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Permalink Reply by Suzie on August 22, 2016 at 2:10pm

I know exactly how you feel.  It's been 2 years for me.  I had fairly thick hair in the back.  I do have bald spots.  Started out with only a couple and they were growing back.  Now I have several and can't see anything coming in.  I still lose hair daily, but I don't feel like it's not coming in or growing.  I am frustrated!  I have RA and have been on Enbrel, Humira and then Orencia.  Orencia I believed triggered it because after 9 months of being out it I noticed the bald spots.  The shedding has been pretty subtle and I wonder when mine is going to stop too!  Do you have any other autoimmune diseases?  Have you tried the steroid injections or anything?  When I get this as a teenager, it all came back naturally without anything.  It was kept at bay until I developed RA after I had my 2nd child.  I always had a spot here and there on the back of my head that was virtually unnoticeable.  But now it's thinning out drastically!

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Permalink Reply by strawberry on August 22, 2016 at 9:44pm

Stars, have you seen a derm yet? Your profile states that you aren't sure whether you have alopecia or telogen effluvium. Xeljanz will only work if you have autoimmune alopecia. I definitely share your concern in taking a chance with Xeljanz. (I don't quite understand why it's approved for RA but not alopecia?) I have an appointment set up to see my primary doctor for a referral to see a derm that'll prescribe me it, so I'm in the waiting stages. I must admit I am quite nervous but I need to stay positive. Another thing I'm trying is the autoimmune protocol diet.

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Permalink Reply by Stars-r-Aligned on August 25, 2016 at 8:45am

I haven't, I simply dont have the money..plus I still have a fairly full head of hair if I went up their talking about alopecia..theyd send me to a ward lololol...but still like I said , my hair is thinning drastically, the ends are getting straight on their own ( I have kinky ,thick afro hair) so I've had to cut it .... I just dont know what's wrong with my hair.

I also have bad anxiety, like chronic nightmares bad...so I wonder I anxiety could cause all this ? Also my aunt said horomone changes...im just confused.

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Permalink Reply by Suzie on August 25, 2016 at 10:41am

Maybe try a primary care doctor to run some tests to make sure your thyroid levels as well as your vitamin D levels are fine.  Try taking supplements: evening primrose oil, multivitamins, biotin, I take a ultra hair plus MSM vitamin from the Vitamine shoppe as well.  If you have no bald patches, then maybe this is all you need to get your system recharged.  

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Permalink Reply by Stars-r-Aligned on August 25, 2016 at 3:30pm

Yeah u might be right...i looked into symptoms of thyroid issues and I dont suffer from fatigue, I've always had anxiety but it has gotten worse over the years, and I tries biotin and it made me pretty ill...so ill try the other ones you've listed...thanks a bunch :)

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Permalink Reply by strawberry on August 25, 2016 at 5:38pm

Do you have health insurance? It doesn't matter if you still have hair, the derms can do a biopsy on you to see whether it's telogen effluvium or a type of alopecia. It's important to know so you can figure out which treatment you need. I saw someone else recommend a thyroid test - yes, definitely if you can go for a full panel thyroid test and complete blood count test to see if you have any other autoimmune conditions. It's possible that bad anxiety could've triggered your hair loss, as intense stress was the trigger for me.

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