Hair loss

[Timek]

Ive been on pred since Oct 2023. Starting at 15mg I'm now on 7.5mg. I've now found that my hair is thinning and falling out especially when i wash it...not too much but noticable. My hairdresser suggested taking seakelp supps to help...does anyone have any views on this please and can i take with pred omeprozole. I take vit d and also omega3 daily. Thanks.

[SnazzyD]

It’ a common complaint here. Hair can fall out quite dramatically in response to a serious systemic upset like major infection or PMR as examples. I’ve seen it happen with skin as well as hair. It can be delayed too. After a short period of being thick and lovely mine nearly all fell out 5 months in form GCA but grew back. During the next 3 years it did various things, some quite fetching and some definitely not. It shed again but not quite so badly when my cortisol levels were low under 10mg somewhere. In your case it could be both things or something completely different like thyroid issues. Others may reply with things they took but I didn’t bother.

[Pr0jection]

I started on the same dose as you. I'm now at 7.5mg. Hair thinning wasn't too noticeable but I was concerned that it might get worse so I started taking Bioten tablets daily. They seem to work.

[jaycee444]

Mine thinned out really badly within a few months of PMR diagnosis and commencement of steroid treatment. Thinning did eventually stop but the new hair growth was considerably finer and came through curly! Never had curly hair before ! Having now reduced to 4mg hair loss is more or less insignificant. Hair is still curly but now more so one side than the other so much as I liked the original curls the attraction is wearing off!

[agingfeminist]

from 60mg to 3mg in 5 years with a few bumps along the way. Hair has fallen out at various stages. Have continuously worn bright scarves and ignored it. Now growing back but not over whole head...hardly think about it or notice it (except when handfuls brush out.) Don't think those who have tried various concoctions have had an success.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to agingfeminist]

Not sure Pred really affected my hair thickness unduly… but aging certainly does - no point in getting in a tizz about though is there?

Mine’s always been curly/wavy depending on its length - my mum was a hairdresser and always got angsty when it was getting long and unruly. Her favourite saying was - you look like an owl peering out of a holly bush! 😳 .. and out came the scissors..

I’ve fluctuated with length as well - nearly always long since around 14-15 years of age - with forays into shorter in 40s and again wwith early days of GCA . But have gone back long - much easier to manage - and as you say scarves and hair ornaments detract the eye.. as does an ‘up-do’ 😀

[Blearyeyed]

It's a common problem on long term steroids that's partly to do with how the steroids affect your general health and nutrient levels over time in many cases.If you have not had blood tests in the last six months it's a good idea to get them now to make sure that you are deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. Steroids affect how well we absorb nutrients from food even if we have a good diet so are levels can become low/ borderline causing a multitude if different symptoms. It's more likely to happen if you also take other medications like PPIs, statins. nerve medications or indigestion medications as well.

The older you are the more likely nutrient deficiency can occur because the digestive system isn't as efficient too. Post Menopausal women and Mental over 60 also begin to get thinner hair because of the change in hormones.

Insufficiency or Deficiency in Iron, Vitamin B12 or Folate are common causes for thinning hair and skin among other things.

Get to the GP and request the blood tests , explain you want to rule out deficiency as a cause for your various symptoms and have the monitoring tests while on steroids that NICE recommends.

The tests include full blood count, ferritin/ iron. Vitamin B12 , Folate , kidney function ( electrolytes) , liver function and Vitamin D.

Request a copy of the results even if the GP says they are normal because many people can get symptoms when their results are very low ( insufficient ) in the normal range and prevention with increases in certain foods or a supplement is better started before the symptoms become more severe.

Increasing your fluid intake daily also makes a big difference to hair , skin and eye symptoms. Often we also need to reduce how often we wash our hair, use more natural products and avoid drying it out with hair dryers , styling devices and colourants.

[Timek in reply to Blearyeyed]

Thankyou for that comprehensive reply. Will book blood test

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Mine fell out badly with untreated PMR. It stopped with pred (5 years after the symptoms started) but the change in texture continued. It has been straighter, curlier, mad scientist and now long, thick but frizzy but on a good day with the right shampoo looks amazing with curls. I have never taken supplements - I take it as it comes and it IS improving now I decided to grow it during Covid - I had got through the awful stage by the end of second lockdown in Italy so kept on.