Sorry to bump again, but I'm trying to bring this thread back to life...

 

One incouraging thing I saw while reading a lot of this thread was that it took years seemingly before there was really noticable thinning to other people. Mine seems to be rapidly thinning. I feel like I would be noticable in like two months tops. I'm a bit under month off of a 3 week course, does it slow down a bit once the Accutane has "fully" flushed out. I know it won't just completely stop and I know it's debatable if it even fully leaves your system, but will it slow down at all?

Read some of Lamarr's posts he had/has Alopeica.....What else have you had done besides a few labs?

Read some of Lamarr's posts he had/has Alopeica.....What else have you had done besides a few labs?

I've read almost all of Lamarr's posts on here. Honestly it's a shame how much he's had to research on his own because doctors prescribing this drug are useless. It seems like there are so many different types of Accutane hairloss, it's hard to differentiate between them. It's a shame Lamarr stopped coming to the forum, I'd like to see where he's at. Lamarr's shedding also seemed to come on after a full treatment, so I wonder if we have the same thing.

After reading the hairloss thread about 10 times, it seems people like SClippers, Superman75?, texasboy, and some others are going through what I am. I haven't seen any of their pictures to know where they're at, but it sounds similar.

I haven't done anything else other than Biotin and the blood work. Blood work was for thyroid, and the usual stuff. I even had him check for STDs, just incase. Has anyone ever found anything helpful from the ANA test that's always suggested? I've never seen someone with Accutane hairloss get anything out of it. It's so hard to even know where to start. There are a million different supplements that people say to try. Then there's rogaine, and propecia. There are colon and liver flushes as well as injections and laser helmets.

It's very frustrating. Everything one person does seems to be the opposite of what another person was told to do. I don't want to sound like some depressed guy that wants to bury his head in the sand, but the past couple days, I'd just pretty much pictured myself as a bald guy without a nice face to complement it, as Accutane scarred it up worse than it already was. Horrible...

I don't really know where to start, so I'm going to try to get in with a hair specialist. I don't even know if this is the proper way to attack it. I almost feel like I should be looking into some kind of Accutane specialist (if there even is such a thing). If Accutane attacks the hair in ways unlike other forms of hairloss, then what is a hairloss specialist going to tell us? 25 years of the drug abusing people has pretty much answered that question as nothing. I really hope that I can believe my hair will come back sometime, but it looks so doubtful. All for 24 days of stupidity.

Wow, pretty sure I have the most rapid thinning hair in the history of Accutane...

In 2 months, I feel I've lost about 70% of my crown. My sideburns are thin, and the back of my head thins more every day. I know a lot of people say this, but I honestly feel like I could be close to bald in a month or two.

I took Accutane for 24 days. This is awesome...

Only thing I can possibly say is that I have been going through a divorce since February, my house which I rent out is having flooding problems, I thought I got an STD and was stressing out like crazy (didn't though), I got a new job the week I started Accutane... Maybe all this stress with the smack of Accutane put me in a crazy TE session. I don't know, but this is crazy how thin I'm getting in such a short time.

electroshock, obviously i have diffuse alopecia areata (the auto-immune disorder), so there is really nothing that can be done but pray that the body corrects itself, but after 21 months of shedding that is unlikely to happen

 

Just a quick update.

 

I'm still using clobetosol propinate once nightly and its done wonders for the pain, itchiness, irritation and redness. My scalp feels a lot better.

 

I was given about 20 subcutaneous steroid injections into my scalp last week, and will need about 4 to 6 weeks to see if they encourage hair growth.

 

The down side is that neither of the above treatments have done anything to slow down or stop my shedding. The shedding still persists.

 

I'll be returning in 6 weeks to see Dr. Donvavan, and at that time we will likely discuss using Prednisone and tapering off to another milder oral steroid to see if that does the job.

 

Will report with my results.

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

 

Any update, electroshock? Also, do you have any pictures? Curious to see what I should expect in a couple years. I think we have a similar situation.

On 3/23/2011 at 2:12 AM, leesett said:

QUOTE (leesett @ Jan 11 2011, 01:36 AM)

QUOTE (leesett @ Nov 18 2010, 10:59 PM)

Hey people! I just thought I would update:

Method of treatment- Absolutly nothing!

