Hair loss - type 2

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Zoe1993

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Hi all - was diagnosed with type 2 in January and have now mostly made peace with my situation. However, one thing I’ve recently started to notice and fixate on is hair loss. I’m losing strands and strands each day, and I can feel that I’ve so much less hair than I used to have. As a 31 year old woman who’s still trying to date and have an active social life, this is absolutely devastating and incredibly scary too. Does anyone have any similar experience and advice? Many thanks!
 
Sorry you've had to join us but welcome to the forum. You might find this recent article, on this very subject, of interest:-

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Does diabetes cause hair loss?: Causes and treatment options

Diabetes can cause hair thinning or noticeable hair loss in some people. However, maintaining good blood sugar control may help reverse the effects of hair loss. Some medications are also available and may be beneficial. Learn more here.
www.medicalnewstoday.com www.medicalnewstoday.com
 
Did you change anything after diagnosis? Telogen effluvium happens a few months after a big change. It could be a shock, medication, diet, hormones etc. It tends to last 3-6 months and then you’ll see new growth happening again. No expensive interventions required. I had it when I went keto overnight rather than stepping down carbs a bit at a time. Then again after Covid (very common) just as it had all regrown. I had a mild version after giving birth years ago.

It can also happen in response to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and thyroid problems. Could be worth a chat with the dr and get them checked. Remember optimal levels are not the same as scraping in to the lab reference ranges. They are what’s typically seen and will keep you alive not where you are best being. For most vitamins and minerals the optimal is near the top of the range not the bottom.
 
HSSS said:
Did you change anything after diagnosis? Telogen effluvium happens a few months after a big change. It could be a shock, medication, diet, hormones etc. It tends to last 3-6 months and then you’ll see new growth happening again. No expensive interventions required. I had it when I went keto overnight rather than stepping down carbs a bit at a time. Then again after Covid (very common) just as it had all regrown. I had a mild version after giving birth years ago.

It can also happen in response to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and thyroid problems. Could be worth a chat with the dr and get them checked. Remember optimal levels are not the same as scraping in to the lab reference ranges. They are what’s typically seen and will keep you alive not where you are best being. For most vitamins and minerals the optimal is near the top of the range not the bottom.
Click to expand...
I second that satisfactory levels are not satisfactory for everyone!
 
HSSS said:
Did you change anything after diagnosis? Telogen effluvium happens a few months after a big change. It could be a shock, medication, diet, hormones etc. It tends to last 3-6 months and then you’ll see new growth happening again. No expensive interventions required. I had it when I went keto overnight rather than stepping down carbs a bit at a time. Then again after Covid (very common) just as it had all regrown. I had a mild version after giving birth years ago.

It can also happen in response to vitamin and mineral deficiencies and thyroid problems. Could be worth a chat with the dr and get them checked. Remember optimal levels are not the same as scraping in to the lab reference ranges. They are what’s typically seen and will keep you alive not where you are best being. For most vitamins and minerals the optimal is near the top of the range not the bottom.
Click to expand...
This is so helpful and reassuring, thank you!
 
Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear you are losing some of your hair and it is causing you concern, which I can totally understand. Not sure that diabetes is known to directly cause hair loss, but a change in diet or shock could along with many other things including thyroid function.
Can you tell us a bit about how you came to be diagnosed with diabetes and what, if any medication you are on for it?
At 31, you are a bit younger than your typical Type 2 diabetic, although I appreciate that there is concern about more young people being diagnosed with it than ever before, some even in their 20s or teens. Did you have risk factors for developing Type 2 diabetes, like being inactive and perhaps carrying a bit of excess weight around your middle or a family history of it? Or was it quite a surprise as you didn't really fit the profile? Your comment about having made your peace with it just sounds like you felt the diagnosis was unfair or didn't seem right....
 
