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.

-----------------------------

AW:  Other discussions on Xeljanz / Tofacitinib

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

 

Views: 927293

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Hi Sam, 

I am sorry you had this experience. I hope someone on the forum can help you in your area. But there are a few avenues possible, I think here collectively have all gone through the experience of getting xeljanz and can help and give you support! And hopefully someone here on the forum knows someone in minnesota. 

I suggest exhausting all xeljanz forum options as well and join the alopecia and xeljanz group and reaching out to see if anyone knows of a doctor near by the specializes in xeljanz and alopecia. 

Your insurance most likely will decline the medication for you, but that is ok you can still get it from pfizer. Now you might ask, why the heck you need a doctor if pfizer can just give it to you? You need to be denied several times from your insurance before pfizer can give you the medication

Most of us have gone through these motions. We are all here to help. 

hi newjack are how you your blood tests is still good? cholesterol etc ...

are you still on 20mg of xeljanz?

I will probably switch to baracitinib because I have a bad response from xeljanz at the level of the hair.

I am still on 20mg and my cholesterol sucks trig are great, HDL amazing but my LDL is horrific. My derm is not concerned and does not think it's serious because how well my numbers are with the other 2. 

My other blood results are fantastic (as my doctor would say) and my hair is still in tact. No issues. 

I hope you are doing well Kevin, and barcitnib gives you the results we are all looking for :)

Reading the posts I notice you have cholesterol issues. Mine is also not the best. I normally don't push natural supplements but consider milkthisle or a product called Cholesterol Pro.

I heard Cholesterol Pro is good in combination with working out.

When I try Cholesterol Pro I will try to update you... Good luck

I am sorry after posting i remembered I take milkthisle to lower my liver enzimes. I think it helps in combination with fiber to lower cholesterol. This is why I don't recommend natural supliments.

I do hope I helped. 

Truthfully, Sam, your "doctor" sounds like a complete clown!  If he/she is a dermatologist, I can only tell you that most dermatologists are useless when it comes to treating alopecia areata.  They keep trying to treat it as though it is external, when it is a well-known fact that it is internal.  It is an auto-immune disease, and your doctor should have known that.  You will most likely find more sane and useful advise from the people here than you will from conventional US medicine.

Hi Everyone!

New here, but I've been reading through this thread for a while and have learned so much.  I have alopecia areata...always kept it to just 1-2 small patches, but since last March I've now lost about 40% of my hair. 

I started 10 mg of Xeljanz about 6 weeks ago, plus I'm still getting my Kenalog injections every month.  I'm already seeing quite a bit of patchy regrowth, which I'm very excited about!

However, my patches are still actively shedding and growing at a pretty significant rate.  It seems like most people here are AT/AU, but has anyone had success with Xeljanz stopping/stabilizing the shedding, not just helping with regrowth?  

How long have you been taking it? What is your doctor plan? Does she was to wean you off since u don't have AU but only AA?

I've only been on it for about 6 weeks.  My derm doesn't have a ton of experience with Xeljanz, but I believe the plan was to take it for about 6 months and then come off.  Reading this forum, I'm realizing that may not be the best plan.

My derm told me to be patient, but it's getting more difficult to cover things, so I'm feeling a bit disappointed at the continued shedding.

from my understanding it takes at least 3 months to take effect in the body. You are on the right track. Hopefully things will be much better soon.  

Thanks for the vote of confidence!  This condition is so frustrating sometimes.

Hello

Some of the recent studies which I am going through now is that getting sick with covid 19 will make you loose your hair in a very fast way,  this is happening to me after the 14 days quarantine i was fine but the post corona syndrome made my hair fell like rain so consider that most of people might have covid without symptoms,  check your antibodies test might be thr reason for hair loss

RSS

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.

© 2024   Created by Alopecia World.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service