It has been 4 1/2 months since the excessive shedding began ( 8 months since I took my last Accutane pill) and I am still shedding. Some days worst than others, at worst 150 a day at best 60-100. Head and shoulders helps the dandruff and itchy scalp. The scalp pain and soreness that I was feeling in the beginning has stopped.

My hair looks limp and lifeless. My scalp is not visible but hair is VERY thin. I am growing hair, I can see lots of baby hairs poking through but again... I continue to shed, it's a very strange cycle.

I have learned to style my hair in ways so that it looks fuller then it actually is. I wash it every other day, sometimes every 2 days if I could help it.

My hair is getting pretty long and I want to cut a couple of inches off but I'm sooooo worried about what the hairstylist would think or say when he or she combes it and tons of hair falls out (his or her face) Ugh!!!

Any advice on what to say or do in this case? Should I warn him or her? What the HECK do I say?

Working on month 6 of hair shedding.

Hey everyone! Its been over a month since my last post (quoted above). I'm still shedding but it has decreased considerably. I loose about 25 hairs when I shower and maybe about another 25 when brushing and styling. I have LOT'S of re-growth poking out all over my scalp (looks kinda funny). I am able to control my dandruff and itchiness with head and shoulders shampoo. Im still experiencing SOME scalp sensitive especially when I brush out knots or if my hair gets caught on a hair clip, leaving my scalp unusually sore! (bringing tears to my eyes)

I'm not treating my hair-loss just dealing with it. I stopped all Derm visits (a waste of $$$) My hair is still very thin and limp looking but Im happy to see all those baby hairs.

Side Note:

It's been 9 months since I took my last accutane pill. My skin still SUPER CLEAR but still SUPER DRY!!!!! I get patchy dry rashes all over my body, it comes and goes Anyone else still experiencing really dry skin?

Update

Hey everyone!

So it's been 8 months since I first noticed the shedding of my scalp hair (11 moths since I took my last accutane pill). I was losing about 200 hairs a day. It decreased considerably about 3 months ago (losing about 100 hairs a day).

Today I still shed but it has gotten soooo much better. I continue to shed, losing100 hairs on a bad day but most of the time I lose what I think is a normal amount (no more than 50, even when I shower!). It continues to improve every week, I was shocked the last past 2 nights of washing my hair I lost ZERO hairs in the shower

And the baby hairs I had poking though are getting thicker and stronger so my scalp it starting to look and feel full again.

Treatment: Absolutely nothing!

I wash my hair everyday now. I noticed that when I skipped days my scalp would get itchy and flakey from being dirty making it more irritated and my hair looking oily and limp. I think whatever your going to lose, YOUR GOING TO LOSE no matter what! So why not be comfortable with a clean head of hair!?! I still have some scalp sensitivity, especially when I brush my hair.

I shampoo and condition with Head&Shoulders. And I use Big Sexy Hair Root lifting mousse before blow drying and styling my hair. This really helps give my lifeless limp roots some fullness.

I'll update any changes. I wish you all the best!

Hey guys! Its been well over a year since I took my last accutane pill and a little over a year since I started shedding and... My hair is back at it, Im shedding like a MAD women right now. It's such a strange cycle, I grow hair, stop shedding, then I go back to loosing hair. I have learned to deal with it, it's not too bad. My hair IS thin but its not like Im bald. I use hair clip in extensions to feel the void Im still using the same shampoo and conditioner and no other treatments. Oh, and I also sometimes get that tingly feeling but nowhere near as intense as it was before.

I almost never check this site so message me if you have any questions for recommendations. Cheers to you all and good luck!

Have any of you that only took the drug for a couple weeks/a month experienced any other side effects other than the hairloss - even years later? I don't think I have yet, but I'm wondering if the hair loss is related to anything else? I know if you get one autoimmune disease you can be prone to others.

At this point, I feel like if the hair loss is all I got from the drug, I'll consider myself sorta lucky. I still think my thinning is extremely rapid compared to other stories here. It's only a little over two months of shedding for me, and I'd say I'm at about 60-70% loss. It's true, like many others say, no one else notices my hair loss yet, not even my girlfriend, but they will soon enough.