Hiya! I’d say my diagnosis was a fair surprise… I didn’t have the healthiest of lifestyles, but I’ve never been overweight or anything like that? Both my grandads have had diabetes diagnosed in later life - not sure that counts as a family history of diabetes, maybe it does! I’m on metformin and gliclizide now, as sitigliptin barely seemed to affect my bloods, and metformin alone doesn’t keep my readings under control. I’m trying to eat healthily and stay active, but finding the latter particularly difficult. I have lost around a stone since diagnosis, but I lost that over a few months, so not super quick weight loss? I’ve adjusted to most of the change now, although I still get maddeningly itchy skin, which is horrible, and the hair loss is definitely affecting my mental health the most!
 
Do you know what your HbA1c result was at diagnosis? And were you diagnosed because you had symptoms or was it picked up on a routine blood test?
Did they ever consider that you might be Type 1 rather than Type 2 and do any testing for that?

The reason I ask is that Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition and you are more likely to develop other autoimmune conditions if you have one. Hypothyroidism can also be autoimmune and can cause hair loss. I am probably joining dots where there are none to be joined but if you had a sudden high HbA1c and oral Type 2 meds are not working and you have weight loss, it might suggest a slow onset Type 1, sometimes referred to as LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults) rather than Type 2.
 
I'm so sorry you are losing your hair so young. My hair loss is my main bugbear, though I think that's post-menopause and genetics rather than diabetes.
I've tried a number of "miracle" cures, and the best one I've found is Champo. It's not a miracle cure but my hair does undoubtedly look thicker and my "bald patches" are slightly less bald than before! I use the shampoo and the serum, neither of which are cheap unfortunately.

I second the need to look more closely for the reason, either for T1 or some deficiency or other. I really think it would be worth talking to your GP about it.

Best of luck x
 
You may want to consider asking to get your thyroid function checked if your hair loss continues @Zoe1993

Hope your hair regrows as happened for @HSSS 🙂
 
@Zoe1993 as a first port of call, I would suggest a panel of bloods - Full blood counts, vitamins, minerals, and your thyroid function. There are a LOT of things that can lead to shedding hair, with thyroid malfunctions and low Vit B12 being a couple of the common ones.

There's no quick fix, but there is no doubt, knowing what could be causing it helps target strategies to improve it.

As someone as already said, just being in range isn't always helpful with some elements, like B12.
 
rebrascora said:
Do you know what your HbA1c result was at diagnosis? And were you diagnosed because you had symptoms or was it picked up on a routine blood test?
Did they ever consider that you might be Type 1 rather than Type 2 and do any testing for that?

The reason I ask is that Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition and you are more likely to develop other autoimmune conditions if you have one. Hypothyroidism can also be autoimmune and can cause hair loss. I am probably joining dots where there are none to be joined but if you had a sudden high HbA1c and oral Type 2 meds are not working and you have weight loss, it might suggest a slow onset Type 1, sometimes referred to as LADA (Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults) rather than Type 2.
Click to expand...
Hiya - my first blood result was insane, like double the normal range! 90 or something?! Weirdly my only symptoms were recurrent thrush and itchy skin though. I’ve actually just been for a blood test that will say if I’m definitely type 2 or if it’s LADA/type 1 - waiting on the result although I do think it’s probably type 2 as the meds have been working? I will inquire about my thyroid though as my dad had Graves Disease!
 
Do you know which tests they did? The C-peptide test measures the amount of insulin you are actually able to make or/and the antibody test (often GAD antibodies although there are others). These are the two Type 1 tests. The antibody tests usually take about 6 weeks for the result to come back but the C-peptide is generally back in a week or two.

Interesting that your Dad had Graves as that is autoimmune. I am curious to know if your grandfathers ended up on insulin? Are/were they overweight or reasonably slim?
 
Just a note as it clearly isn't the current issue here, but hair loss after birth is usually the excess that wasn't lost during pregnancy as hair loss slows down during pregnancy (I think hormonally linked) so probably completely unrelated to your other incidents of hair loss @Dragonheart
 
If requesting blood tests I would recommend asking for your hormone levels to be checked. I have been type 2 since 2007 and following hair loss in 2017 I was diagnosed with excess testosterone leading to discovery of a (non cancerous) ovarian tumour. Removal of the tumour regulated the testosterone levels and my hair grew back to normal.
 
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