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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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by singh on October 1, 2015 at 2:04pm
Is there any articles on stem cell trials for hair? Or any idea when you think this might become a treatment for alopecia ?
Permalink Reply by AlopeciaDestroyedMyLife on October 1, 2015 at 2:16pm

This is really the beginning, It's sad that things have taken this long to take off but in time things will only improve and get better and eventually we will have something that resembles the cure we all are craving for.

For now Xeljanz is 100% the way to go .

Permalink Reply by Megn on October 1, 2015 at 11:20pm
I have friends with various arthritis and lots of money and they are reporting such amazing success for it and even Parkinson's. Wish the states would approve it. It would help nearly any autoimmune I would believe. One day.... :))
Permalink Reply by Sabri on October 1, 2015 at 5:58pm
Ruxolitinib Is available in the uk at the cost of £3600 a month. Plus vat at 20%

http://www.ukmi.nhs.uk/applications/ndo/record_view_open.asp?newDru...
Permalink Reply by singh on October 1, 2015 at 6:37pm
That's over 50 k a year ! Let's hope other jak inhibitors get approved with a well higher safety profile!!
Permalink Reply by Summer2000 on October 1, 2015 at 8:59pm
My insurance covers Ruxolitinib
Permalink Reply by Megn on October 1, 2015 at 11:18pm
Which company do you have? I am on Xeljanz and it's working, but curious to see in case I want to or need to switch for any reason. So far 8 weeks on Xeljanz and I look like a peach.
Permalink Reply by Summer2000 on October 2, 2015 at 6:45am
Tufts - Ruxolitinib cleared up my nails / they were practically falling off. I didn't get any hair growth, but was only on it 4 months or so. I think it is a different Jsk inhibitor. I have three Xeljanz pills left - I might fall back on it.
Permalink Reply by Sp06 on October 2, 2015 at 2:43am
I got curious abt the stem cell treatments that cws mentioned, and this is absolutely amazing... There was a study done recently and the results are incredible. The article is kinda long and wordy, so if u want to see the results, skip to page 6 and 7. However, I read the whole thing since it was so interesting. Not only does stem cell treatment cute alopecia areata, it prevents it from relapsing. All you need is one treatment and ur hair will continue to grow even years after the treatment. There are virtually no side effects too! Here is a link to the study in case you guys are interested:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/s12916-015-0331-6.pdf
Permalink Reply by 3ebdie on October 2, 2015 at 3:15am
Ive read this article but i still think its not that impressive. I even think the picture they are showing of the alopecia patient is not genuine. Just look at it it doesnt look like alopecian bald spots. It looks like they shaved here so she can look like an alopecia patient before and after regrowth
Permalink Reply by singh on October 2, 2015 at 4:59am
Looks interesting! If you you tube stem cell treatment for hair you will see a video on how they have successfully pulled this of in mice and was about to embark on their first human study! And the Dr in the video predicted it will be out in the next 5-10 years for human treatment of Alopecia however that was in 2008 ! Nearly 8 years ago! So I think this article is genuine and I just hope it does come out for treament very soon.
Permalink Reply by 3ebdie on October 2, 2015 at 6:01am

Do you have a link of this video (on youtube)? 

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