Again, 80mg 24 days 165lbs.

leesett

Have you lost any body hair as well? If so, what's the progress on that?

i was wondering has anyone come across someone that has used hgh (human growth hormone) post accutane. found jordan1234 but dont know what his results were.

i been doing research on it and can get some i'm really considering it.

I'm in a similar situation. Took accutane for three months, 40 mg twice a day (which is insane, since I only weigh about 100 pounds) and stopped when I noticed diffuse thinning all over my hair. After doing some research, I believe it is telogen effluvium, since all of the hair I lose has the telltale white bulb at the end.

Right after finishing Accutane (late July), I lost over 200 hairs while brushing, in the bathtub... I already had fine hair and had never lost more than 2 or 3 hairs in my life, so I was freaking out. Now, I lose around 50, which is getting better, and I assume it will fade with time. (That's what my roommate, who's in pharmacy school, tells me, at least... ) I'm taking a multivitamin, omega-3 twice daily, amino acid supplement, taurine, and zinc. All I can do is wait it out...

please to report i suffered hairloss during my treatment . its grown back ! the more u stress about it the worse itll get !

Well, over three months after shedding began... I combed my hair for the past two nights with NO HAIRS on the comb!! This is amazing!

Just be patient, guys... it'll stop. I promise.

I think the omega-3 and taurine did the trick. Worth a try, right?

Most girls seem to have it grow back... Guys on the other hand......

guys grow back too.. i've read this countless times and people who had hairloss come back saying it's grown back

Hey guys,

It's been a long time since my last update. You can probably check my post history to find some of my prior updates on my hair. I hadn't been taking great care of it for a while. My hair was over a foot long, but I cut a lot of it to donate in late August. Still a bit shaggy, but immediately I noticed an improvement in the look of my hair, because the weight was really holding it down and putting some unneeded pressure on my scalp and hair. My corners have receded ever so slightly to the point where it just seems like the beginning of a maturing hairline. I can safely say my hair shedding seems to be a lot more normal than it was 2 years ago (keep in mind I was growing my hair for almost two years).

Now that I work in a nutrition store I've learned a lot in general, and some new things for my hair. Right now I'm using Biotin, Fish oil, and silica as far as supplement goes (I take more, but those are good for hair). I just started the silica, but I've been researching it and could be great for maintaining strength and perhaps even stimulating a bit of new growth. I can update for that in a few weeks if anyone's interested. I also use my prescription clobetasol once in a while if I get any itchiness. A few times a week I stimulate my scalp by rubbing some essential oils in. My hair is a bit thinner at the temples/sides now, but I'm still holding out hope it could still improve with my new regimen. I know Accutane will cause considerable shedding early on, but don't let your mind trick you too much. I began worrying way too much about the appearance of my hair, when in reality it wasn't nearly as bad as my mind perceived it to be. Just wanted to share some hope with anyone who is suffering, since I'm a guy and I've seen some improvement since stopping Accutane January of 2010.

hey everyone... thought i would comment as i know what your all going through.. and how annoying it can be.. ive did a corse of accuane have been off it for about a year now... and i had the thickest hair like a main of it... and started losing my hair as soon as the extreme dryness started to kick in.... about 2 months in i could notice it... 3 months in... no joke i had actually lost half of my hair even bald round cirles at the front.... i was devastated my hair has grown back but no where near the thickness it was..... here are some tips what i would say made mine worse!!! ... dont even wash your hair with shampoo as your scalp is skin aswell... moisterise your scalp with moisterising cream!!!!! even put oils on it every night or a few times a week.... if you think how dry your skin would be if you didnt moisturizer atall on accutane and only shampooed it!!! i think it would have died aswell.. ... also if your a woman like me... seriously dont use hair spray on your hair... as your hair is soooo dry and my hair specialist said hairspray is the most drying damaging thing... i think that is also a reason half my hair was snapped!!!! my little bro went on it the same time as me and his hair still hasnt grown back..so maybe as some men go bald anyway it could be more permanent in men?? i think anyway.... anyway i compensated clear skin for going bald (nearly) only to find that my skin went back to not being perfect the oil came back which i hate!!!!! as it swells my features... and also my friend was on the same course but taking 10mg per day and her skin had exactly the same improvement but hardly any hairloss.... i might get a course again and take like 1 a week... as still with this you see such a massive improvement!!!!!!!!!!!!! as ive tried it.... P.S i still have to moisterize my scalp now ... going from greesy oily... to bone dry still... i use simple which is natural non irritating and doesnt greese hair.... xxx

Most girls seem to have it grow back... Guys on the other hand......

