Dry skin and hair loss

[lynnie_sydney]

….and so is sulfasalazine (I notice you’re on it jas). My rheumy in the early 90″s (the days I was still consulting one) put me on sulfasalazine when no NSAIDs or 2 shots of cortisone made a jot of difference to my intermittent agonising attacks (and they never have). He said at the time it had been around for around 40 years – so guess that would make it around 65 years now. I note that rheumies in general don’t seem to have a problem with this one, though many DO seem to have an issue with minocycline

Be well! Lynnie

Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)

[jasregadoo]

Yes, I’m on sulfasalazine as well. My doctor started me on plaquenil, which I had a reaction to. Then she started me on sulfasalazine. After that made no difference, she wanted to start me on methotrexate (sp), but I asked to try minocycline instead. My goal is to get off of the sulfasalazine eventually, but it doesn’t seem to have the horrid side effects that some of the others have, so I’m not as worried about it as I would be about methotrexate or biologics.

[purplepanda]

I know hair loss is of great concern, especially to women. Dry skin & hair loss go along with autoimmune diseases. I had dry skin & lost a lot of hair with my thyroid, and it continued until my thyroid levels became more normal. Then, I seemed to lose normal amounts. I have very thin, fine hair to begin with. My hair just started becoming more full in the fall, and then RA reared its head. I’ve been losing hair (a ball tightly rolled up is the size of my pinky fingernail) every time I wash my hair. It’s a wonder I have any left! I can see the part in my hair getting wider. My skin is also very dry & wrinkly on my forearms & tops of hands and look as if I’ve aged 20 years.

I don’t know what to suggest. Perhaps try some of the suggestions listed.

11-20-15: Off Mobic. No NSAIDS.
10-14-15: Working toward Minocycline 100mg BID. Able to "lock" my knees when standing now!
9-14-15: 2nd Clindamycin IV series. Still on 5mg Prednisone & 7.5 mg Mobic per day. Swelling greatly reduced in knees.
8-15-15: Started Minocycline 100mg BID MWF to present.
5-25-15: Started generic Minocycline, 100mg MWF. Tried titrating to 100mg BID MWF over a month & went back down to 100mg MWF.
5-18-15: 1st Clindamycin IV series. Dropped Naproxen, added Mobic.

[enzed]

The best thing I have found for dry skin is Emu Oil. It acts rapidly to replace the oil in human skin. A little amount spreads over a large area so it’s very economical. I use Australian Emu Oil that has been processed safely and is cold pressed to protect its qualities. Its marvellous stuff. You don’t even have to rub it in – just smooth it over the skin and it absorbs because it transports itself through the skin. It’s very oily before it’s fully absorbed.

For breaking hair I just eat jelly (which is made from gelatine). For people who won’t touch meat products, gelatine is a by product of cows. I add extra (powdered) gelatine when mixing the jelly so it sets very hard and cuts into blocks for eating. Quite nice to eat and cheap too.

[Linda L]

Than you purplepanda, enzed.
Linda L.

RA tried everything: Methotraxate, Arava, Humira. Pneumonia three times. Anemia. Very low iron. Hypothyroidism
AP from April 2014 till August 2015. No luck.
Current medications: Natural thyroid, Mobic, supplements,
vitamins and minerals.
MTHFR heterozygous

[Robert]

hi Linda just noticed your post,,,,,,endocroligists are supposed to check all your hormones,,,,vitamin d,,cortisol ,dhea,,and another one think pregerone somethng like that,,,anyway vitamin d defiency will cause dry skin as well as a host of other problems,,,you need to have it all checked as you need those steroid hormones to help with inflammation etc,,,have you had it all checked,,,if not would advise as made a big diffrence to my dry skin,,,now my whole head ,,well face shines ,,lol,,,what a diffrence vit d makes wow.

[Linda L]

Robert,
In February when I checked vit. D it was 66 nmol/L. How much vitamin D do you take? What was your D level before?
Thank you.
Linda L.

RA tried everything: Methotraxate, Arava, Humira. Pneumonia three times. Anemia. Very low iron. Hypothyroidism
AP from April 2014 till August 2015. No luck.
Current medications: Natural thyroid, Mobic, supplements,
vitamins and minerals.
MTHFR heterozygous

[jasregadoo]

Linda, I think your Vitamin D is well within the normal range. Normal is considered 20-80, I think.

I would think twice before taking a large amount in a supplement. For some people, too much vitamin D causes our pain to be worse.

I don’t know that my supplementation made things worse for me. I do know that my symptoms started last July. I started taking 5,000 D3 in September (without having my D tested, btw), and things got MUCH worse, quickly. There may not be causation there, I don’t know. But it’s not something I would do again, unless I were below 20.

[Linda L]

Friends,
This time I have a good news. I have stopped losing my hair and a dry skin on my body has nearly disappeared. I keep thinking what has helped: I take less MIno /50mg, before 100mg M/W/F/, I eat 2 yolks every single day, I eat more fat /I think it would be too early for that, but I have started to eat butter and more fat/, I have started to take vitamins B3, B6, Zinc with Manganese, I have stopped taking folic acid /I have monozygous gene/, I take much less iron.
I know it is a lot, so I don’t know if it can help anyone of you.
Linda L.

RA tried everything: Methotraxate, Arava, Humira. Pneumonia three times. Anemia. Very low iron. Hypothyroidism
AP from April 2014 till August 2015. No luck.
Current medications: Natural thyroid, Mobic, supplements,
vitamins and minerals.
MTHFR heterozygous

[Author]

Posts