methotrexate hair loss

[Jadite]

Hello All. Has anyone here found a solution to Methotrexate hair loss. I have been on it since 2012 and my fringe is now so scant and I have the equivalent of male pattern baldness. (I’m female!) Any ideas to thicken my hair would be welcome. Thanks in advance. Jayne

[Gnarli]

Hi Jayne. Many people swear by Biotin to thicken and improve the condition of their hair. I bought some, they're not expensive, but I reckon you have to remember to take them for them to work🙂

[Jadite in reply to Gnarli]

lovely thank you … that’s definitely worth a try…

[JanetJAM]

hi I have been on methotrexate for about 9 months and my hair started to thin I now take folic acid for 6 days and biotin every day and it has now got a bit thicker but it took a few months to start growing again.

[Jadite in reply to JanetJAM]

thanks Janet … will give it a go…

[medway-lady]

I had this along with a heat that came from the stomach and went all over, really nasty and much worse that a hot flush. So I took a waste of one wash hair from shower trap with me to see RA consultant who said straight away chuck it away and I then went on LEF it worked great without hair loss. Some people are hyper sensitive to it and apparently even increasing Folic Acid wouldn't work. So I never looked back and would suggest you get in contact with RA team and explain the problem, mine were really sensitive about it and I had no problems so I never tried any on the remedies and it grew back just like normal. Don't leave this as it is demoralising and thats not good.

[Jadite in reply to medway-lady]

many thanks for your reply… I’ll try the Rhuemy Team😊

[CagneysMum]

A biotin supplement and folic acid really helped with my hair loss, but it took a few months to show real improvement. Stopped taking biotin after around 18 months and hair has remained ok 👍 Good luck in finding something that will work for you. RA is bad enough without any further complications to knock our confidence 🤞

[Jadite in reply to CagneysMum]

Thank you… it’s sounds like the consensus is Biotin so I’ll order some tonight..

[CagneysMum in reply to Jadite]

Hi. I still think you should check with you consultant first .

[----54]

My dermatologist recommended topical minoxidil solution, and I’ve been using it twice daily. It has helped a lot. My hair is thicker now than before I began taking methotrexate. I use an over the counter generic brand solution. Best wishes!

[Esmereld in reply to ----54]

Hi. Very interesting. Which one do you use?. X

[----54 in reply to Esmereld]

I’m in the States (and on a budget). The least expensive one I found was Equate 5% topical solution. I have not tried a foam topical, but I imagine it would be effective as well. Hair loss was the hardest side effect of methotrexate for me. I would have given up on the methotrexate a long time ago if the minoxidil had not worked for me. (I’m just not ready for short hair yet!)

[Jadite in reply to ----54]

lovely another one to try… could this be used alongside Biotin?

[Chockyuk]

Hi - like everyone else, I went on biotin, I think it did help, especially my nails which grew like wildfire 😂

The rheumatology nurse also advised me to take folic acid 3-4 times a week. In the end I had my hair cut quite short. It did stop falling out eventually and now it’s back to normal, even though my Mthx dose has increased. I find different times of the year affect my hair as well, sometimes it sheds quite a lot, then it can go months and months and is fine 🤷‍♀️