How Medicine for Diabetes May Affect Hair Loss

African-American adults are twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, and one of the many side effects of diabetes is hair loss from stress, medicine or diabetic imbalances.

According to 2006 statistics from the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention, out of every 100 African-Americans, 8.8 black women and 8.1 black men were diagnosed with diabetes. ChristiaNet.com states that, "Diabetes hair loss might occur when one's immune system is weakened, causing infections, including one's to the scalp which causes hair to fall out. The illness may affect follicles that don't get enough nutrition from circulatory problems caused by the diabetic condition."

However, diabetes does not automatically mean a diabetic person will lose her hair. ChristiaNet.com also goes on to state that there are over 450 listed causes for loss of one's mane, and there could be a number of reasons for hair loss outside of diabetes. But sometimes side effects from medicine doesn't help matters.

Diabetes is hereditary in many African-American households. Gwen V., a diabetic, told Chicago's Black Hair and Health Examiner, Shamontiel, that although her hair started to thin when she had a change in medication, her own mother, who also had diabetes, passed away with a full head of hair.

"My hair didn't start to thin until I started taking this medicine about two and a half years ago," said Gwen V., 51. "My doctor told me that I needed the medicine that I was taking for the diabetes. She changed the milligrams. She lowered it for one of them, and it's not falling out as bad, but the damage was already done."

Unfortunately, sometimes the side effects for medication will kick in whether you like it or not. Gwen V., who was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 40 years old, decided since she couldn't control the medicine, she'd at least take charge of her hair.

"When I was using perms, my hair kept getting thinner and thinner," Gwen V. said. "The perm was making it worse so I just stopped. If I don't take the medicine, the diabetes gets worse and my blood sugar goes up. I figured if I stopped (using perm), maybe my hair will start to thicken up and take its natural course. But I've also permed it, colored it, bleached it and braided it with tight extensions like microbraids so that didn't help either."

After stopping the perms and wearing twists, her hair is slowly coming back and returning to her natural thick mane. Gwen V. has decided that she's going to look into wearing more natural hairstyles and keep the chemicals out of her hair since diabetes isn't curable and the medicine is mandatory. She has also made steps to eat healthier foods to improve her immune system.

"If my blood sugar goes up, that's a possibility of a heart attack or stroke," Gwen V. said. "Eating better, losing weight and exercising are all things I've been doing recently to control my diabetes. This helps me control my diabetes. If I continue in this direction, I can wean myself off of at least one or two of the medications, which should also strengthen my hair growth."

Additional Notes: This entry was originally published by the Chicago Black Hair & Health Examiner.