So this Lupus thing, not only did my lupus attack my joints, muscles and organs, it has to attack my hair too? Okay, so for some it may not seem like a big deal but to someone who has been experiencing changes with hair may think differently.

Lupus can cause the texture of hair to change and sometimes even fall out. My first experience with hair loss was before I was actually diagnosed with SLE. I started to see certain spots on my head that were balding. It was weird. Round spots of different parts of my head. A friend and I were getting ready to leave for a night out when she noticed it too. I didn't know what to think. At the time, I was trying not to think about it and never looked into the reason why it happened because not too long after that night, my hair seemed to grow back to normal. My hair has always been thin and soft but when layered, looks like I have more hair. I've had many compliments on it and was even asked to be in a hair show back in my 20's. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures if my hair at its absolute worst (when I was planning my wedding) but I did, however, take a picture of my hair last year (2012) when my hair started to thin again. It was during a very stressful time at work.


Forward to 2007. I was 32 years old when I was diagnosed. I tested out a few medications to control my lupus. The first couple of medications didn't work so well and I realized Prednisone seemed to be the only medication to take my pain away. Some of the side effects were pretty tricky but manageable. But from advice from my doctor, I started trying Methotrexate. I only knew one other person that had been on that medication before and it worked well for her with no side effects. Of course for me, it made my hair very dry and even thinner...to the point where I started seeing bunches of hair in the sink when I would brush it. I was in the middle of planning my wedding. For my wedding day, my dear hairdresser friend helped me out and suggested putting extensions in my hair.Well, it worked and I was able to hide the thinness of my original hair. Luckily soon after I stopped taking Methotrexate (2 years later), my hair started to grow back. But in the meantime, I needed to find out how I could help make my thin hair look thicker.

I happened to try out a new hairdresser in my area. When I told her of my situation, she suggested a bottle of hair fibers that you could sprinkle on your hair. Not sure how many brands of this stuff is out there but the one I used is called XFusion Keratin Hair Fibers. Wow did that make a difference in how my hair looked!!!! And they didn't "sprinkle" off when your hair moved.

By networking, I also found out about vitamin to help hair and nails grow thicker and stronger. It's called Biotin. I've been taking it for years now and and its helped tremendously! Please keep in mind, I have heard that different brands can give different results but I personally haven't had a problem. Plus, I also talked to my rheumatologist before I started taking this.

One last thing that helped was\is keeping my hair moisturized. I always felt my hair was oily but usually starting the day after I washed it. My current hairdresser recently informed me that it was because my hair was dry and the drier the hair, the more oily it is. To battle that, I needed more oil in my hair. Weird huh? She had recommended a product called Mythic Oil. I've tried it a couple of times but it seems to be working so far.

I never thought this information would be helpful to anyone until a friend told me about her mother who was battling cancer and other health issues. Though she never had to undergo chemo, she still lost a significant amount of hair and decided to try what I had tried. These seemed to have worked for her to this day. Be mindful though that something that works for one person may not work for others.

Hair loss can be such a traumatic thing for people. There are a lot of people who do not realize that there are products out there that could help with dealing with it. I really hope these suggestions could help others who are dealing with hair loss.

I was on Methotrexate for almost 2 years and as of a month ago, I decided to try to see how I would do without it. Being on Methotrexate has done wonders for my joint pains but I have had some undesireable side effects (I'm not going to lie).

I think one of my biggest side effects that bothered me at first was the hair loss. Not everyone experiences this but if you do, it can be really hard on your self-esteem. I've always had thin, long hair and with layers, it always looked a little fuller. When I would flare, I wouldn't always feel like doing my hair so a lot of times it would just be up in a pony tail.  I never realized how much hair I lost from MTX until I would take my pony tail down. After some time, my hair went from semi-full to really, really thin. I'm sure it didn't help that at the time I started taking this medication my stress factor was really high with planning a wedding, work and a bazillion doctors appointments and tests. So, I learned to improvised. For my wedding, I got extensions and I do have to say that they ended up being a lot of fun! Then after the wedding, I cut my hair. It felt odd to have short hair but to my surprise, I received a ton of compliments! I still miss having my long locks but at least I can say that I braved a new hairstyle.

So now, I'm learning how to manage my body without the help of Methotrexate. I was told that I can experience a burst of joint pain and other symptoms.  Boy am I. I caught a virus that caused me to cough non-stop, I had a fever another time and lots more joint pain.  I'm hoping that this is only temporary as a result of my body adjusting to the discontinuation of the medication. In the meantime, I'm going to help my body heal by eating better and getting more rest (despite the holidays stressors). If this helps, maybe in turn, my experience can help others facing the same challenge.