6mp Hair Loss

[Gman7722]

Hey Guys,

I'm totally new to these forums and I am looking to reach out for some help and support. I was diagnosed with Crohn's about a year and a half ago and have been on 50mg of 6mp every since. My disease has gotten better and its much more manageable now but I has various side effects, the worst being hair loss. I'm a 24 year old male and I've lost a lot of hair and have a large bald spot on the back....it goes without saying that its embarrassing and very hard to deal with especially at my age of 24 while being in college. Some days I just want to spot taking 6mp just to see if my hair will grow back or not. I'm so torn and do not know what to do. Any opinions or suggestions on my matter would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

George

 

[f_else]

Hey George,

I completely understand where you are coming from. I am a 21 year old female student at University and went onto Azathioprine (very similar to 6mp) 50mg half way through last year. It did improve a lot of my crohns symptoms, but like your experience it came with quite a few side-effects, the worst being hair-loss. I put up with it for six months, thinking that maybe it would eventually ease up but it never did. Eventually I told my doctor that I had had enough and went off the medication, it wasn't worth the emotional trauma it was causing me at the time when everytime I went into the shower I would just pull out more and more hair.
Unfortunately I can't really give you much advice as to what to do next. I've been off that drug for about a month and a half and haven't moved onto anything else yet, I'm just waiting to see what my disease activity is like. As for the hair loss, it hasn't completely stopped yet although I think it might be starting to ease. It usually takes at least two months for hair to become affected by medications (either in a good or bad way) so you will normally notice hair-loss two months after starting a drug. Therefore I think it is a safe bet to assume that it will take at least two months after stopping the medication for the hair to stop falling out, and maybe a bit longer to see new growth.

Ultimately George, this is a choice you will have to make for yourself though. Are the benefits of the 6mp outweighing the detriments? Or is it worth taking some time to explore some alternative therapies (which I am starting to look into currently). I think it will depend a lot on how active your disease is, sometimes looks aren't worth your health. You've also got one good point over me, you're a male. It is not out of the ordinary for a guy of 24 to be losing hair. I know it is far from ideal, but it is socially acceptable and guys without hair can be hot. If you choose to stick with it perhaps you should consider the shaved approach? I am a big Vin Diesel fan myself and he seems to make the no-hair look work. Bruce Willis does alright too.

Anyways I wish you all the best,
Fabs

 

[moogie]

F_Else says it all.

I'm a bit older than you are at 38 but I shave my head and I have been shaved for the last 7 years. Girls usually dig it.

With this medication you sometimes have to make a few choices. Shaving your head is not to high a price for a remission. at least in my case.

You think on it.

Good luck

 

[shamrock15]

Ditto on the disappearing hair. I am a supply teacher, 42, and I work mostly elementary. I use my "thinning" hair as an ice-breaker in classes. Self-deprecating humour works. I do foresee very soon saying good-bye to the remaining hair.

 

[Gman7722]

Hey guys, thanks for taking time to respond to my question, I really appreciate it. I know where all you are coming from when you say that hair loss is almost a price to pay for remission. I am just so curious and eager to stop taking 6mp and actually find out if my hair will grow back...but obviously, the main deturrent to doing that is falling out of remission.
And thanks Fabs, bruce and vin are pretty badass bald dudes haha.

 

[uhmayzing]

I'm also a girl with hair loss...but I was told to keep a close eye on my vitamin B12 levels as it can be a side effect of that. Can't say the hair looks as nice as it used to (I could have starred in a Pantene commercial) but I'm already married so the hubby is stuck with me...

 

[Gman7722]

Hey Fabs, quick question

Did you ever go into remission while taking your medication and if so did your symptoms get worse after stopping the medication?
Regardless, how are you feeling not being on any medication?
I know that everybody is different but just curious.

 

[f_else]

Hey George,

Hmmmm the difficult remission question. The only answer I can give is that well, I'm not quite sure. I think perhaps my body went as far into remission as it could. Despite getting my inflammation markers down to zero (which are seen through blood tests), I was still getting bad reactions to lots of food and stomach pain. I had an MRI just after I went off Aza because they think that the pain that stayed while I was on the drug might be a result of some scarring which the Aza couldn't really improve.
So I think that I probably went into remission on Aza as all my others symptoms really did improve significantly (although like I said I still ended up with side-effects from the drug).
As to your other questions as to how I am going now, I'm ok. Not brilliant and I think there has been a small amount of deterioration in my health since going off the drug, but nothing super intense that I haven't been able to deal with. Chances are that the Aza put me into a degree of remission which might hang around until my next big flare. I am just hoping by the time that that comes around I might have found another treatment to replace the Aza.
I can see where you are coming from with these questions though, you are probably wondering how bad things might get if you take the chance and go off the drug. I know that was one of my main fears. I assumed that within days of stopping I'd go into some huge flare or something. But it never happened, and I think with drugs like Aza and 6mp that is not really how it works. They are slow acting drugs, they take a long time to start working and a fair while to wear off. Chances are that like me you will feel pretty normal for a while with perhaps some minor flaring that will gradually creep up on you over a few months. In the end, it is likely that after a few months you will just start to feel the same way you felt before you started the drug. That is where you have to ask yourself is it worth it? How bad were you before you started the 6mp, and are you prepared to go back to that?
In the meantime, it might be worth checking that you are getting enough folic acid, vitamin b12 and zinc. These are just a couple of supplements that can help your hair (and if you are deficient in them they can cause hair loss). I take a lot of them and although I don't know if they have really helped, it makes me feel a bit better about everything. Massaging your scalp can also help apparently, as it increases blood flow.

Good luck with everything,
Fabs
(p.s. sorry for the long replies!)