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A treatment that worked for me
I'm a 42 year old woman and I've had AA for the past 2 years. I've tried all the approved injections and potions with no success and terrible side effects. It started out as one small spot but over a period of 2 weeks I had 7 more. They kept growing and meeting up with one another. They seemed to be having a happy party on my head, meanwhile I was depressed.
I kept annoying my dermatologist until he started doing some research. He found an article in the Journal of American Dermatology for an off label treatment. Hydroxychloroquine (brand name Plaquinil) was successfully used on 2 Alopicia, I believe universal, patients. So I gave it a try. 150 MG once per day. IT WORKED! It is by no means a cure. About one month after stopping treatment my hair started evacuating my head. So I'm back on it.The only side effect I experience is a rash but it's tolerable.
I admit it, I'm vain. I wish I wasn't but I want my hair. I try to convince myself that It's just hair and it could be much worse, but I am not that evolved yet.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dom on
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Have you ever seen a skycraper at night?
All lit up and majestic!
Stunning...... can been seen for miles around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLkkRXgTg0k
One day all the lights in my upper floors went out.
The top of the building went dark and merged into the dark.
They sent around electrician after electrician but damn could they put those lights on!
JAK was called....
He did it!!
The top floor lights came on again.
I could be seen again.
HAPPY , Happy.
From afar I burned brightly....
BUT my lower floors were dark.
Night after night they remained in darkness.
The vandals came and put out the lower windows.
The lower floors fell into disrepute.
Eventually it became vacant and derelict, but the the top floor lights worked.
Be careful what you wish for and who you let in the building!!!!!
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Permalink Reply by Denicha on
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I'm happy for you that you've found something that is working out for you. So far, I've avoided taking the Plaquenil, but have been on ApoDoxy (an antibiotic) for 1.5 years, after being diagnosed with scarring alopecia, most likely caused by bcc on my scalp. I've read of instances where visual problems related to the Plaquenil happen years after ingestion. How much of this stuff can we believe? I suppose I'm not feeling very lucky lately. I know I can't stay on antibiotics forever, but until the cancer is cleared (Aldara, an immune modulator, 2 treatments so far), I can't bring myself to take the Plaquenil, even though I want hair and I have 2 months worth of the drug in my cabinet! I'm worried that if the cancer isn't completely gone, and I have to cut the remainder out, healing will be impaired due to this underlying infection in my scalp. Is the underlying infection causing the cancer to grow? It seems counterintuitive to be taking a drug to stop inflamatory processes while taking another to cause the body to attack a cancer with a major inflammatory response. The more drugs I take, the more I worry!
Meanwhile, I've adopted an anti inflammatory diet - no sugar, low carb and low calorie, to try and help with inflamation in general. Maybe I should try the aspirin...
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Plaquenil is a strong med. Used to prevent malaria and also to treat RA. If you are planning to be on it for an extended period you should have an eye test-ophthalmic exam- every 6 months, I don't want to alarm you but do read the literature that comes with the med. I have heard that Humera also suppresses the immune response, but it also has serious side effects.
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Thanks Jean! At low doses it's very safe. I did have a complete eye exam and blood work before beginning treatment to determine my baseline. I believe it's standard for anyone taking plaquenil.
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Who is your Dermatologist and where do you live? Thank you for reply, I did a little research and it is a pretty safe drug at that dose.
Renee
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Permalink Reply by tony deering on
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Hi,
A few years back at Mayo Clinic I was one of those who was taking this drug and yes it did grow hair, but I had to be tested very very often because I was told by my Doctor at Mayo Clinic that this drug could cause liver damage, so I had to be tested every few weeks, so after all the risks, itching, testing, and driving to Mayo Clinic I ended treatment, just thought I would let you know this and I hope this helps :) Tony
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Thanks Tony! Tylenol has more liver damage risk. I do have lots of itching, but I'll scratch. I need testing on my eyes once a year and blood work twice per year. Again it's a very low dose. 10-20% of people experience rash.
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Permalink Reply by ASRN on
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I have AA (had AU but hair started growing back!)and RA. My derm and rheum physicians agreed to let me try plaquenil as possible treatment for both disorders. Unfortunately I had a pretty bad reaction to it and stopped before I knew if it would work. They made me do a baseline eye exam 1st though. Sounded pretty routine. My eye dr said that plaquenil has changed from the original formulation used in malarial treatment so it's less likely to cause eye problems but they still like to keep track if your vision for changes so they can catch them early if they present
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