Hair Loss

March 17, 2003

I've had a hair loss problem starting at age 35. I'm now 51. Initially

based on my naturopath's recommendation, I was taking a multi mineral and an

herbal hair supplement. That immediately stopped the hair loss. Actually

after 30 days. I was also in perimenopause and it helped with that. I

didn't realize the perimenopause at the time.

Anyway thru my 40's it wasn't as effective. Last year I started taking 5 mg.

of biotin, and after 30 days I saw new hair growth along my hair line in the

front, but I was still shedding alot of hair in the shower. I started taking

horsetail grass a few months ago and I'm seeing a big difference in the

shedding.

Maybe those two supplements can help your friend.

Sandy

March 17, 2003

I am also taking horsetail grass (silica) and it stopped my hair loss. I think I

had a triple whammy with hair: Graves', menopause and surgery (which causes

hair loss too) Silica was the only thing which stopped my hair from falling

out, and my hair is now shining again and strong. However, I still haven't

recovered my hair in some places. I do take all the B vitamins, also.

Arlene

Re: Hair Loss

I've had a hair loss problem starting at age 35. I'm now 51. Initially

based on my naturopath's recommendation, I was taking a multi mineral and an

herbal hair supplement. That immediately stopped the hair loss. Actually

after 30 days. I was also in perimenopause and it helped with that. I

didn't realize the perimenopause at the time.

Anyway thru my 40's it wasn't as effective. Last year I started taking 5 mg.

of biotin, and after 30 days I saw new hair growth along my hair line in the

front, but I was still shedding alot of hair in the shower. I started taking

horsetail grass a few months ago and I'm seeing a big difference in the

shedding.

Maybe those two supplements can help your friend.

Sandy

April 12, 2003

Try the vitamin Biotin - I take it on a regular basis now. Luckily I have

thick hair but tons of it fell out and most of it has grown back! Mona

Hair loss

> Thanks for all your replies.

>

> I'd like to know what you're doing about hair loss. My hair falls out in

> cycles. It's starting again. Anyone use remedies or rogaine?

>

April 14, 2003

What has worked for me is biotin 5 mg. and an herb horsetail grass.

Sandy

July 30, 2003

Esther,

If not for the fact that the increased hair loss actually began prior to my starting the imuran, I'd think the imuran might be the problem. However, it actually started sometime in May and I didn't begin taking imuran until June 25th. Even when I did blow dry my hair, I never ever dried it completely because that would make it frizzy. I would just blow dry it for a couple of minutes to get the majority of the dampness out so that my hair wouldn't be dripping wet when I left for work in the mornings. However, now that I'm not working, I no longer blow dry my hair at all and I've never used a curling iron, hot rollers, etc. I also use no chemicals at all on my hair. My hair has always been dry, so I've always used conditioners on it. I could go weeks without washing my hair and there would still not be a drop of oil in my hair! My daughter is currently taking acutane for her acne and it has made her hair so dry that she cannot use shampoo at all. She gets her hair wet, massages her hair and scalp with conditioner, and rinses it out. When I last saw her, she had not used shampoo on her hair in over three weeks and there was not a drop of oil in her hair. I may try not using shampoo every day and see if that makes a difference.

I'm sure the hair loss will get better in time, but, if not, I'll just have to deal with it!

W

October 22, 2004

>

> I've been having major hair loss over the past year. Trying to

> narrow down the causes. Has anyone had any hair loss and has it

been

> related to thier RA? I know my iron is low and that is a main

cause

> for women loosing thier hair at my age (34) but I've been taking a

> supplement for about 2 months now and I don't notice it stopping.

> Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. People/doctors are

> very insensitive to this is women and tend to minimize it.

October 22, 2004

I have experienced major hair loss, over the last 2 years. I went

from hair to my waist and very thick, to almost nothing. I had to

finally cut it, because all I had was broken pieces of hair.