 

my brother hair hasnt grown back.. but then a year later he is seeing new hairs.. and has a receding hair line through his course... but he was taking extra tablets thinking it would do the job better!!!

Well, over three months after shedding began... I combed my hair for the past two nights with NO HAIRS on the comb!! This is amazing!

Just be patient, guys... it'll stop. I promise.

I think the omega-3 and taurine did the trick. Worth a try, right?

 

did your hair grow back fully ???? and did you do anything to help it grow back apart from omega 3?? x

I too have suffered a tremendous bout of TE that started on the last month of tane and has gone on for awhile. My experience is very similar to GD's in that it is starting to let up now, and my hair seems to be doing a little better in the texture and all. I too have been using Nizoral almost everyday and it has helped tremendously. I do think that I am going to cut back and use it only 2-3 times a week as it can irritate the scalp and all. Hopefully my shedding remains at a stand still and starts to eventually stop. Today I lost around 20-25 hairs mostly in the shower and my hair doesn't seem to be coming out at all pretty much during the day like it used to. I too am hoping for some noticeable regrowth and hair texture recovery in the upcoming months. I will keep everyone posted on my experience etc. And as for those of you reading reading this with severe acne who are concerned about hair loss, but want to do accutane etc my suggestion would be to do the accutane but KEEP IT AT A LOW DOSE NO MORE THAN 20mg. At 20mg all my acne cleared up and i was doing fine for two months till I went up to 40mg. I feel that derms underestimate it's power, and tend to overcompensate the doseage in hopes of long term remission which is good, but at the risk of increased sides. New studies are finding that in many people 20mg is enough to work well and the extra large doses of 40mg may not be necessary to achieve long term remission. Other than that I highly suggest not taking any more than 40mg at all and wouldn't even think about going towards 60-80mg or higher. It seems people with permanent hair loss were on an extremely high dose for their weight. Just stick with 20mg, and the worst that can happen is that you have to go on it again eventually if it comes back, but at 20mg you should barely have any sides. hope this helps.

 

HEY PLEASEEE CAN YOU TELL ME IF YOU LOST YOUR HAIR ON THE LOW DOSE OR THE HIGH DOSE ?? AS I LOST MINE ON 40MG A DAY AND 1 YEAR LATER I WANT TO TRY THE LOW DOSE ?? X

i don't know why but cotrimoxazole has done wonders for my accutane induced hairfall, at first i thought it was just a fluke or coincidence but then i switched on and off too many times just to find out if there reallly is a connection between cotrimoxazole intake and reduced hair fall and everytime i have taken it i have found it has curbed the number of hair fallen back to 4 or 5 at first, and then to almost none within a fortnight- this might just be my curious case but i thought i should share it.

i don't know why but cotrimoxazole has done wonders for my accutane induced hairfall, at first i thought it was just a fluke or coincidence but then i switched on and off too many times just to find out if there reallly is a connection between cotrimoxazole intake and reduced hair fall and everytime i have taken it i have found it has curbed the number of hair fallen back to 4 or 5 at first, and then to almost none within a fortnight- this might just be my curious case but i thought i should share it.

 

Why did you try cotrimoxazole? I see it helps the intestines.. I'm starting to wonder if a lot of accurate based hairloss is due to digestive damage. Have any of you been tested for celiac? It makes sense in that it can cause canker sores (Lamar), vitamin deficiencies which can cause the brain fog, bone and muscle pain... Etc....

It's a shot in the dark, but it can't hurt to try...

i tried it while coming off from accutane in an desperate attempt to combat rosacea and to prevent any papule or pustule. not only started to fall lesser number of hair within few days or weeks ,my hair texture again reverted back to straight from what it had turned waivy because of accutane. i have stopped cotrimoxazole usage a few times in between fearing its side effects only to find my hair problem coming back, i now am facing the same condition as i had given it up two months ago,today is the first day where i am going back on it not just to find out if it controls hairfall or not- if it does i will post my progress here and would owe it to antiinflammatory effects of this antimicrobial ; since hairfall due to accutane has some autoimmunological malfunction at its base, anyway right now i can only guess about what it is but few days from now i will post again about how it went for me this time.

