Autoimmune hair loss? Know anything?

[dixiegirl]

I have had RA now for 4 years (since I was 17). After six months of mino, my RA went into remission. I am on 100mg of mino 2x/week now, and I am still in 100% remission, 1 yr later.

But I am coming for help for my sister. She is 16 yrs old. She has lost 3/4 of all her hair, and we highly suspect she has alopecia areata–autoimmune hairloss.

Perhaps the autoimmune diseases we’ve both experienced are related? Have similar causes?

Does the Roadback have anything to offer for autoimmune diseases like this? Could abx help her?

I know very little about this, but she needs help. We’re starting to visit docs now, but I know mino has changed my life.

What could help her?

[Maz]

@dixiegirl wrote:

I have had RA now for 4 years (since I was 17). After six months of mino, my RA went into remission. I am on 100mg of mino 2x/week now, and I am still in 100% remission, 1 yr later.

But I am coming for help for my sister. She is 16 yrs old. She has lost 3/4 of all her hair, and we highly suspect she has alopecia areata–autoimmune hairloss.

Perhaps the autoimmune diseases we’ve both experienced are related? Have similar causes?

Does the Roadback have anything to offer for autoimmune diseases like this? Could abx help her?

I know very little about this, but she needs help. We’re starting to visit docs now, but I know mino has changed my life.

What could help her?

Hi DixieGirl,

How fantastic that you are in sustained remission from your RA on AP! Do we have your testimonial for the main site? If not, any chance you would write one for us? These remission stories are just so powerful for anyone researching AP and a great way to pay-it-forward! 🙂

There have been some past discussions here on the forum about alopecia. Here is one thread you may find interesting but you’ll find more by keying in “alopecia” in the forum search engine:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7280&p=61457&hilit=alopecia#p61457

There does seem to be a genetic haplotype association to a particular allele…see following Wiki link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HLA-DR4

“DRB1*04 is associated with increased risk for alopecia areata.[11]“

As with many AI diseases, a stressor or shock of some kind may set things off, whether it be an accident, a surgery, an unrelated illness, sudden hormone imbalance, etc.

I have heard some anecdotal stories of folks using LDN (low dose naltrexone) for alopecia and I think if you run some web searches on this, you’d find that quite a bit comes up.

Do hope you manage to find some help for your sister, DixieGirl.

[Lynne G.SD]

Hi Dixie;
I don’t know if this will help your sister or not.I have scleroderma and hair loss is a major problem.
I lost over 50 % and it stayed that way even in remission.A couple years ago my kid sister (Lupus/MCTD/Lyme)
told me to take 2000micograms of Biotin,2 teaspoons of powdered MSM and 100mg of magnesium.6months
later it started growing in .Today I have it all back but keep on the supplements…..just in case….

[enzed]

I had a lot of hair loss when first diagnosed with SD and was advised by a Dr to take Flaxseed Oil – I took around 10 capsules a day (can’t stand the taste of the liquid) and within 3-4 weeks new hair started growing. I took it daily for several months and still take it sometimes when I remember. I’ve had no further hair loss since.

[Author]

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