Comment by Nicole on April 7, 2009 at 12:42pm

Thanks for sharing your great news. You have caught my interest in the drug and I am going to ask my doctor about it.

Comment by Just Ask on April 7, 2009 at 2:55pm

thats great, i too had the steroid shots when I was like 4 and my hair grew back. When it fell out again at age 21, the shots didn't take but by that time I was a grown man and it didn't bother me as much. I'm glad to hear everything has worked out for you and your daughter. I wish for much more success in the future.

Comment by Tina on April 7, 2009 at 3:13pm

Great this is working for your daughter! I am allergic to sulfa meds. I think that it is a very common drug allergy. I know nothing about medicine, but maybe the allergic reaction is what made it work? Are there any doctors in the house?

Comment by Kayreyn on April 7, 2009 at 3:23pm

That is a true BLESSING! I am sooo happy for the both of you! I'm going to ask our doctor about that too!

Comment by Paula on April 7, 2009 at 3:47pm

how interesting! i am happy for you and your daughter! how long will she have to take sulfasalazine?

Comment by Cindy on April 8, 2009 at 2:06pm

I asked my doctor about this drug. She did not recommend this form of treatment. This drug suppresses your immune system and could impact your ability to fight off illnesses. My daughter is seen at a top rated Children's Hospital and I have the highest regard for our doctor. My daughter is treated with squaric acid and it is working for her, but it is not for everyone. If you are going to try this drug do your research. It is not worth getting sick to grow your hair.

Comment by Katie Beth on April 12, 2009 at 2:09pm

Thanks for your comments. I agree with you--not all doctors are comfortable prescribing sulfasalazine for alopecia. As I'm sure you know, alopecia is an autoimmune disease and immunosuppressants are used for countless other AI diseases. We have been to countless doctors at Duke, Emory, Furman, Cincinnati, Greenvillle--all who told us there was no cure and we should just "accept" it. I refused and still refuse to give up hope for my daughter's sake. I was lucky enough to be introduced to a mother/nurse whose son and her husband both has alopecia. They shared their experience with sulfasalazine and how it works. After countless months of research and exploration, my husband I decided to find a doctor that would let us see if sulfasalazine would work on our daughter. This was not a decision we took lightly and neither should anyone considering taking this drug. However, it is a very safe drug and it has been around for over 40 years. Children and adults of all ages take this drug for another autoimmune disease called chrone's disease and irritable bowl syndrome. It was by accident that the positive effects it had on alopecia suffers were even uncovered. We are working with a world renowned dermatologist now who agreed with our assessment that sulfasalazine was worth a try. Not everyone can handle sulfasalazine so we are extremely careful with our daughter's care. She has her blood drawn every four weeks to make sure her she is tolerating it. Her immune system is not suppressed, her liver function is perfect and her thyroid levels have always been and still are normal. And, she has a full head of hair now. Her peditrician was nervous about giving her sulfasalazine at first. Now, after seeing how well her body is tolerating it, she is 100% behind us and has declared she will inform future parents about our success. I can promise you, if my daughter's blood work ever came back with anything other than perfect numbers, I would stop sulfasalazine immediately.

Comment by shemika on April 13, 2009 at 9:01pm

thats great! congratulations

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