Hair Loss

For the past several months I have been losing quite a lot of hair. Not clumps but many hairs are coming out each time I brush. I thin spot on the crown of my head is getting worse.

My UC has been only somewhat under control for the past year with Asacol HD. The only time it has been completely under control is with 30-40 mg of prednisone daily, which I am very reluctant to start again because of weight gain and other side effects. I'm currently having about 4-8 BM's per day with a small amount of blood and mucus.

I read that Asacol can cause thinning hair as a rare side effect, but uncontrolled D probably isn't helping either. I have also been wondering if this is causing some vitamin deficiency. My diet is mostly vegetarian currently, with limited dairy.

Any tips to save my hairs and slow this thinning process? Its so frustrating as a 24 y.o. woman to be dealing with this! Thanks everyone!

Going thru the same thing for several months I lost probably half of my hair and like you said it's dispersed throughout
I saw an excellent dermatologist today and he said
It could be one or a combination of several things
Stress
Low iron or hemoglobin - get tested for both ferritin and the hemoglobin
Low thyroid function- test for tsh
Low vitamin d- get tested for vitamin d3
The blood loss from UC contributes to this greatly as well as malabsorption with some.
I was deficient in d, ferritin and hemoglobin levels were too low
So he told me to take vitamin d, multivitamin, slow fe ( brand of iron supplement) and biotin.
He also told me to try rogaine for woman to see if that helps
Maybe some of this advice will be helpful for any of you who have lost tons of hair.
On a side note my GI who has been in practice for 30+ years said it happens to most of his patients with UC and it will get better

I'm so sorry that you are going through this. I have now experienced hair loss twice within the last year. I have tried minoxidil foam, biotin, and the Elon hair product line. The first time, all of these things helped. The second time (which I'm currently going through), nothing helped. Eventually, it stops though. My current shed is slowing noticeably these past few days and started in early June.

I asked my GI about this the other day and he actually said that hair loss can bea sign of healing and going into remission as your hair starts to grow again and pushes the old non-growing hairs out.

I know how depressing this can be especially as a young woman. You may want to try the elon,minoxidil, biotin combo and see if it helps. Even if it doesn't though, it will stop on its own eventually and you will not go bald. You'll just thin all over. I'm amazed at how much hair we can lose without going bald.

The prednisone can also play a role. My first flare I lost 1/2 my hair. I had the perfect storm...first flare, malnutrition, post partum, and prednisone. It finally stopped as fast as it started and then I looked like a chia pet as it all grew back in. Haha.

Knowing you're not alone is a huge support. Hugs.

Yes, hair loss is very common; especially with/shortly after prednisone use. I noticed that my hair never really came back while I was on 6MP either, it was always much thinner than my pre-UC days despite multivitamins, thickening shampoos/conditioners, biotin supplements, etc.

I see you are vegetarian. You might want to get tested for pernicious anemia as b12 is very hard to come by without consuming animal products.
My dermatologist recommended slow fe iron. My GIs np recommended something chewable as its less irritating to the gut. Do not take a huge amount at a time like elpis said you should try to get it from food. Eating it with vitamin c helps absorption.
Don't take it at the same time as calcium as they mess each other up. I give at least two hours in between.

I experienced hair loss too, particularly during one terrible month on Lialda. I found that birth control pills help (me). Unless your medication works very well, it may be worth trying another mesalamine.

I've definitely been experiencing this. Like you said, not clumps falling out but LOTS of strands at one time. It's getting so old having to constantly pull loose strands of my chest, arms, shirt, etc. When I wash it, I get this big "bracelet" of hair wrapped around my wrist. Then after I blowdry it, I have to get down on my hands and knees and collect all the hair off the bathroom floor. If I didn't do that, after about a week, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to see the floor anymore. I clog the bathtub drain every few days. I'm developing bald/super-thin spots, too. And I had very fine hair to begin with. It's depressing for sure.

Hiya, I have this problem too. Every time I have been in hospital, once I come out and start to recover, my hair falls out. Not completely, just much thinner all over.

I was in hospital in august and my hair has fallen out again. It is very frustrating as it usually takes about 2-3 years to grow back. Also annoying is that the doctors don't seem to care or even take it seriously.

I was told that the cause is that when you are very ill, your body doesn't bother with things like hair or nails, and sends the blood to your colon instead.

My GP had a rummage about on my scalp the other day, he said that it is starting to grow back, but I am so sick of this with it being the 3rd time!

I was recently diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency, I am now having B12 injections every couple of months and colecalciferol pills once a week. The doctor said that this is very common in UC patients, as we don't absorb vitamins and minerals properly. Have also been on folic acid for a while (as I can't tolerate iron without antisickness pills and mine are not recommended for long term). I seem to mostly be anaemic even when not bleeding. Also have been on biotin for a while, hair did seem thicker at first but it did not prevent it falling out when I got ill.

Fed up so have been shopping online for last couple of hours, the things I picked out were:
1. 'FAST' shampoo and conditioner (ordered today)
2. Laser comb (ordered today)
3. Minoxidil hair treatment for women (ordered today)
4. Sea kelp pills (not sure on this one after reading reviews, as I get lots of nausea anyway)
5. Cod liver oil pills (not sure as it says contact your doctor first)

Am going to try the topical things first, am seeing GP soon so will ask about others. Good luck to everyone, hope all our hair grows back!

How awful for you. I bought some special shampoo online for my husband who was worried that his hair was thinning a lot and we have been quite impressed with the results, his hair looks thicker, and appears to be growing more, and so it has definitely worked. The product name is called Regenepure and I bought it from Amazon, it might help some.

I am currently going through this. Did you find that anything worked for you? I'm a 26 y/o female diagnosed with uc Oct 2015