It's growing little at a time, but really don't know what was going

on. At the time, I was not on any meds, hadn't been diagnosed with

the RA, so No meds at all. It still falls out, some days more then

others. I never found out why. I was told that the RA doesn't cause

the hair loss.

>

> I've been having major hair loss over the past year. Trying to

> narrow down the causes. Has anyone had any hair loss and has it

been

> related to thier RA? I know my iron is low and that is a main

cause

> for women loosing thier hair at my age (34) but I've been taking a

> supplement for about 2 months now and I don't notice it stopping.

> Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. People/doctors are

> very insensitive to this is women and tend to minimize it.

October 24, 2004

Mtx can cause hair loss as well. Another reason could be that you

are low on B-vitatmins. It's best to talk with your doc about it.

> >

> > I've been having major hair loss over the past year. Trying to

> > narrow down the causes. Has anyone had any hair loss and has it

> been

> > related to thier RA? I know my iron is low and that is a main

> cause

> > for women loosing thier hair at my age (34) but I've been taking

a

> > supplement for about 2 months now and I don't notice it

stopping.

> > Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. People/doctors

are

> > very insensitive to this is women and tend to minimize it.

May 26, 2005

Alia I was on Pred forte for many years and never had

hair loss? My does was 4 drops in each eye a day too.

But if your baby dhoulf nrrf s hsit pirvr, erll mu hsit id slmody long

enough to cut for the Lock 4 Love! I could always have my hair cut close

to the sclap to give more length for donation!

But I'll keep good thought and prayers that the hair loss stops! for

her...

hplta

Rusty

May 26, 2005

Hi my son has been on enbrel for one year ( systemic jra he;s 14 ) has

the thickest head of hair you have ever seen !! so i guess enbrel doesn't

affect every child the same..jane

May 26, 2005

Hey Rusty. It's not the Pred Forte that is causing the hair loss. It's most

likely the MTX or Enbrel. But - her rheumy won't decrease the MTX or Enbrel

until she has tapered off of the Pred Forte drops...

That's true - thanks for the good thoughts!

Alia

Re: Hair loss

Alia I was on Pred forte for many years and never had

hair loss? My does was 4 drops in each eye a day too.

But if your baby dhoulf nrrf s hsit pirvr, erll mu hsit id slmody long

enough to cut for the Lock 4 Love! I could always have my hair cut close

to the sclap to give more length for donation!

But I'll keep good thought and prayers that the hair loss stops! for

her...

hplta

Rusty

_____

May 26, 2005

Alia yeah it more than likely is the mtx as it is an old cancer drug. I

hope her eye stable and stay that way, mine are flare free and I haven't

had to use any Pred forte except just at the time of my lens inplants.

Other than that one uveitis or iritis for a long time..

'Knock of wood!'

hplta

Rusty

May 26, 2005

Alia:

I was losing quite a bit of hair, and still am losing some. The combo of

methotrexate and Arava was doing it, apparently. Since I went on Enbrel I

am off the MTX and weaning the Arava. The hair loss has slowed down a

lot, but is still more than my norm. I couldn't really say it was the

Enbrel, because it slowed down after I was off the mtx. Hope this might

help~

and Rob 16 Spondy

On Thu, 26 May 2005 15:11:33 -0400 A Morse <dam755@...>

writes:

Alia I was on Pred forte for many years and never had

hair loss? My does was 4 drops in each eye a day too.

But if your baby dhoulf nrrf s hsit pirvr, erll mu hsit id slmody long

enough to cut for the Lock 4 Love! I could always have my hair cut close

to the sclap to give more length for donation!

But I'll keep good thought and prayers that the hair loss stops! for

her...

hplta

Rusty

May 26, 2005

- Thanks for the response. It probably is the MTX then. She is off her

oral prednisone, but is still on Cyclosporine. I thought Cyclosporine was

supposed to increase hair growth, but who knows?!

