immune Health Queen!

Hi Judith,

There hasn't been really anything showing that hair loss is related to Vitamin D Levels. Although, theoretically it could be that the decreased absorption of calcium is causing less building of hair- which does contain calcium. But I could find no evidence of this- although the OPPOSITE was true- women who have excess body hair tend to have higher bone mineral densities, but that may be due to hormonal influences rather than calcium.

But lack of enough calcium to build body tissues with is not always easy to find because blood calcium levels have a way of staying stubbornly within normal range despite even rather severe conditions that lead to bone loss and osteoporosis.

So, it's possible that Vitamin D Levels would be a better indicator of inadequate calcium being absorbed than Blood Calcium Levels would be anyway.

But back to hair loss. The only real conclusive findings about hair loss in women is that it is due to iron and lysine deficiency. But iron is NOT something that you take unless you have a clinical iron deficiency. And the definitive test for this is a serum ferritin level- not just a complete blood count.

Ferritin is a better test of iron stores than is a regular complete blood count- so ask your doctor for a serum ferritin level and get treated for iron deficiency only if you truly have it.

But if you have Vitamin D Deficiency AND it turns out that you are anemic, it's likely that you have OTHER nutritional deficiencies that just have not been caught due to the inability of most blood tests to test for them.

So, you may want to consider getting comprehensive Test for Vitamin Deficiencies with the Organix profile. It can tell you the status of most of your B vitamins, your fatty acids and much much more. Check out the Organix profile and find out what YOU'RE missing.

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

hair loss, Vit. D and thyroid.
by: Della

From my experience, being hypothyroid caused a lot of hair loss.

When my hypothyroid is under control, some hair came back in. When I started on Vit.D 50,000 IUs per week my hair really started coming back in and it was brown instead of gray!

My sister also had the same experience.

Hair Loss in Women and Vitamin D
by: Kerri Knox, RN-The Immune Health Queen!

Wow! That's great to know Della. Hypothyroid that is not controlled can definitely cause hair loss. But as for MANY problems, simply no one is LOOKING to see if Vitamin D Deficiency even COULD be the cause!

But it is amazing what you find when you look for it. I hope that we can get a collection of stories about Vitamin D Deficiency regrowing hair in women. Men's hair loss is another matter that seems to depend more upon hormonal influences.

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

Hair Loss and Vitamin D Deficientcy too
by: Dorothy

I like this lady have been diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency and I have hypothyroidism. I'm taking 75mg of synthroid which was increased from 50 mg about 3 wks ago because levels were in the low range. Also, my hair start falling out at the crown of my head.

My doctor prescribed Vitamin D 15,000 units. I take once a week for 8 wks. Then I go for a blook test to see if level have come up. So now...It seem I may not have enough calcium in my body. My endo doctor did say I was border line anemic as well. Oh...I forgot to mention I have Crohn's Disease.

Please advise.

Low vitamin d and hair..
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

OK. So, you have vitamin d deficiency, anemia, hypothyroidism, low calcium in your body, your hair is falling out and you have Crohn's Disease!! That is a LOT of health problems!!

While in our society it seems like everyone has this many problems, this is NOT normal and means that there is an underlying problem that is CAUSING these problems that your doctors are just not addressing.

And it could be that ONE thing is the primary problem (with some other more minor issues on top of that). But I can almost GUARANTEE that you have severe Increased Intestinal Permeability that is almost certainly caused by Gluten Sensitivity and potentially other food allergies as well.

Dorothy, you are really quite sick!! You are NOT absorbing your nutrients in your intestinal tract and that is a HUGE problem!!

If you would like to start getting better, you need to really make sure that you read those pages that I referred you to and see if that makes sense for you and to decide if you are ready to be making some serious dietary changes.

Let me know because I'll be happy to help, but you have to make a serious decision to start taking your health into your own hands.

Kerri Knox RN Immune Health Queen

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

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Hair Loss vs Vitamin D
by: Kameron Bybee

Hi! I'm a 33-year old gal who has been losing hair at a rapid rate for about 5 years now. I had two babies right in a row (17 months apart, so not TOO close), and my hair did start falling out more rapidly after that, as is pretty common. However, it didn't stop, and increased. I see a naturopath, who recommended a comprehensive blood work-up (lipid panel, thyroid panel, CBC, chem panel, and Vitamin D).

Through my OB/GYN (don't really have a general dr) we got the blood work ordered, and results came back this morning. Everything is perfect, including cholesterol, EXCEPT the Vitamin D. My level is 25, and the recommended range (which they now are saying is too low itself) is 30-100. So I'm pretty low if they raise it, and that's a pretty wide range!

