Xolair/omalizumab-hair Loss (Page 2)
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I have been taking this medication for 5 month and I have experience a lot of hair loss. Spoke with a friend who is taking the medication as well and has experienced tremendous hair loss. She has used Redkin Hair Products, with good success, she has managed to recoup much of her hair. Has anyone else experienced hair loss?

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Hi
I took xolair (3 shots 150mg each) in 2015. It triggered alopecia areata.It's hard to believe but xolair can cause alopecia areata which is an auto immune disease by changing the balance of cytokines in the body of some people. You have to be genetically predisposed to developing alopecia areata and an environmental trigger can lead to the onset of it (which was xolair in my case).Stopped the drug immediately as soon as I saw a bald patch.My hair grew back with steroids and minoxidil but when I tried to wean off the steroids it started falling again. Regrowth and fall has happened twice already. Going to try the autoimmune protocol diet with hopes of regaining my hair. Best of luck to all struggling with hair loss due to xolair.

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Yes I have had significant hair loss. I have been taking xolair shots since 2009. Now I have liver problems. Anyone else experienced this?

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Joe, Sir I wanted to thank you so much for all your posts. Your willingness to share your experience is extremely helpful. I suffer from solar urticaria that turns into pressure urticaria since 2012. I have been prescribed various immunosuppressants but the only one that has somewhat worked is Xolair (started 2015, taken for 20 months) which now allows me to resist the sun up to 30 minutes which before the drug I would break out in hives with as little of 1-5 minutes of sun exposure. Bottom line I am a believer in Xolair currently taking 300 mg monthly. But after reading your experience I will discuss with my doctor reducing the dose or doubling to every 8 weeks in the hopes that the hair loss and joint pain I experience goes away with the reduce dosage. Again thank you for the post I had not realized the hair loss could be due to the Xolair and I also read the joint pain is a possible side effect. So I will try the lesser dose and report my experience in a couple of months

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I went bald on my crown in 5 months after starting Xolair. I also developed asthma and I have non-stop nasal drainage for 5 days after the shot. I had to stop the shots.

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Yes, my name is Gloria and I had experienced hair loss under the treatment with xolair

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Was on Xolair injections for asthma for 3 months. Stopped because of significant hair loss. Docs keep saying that Xolair doesn't cause hairloss, says FDA doesn't report that. Total BS, because it definitely does....I've stopped the Xolair injections and my hair finally is growing back.

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I was on 375mg bimonthly since June 2014 and I have significant hair loss. I've always had a lot of hair though it was fine. I now have 1/4 of my hair left and even though I asked my allergist to put me down to 375mg once a month and have done that for the last 3 months and it is still falling out. Xolair has given me back my quality of life. Before I started it my lung capacity was down to 40%, last Dr appt it was 82%. I have only had 5 mild asthma attacks down from one or two a day and some of those were life threatening. But my hair.... it's affecting my self confidence significantly.

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I am a African American and my hair is coarse and thick but now it is thinning due to the Xolair I am taking. My question is our hair textures are different do you know if this product helps African American hair also?

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I notice a signicant hair loss and I am an African American with very coarse hair. Now my hair are thinning. I need to know what will work for my texture of hair. Please help me.
Karen

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Hi ,
Just want to update everyone with my current status. Xolair triggered alopecia areata in me (pls refer to my old posts). I had to stop minoxidil because of headaches and decided to stop all other medication as well. My hair started falling drastically again in mid May and have been falling out for 3 months now. Back to oral steroids and corticosteroids yet again. I hope I can again control the situation like before although this time the extent of hairloss has been devastating. Can't step out without a headscarf . I can totally empathise with you Natalia although it's more horrible in my case as the doc who prescribed xolair did so in my case for Atopic Dermatitis when xolair is not even a drug meant for AD (didn't know that at that time). Anyway being positive that it all grows back. Wish luck to all who have experienced xolair related hairloss. Atleast it's heartening to know that there are chances that it comes back.

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I'm also having a lot of hair loss while having Xolair inj's. for asthma. My Dermatologist doesn't believe that my Alopecia Areata is from Xolair. Told her I've researched. Anyhow, being treated with corticosteroid inj's. in my scalp minoxidil and corticosteroid liquid. If I knew that Xolair caused the hair loss, I certainly wouldn't have had the inj's.

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Hello,

OK I am on Xolair and nothing else, you can read previous comments. I am a proponent of this drug as it has saved my life. I experienced hair loss from it as it was directed from my doctor and after adjusting the dose my hair grows full and healthy. This required no drugs or topical treatments just finding the appropriate dose for my body (all bodies are different) If people are having hair loss after stopping Xolair I believe it is not related to Xolair and there is a contributing factor that may be missed. Do not believe in snake oil salesmen that claim there is a cure for the hair loss only trying to sell something. It is simple, the drug causes hair loss so if you stop taking it or adjust the dose (in my case) your hair will grow back. If it does not you need to investigate other reasons to find the cause. I do not mean to be offensive here but this drug is an effective tool to put certain immune disorders into remission and if it is not working for you please talk to your doctor about quitting. I do not like drugs and I went into this one with great reservation but I am alive because of it and very grateful. Please, I understand your pain of the hair falling out because the mirror is our worst enemy but talk to your doctor and remember he works for you so either stop using if it does not help or do not follow the one size fits all approach and adjust your dose to fit your body. Good luck and I hope the best for you.

