I am on Avata now fro two weeks and it is fine except I am losing my hair all the time. I don't know is I added some vita min or folic acid it would help? Is there anything I could do t help my hair thinning. Otherwise I don't mind the medicine. It is much better than the MXT I hated that. I am on 10 mg every other day of avara.
Talk to your Rheumy about folic acid and biotin, both of these supplements can prevent hair loss.
I took arava for only two months and had alot of hair loss. I chose to discontinue it because it was not helping me anyway. When the rheumy took me off of it I used a wash out drug that is given for cholesterol. Sorry, I can't remember the name of it. The rheumy did not want me to lose any more hair.
I will try the folic acid to see if it helps any... I have some here from when I took Mxt... I am losing lots of hair daily though and I may stop... I think it is helping. Happy mom did you lose it a little at a time or continuously? Did the hair loss stop after you stopped it. How long does it take to wash it out? I so appreciate your comments! I think my hair is my best feature and at 38 I am not ready to part with it.
Donna
Hey Donna,
I was on Arava for just a couple of months, and suffered alot of hair loss. Everytime I took a shower it just came out in my hands and ALOT in the drain. I would take what was in the drain and put it in a cup to measure the amount I was losing. Then when I combed my hair I would lose even more....then my Dr. took me off of it.
Arava will stay in you system for up to two years depending on the amount of time you have been taking it....
I have the med to get expunge it from your system.....it's a powder and expells it from your sytem...it stores in the fat glands I think....this med is also suppose to lower your Cholesterol....it's a powder you mix with water. I can't think of the name of it ...
I didn't end up using it....but after I stopped Arava it took about 4 to 6 mths for the hair loss to stop.
I used Nioxin Hair Follicle Booster....my sister highly recomends it, she used it after she lost her hair to Chemo after a Breast Cancer scare.
I think you need to stop the Arava and have your DR try something else. In my opinion, the depression of this disease with the addition of the hair loss was a little more than I could handle.....
Hope this helps,
KAT
I was on Arava about 4 months before I began losing hair in the shower and while brushing it. My RD reduced my dose to 10 mg and a few weeks later I could see new growth at the hairline. It continued to grow normally for several months but then my liver enzymes went up. Since I was already on a half dose, My RD had to take me off Arava completely. I'm just curious...I'm not on any of these meds, but how much hair loss are you talking about? I've always lost hair in the shower and when brushing, and I thought it was normal, but my b/f thinks it's not. How much did you lose before the meds, and how much did you lose while on the meds? I just want something to compare my hair loss to. I know this doesn't have anything to do with the meds...sorry...it's just really got my interest now...Have you ever had a cat that had a mat? For me, it's like that. Every day, I get a little mat of hair that comes out. Not a lot, but certainly more than is normal. oh, okay. I get it now. Mine doesn't fall out like that....it's natural....I think. :/ But like...after a shower I have to brush my hair three times through just to get the knots out (not to add brushing for styling) and I have to clean the brush each time, or it litteraly gets wrapped in my fingers. Our bathroom is COVERED in my hair. It's just impossible. But its not in mats. Just a lot of it. Heh. But I'm not on any meds, so I know it's not that!