My fingers are crossed for a connection here, because if I can get a good Vitamin D3 supplement going (my OB's recommendation) and fix this hair loss, I'd greatly appreciate it. 33's a little young for going bald! (Though my paternal grandma was bald by 40... so genetics are definitely at play.)

Average female (early 30's)
by: Marissa

I can't say I agree with the answer that was provided. I too did research and couldn't find any "real" facts on like medical websites stating hair loss is related to Vit D deficiency. HOWEVER, a few months ago, I noticed a lot more than usual amount of hair was falling off on me especially in the shower. I have long hair like most women and losing hair while showering and brushing it is common but this was A LOT more than usual - not patches but just A LOT! I couldn't figure out why. A couple of months later, I got my annual at my dr's and I as Vit D deficient (and so was my husband). He was prescribed a high dosage for two weeks then just daily vit D pills but I only needed to start taking a vit D pill every day - so nothing extreme. AND within a couple of weeks, my hair loss was back to normal for a typical female with long hair.

My dr. didn't see the connection but I sure did. I take my vit D everyday and try to get 15 to 20 mins of sun during my lunch and I am back to normal. One of my coworkers, in her late 20's had the same thing and now that she takes vit D, she is also back to normal hair loss.

So though it seems there is no medical "found/tested/official" fact on this - I believe it is overlooked. Give it a try. Go to your dr and find out how much Vit D you need to take and you may see results in a couple of weeks.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Vitamin D and Hair Loss
by: Anonymous

I have been loosing my hair excessively now for about 4 weeks. I am hypothyroid (controlled). I was sure that is was a problem with the generic version of the medication. I am glad that I did not just insist on the name brand. Instead...I allowed the Dr. to do several test. It turns out that I am extremely iron and B 12 anemic and vitamin D deficient (vegan diet). She is giving me iron and b12 shots as well as a high dose of D. I guess what I am getting at is...don't guess at this one. You don't want to go bald. Have them test your ferritin and iron levels as someone before had suggested. It could be serious.

Vit D Deficiency can cause hair loss says my Dr
by: Gia

I have been losing hair for the past 7 years. I am now 33. Went to countless doctors for it (at least 10). Had every test under the sun (or so I thought). I even had low iron levels treated, with still no stopping of the hair loss. Thyroid came back normal about 10x over the years. I even had a CT brain scan to check for a pituitary gland tumor (which I had just seen on Oprah...when Dr Oz was on saying Brain Tumors can cause hair loss.) Yes I was that paranoid. The doctors found no reason for the hair loss so they all said the same thing: stress. Ok maybe stress was contributing but I still felt something else was causing it. One day I went to a Dr at urgent care for a rash. While we were talking I noticed him glance at my hair really quickly, but he didn't say anything about my hair & neither did I. I had long since given up on bringing it up to Drs. Before I left he said he wanted to do a complete blood panel...even though I had just had one done a few mths ago. I was like hmmm...okay. My Vit D level came back at 17. Extremely low. Everything else was normal. I realized that I had never, EVER had a single Dr, out of at least 25, check my Vit D levels when ordering a blood panel. Ever in my life. And I've has a LOT of blood panels done! When he called to tell me I had the deficiency, I asked if that could cause hair loss. He said most definitely yes. Its taking a while to get my Vit D levels up...I did 3 months of 50,000 per week and now am doing 28,000 to 42,000 per week. And yes finally I am seeing my hair loss stop. Also in my research, I did find one study linking Vit D deficiency to hair loss. It was a Dermatology journal. The Dr said it was the first study to definitely link hair loss and Vit D. Actually it was also the 1st study done on the matter. So I think the medical community is rather uninformed on this matter. Thank god I just happened to get a Dr who wasn't.

Another Study
by: Anonymous

J Invest Dermatol. 2002 Jan;118(1):11-6.

The active vitamin D metabolite, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, acting through the vitamin D receptor, regulates the expression of genes in a variety of vitamin D-responsive tissues, including the epidermis. To investigate the role of the vitamin D receptor in mediating epidermal differentiation, we examined the histomorphology and expression of differentiation markers in the epidermis of vitamin D receptor knockout mice generated by gene targeting.

The homozygous knockout mouse displayed a phenotype that closely resembles vitamin D-dependent rickets type II in humans, including the development of rickets and alopecia. Hair loss developed by 3 mo after birth and gradually led to nearly total hair loss by 8 mo.

