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Taboo Topic Alert!
I hope this doesn't get me kicked off the sight, but I believe it is a legitimate topic and possibly an important one. I used to smoke marijuana pretty regularly and enjoy a glass of wine or two. When I decided to quit a few years ago (just to see how I would feel without it) I only had one very concealable bald spot. This initial spot developed after the most stressful time in my life. When I quit drinking and smoking pot I subsequently developed more and more spots until I was almost completely bad and needed to resort to wigs. I also had chronic upper back pain after quitting my previous forms of relaxation. About 6 months ago or something I decided to do an experiment. I began enjoying some good red wine which I adore and smoking marijuana in moderation. Since then my hair loss has just about completely stopped and I have had some promising regrowth in a lot of my spots, also my back pain has greatly improved.
I still need to wear a wig for now, as baldness is not for me. I don't know if this remission will continue and if all or most of my hair will eventually grow back but it did lead me to wonder if anyone else has noticed whether drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana have affected their condition for better or worse.
I did some research on my own and scientists have been investigating a link between marijuana and reducing the effects of auto-immune disease. My Dr. has also suggested going on sulfasalazine after I brought it to his attention (he didn't even know it was used to treat alopecia) I learned about it on this site. It just goes to show that often the patient is their own best advocate. I am not sure about going on sulfasalazine. I may continue with more ah "natural" remedies for a while and see if my extensive AA continues to improve.
Any thoughts?
I still need to wear a wig for now, as baldness is not for me. I don't know if this remission will continue and if all or most of my hair will eventually grow back but it did lead me to wonder if anyone else has noticed whether drinking alcohol or smoking marijuana have affected their condition for better or worse.
I did some research on my own and scientists have been investigating a link between marijuana and reducing the effects of auto-immune disease. My Dr. has also suggested going on sulfasalazine after I brought it to his attention (he didn't even know it was used to treat alopecia) I learned about it on this site. It just goes to show that often the patient is their own best advocate. I am not sure about going on sulfasalazine. I may continue with more ah "natural" remedies for a while and see if my extensive AA continues to improve.
Any thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dominique Cleopatra on
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I'm Vegan too. How many alopecians are Vegan or Vegetarian? I wonder if there is a connection. People are always telling me to eat an egg or something and maybe my hair will grow back. Could they possibly be right? Since you mention depression I have done a lot of research and apparantly those who develope alopecia have a higher rate of "mental illness" such as anxiety disorder and depression than that of the general population. Of course that could be a result and not a cause of this confounding malady. (What came first the Chicken or the Egg?) I for one have an anxiety disorder (OCD) and had it long before AA become a problem. We all know stress can play a part in Alopecia so who knows.
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Permalink Reply by Eva on
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I have been vegetarian for about a year. Actually I have had a bit more head growth since making the change, so for me there has not been a link between the hair loss and not eating meat.
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Permalink Reply by JeffreySF on
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Interesting thought. i've been pretty Vegan myself lately.
Some growth is taking place......
Jeffrey
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Permalink Reply by Bud on
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Please let us know.
I am non-vegan, North American Aboriginal, eat a meat and berries diet. Call it a modified Atkins diet, no white sugar or flour, no corn or bread or gluten. you could call it the non-European diet. But it doesnt help my AA. my hair comes and goes, sometimes comes back strong and brown, but mostly thin and gray these days.
I think I will go bald some day and live with it.
I hope you find your solution(path) and follow it.
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I've been doing mostly a soy and vegetable diet. Not so much for alopecia reasons but to lower my cholesterol. I hope it's working. I will do follow up blood tests soon to see my progress. I have managed to lose 10 lbs. I welcome back my chin as in singular lol...
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Permalink Reply by Tallgirl on
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I have had wine in times of both hair and no-hair. So...it isn't the wine. Hmmm...food for thought.
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Permalink Reply by Lee on
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I have done both...with and without hair...hasnt made a difference. Wish pot made my hair grow back...that would be sweet.
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Permalink Reply by Trixie on
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I have done both occasionally before my AA and now. I do have anexiety and depression I have had them before the AA and they have both gotten worse since the hair loss began. I think that the only thing pot and wine/alcohol has done for me now is help me relax and take my mind off of the stress.
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Thanks Micki, great name hehe!! : ) I'm going to try to bump up my smoking to at least a few hits a night and see if it accelerates my regrowth. I don't think it could be any worse for me than the sulfasalazine the dr wants to put me on and its laundry list of side effects, some potentially life threatening. I hope others will weigh in on this sensitive subject. If you want to contact me privately I will keep it confidential.
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Ellis CN, Brown MF, Voorhees JJ.
Department of Dermatology, 1910 A. Alfred Taubman Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0314, USA.
Sulfasalazine is used as a therapy for various autoimmune conditions, including psoriasis; its effectiveness is presumed to be the result of its immunomodulatory effects. We have treated patients with severe alopecia areata with sulfasalazine as part of our dermatology practice and have noticed cosmetically acceptable regrowth in 23% of patients in whom a response could be determined. In view of its good safety profile, sulfasalazine may be considered for systemic treatment of severe alopecia areata.
You can find out much more about it by just plugging the name into a search engine online.
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Permalink Reply by Lori Black on
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Hi, in answer to your questions...I have had AA now AU for 25 yrs and about 5 yrs into the process I started smoking cigarettes (about 1 1/2 to 2 pks a day) smoking marijuana everyday and drank whenever I felt like it and in the amount I wanted. The five previous yrs I went to the Dr weekly sometimes and tried all their ideas (they had alot of them in the '80's) and had regrowth and fall out twice. I smoked and drank for 10 yrs and after about 2 yrs I had 90% regrowth and no fall out. I quit all that 10 yrs ago and had 3 children, I had complete fall out with the birth of my first child and not a bit of regrowth at all without the Dr's help. I choose to just accept the baldness and go on. I have discovered that the drugs and alcohol deplete the immune system, hence the regrowth. Without them I have had none, I am healthier, but have no hair. I have decided the drugs had a worse affect on my life personally , so bald I am. Hope this helps!! God Bless YOU!! Lori
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