Hair loss that began after IUD insertion... Should you have it removed right away? [Kim Jin-oh's Hair Loss Escape]

[Financial News] Some women who have an IUD inserted to relieve menstrual cramps, treat heavy menstrual bleeding, or prevent pregnancy visit a hospital because of an unexpected side effect: noticeably increased hair loss. They ask whether the IUD caused their hair loss and whether they should have it removed right away.

First, not everyone who undergoes the procedure experiences hair loss. Official approval materials and drug-safety monitoring data report that hair loss occurs after insertion in less than 5% of all users.
The mechanism behind the side effect is clear. Hormonal IUDs, commonly prescribed by gynecologists, release a synthetic progestin called levonorgestrel into the uterus. This hormone has some properties similar to those of androgens, or male sex hormones. If a small amount of the hormone enters the bloodstream and acts on hair follicles in people with a genetic predisposition to androgen sensitivity, it can cause androgenetic alopecia, in which the hair’s growth phase becomes shorter and the strands become finer. A recent study also found that the rate of new hair loss after insertion was significantly higher among people with hormonal IUDs than among those with hormone-free copper IUDs.
When a side effect develops after a particular procedure, the medical principle is to remove the causative agent. Removing the IUD eliminates the hormone’s effects, and the hair is likely to return to its original state. The problem is the symptoms patients must contend with once the device is removed. Without it, severe menstrual cramps and heavy menstrual bleeding invariably return. Patients face the dilemma of having to endure their previous pain again.

That is why there is something that must be ruled out before removing the device right away. Although the symptoms may appear to be a single side effect caused by the hormonal device, another physical cause may actually be contributing as well.
A study analyzing data from patients who experienced hair loss after hormonal IUD insertion found that ferritin levels—an indicator of the body’s iron stores—were substantially below normal in many of them. They were likely to have lost iron continuously without realizing it after experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding for a long time before insertion. Hair does not respond immediately to nutritional deficiencies; it typically starts falling out after a delay of several months. In other words, telogen effluvium caused by anemia that had built up over a long period may well have coincided by chance with the timing of IUD insertion.

So if hair loss begins after insertion, blood tests should first be used to check ferritin levels, thyroid function, and other factors. It is not too late to make a decision after determining whether it is hormone-related hair loss—which affects fewer than 5% of users—or telogen effluvium caused by anemia.
If the main cause of hair loss is accumulated iron deficiency, there is no reason to rush to remove the device. In fact, if bleeding increases again after removal, anemia could worsen and hair loss could become more severe.
Treatment is a process of checking the various factors that may be involved and finding the conditions and circumstances that are most favorable for each person. There is no need to make a hasty decision just because you are experiencing hair loss. The first step is to diagnose and confirm the exact cause of the hair you are losing now.
/Director Kim Jin-oh of New Hair Plastic Surgery Clinic
[email protected] Kim Hyeon-seon Reporter