Hair loss due to remicade

I've been on remicade since mid April 2010.  I've had significant hair loss.  It's awful.  I would say mostly around the crown..and now starting a bit everywhere.  My scalp also has a slightly pink color to it.  Has anyone else had this happen? Does it continue or does you body adjust and stop losing hair?

47 yrs old woman.

UC for 7 years.On and off. Salofalk enemas and supp.  Pred.for flare up in April/10 Hospitalized for two weeks.  Started Remicade Apr. 22/10

I started losing hair a few months after starting Remicade. I used to have twice as much hair. But, hair loss is not an official side effect. I called Centocor (the makers of Remicade) and they said that people react differently to medications, so it's possible. Are you still taking pred? That could cause hair loss.

I'm a hairdresser and when I see hairloss at the crown (in woman) its usually from being anemic. I have a few clients I've seen it with and they all turned out to be anemic. Thinning in the front is usually thyroid or stress or hormones. All over thinning Is usually after extreme stress like surgery. I have just noticed a pattern after 15 years doing hair. Take 5,000mg of Biotin a day and fish oil and hopefully it will help it come back. I'm sorry, that totally sucks!!!

Thank you everyone for your inisight into my hair loss. The only changes I've made in my life in the past year: got separated, moved into a new home, and changed my job. So extreme stress as Heidi 33 mentioned is definitely a possibility. I eat very well since my disease has calmed down to nothing due to the remicade. I'm not on prednisone since 1st week of June. I'm due for some blood test, so I'll be able to rule in/out anemia. But I feel well.Lild mentioned sickness, stress and weightloss..I had all that in April when I was in the hospital for two weeks. It seems like now that I'm feeling better, gained the weight back, am happy at work...settled into the house...and practically finished with the separation crap, now I'm losing the hair? lol I will try the biotin,it can't hurt. I will also speak to my remicade nurse this weekend during my next infusion and see if she's come across this. I've not started menopause at all..so thats out. I've been coloring my own hair for about 2 1/2 years and the product I use is very gentle...It all started when I started remicade. If I had to make a choice of losing hair, or having no UC symptoms..I'll take losing the hair. It's a no brainer.

Remicade can cause Vasculitis (which of course affects blood flow to the arteries in the body). I developed Raynaud's, which is a form of vasculitis that makes your hands and feet very cold, get open sores and I eventually lost all of my finger and toe nails.
This is one of many, many possible explanations...you need some serious blood work done...
Good luck!

I am replying to the message in july and yes I have been losing hair since starting remicade, but also before being on 6-mp, but I've been off this med for over 2 months.  C n anyone tell me if your hair comes back being on remicade.  I'm very emotional as a result, and feeling very afraid and hopeless. 

Yes, the hair loss could very well be from the prednisone and not the Remicade. When I was on the prednisone, I lost a lot of hair. Try Vitamin B100 that's B12 and Biotin combined. That seemed to help. I was on Remicade for over five years, and when my body was transitioning off the pred and onto the Remicade, I had a very thin head of hair. Now it's full, and I don't have any of the hair loss problems. Remember, your body is going through all kinds of things right now.

For those losing hair, I wanted to add, I lose hair like CRAZY when I taper off of pred-it happened the exact same way both times I tapered. I have lost about half of my hair.

I am also on Remicade now, and the hair loss stopped once I was fully off of the pred. It is now growing back, just as it did the last time when I was on Humira. It looks really dumb right now, but it is growing back. So it may not be the remicade. That said, I do know someone else (my acupuncturist's daughter) who did have hair loss because of remicade, so it isn't impossible.

I'm on remicade and recently got off pred. The pred taper caused a lot of hair loss. It stopped falling out about 3-4 weeks after I was completely off the pred. It's now growing back slowly. I asked my doctor if it was the Remicade and he said it was probably the prednisone and he was right in my case. He said he also sees hair loss just from people flaring and being in bad health.