Histologic analysis of the skin of homozygous knockout mice revealed dilation of the hair follicles with the formation of dermal cysts starting at the age of 3 wk. These cysts increased in size and number with age. Epidermal differentiation markers, including involucrin, profilaggrin, and loricrin, detected by immunostaining and in situ hybridization, showed decreased expression levels in homozygous knockout mice from birth until 3 wk, preceding the morphologic changes observed in the hair follicles. Keratin 10 levels, however, were not reduced.

At the ultrastructural level, homozygous knockout mice showed increased numbers of small dense granules in the granular layer with few or no surrounding keratin bundles and a loss of keratohyalin granules. Thus, both the interfollicular epidermis and the hair follicle appear to require the vitamin D receptor for normal differentiation.

The temporal abnormalities between the two processes reflect the apparent lack of requirement for the vitamin D receptor during the anagen phase of the first (developmental) hair cycle, but with earlier effects on the terminal differentiation of the interfollicular epidermis.

I didn't realize how crappy I was feeling till I started feeling great...
by: Anonymous

I had a blood test and my D level was at -8. Not good. My MD mentioned that it could explain my pelvic pain, fatigue, headaches and overall aches and pains. She said I should start taking D3 supplements - not how much. Through much research and following guidelines for the recommended dose at my BASELINE LEVEL (Vitamin D Council) - I discovered the daily IU recommendations were far below what I needed to raise my base line level of vitamin D. I started with 6,000 IU's a day and 50,000 twice a week. I know people say that is way too much and I could experience toxicity, but it's been 3 months and I am now at a level of 76. I have decreased the dose and am taking 6,000 units a day. In these 3 months I have experienced a remarkable change. My headaches are gone (my chiropractor said vitamin D deficiency can cause headaches), the pelvic pain is gone, the fatigue is gone and here is a benefit that just brings tears to my eyes - my thinning hair is growing back. For 8 years I have been experiencing all of these symptoms; as a woman in her 40's when it started - I was told it was peri-menopause. SURPRISE!!

unbelievable!!
by: Lynn Jarrell

I have been noticing little be little my hair thinning. For 3 years now I have had increased headaches, which I've never had and fatigue more than normal. So I go to my gynecologist and tell her everything and she sends me for more bloodwork. I was worried I had hypothyroid problems. Turns out my vitamin D level was 27 I said what does that mean? Well you know several things. I'm healthy in every way except for this deficiency.

So now I'm taking prescription vitamin D and hope my hair comes back. WHY, don't more doctors know about this? I will not take a backseat to women's health. It seems to me the medical industry is more concerned with men's health not fair and I'm sick of it. Doctors, start listening better to your patients especially women and stop worrying how much you will get from the insurance companies.

We all need to make a living but what about really caring about people and help them get better. If you're not in these health situations, consider yourself lucky cuz god forbid you should become I'll and depend on a good health care worker!!!!!

Hair Loss & Vitamin D
by: Lisa

I was recently in for major surgery, bloodwork was done there, they told me not to trust the "normal" Dr office test, but have the 6 panel as well as the vitamin deficiency tests.

Since hair loss has been a problem, among others, I did & WOW! Turns out NO vitamin D! Almost nonexistent B1&B12 Very low iron,(anemic),and high WBCts! He out me on 50k units once a wk Vit D, the others are daily.

Am hoping to see my hair, skin & nails get better. Also, I'm sick of feeling like I can't do anything.

rule out celiac
by: Kerri Knox, RN, The Immune Queen

You might very well have Celiac Disease. If you have low iron, low B12, and low Vitamin D, then it's almost certain that you have some general absorption problem, and Celiac Disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity are the prime culprits.

You should get Celiac Disease 'ruled out' by your doctor. It is not at all normal to have so many vitamin deficiencies.

Hairloss!
by: Anonymous

I'm so glad I found this! I was low on vitamin d yrs ago & my Dr prescribed a once a week high doses. I didn't take it because of the power of one pill. I'm going back to the dr & I'm starting over! Thank You, Jesus!

low vit d
by: v

I am a 33 year old female. For a few months I have been loosing crazy amounts of hair. I feel fatigue everyday. I dont feel myself at all. My hair has never been this thin ( I feel bald) For a woman that can be seriously depressing.My skin just looks horrible. I look tired all the time. I finally went to the dr for some blood tests. Came back with lov Vit D. My dr prescribed 50,000 once a week for 8 weeks. I am really praying my hair loss stops and I start feeling like my old self again.He didnt tell me the hair loss was connected to the low vit d ... but what else could it be ? ALl my other tests came back fine.I hope that i start feeling better as im only on week 2.

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