Oh I was reading on my phone so I couldn't dig into too much detail at the time. I didn't realize exactly what it was. Let us know how it goes.

Any updates?

HI guys,

Im a fellow hair loss sufferer post accutane.

Ended my course in february 2010.

I had very mild hairloss after quitting but in the last 6 months it has speeded up dramatically and iv lost about 60% hair.

My hair on the back and sides is growing thicker than top so it sounds like male pattern baldness?

My hair loss doctor gave me a script for minoxidil and propecia.

But im too frightenned to take propecia after what accutne did.

Does anybody have any advice on treatments or should i accept that i ill be completely bald at 23?

Thanks

Any updates?

 

Well, my hair loss had stopped for a good two months, but now it's coming back as bad as ever. I have no idea why, since I haven't changed anything. I'm adding biotin into the mix and trying to get more protein.

QUOTE (electroshock @ Jul 19 2011, 09:27 AM)

 

QUOTE (texasboy15 @ Jul 6 2011, 12:33 AM)

electroshock, obviously i have diffuse alopecia areata (the auto-immune disorder), so there is really nothing that can be done but pray that the body corrects itself, but after 21 months of shedding that is unlikely to happen

 

Just a quick update.

 

I'm still using clobetosol propinate once nightly and its done wonders for the pain, itchiness, irritation and redness. My scalp feels a lot better.

 

I was given about 20 subcutaneous steroid injections into my scalp last week, and will need about 4 to 6 weeks to see if they encourage hair growth.

 

The down side is that neither of the above treatments have done anything to slow down or stop my shedding. The shedding still persists.

 

I'll be returning in 6 weeks to see Dr. Donvavan, and at that time we will likely discuss using Prednisone and tapering off to another milder oral steroid to see if that does the job.

 

Will report with my results.

 

Cheers,

 

Matt

 

 

Any update, electroshock? Also, do you have any pictures? Curious to see what I should expect in a couple years. I think we have a similar situation.

 

I've gone off the topical steroid because I started DPCP treatment. I had 3 biopsies, and on the 3rd they found indicators of Alopeica Areata. My hair has not improved over the past 3 years and 3 months, so 2 weeks ago I started using Rogaine foam as per my specialists' recommendation, and I continue to do DPCP treatment once a week.

Since i've just reached the right concentration, I will have to give both treatments 6 months to see if they yield results.

All indicators point to Accutane having caused Diffuse Alopecia Areata in my case, both hairloss and chronic fatigue are the side effects I've acquired from Accutane.

Accutane is poison, point blank, and it can screw up your life.

There is no question that Accutane can cause hair loss, I had quite a bit in month 5 on 80 mg a day but was fine after getting off of it. Plus my hair is thick and I didn't miss the hair.

 

But to the person saying that a mere 9 pills caused this massive hair loss, I have a very hard time believing it was Accutane. 9 pills is simply not enough to build up in your body to do much of anything.

 

Let's remember, many people are predisposed genetically to baldness or hair loss and in probably "some" or a "few" of the cases, Accutane simply exacerbated what was going to happen anyway.

 

Uninformed speculation is the crux of the idiot.

Congratulations on winning today's award!

my last cotrimoxazole experiment was but a failure although i admit i didnt give it an honest long try,back in august it was one month of contnual use before i noticed a complete cessation of hair fall. it was a coincidence as people here have reported 'honeymoon periods' where they have remitted to shed ziltch hair for a brief duration only to fall back to shedding as much as before if not more-i would have thought;if it was not for the indirectly propotional on and off relation i observed between shedding and the concomittent use of cotrimoxazole. i am eager to give it a sincere shot but am afraid of exhausting my last resort against any future papulopustular attack,

I'm getting kind of freaked out by hair loss and other sides. I only took 80 mgs for about 5-6 weeks before I stopped because of sides. It is six months later and I'm still having problems. But I found a new study on this issue. Their conclusion:

If only I could figure out where to get some of that.

[Edited link out]