Comments on: Hair Loss And SIBO: How To Treat Gut Dysbiosis

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 14:02:53 +0000

Hi, I have been very ill for quite sometime I was diagnosed with hydrogen sulfide sibo two and a half months ago, one of my biggest symptoms is nausea. I was also told that I have IBS. I had lost a dangerous amount of weight, so I have been working very hard to gain back a healthy weight so I will have strength to continue with treatment. I have been prescribed to drink a nutritional powder called physician’s supplemental formula, however I also add a scoop of Ancient nutrition collagen powder which has fermented ingredients in it. I was wondering if maybe I shouldn’t be consuming this at this time?

By: Lea Y

Lea Y — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:39:18 +0000

Hi,
After reading through this article, I have come to the realization that it is very possible that I have SIBO. I am a 22 year old female from the USA. Throughout the majority of my life, I had never really had any problems with indigestion/food allergies and have pretty much been able to eat whatever I wanted. I grew up eating healthily, with the majority of meals being mainly protein-rich, ( some form of carbs and veggies on the side) wholesome home-cooked meals. I have always preferred “real food” and was never an excessive junk-eater, especially with a mother who is an excellent cook. (To give you some background, we are middle-eastern, so a lot of spices, vegetables, meat and poultry, and chickpeas! )The times that my stomach reacted very negatively is when we took trips overseas, in which our diet mainly consisted of restaurant food (which happened to my brother as well).
So, when I went to study overseas for a year when I was 18 years old, my stomach was not happy! Within the first week of my arrival, I had contracted either a virus or food poisoning and this occurred a few times throughout the year. (This may not seem like a big deal, but for someone who hadn’t thrown up since she was a child with a tummy-ache, it was a lot). The food at my program was not good-quality food to say the least, not really sure how to describe it but sometimes the food had unnatural colors (like literal neon-yellow potatoes). So throughout that year, my bowel movements were different, and I had some discomfort, but I was generally okay. When I went to college (in US), the food WAS better, but not by much. Due to our dorm structure, there was no way to cook for ourselves so we had to rely on the cafeteria. Throughout my three years at this college, I experienced excessive bloating, flatulence, a lot of stomach discomfort and IBS symptoms. I attributed these reactions to the types of food I was eating and my lack of energy to insufficient nutrients, and general college laziness.
Growing up, I also had a healthy, thick head of hair that would grow really fast. In the summer before my last year of college, I noticed that it had majorly thinned out, (no bald spots, just thinning). I attributed that to stress and was told by many it is probably due to stress or genetics. Fast forward to the next summer of 2018, I move back home after college and expect my stomach to “go back to normal” because of the return to the healthy home-cooked food on a consistent basis (and hoped my hair would follow suit).
Fast forward to now, March 2019, and my stomach has not gone back to normal. Since I came home (so for about 10 months) I have experienced IBS symptoms such as cramping, bloating, flatulence, abdominal pain relieved bowel movements. In addition to this, I have experienced what I am pretty sure is brain fog, feeling like I am unable to focus/concentrate and takes me longer to do tasks. I’ve also been excessively tired for so long after not much energy exertion and have been napping during the day consistently (for an average of two hours) and think these stomach problems may be linked to this fatigue. Also, I have had joint pain, especially in my feet, which gets bad sometimes after exercise. Throughout these months I have been bloated alot, but for the past two months, my stomach has been constantly bloated and the while the degree of the bloating varies, it has not gone down at all in these past months. Last week, as I was attempting to transition to a low FODMAP diet, I was not eating enough, but my stomach remained bloated (even when I was eating a very little amount).
I really would appreciate some assistance at this point. I want to be my full, normal self again. I am sick of feeling stomach discomfort and bloating, sick of feeling lethargic and tired all the time, and miss my healthy head of hair so much. What is hard also is that parents and others in my life think that I am being lazy, paranoid and getting myself into a depressive state. I am trying to remain optimistic and remind myself that the situation could be alot worse and my symptoms could even be a lot worse, but it is hard because I am worried and scared that I won’t be able to get the help/ treatment that’s right for me and I will be stuck in this state for a long time.
Thank you and hope to correspond with someone soon,
Lea

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 13:51:42 +0000

In reply to Ryan. have you looked at complete thyroid panel? Including antibody thyroid tests too?

By: paz

paz — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 15:23:07 +0000

In reply to Andrea.

Hi Andrea

Im not sure if Rob has replied to via Email or anything .

But have you checked your thyroid and Vitamin D ?

regards

By: Rob

Rob — Sun, 29 Jul 2018 16:13:58 +0000

In reply to John kagstrom.

Hey John,

Thanks for sharing your situation. There are a few different theories as to the order of things in pattern hair loss: one is increased inflammation –> increased PGD2 –> decreased hair lengthening / increased catagen phases –> years later, fibrosis / calcification. Another one is increased inflammation –> increased fibrosis / calcification –> decreased blood flow/oxygen –> hair follicle miniaturization.

