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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AW:  Other discussions on Xeljanz / Tofacitinib

https://alopeciaworld.com/main/search/search?q=Tofacitinib

 

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My spots fill in better when i went to 20mgs and kenalog shot.. when i drop down to 15 mgs hair starts falling out 3 weeks to a month later, if i decresase dose it doesnt show results next day or week, but few weeks with thinning out. 10, 15 mgs didnt do much for me, 20 got my hair back

How long did it take for spots to fill in on 20mg? I am already three months on 20 mg and almost no changes. 

Try using the minoxidil 7% with betamethasone. I get it from the dermatologist and I think it's helping. Or do the prednisone pulsed for 3 months.

  

Thanks Carlie! Will ask my dermatologist 

It seems to take forever, but they are covered by the rest if hair, i have white blotch spots around head then it turns darker. The past few months it has grown back with just xeljanz and no kenalogg shot. It seems forever because the bald spot is catching up w the longer hair... i look at my hair and remind myself that im not going to complain, that its not dark enough , healthy enough , long enoughand remeber i had nothing for two years .. i find gratitude for it when i remeber what it was like  ... the bald spot is nothing in comparison, it eventually fills in. The whole thing is patience, the hair comes back but it s slow, patience comes easier when i realized it was coming back, i look back at pics when i had a white beard, and white head , white brows and look  happy just to have hair, it was working! Be patient everybody, 

Hi everyone,

What signs are good to know it’s possible for good hair regrowth? What should you look out for on xeljanz?

maybe facial hair growth first ? Or vellus hairs ?

Any insight will be great to hear.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I've been on the xeljanz,Tofacitinib and now tofacinix since April of 2018. It took 5 months before I saw any regrowth and then another 3 months of pulsing steroids but now I have a complete head of hair. I was mostly worried about getting sick and not being able to fight infection as this is supposed to be one of the side effects of the drug. I just started to get one of my annual sinus infections that usually turns into a full blown cold and flu and was able to fight it off! I was shocked, after 3 days of feeling like it was getting bad it started to get better and completely well by day 5. I did have a cough that lingered for about a week. All I did was take my supplements and tylenol every 6 hours. I've been AU going on 2 years.

That is amazing to hear Carlie! You must be so happy. Have you got your eyebrows and eyelashes back? 

What dose are you on? 

Kind regards

Yes, my eyebrows and eyelashes are very nice. I use Lumigan which I think helped thicken and lengthen. I am on 20 mg. 10 am/10pm. My hair is about 1/2-1 in long.. 

Congratulations! That is probably amazing feeling:) how long in total do you take medication? I started in May and in the last three months taking 20 mg. Still have spots that are not filling in. Don’t tolerate steroids and was wondering if it will work with out pulsing. 

I had nothing after 5 mos until I started the steroids. So if your hair is starting without the steroids, you should be fine. It might take a little longer but once it starts it goes pretty quick.

How exactly do you pulse what do you take how many,and for how many months and days a month?

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