Hi, I was diag w/ lyme 2 mths ago, have had it for 2 yrs. Was on IV Cefapime and oral iron suplements per hematologist bc of low serum ferrasulfate (6.8). Also on Lovenox shots for 6 mths from 3 dvts in picc line. I am only 35 and for the 4 days I took Iron, about a quarter of my hair fell out. Never fell out before. Now I am getting IV iron next week and I am scared all of my hair will go. Anyone experience this? Thanks. Jenny
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
That's a common symptom in Lyme Disease. It will gradually stop if the Lyme Disease is responsible for it happening.
Posted by Curley911 (Member # 2205) on :
The longer I was under treatment, the thicker my hair got. I was freaked out it was thinning so bad but now it's fine.
Once your body starts mending it will retain nutrients better. Your LLMD should be recommending specific supplements for you which will boost the immune system and help also.
Take care, Curley
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
Hi Jenny--
Im not real sure about this but from what I remember it may not be a good idea to take Iron supplements while fighting lyme --
Write a new post asking if its OK to take Iron- title post-- OK to take Iron ???
Hair falling out is common - it usually stops and hair grows back when your health gets better-- My hair has fallen out 2 times and grown back--
My hair was curly but grew back very straight- O well at least its there --Jay--
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
My hair has been thinning, a LOT, since June/July.� I had already been on treatment since 2004 for LD and in my case I'm not sure if it is the Malarone, which I'd been on about a year, or Cortef or stress that caused it.� I am FREAKING out though.� Hard to stay calm when you just keep watching it fall out.My hairdresser told me to make a beeline to doctor on Friday after she cut my hair/looked at it.
Posted by Geneal (Member # 10375) on :
Maybe have your thyroid levels checked.
Mine was falling out due to hypothyroidism.
Also diflucan can make your hair fall out also.
I've lost tons of hair.
Sometimes in fistfuls.
Still not bald.
It is very upsetting though.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posted by sixgoofykids (Member # 11141) on :
Mine has grown back and looks good again. I also lost it in fistfuls.
I have been treated for thyroid and am sure that helped, but in the end, I think it was the Lyme becoming more active. My thyroid has always been on the low side.
I would be concerned about the connection with the iron IV. I would talk to the doctor about that. Maybe it's not the best way for you to receive iron??
Mine did thin enough that the hairdresser noticed. What was left mostly was broken. It looked horrible. I'm growing it long now ... I guess because I can. Posted by VB (Member # 16824) on :
I'm glad you posted this. My hair is falling out now too as of the past month or so.
Plus, the remaining hair seems to be more coarse, dry and brittle.
Fortunately I have a lot of it, so the thinning isn't noticible yet, but I notice the big clumps that come out on my brush and hair bands.
It seems to happen more when I'm doing my 3 day pulse of flagyl each week and when I take diflucan.
I also recently started taking iron, so maybe that could be causing it.
I wish I knew so I could change it!
Posted by groovy2 (Member # 6304) on :
Hi All
One thing I did notice when my hair was falling out that if I did not drink Gallons of water every day my hair would become Brittle and snap off rather than fall out--
I think this was from the toxic effects of the high doses of ABX I was doing --
Drinking lots of water did Not stop my hair falling out but it did stop the brittle condition-
Once my health got better my hair grew back-Jay-
Posted by Angelica (Member # 15601) on :
Mine had been falling out for years no matter what I do. Luckily I have thick hair.
I do think I need to get my thyroid checked. My temps run low all the time.
Posted by 1Bitten2XShy (Member # 12280) on :
As others have stated above, Thyriod
Posted by Jenny in MI (Member # 17225) on :
Thanks all! I had my thyroid checked and all normal. The hair fell out right near my ears, and my ears have been a real problem since the Lyme. (inflammation in eardrums)
Could it be that the toxins are in high levels in that area and that made the hair fall out only there?
Posted by laura miller (Member # 12703) on :
My experience is when I was put on thyroid meds (Armor to be exact) was when it seemed to get worse. It would come out in huge chunks to where I thought there couldn't be any left. It looks so horrible right now, it's embarassing.
I hope this gets better for you, its so hard ato deal with... Laura
Posted by Gert (Member # 13584) on :
Mine has thinned so much that you can now see my scalp and using baby barrettes and hair ties don't work anymore. My ponytail is less than an inch in diameter
I just have very thin, scraggly hair now and it's very upsetting. I am thinking of getting a wig.
Just recently my scalp broke out really bad in itchy hard pimples that won't go away. My LLMD has decreased my Flagyl dose thinking I am herxing and purging toxins too fast. We will see if this does not help but I am desperate at this point.
Posted by hopeandhealth (Member # 17605) on :
Count me in on this one. I have really wavy THICK hair and mine comes out in FISTFULS. You should see my bathtub after I get out. Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
I doubt it's the iron supps. Some would say having a ferritin level at over 50 would even help the hair.
Iron supps are good if you need them with the goal to get ferritin at 50 or higher.
Iron may feed babesia so there is some risk there. Studies show though that low ferritin can cause fatigue even when anemia is not present so some iron supplementation may be a good thing.
I don't have Lyme but I do have hypothyroid which I've treated with Armour. I've been really run down lately, couldn't do my normal exercise, was starting to worry that my time with Lyme had come.
So I had some bloodwork done and turns out I'm anemic so the doctor prescribed ferrous sulfate. After about three days, I started feeling better. I don't think my hemoglobin bounced back that fast. I did some research and it seems that if your ferritin is low the thyroid hormones don't work as well.
Two weeks into taking the iron and my hair is starting to feel less coarse and energy is getting even better. If you have low thyroid, get your ferritin level checked out, it might make a big difference.
Posted by ajisuun (Member # 17658) on :
I have hypothyroid and Lyme. My hair has always
been very thick, but I noticed that it was getting
thinner and thinner, especially at the front where
I keep it shorter. I could see scalp and every
time I combed my hair, I had wads of it in my
hand. My mom's hair used to be thick, but thinned
a lot when she got older, so I thought that I was
going to loss my hair in my 40's. I was NOT happy
with that idea, but I was too tired to stress
about hair when there seemed to be so many other
things going wrong. Now that I am feeling better,
my hair is thicker again too.
Posted by heiwalove (Member # 6467) on :
my hair is falling out too. it's very distressing and one symptom that hasn't really improved at all.
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