Xeljanz (Tofacitinib Citrate): My experience on the trial

I have received a lot of interest from others on here in my involvement with the Xeljanz trials at Yale.

I thought it would be nice for everyone if I documented my progress on here. 

Xeljanz is a Jak3 inhibitor and is believed to work with alopecia by turning off the distress signal relayed by the hair follicle to the attacking immune system which is the cause of the hairs falling out. Xeljanz comes in a strength of 5mg per pill and a full box contains 60 tablets. The recommended dosage for arthritis is 1 tablet in the morning and another in the evening each day.

The trial is set in a series of stages and there are requirements before participating. These include monthly visits and blood tests every 2 weeks. Dr Brett King is absolutely fantastic and is an inspiration to me. His positivity and enthusiasm gives me the much needed hope I have craved for over a decade. I have been put on a low dose to start with which is 1 tablet every other day. My dosage has now been increased to 1 tablet every day and next month it could be increased to 2 tablets per day depending on the results. 

I have completed my first month and have already noticed my alopecia has stabilised . I have not lost any existing hairs. In addition to this I have seen little hairs growing in my chest area as well as eyebrows. Fingers crossed! To date, I have experienced no side effects.

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Related Post on Alopecia World:  

Xeljanz / Tofacitinib

Olumiant

Jak Inhibitors

 

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Permalink Reply by Alopecia Mom on February 28, 2017 at 12:27pm

Has anyone noticed lots of bald spots after being on Xeljanz for a while? My daughter had good regrowth but is now getting large bald spots and feels like it is falling out at a steady pace. She has just started taking 4 pills a day and was on 3 pills a day. I am fearful that it has just stopped working - has anyone else had the Xeljanz just stop working? I hope that the bald spots will fill in but we will see...

Permalink Reply by Return_life on February 28, 2017 at 8:59pm
it is not uncommon that a biologic stops working. usually what people do is switching to another biologic. unfortunately with alopecia there is not a lot of choice... for the moment
Permalink Reply by LIU CHUNXIU on March 2, 2017 at 1:45am

does anyone have the telephone number or e-mail address of the pharmacy in istanbul, Turkey and i would like to go to Turkey to buy Xeljanz and i want to contact with the people in pharmacy first.  thanks

Permalink Reply by lu391 on March 2, 2017 at 7:54am

I usually go to the pharmacy Istanbul sultanahmet district, the name is AYASOFYA the phone number is +90 0212 5137215, I never phoned, I go in the morning to order xeljanz and the afternoon I go to pick it up. They speak English, and I've never had any problems

Permalink Reply by bibby on March 3, 2017 at 5:37am

Hi , What price do this pharmacy charge in dollars ? I will be looking for 11mg x 4 bottles next month 

Permalink Reply by lu391 on March 3, 2017 at 3:03pm

I always pay by credit card, they do not accept dollars I think

Permalink Reply by bibby on March 3, 2017 at 8:13pm

I hope you do not mind me asking but what is the cost in Lira or Euro per bottle ? 

Permalink Reply by Youknow on March 3, 2017 at 8:16pm

1850 Turkish Lira  472€ 

Permalink Reply by Knightsfan212 on March 2, 2017 at 2:49pm

Hi everyone,

I was just wondering if you can drink alcohol while taking Xeljanz

Also, thanks to everyone who told me about the hardship program. 

Permalink Reply by Jcortez05 on March 2, 2017 at 3:45pm
Yes I do and have full regrowth
Permalink Reply by IcarusAlopecia on March 3, 2017 at 12:57pm

Hi Knightsfan,

You can but be careful. Xeljanz is hard on your liver.

I will say this (and NOT promoting it)

I went to London last week to visit friends. THe Brits DRINK. I had about 3 glasses champagne and about 3 cocktails. I woke up feeling fine but will def not make that a regular thing. After days after, went to Scotland to visit friends (The Scots I know drink a TON), and had a fair amount of beer. Same thing, I was OK.

As part of my Xeljanz treatment though, I will make those type of nights few and far between.

Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by LIU CHUNXIU on March 3, 2017 at 9:44pm
hi are you in Turkey,could you ask the price for JAKAVI in Turkey? Is it available in any pharmacy?

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