I'm sorry to hear you have lost hair too. What a pain! I know it's only

hair, but it makes me sad. She has this nice thick curly hair and I just

love it!

Alia and Caroline, age 3, poly and uveitis

Re: Hair loss

Alia:

I was losing quite a bit of hair, and still am losing some. The combo of

methotrexate and Arava was doing it, apparently. Since I went on Enbrel I

am off the MTX and weaning the Arava. The hair loss has slowed down a

lot, but is still more than my norm. I couldn't really say it was the

Enbrel, because it slowed down after I was off the mtx. Hope this might

help~

and Rob 16 Spondy

On Thu, 26 May 2005 15:11:33 -0400 A Morse <dam755@...>

writes:

Alia I was on Pred forte for many years and never had

hair loss? My does was 4 drops in each eye a day too.

But if your baby dhoulf nrrf s hsit pirvr, erll mu hsit id slmody long

enough to cut for the Lock 4 Love! I could always have my hair cut close

to the sclap to give more length for donation!

But I'll keep good thought and prayers that the hair loss stops! for

her...

hplta

Rusty

May 26, 2005

Hi Alia

I'm sorry to hear that Caroline is now losing her hair. Thankfully she is

young and hopefully this will not last long.

As for the methotrexate being the cause~~ That is certainly possible.

However, was on methotrexate for more than 8 years without any hair

loss at all. It was not until several weeks after starting Enbrel that

began to lose her hair. When her dose was upped the hair loss accelerated

rapidly. When we finally pulled Em off the Enbrel the hair started to show

signs of growing back, but unfortunately that did not last. The

dermatologist warned us that if the Enbrel caused the hair loss we'd

probably see it continue when started the Remicade. That seems to be

what has happened. Unfortunately lost almost all of her hair. A couple

of weeks ago she finally decided that she wants a wig. We've ordered a

vacuum wig, custom made of human hair, but it will take 3 or 4 months to

make that. So we also purchased a cute synthetic wig for Em to wear right

now. A good synthetic that looks natural isn't cheap, but that's okay. It's

worth every penny! I wouldn't worry about putting Caroline in a wig at this

age. We have a child at the preschool where I teach who has alopecia and the

kids are fine with it. To them it's just the way it is.

The only advice I can give you is to hang in there. This is not easy, but as

said, if you have to choose between having hair and being able to

walk, it's better to walk.

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. I don't have all the

answers, but I do understand how awful it is to watch your child lose her

hair.

Liz

Hair loss

Hello everyone....

Caroline has started experiencing some hair loss. In the last week, I have

found several clumps of her hair around or it just comes out when I brush

her hair. This only started about 10 days ago so I assumed it was from

re-starting Enbrel (although that never happened the last time we used it).

I spoke with her rheumatologist and she said it was most likely from the

Methotrexate. She said we could start decreasing her MTX but ONLY after

tapering her off her Pred Forte drops. She is currently on Pred Forte drops

4 times a day!! If we start to taper the drops it will be close to 4 months

before we get her down to one or twice a day and I fear all her hair will be

loss by then!!

I guess the good thing is that she does have lots of hair, but it might look

pretty odd come September when I have to get my 3 1/2 year old fitted for

bandana's and a wig for pre-school!!!

Can anyone comment on this?? Liz - I know went through this, but they

thought it was from her Enbrel - right?? Any advice??

Alia and Caroline, age 3, poly and uveitis

_____

May 26, 2005

Liz - My eyes are welling up thinking of poor ... She is such a strong

kid. We will definitely have to get a picture or the girls together at AJAO!

I am glad that you were able to find a wig for her. I am sure that will make

a huge difference!!

Caroline's restarted Enbrel three weeks ago and only shortly after that did

the hair loss start. That is why I questioned it. It's just so strange. She

is on half the dosage of Enbrel that she was previously on. I would have

thought that this would have happened the first go round, but I guess we'll

wait and see what the next few months hold for us.

Thanks for you advice and support!