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Hair Loss--What's the culprit?

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Posted 6/9/2009 12:35 AM (GMT 0)
Has anyone who's on Remicade or Colazal (or rather Balsalazide disodium) had hair loss?

I've seriously lost about 1/3--1/2 of my hair since last fall. Thank god I used to have such thick hair, so people can't tell I'm losing so much. Ugh, I'm only 20--I shouldn't be losing hair! :(

I've told 3 GIs my issue--one said he didn't know the cause, the other never responded to my email, and the third asked what the dermatologist said. The dermatologist said that my hair loss was delayed reaction to my flare last year (I started heading towards remission in September and hair started falling in November). He gave me a prescription, but when I got it, it was a steroid liquid for itchy scalp, which I do not have...

Anyway, I'm thinking Colazal may be the culprit, just because I've seen it listed as an official side effect, whereas it's not listed as a side effect on Remicade.

Posted 6/9/2009 1:22 AM (GMT 0)
I've lost a lot since starting Asacol.
Posted 6/9/2009 2:57 AM (GMT 0)
I lost a lot of hair after being diagnosed, but it's hard to determine what caused it. I was diagnosed about four months after giving birth, and my hair had gotten a LOT thicker during pregnancy. So, it could have just been my pregnancy hair falling out. It also could have been because I was so incredibly sick. Or, it could have been an initial reaction to Asacol. Whatever the case, it's no longer falling out. I still loose a few hairs in the shower each day, but that's normal for me.
Posted 6/9/2009 3:01 AM (GMT 0)
i am also loosing lot of hair...i started loosing after i started canasa suppositories just once a day.... now i have doubled canasa & also started Lialdax2 daily...i m scared the hair loss might increase. there is always slight pain in my scalp roots
Posted 6/9/2009 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hmm, I was on on Asacol before I started Remicade and Colazal, and I never had a problem with hair loss. This is so frustrating!
Posted 6/9/2009 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
Most definitely the remicade! My hair has been falling out like CRAZY since I started it. I also have read on other boards that many other people on remicade have the same side effect.
Posted 6/9/2009 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
I lose so much hair when I use hair dye. The last two times I dyed my hair I thought I would be bald after blow drying. I still have loads of hair but not like before.
Posted 6/9/2009 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
The hair loss was huge last summer, when the drug regime was Asacol, Pred and 6mp. Doc said it was the 6mp, but hard to know. Hair was thin, but not noticeable to anyone but me and the plumber. Funny, now that the Remi has made the health better overall, the hair loss stopped. New growth in light wisps all around her face---so not the Remi for us. Isn't this a crazy disease?
Posted 6/9/2009 4:52 PM (GMT 0)
This issue gets rehashed every couple of months because it's a devil  !!!!! Steroids are known to cause thinning of hair, oral 5-ASAs seem to affect hair to varying degrees among UCers reporting here, but the flare itself & nutritional deficiencies can also cause hair loss. Probably the best overall solution to hair loss is to stop dying, use mild shampoo, eat as balanced a diet as possible & supplement vitamins/minerals if on a restricted diet, especially. It was lucky that I had thick, healthy hair to start because I've lost tons of it over the yrs with UC,  but 1st noticed excessive loss at times I was RXed antibiotics pre-UC. I really think that medicines in general negatively affect human hair! Yuck and darn it! / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [etc.])
Posted 6/9/2009 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
     I lost hair because of the 6MP.  Try Nioxin, it worked wonders for me.
Posted 6/9/2009 5:18 PM (GMT 0)
Stop dying? not a chance!!

It sounds like we all began with tons of hair. The hairloss has actually made my life a bit easier since I can blow it out slightly faster. it is less of a mop.

Posted 6/9/2009 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
Actually, I didn't have a lot to start with. My hair does have a lot of body, though, so it's not like anyone notices how thin it is.
Posted 6/9/2009 5:32 PM (GMT 0)
I've had major hair loss with Asacol and Immuran. As soon as I stopped taking them, the hair loss stopped immediately. Try a high dosage level of Biotin, which can be bought at any drug store. That helped me bigtime.
Posted 6/9/2009 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
Old Hat, I don't dye my hair, I use a mild shampoo and natural oils, eat a farily balanced diet and definitely get me vitamins/nutrients through supplements, and I'm in remission! I don't know what else to do.

