Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...

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gigigirl 07/20/2010

Hi DS crew! So how much folic acid is everyone taking? My doctor a couple of months took me off my folic acid with hopes that my mtx would start working better without having to increase the dose - the end result is that I started to loose my hair! Not good! I have long curly hair so I am always loosing hair but it seemed like more than usual and I really started to notice, that in particular that, the area around my part was really thin. So I went back on the folic acid, I take 1.6 mg a day. Does not seem like enough and I am not totally sure that I am not still loosing too much hair. Your feedback is much appreciated!
Thanks,
Gigi

deleted_user 07/20/2010

I wish i knew. I started loosing a lot of hair too and the doc upped me to 2mg per day. I didn't notice a difference so I cut back from 6 to 5 taps of methotrexate per week. I hope this helps me! I also have long curly hair and have been watching my part very closely.

mmztcass 07/20/2010

Do you take your Folic Acid on the days when you don't take the MTX? When I was on them, I took the FA on the other six days of the week and the MTX was usually on just Wednesday (mid week). I also did not take any vitamins/supplements on Wednesday.

{{{hugs}}}

deleted_user 07/20/2010

Hi,

I have been on MTX 25mg injections since dx nearly 2 years ago. I also take Folic Acid 5mg everyday which seems to be standard here in Australia for MTX users.

I lost alot of hair last year and even more when I started Arava. My hair was falling out in fistfuls & I didn't like washing or brushing it as more & more came out! It became especially thin around my face & my usually thick ponytail was thin & wispy. However, it did start to grow back & I now have fuzzy regrowth that reminds me of a koala!!

I estimate that more than half of my hair fell out, luckily I had very thick hair to start with.

It's hard when RA claims another part of us that we're not so happy with.

Take care, Anna

gigigirl 07/20/2010

hmm - it seems like we put up enough with the pain, swelling, tiredness that we should not have to loose our hair! oh well, I am going to increase my folic acid and see if that helps. Funny part is that I have been on Mtx for 3.5 years and did not start loosing hair until 6 months ago.

mmztcass I take my folic acid everyday. I have heard about some people skippin it on the days they take mtx but my dr. did not instruct me to do so.

Anna - so glad to hear your hair is growing back. great news! hope mine will follow too.

Thanks for your advice and support!
Gigi

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