Hello
I've been noticing hair loss for about 10 years now (I'm 40). I used to have thick, full hair and now the hair on the crown has thinned out considerably; there is as well as a general thinning of hair all around.
In 2003 I consulted a dermatologist who said that my iron level was low at 41 and put me on iron supplements for 6 months. He went private and I stopped seeing him. In the meantime, different doctors told me that 41 is normal.
In June 2011, I consulted a different dermatologist who, after examining my scalp, said that I suffer from androgenic alopecia.
I then consulted a hair transplant specialist to whom I had my blood test results transferred. I have 12 pages of blood work and not sure how to read them.
On the 1st page it indicates:
Ferritin 48 ug/L 20-306
Iron 29 umol/L 9-31+
Transferrin 2.16 5/L 2.13-3.60
Transferrin Saturation 0.54 0.20-0.55
TSH 1.04 mU/L 0.340-5.6
Creatine 54 umol/L 44-123
There are many other elements but I don't know where to start and what is relevant to this post.
I decided to self-medicate after speaking to my pharmacist and have been taking iron supplements for 2 weeks now.
How do you read the Ferritin and Iron levels? Are they low? Should I be taking the iron and will it help my hair loss?
Also, I should mention that I am a vegetarian.
Thank you