The reason I haven't used Nioxin or Rogaine is because I have really sensitive skin, and I've read that those two can cause burning on the scalp. As for the biotin, I just don't want to put more chemicals into my body. Does biotin stop hair loss or promote hair growth (or both)?

If Asacol didn't cause hair loss before, should I try taking that instead of Colazal?

Posted 6/9/2009 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
I was noticing hair loss as well because of all the meds that I'm on.  I started to use Nioxini per one of Christine's post an dit has worked wonders.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

I've also heard that biotin helps as well.  I've decided to not take the biotin to see how beneficial the Nioxin is. 

Posted 6/10/2009 1:38 AM (GMT 0)
Yea, I saw on this site where a lot of the drugs can cause hair loss. The colazal makes mine drop out a bit but it seems to be growing back in with new growth, so I guess I am not too worried. The texture of my hair got finer and got thinner through menopause. I got some biotin and will start taking that.  Without hormones, I doubt mine will ever be the same again. My thyroid problems don't help matters either.
Posted 6/10/2009 3:36 AM (GMT 0)
Bookworm, have you mentioned the hair loss to your gyno? Since hormonal issues can affect hair growth/loss, gynos are usually willing to listen to the problem. I agree that at age 20, one doesn't expect to have continuing hair loss so it can be pretty disturbing. But it bugs older me, too, especially when I have to keep vacuuming or sweeping it off the floors at home. A Romanian-born neighbor told me that they have a funny saying about hair loss: the smart hairs are leaving the foolish head. (Lol.) / Old Hat (30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [etc.])
Posted 6/10/2009 1:00 PM (GMT 0)
Are you saying that I have a foolish head??? tongue

I didn't even think of mentioning it to my gyno because the dermatologist told me it was due to UC. I've mentioned this to my PCP as well and she also thought it was UC-related and not hormones.

Posted 6/14/2009 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
I didn't realize Prednisone and Asacol could cause hairloss. I just blamed it on being anemic from being sick and pregnant when I lost TONS of my hair. It was falling out by the handful when I took showers. It's growing back now, so I have all these weird short places, but I'm just happy it's coming back.
Posted 6/14/2009 9:20 PM (GMT 0)
I lost about 1/4 of my hair while on Remicade and Prednisone. I: have always had really thikc hair so this was devastating to me. It all fell out around my bangsg and the top of my hear. It would actually come out in chunks. My sister had cancer and had loswt her hair from chemo and the way mine started coming out reminded me of her jsut not as much hair loss. IT did finalyy come back after I went of the prednisone and REmicade and is as thick if not thicker than before so don't worry too much. It is a hard thingk to deal with but at the time I was so desperate for relief of the colitis symptoms that I was just too tired to care about the hair. I have to say baseball hats were my best friend for a couple months.
Posted 6/14/2009 9:22 PM (GMT 0)
Also another thing I noticed whenever I had hair loss starting from treatments, I also had my periods cease as well.
Posted 6/14/2009 11:02 PM (GMT 0)
I am in the unfortunate situation of not knowing exactly what has been causing my hair loss ... although it has slowed down quite a bit. I am only 37 but going through early menopause, taking birth control that has the loss of scalp hair as a side effect. PLUS, I was on Asacol before switching recently to Lialda. And ... the vitamin deficiencies definitely don't help matters.

The dermatologist said it was a toss up on what the actual cause could be. I will tell you this though, once I started on iron and vitamin D supplements along with other supplements, the hair loss slowed way down and I am noticing a bit of new growth along the hairline ...
Posted 6/15/2009 4:05 AM (GMT 0)
I have not experienced hair loss. I have the same amount of hair that I had when I was 18. I take a lot of vitamins. I'm not taking any Colitis medications. And I've never been on the pill. I've been seriously anemic and dehydrated from flares, and I did take Prednisone for one of my flares. I didn't notice any out-of-the-ordinary hair loss though.
Posted 6/15/2009 12:52 PM (GMT 0)
I experienced hair loss which seemed to begin after I started taking Asocol (the first oral mesalamine I ever took). Before that my hair became really brittle about six months after I started using mesalamine rectal medicine every night. So, I think Mesalamine is bad for your hair quality in general.
Posted 6/15/2009 1:37 PM (GMT 0)
darla scared, what are you using as your UC treatment if you're not on Remicade?

My GI now told me to use zinc supplements, since it's probably not a smart idea to stop either medication.

Has anyone heard of TheraPro? Apparently it's used for hair loss and has more natural products.

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