Hair loss...

When I got out of bed this morning I noticed something dark by my pillow. Turns out it was a big clump of my hair.  I've been having a lot of hair loss lately but not in clumps.  I already have really fine thin hair, so you can totally tell I'm missing it.  I've got a call in to my GI, but what are they going to say really.  Is anybody else losing hair like this?  When I gently pull on it or run my fingers through it it comes out.  Do you think I'm going to lose all of it?  I'm a little freaked out.

Thanks FosterDad, I will definately look into it!

What a miserable thing to find first thing in the morning! I'm so sorry!

Sounds like your doing right by calling your GI.

Folic acid sounds good too.

I'd also suggest adding Biotin to help the hair grow back faster.

Let us know what the doc says.

Hang in there!

I sure know what you're going through. I recently lost about 1/2 of my hair. When my doctor did my bloodwork, she also check the ferritin levels in my blood. To my understanding, this is like your body's iron stores. Anyway, mine was only 2, so I started on iron right away. My hair did stop falling out after a couple of weeks. Maybe yours is something like mine. I took 2 iron pills at first to build it up. I was so scared. I thought I was going to lose all my hair. It was falling out in handfuls. I was afraid to wash it or comb it. Hope this helps. Best wishes to you!

Hair Loss, is a repeated topic here. I think the cause may be the stress of the disease itself. Prednisone could also be the culpret. My dermatologist suggested Biotin Forte. You can get it from the pharmacist. They keep it behind the counter but it is not a prescription item.

Much luck getting you hair back. My bald spot has filled in but my hair remains very thin.

My guess is that it is the Immuran, especially since you started taking it recently. Wait till you move into the brillo pad stage - that's fun! I used to have soft, straight, smooth hair but after a while on Azathioprine (generic Immuran) it started to kink up. I would always use a staightener on it but it didn't help much. I stopped taking it this summer due to migraines and you can see the line where my normal hair has grown out a couple of inches. It makes me want to chop it off short.

LadyHawk,
I had lots of long curly hair to start with so I'm still okay. I did tell my husband that I would be buying a wig if it continued. I told my hair dresser that I would be cutting it all off soon and then shortly after that it stopped. I don't take any meds, but I had just went through an extremely bad flare. Also, stress on the body will cause it to fall out. When I researched hair loss, I read that when the body is going through something traumatic, it will divert all its energy away from things like hair growth and put it where it needs healing, therefore weakening the hair follicles.

Since I'm flaring again, I've noticed the hair loss starting again just in the last two days. I had stopped taking the iron lately because of the C. it caused. I started it again today. I also took large doses of Biotin and Horsetail/Silica Combo which seemed to help with hair regrowth. I'm sorry you have to go through this-I cried every time I washed or combed my hair. It was devastating. I definitely recommend getting your blood all checked by the doc. For me, it was/is a blood issue. My hemoglobin was 9 at the time, (normal for me) but it was the ferritin level that was extremely low. If you think it's your meds, you might look up what the side effects are. Hang in there!!!

Sorry to hear you had to buy a wig. Wigs have come a long way and there are some nice ones out there. I might be right behind you on that one if my hair loss doesn't stop. Keep us posted. I hope it stops and your hair quickly grows back.

A lot of people take Biotin to help with hair regrowth. The jury is still out for me as to whether or not it is helping. I stopped the Azathioprine cold turkey.