Alopecia World
www.alopeciaworld.com
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.
-----------------------------
Related Post on Alopecia World:
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Frida Rupert on
-
Picture time. It's coming on quite well. Still lighter in some places then others and overall seems lighter then my hair prior (I was mid- dark brown). I have three spots in the front which I am getting injected tomorrow in a hope to spur them along. The length is a bit uneven but if it keeps growing like this I should be wig free in 3-4 months (once I have enough to style it into a normal looking short haircuts - something that disguises the different lengths etc). As with us all- I worry about relapse but am trying to stay focused on the positive - 100% eyelashes!!! Yay! I have eyebrows! My hair right now is responding!
My husband ( who probably says this to try and make me happy) thinks it's growing faster then "normal". I wouldn't go that far but it's definitely picking up speed. Hoping current cold won't lead to any set backs (I think that's just me being paranoid)... happy growing everyone.
- Attachments:
-
-
IMG_0640.JPG, 315 KB -
IMG_0642.JPG, 311 KB
-
IMG_0644.JPG, 290 KB
-
-
-
Frida,
That is amazing! I can't wait to be where you are. This spots look like they just need some injections and maybe some cream to promote growth and you're in the clear with just using xeljanz. I am using betamethasone cream on my scalp as well and it helps.
-
-
you are gonna catch up with me in no time at all! Very encouraging to see your response! I'll hit up my doc when I get my steriod jabs for the betamethasone cream- thanks for the tip!
-
Permalink Reply by Toxicmosquitoaf on
-
very blury pictures cant see shit
-
-
Selfies of my head are hard to take. I'm usually rushing as I'm about to hop in the shower (that's when I take my wig off for the day) and my kids don't give me much time to muck around trying to get clear shots- clearly my photography skills could do with some improvement. There are 3 patches at the front. The rest is covered with brown, light brown and blonde hair around an inch to an inch and a half long, it's a bit like a brindle coat on a dog. It's fully covered apart from the front which has 3 thumb print sized spots with only very short white hairs. They are slowly diminishing but definitely gonna need some steriod shots to encourage them and maybe cream too...
-
-
i am so happy for u
-
-
Thanks Patches,
hows your journey going? I know it's early days for you so don't stress if there is no growth yet. Have you got LDN yet? I reckon that is helping mine a bit.
-
-
Yeah-when you take oral steroids daily your adrenals can get screwed up as well as a bunch of other problems. Pulsing reduces this by giving you a massive dose only two days a week if your doing oral steriods or monthly if you are doing intravenous steriod. By pulsing you get many of the benefits of using steroids while by passing some of the nasty aspects of steriod use as your body still maintains normal adrenal function on the other days. I read a study on xeljanz where they used intravenous steroids and that helped get hair growth started etc. intravenous was too difficult to arrange for me so I am doing oral Micro pulses. I wrote a long post about it over a month ago with references to steriod pulsing and alopecia so if search on "steriod pulsing" and my handle you can have a read. I found it quite interesting, even the results without xeljanz were reasonably good. Again it's important to be monitored by a doctor while doing this...
-
-
oh, ok. I have always used topical. Never had any dermatologist suggest anything oral.
-
-
I’ve only been on for 2 1/2 months so too soon to tell. Obviously it’s only about growing not preventing but my friend who suffered will female pattern baldness all in the front after a year has had great results. Her hair was always fine and wispy as well as sparse and now she has a thick head of hair. So it def worked for her. But expensive
-
-
Just updating
I had massive irritation on my beard today and clumps fell out. Not having the success that I'm having on my head that I am with my beard. I'm assuming Alopecia Areta is active still very much in my beard. Everyday I wake up with new hair on my head. But my beard is quite the opposite. It feels like it's on fire and I have needles everywhere. Last week it was actually winding down. Yesterday and today it's been probably at it's worse. Hopefully xeljanz just nips this in the ass all together soon.
Can anyone update me on when they saw beard growth? And what dosage they had? I see my doctor next week I'll ask what else can we do for the beard since we're attacking the scalp at many different angles.
Disclaimer
Any mention of products and services on Alopecia World is for informational purposes only; it does not imply a recommendation or endorsement by Alopecia World. Nor should any statement or representation on this site be construed as professional, medical or expert advice, or as pre-screened or endorsed by Alopecia World. Alopecia World is not responsible or liable for any of the views, opinions or conduct, online or offline, of any user or member of Alopecia World.
© 2025 Created by Alopecia World.
Powered by
