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Any new ideas for hair loss

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 7/11/2009 12:27 PM (GMT 0)
Noticed since I upped my medication to two more pills at night and started taking nightly Rowasa enemas I am losing a lot of hair.
Since I have thin hair to begin with it is getting quite noticeable. Any ideas? I heard of some type of shampoo used for cancer patients that is suppose to make hair stronger. Has anyone used this? If so, how did it work?




Colazol 2 pills / 4 times a day

Rowasa enema nightly

Fish oil

Probiotics
Posted 7/11/2009 12:37 PM (GMT 0)
I can't help you on the shampoo but I definately highly recommend you start Biotin 5mgs or 5000mcgs. It can help your hair and nails grow faster and thicker.
Posted 7/11/2009 5:43 PM (GMT 0)
I also recommend Biotin. Its worked wonders for me. 5 mgs is the same as 5000 mcgs. You can get that dosage at supplement stores. If you don't already take a multivitamin, you can get "Biotin Forte" which is the high doses of Biotin with some other common vitamins, but it costs significantly more, so if you DO take a multivitamin, don't waste your $$ on the "forte"
Posted 7/11/2009 8:54 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for starting this post psycho colon. I have been losing a lot of hair/ not growing back for the last 4 years and I miss my long thick hair!!

Is Biotin safe to take on your own or do you need to discuss it with a doctor? I wouldn't want it to interfere with any of my other medications.
How long have you all been taking Biotin?
Posted 7/12/2009 1:54 AM (GMT 0)
I also had great results with Biotin.
Posted 7/12/2009 2:27 AM (GMT 0)
Biotin is just a B vitamin.

As far as I know, it shouldn't affect any of your other meds but don't quote me on it. I started taking it after talking to my favorite pharmacist and some other people who have used it successfully. Both my PCP and my GI doc know about it and don't seem to care.

The "megadoses" of B vitamins (5 mgs is 1667% of the Recommended Daily Allowance) are OK because they are soluble in water. What your body doesn't need, you just pee out! smilewinkgrin I have read quotes saying us Americans have the most expensive pee in the world because we take so many supplements that our bodies just don't need!

I started loosing my hair in December, about a month after I finished Prednisone that time around. An endocrinologist that I saw (too many doctors) told me that the side effects of the steroids stick around for quite a while after you quit taking them. She blamed the hair loss on the prednisone and said it could continue falling out for months. Well, in January, I was nearly bald and pretty depressed about it. That is when the pharmacist recommended the Biotin. My hair really started growing in fast. Now after a couple of "touch-ups" at the salon, I've got about 6 inches of good growth. And it's come in much thicker than I've ever had it, and it's even curly when before it was poker straight! ;) (The hair dresser says that sometimes when cancer patients lose their hair it also comes back different than it was before, so I guess that's what has happened to me, too!) I really want my ponytail back!

The true test of it all will be when I finish tapering off the Prednisone this time. I'm due to take my last dose on Wednesday. We'll see if it falls out again! I sure hope not!

Good Luck to you guys!

Jen
Posted 7/12/2009 12:14 PM (GMT 0)
I was losing a lot of hair for a while but now it seems to have stopped. I found hairs EVERYWHERE. It was horrible. I seem to have shedded an 1/8th of my hair but I had too much so it's better for me. I am going to try biotin, my nails and hair need some help.
Posted 7/12/2009 5:05 PM (GMT 0)
I went looking for Biotin today and only found it in 6000mcg so I got it. Could not find any that were 5 mg. Thanks for all the advice guys.
Posted 7/12/2009 5:28 PM (GMT 0)
6000mcgs will work as well. Whatever your body doesn't need will be eliminated safely. If you have chronic D then your Biotin level can deplete since approximately 80% of Biotin is created in the large intestine. Good luck and I hope this works for you. :)
Posted 7/12/2009 5:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks to the original poster of this question. I found everyone's input very helpful. I too lost A LOT of hair while on Prednisone and don't think the Remicade helped either. Now that I'm off both and only on Lialda I hope my hair will have a chance to start over. I just bought a bottle of 5mg Biotin off the Vitamin Shoppe yesterday and am excited to start taking it. Hopefully my hair will become as full and thick as it once was. Good luck to you as well psychocolon!
Posted 7/12/2009 6:12 PM (GMT 0)
How long does it take for Biotin to work?
Posted 7/12/2009 8:02 PM (GMT 0)
It takes about a month or two before you will start seeing a change.
Posted 7/13/2009 1:39 AM (GMT 0)
I don't know if you go for regular bloodtests, but if you do, it wouldn't hurt to get your zinc levels checked. When I was losing hair, it was low, so I started taking zinc and it helped. But if the other stuff people are saying works, then I prolly wouldn't worry about zinc. =)
Posted 7/13/2009 6:53 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for all the suggestions here! I have just started losing a lot of hair and don't know where to attribute it. I'm at the end of a prednisone taper and the beginning of taking 6-MP. I'm definitely going to check out Biotin.
Posted 7/14/2009 10:58 PM (GMT 0)
I started losing ALOT of hair last fall, after I had a huge flare-up and had lost about 20 lbs. I also was tapering off Prednisone at the time as well. I started using Biotin (5000mg as everybody mentioned) and folic acid (can't remember the mg on that one). Also started using Nioxin shampoo. There is a conditioner too but I didn't like that too much so just use the shampoo. The dermatologist blamed it all on the rapid weight loss/body 'trauma' (the flare-up) and the prednisone and said it would all stop in 6 months. It did finally stop after about 6 months and alot of new hairs started growing in.

As a side note, I also had alot of scalp pain and redness, and got some topical steroid foam and lotion to use for that. It helped alot, in case you have the scalp issues along with the hairloss.

Another side note, I also use a thickening shampoo now (Aveda) and it seems to help 'bulk' up my super thin hair alot and just makes me feel better overall since it feels 'thicker'

I hope some of these suggestions are able to help! I know what you are going through and it can be very stressful and depressing but hang in there, it will come back (which I know doesn't help much to hear right now).
Posted 7/15/2009 2:49 AM (GMT 0)
Ojon thickening shampoo and conditioner are also really good, expensive, but good.
Posted 7/17/2009 3:05 PM (GMT 0)
I lost quite a bit of hair and I discovered it was not my medications causing it but low iron and vitamin D levels. Within a few months of iron and vitamin D supplements my hair is coming back with a vengeance ... and I am still on the same medications ...

Get your blood tested ... chances are you definitely have some deficiencies. A lot of UC patients do, particularly anemia.
Posted 7/17/2009 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
i am planning to buy Nioxin as suggested in the forum earlier... anymore suggestions on this pls ?
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