Hi Everyone,  I started on cyclosporine (200mg/day) and Olux-E foam (0.05%) 9 weeks ago and I'm starting to see little black tufts of hair all over my scalp. Trying not to get too excited but this is the first new hair growth I've had in about 5 years.  My derm said if it was going to work it would take 4 - 6 months.  I wonder how many of you out there have tried this combo with any success?

Cheri

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Hi Cheri

I've sent you a friend request :)

I naturally understand/respect your wish for privacy. I would be the same.

Regarding the 200mg dosage of cyclosporine that you take - Do you take this all in one go or do you split the dose equally and take twice daily (i.e. 100mg in the morning, 100mg in the evening) ? Do you take the cyclosporine with or without food ?

Thanks,

Scott

Hi Scott, I take 100mg in the morning with food and 100 mg at bed with some yogurt or almond milk so there's a little something in my stomach.  Some people get upset stomachs from this medication so they recommend taking with food.   I've never had that side effect. I get occasional mild headaches - that's the only side effect I've noticed. You're supposed to take the caps at the same time every day.  I try but I'm not religious about it.

Hi Cheri

Thanks for info. Makes sense about splitting the dosage and keeping the levels of cyclosporine in the blood balanced.

I looked at your regrowth photos. Thanks for posting these. You've got some great regrowth going on there :) I notice you have lots of long healthy looking hair already, so did you only have partial alopecia on your scalp before starting treatment ?

Yes. About 1/4 of my scalp at the top hadn't fallen out yet. The rest was completely bald before I started. It was falling out fast though!

Ah, I see. I'm AU so maybe my chances of regrowth on this treatment are less. Worth a shot though !

I don't think that's true actually. My specialist has used this treatment for AU as well. He was worried it might not work very well for me because I've been AA for 10 years. We were both elated by my progress at 4 months. I hold out hope for you. :) Just make sure your Dr. keeps a close eye on your kidney functioning. Better to have kidneys than hair I think. Keep me posted.


Thanks, I will :)

Do you know what aspects of your kidney function your specialist checks ? As far as I understand it should be your creatinine level (mg/dl) .... which should not not rise greater than 0.5% from your pre-treatment levels, or rise higher than the normal range.

I know it's really a question for the specialist but I'm just trying to find out as much information as I can up front.

Yes. I believe that is what needs to be monitored.

Hi Cheri - Glad to hear it's been working for you, congrats! It gives me hope. I have AT, and I've been on 150mg of cyclosporine for 2-3 months now, and I'm starting the foam this week. I started to grow a little "mohawk" right down the center of my head, but it's sparse and GRAY. My hair used to be brown, but it's now a weird putty color with white patches. How are your eyebrows doing on the cyclo? My brows and lashes started thinning out last month, even with the cyclosporine. I know there are no guarantees, but it's nice to hope!  

Hi There,

I have pictures of my progress at 10 weeks and at 4 months on my profile.  The pics are for friends only so if you want to see them, feel free to send me a friend request.  If you take a close look at the 10 week pic, you'll see that most of the hairs are sparse and white - just like you!  But now, at 4 months the hairs are mostly brown like my regular hair colour and it's much much thicker. I have AA, so I never lost my lashes.  You'll see I still have about a 1/4 of my hair - only on the top. I've had AA for about 10 years but lost most of my hair in last 2 years. 

I'll add new pics every month or so to show my friends my progress.  I'm holding out lots of hope too!!!  I hope it works for both of us.  :)

Cheri

Awesome! It's always nice to know someone else in the world is having a similar (though, horrible) experience. Fingers crossed for you! 

Hi Cheri

 

It would be helpful if I could determine your daily 200mg dosage of cyclosporine on an mg/kg basis.

 

mg/kg stands for the number of milligrams of cyclosporine you take for every kilogram of body weight. For example, I weigh 63 kilograms ... so therefore if I’m taking 200mg of cyclosporine then my mg/kg dosage is 200/63 (dosage divided by weight) = 3.2 mg/kg

 

Can you let me know what your prescribed cyclosporine dosage is on an mg/kg basis as calculated above ? I ask as whatever your mg/kg works out at IS working for you, and I’d like to talk to my specialist about being prescribed a similar mg/kg dosage.

Typical mg/kg doses for cyclosporine range from 2.5mg/kg (low dose) to 6.0mg/kg (high dose).

 

Please feel free to message me this information if you prefer, or message me to seek clarification if I’ve not been clear in my explanation of what I’m asking for.

 

Hope that’s ok,

 

Scott

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