The order matters here, since calcification and fibrosis seem to be the rate-limiting recovery factors in AGA. We’ve seen great recoveries from people with rapid onset hair loss who take finasteride — suggesting that calcification / fibrosis comes later and as a consequence of long-term miniaturization. But we really just don’t know. In any case, the biggest recoveries I’ve seen from rapid onset hair loss have all come from finasteride + ketoconazole + minoxidil + microneedling (the big 3 + wounding). But someone’s comfort level with that treatment depends on their comfortability with long-term drug use and side effects. In either case, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to share the information.

In terms of figuring out if your AGA is gut-related, this is much harder to answer. If you’d like to go the FDA-approved AGA management drug route while you sort out your gut issues, I do know a few people who’ve tried this and are happy about it. But I can’t say for sure if this approach would be the best for you — since the decision is so highly individualized, and since typically once someone starts taking finasteride, if they stop, they lose most of what they’ve kept / recovered. The mechanical stimulation exercises in the book may help offset this — and some readers have claimed that they’ve helped them transition off finasteride entirely. But again, it’s all person-specific.

Best,
Rob

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 26 Jul 2018 23:08:24 +0000

Hi Rob,
I’ve just discovered you and have spent the day reading all I can. I have been suffering for over two years with excessive shedding and have gone from multiple derms to an integrative health clinic and have ran all kinds of tests that have all come back within “normal” range (except for iron which was measurably low two years ago but is now up in the 30’s). I have also tried all kinds of supplementation, diets, shampoos, oils, etc… but my shedding/thinning has continued non stop. I am afraid my time is running out and if I don’t get a handle on this soon I will be bald by 50. I am wondering what your suggestions are for women and what results you’ve seen as I only see before/after photo’s of men on your site. I’m desperate for any help/suggestions you may have as I am out of money and at my wits end. I am desperate for any help you can give. Also, I was wondering what your thoughts are on laser caps?

By: Broken

Broken — Sun, 22 Jul 2018 06:44:10 +0000

In reply to Rob. The problem is... Anything you treat sibo with, antibiotics, enzymes, you name it. It all caused hair loss. Antibiotics already took forty percent of my hair already. I checked with the FDA, they verify it. Especially when you get older. Like me. And treatment, well that has a not so great track record for success. The antibiotic is a pretty big money maker to. Tried it all. It's just a money maker. Plus they don't know what else to do to cure it. But they sure are good at creating it. With no warning to the patient. Money, money, money

By: John kagstrom

John kagstrom — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 22:32:36 +0000

Hi Rob,

Just thought i’d share the fact that i’ve just found out that i have the H.Pylori Infection in the gut as ive been suffering with digestive issues like acid reflux for about 2.5 years now of which ive been receding and thinning ever since i noticed i had these issues, which i find quite interesting, along with dandruff too.

It is frustrating how i went from a norwood 0 to now a norwood 3 with diffuse thinning in that time frame and only age 23.

I’m soon to be in the process of doing a more broad gut test that may highlight other bacteriums etc.
Just thought i’d share that.

Would you say its possible for me to restore what i had lost considering it most likely is contributed largely to my digestive problems, although i do then believe DHT must of course come into the equation so it must be genetic male pattern baldness to some extent.
I was hoping perhaps once i fully restore balance to my gut then among a few other things i should get my bald temples back into growing hair again? Sigh this hair loss isnt very fair i must say.

Either way though in terms of treatment would you say its wise for me to use some kind of DHT blocking program for the time being (To save what hair i have left) and then after having restored the gut (Which could take a while) i can then start looking at coming off DHT blocking regimen and into a hair growing protocol, at least thats what i was thinking of.

By: Nutrient Deficiencies And Hair Loss: What You Need To Know

Nutrient Deficiencies And Hair Loss: What You Need To Know — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 01:17:39 +0000

[…] small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) leads to deficiencies in many trace elements and B-vitamins. It’s also a condition present […]

By: Rob

Rob — Tue, 26 Jun 2018 18:36:01 +0000

In reply to Nermina.

Hey Nermina,

Thanks for reaching out. And to answer your question — vitamin supplements (either in transdermal, translingual/sublingual, or oral forms) might help temporarily, but they also 1) don’t address the route of the issue (malabsorption), and 2) may also hurt our hair. See this review that showed little to no correlation with supplements (of many varieties) for hair loss, and in some cases, led to a worsening of hair:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5315033/

The other issue is that the metabolic pathways for transdermal supplements (sprays) aren’t well-understood, and while I’d love for them to help our hair, I think a better approach is to first resolve SIBO, PCOS, hypothyroidism, or hyperparathyroidism — and in doing so, also address any compounding nutrient deficiencies. Oftentimes for women, this really helps.

Let me know how else I can help.

Best,
Rob