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Thats a commercial if I ever say one Give people a brake

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Hi everyone ,
I have been suffering from alopecia areata due to xolair. Please refer to my old posts. Just thought I'll update my status as it's been two months since my last post. I had been on methylprednisolone since Dec end and have stopped that now. Was also using corticosteroid injections on the scalp off and on and minoxidil 3 percent along with a topical steroid (Betamethasone). There has been improvement in some bald patches while others are a bit slow to respond. No hair fall anymore. I did recently get a lot of headaches because of minoxidil as it's a vasodialator so I am going to replace it and am advised to continue applying the topical steroid. All my body hair has come back which had reduced considerably (no waxing for 4 months) so I guess that's a good sign. Keeping my fingers crossed and I hope for the best for everyone who has suffered from hair loss because of xolair !

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Hey Sherri,

I have done a lot of research on omalizumab and how it is possibly related to hair loss. Please read my previous post to know my case. Omalizumab belongs to the Biologics group of drugs and like Omalizumab other Biologics drugs such as etanercept, infleximab and adalimumab (for rheumatoid arthritis) have been known to trigger Alopecia Areata in some cases. Please google biologics induced alopecia. The docs are hard to convince about this and it took me sometime to convince my doc too (like in many cases on this forum). Alopecia Areata is also an auto immune related disease and xolair somehow triggers the body's leukocytes and white blood cells to attack hair follicles (like in AA although in AA the underlying cause in not known). The frustrating part of Alopecia Areata is that it's highly unpredictable (Please read up on alopecia areata) Nobody knows when the hair comes back although in many cases it does and then may fall off again. In my case the overall density has decreased considerably along with bald patches (luckily they don't show because of the way I style my hair now). Also thankfully my hair is growing back and is not falling anymore. My last xolair shot was in Nov. But it should also be noted that I immediately started taking treatment for Alopecia Areata around Dec end. I am still on steroids because I don't want to risk my hair falling again and have chalked out a plan to gradually wean off steroids. (I started Zempred 24mg twice a week around the end of Dec and am currently at 16mg twice a week now and will be down to 12 in a week). Joe is very lucky to have grown hair without any treatment but I just didn't want to wait and watch and risk loosing more hair. I also got steroid inj's. (3 sittings) and have stopped now. I pray to god that after I go off steroids my hair don't start falling again and I never get a bout of this horrible disease again (don't think I should because it was medicine induced, don't know for sure). I suggest your daughter should consult a good dermatologist. Wish you best of luck ! Would like to thank Joe again for his support. Glad to hear all is well with you Joe..hope it stays the same :)

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Hi Sherri,

I of course only have experience in my own case but mine took 3 months at 300mg every 4 weeks to start to noticeably fall out and what was there was poor quality. Of course every body is different so when they say "Individual results may vary" this may be exactly that. Xolair builds up in the body as at 26 days after inj. only half the original dose is filtered out. So I really do not know if a single dose would do this. I can say that I am still on Xolair but we have tailored the dose for me so it will do it's job and my hair grew back. I am at 8 weeks between 300mg inj's. and my hair grows normal and healthy. If this is not the case for your daughter maybe talk to your doctor and research other potential causes. Good luck.

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Hello, my daughter who is 23 had one injection of xolair at 150 mg. By the second week sh noticed significant hair loss. She has not received any other injection and continues to lose her hair. It has been almost 9 months since her injection and her hair loss is still hsppening. We hope it stops eventually but want more information and to know if this is permanent. She is also in nursing school so is under a lot of stress.

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Hello Divya I am sorry to here about your reaction to Xolair. I am still on Xolair 300mgs every eight weeks and likely will be on it for the foreseeable future. You seem to have read the old posts of how it quickly builds up in your system potentially doubling the dose if not allowed to be filtered out (26day half life) I have regrown my hair and it is of good quality rather than the straw-like it was while it was falling out. This was only achieved due to my Dr's acceptance to the side effects and willingness to allow me to tailor the dose to what works for me. As I have said before I do not know how the internal politics of a hospital work so I cannot explain the lack of willingness of your Dr. to qualify the side effects. If you do chose to stop the Xolair please be patient and allow an month or so for your hair to respond. Good luck and I hope the best for you.

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Hi everyone! I was prescribed xolair for eczema and hay fever (my ige levels were close to 10,000). My shots were for 150 mgs every three to four weeks. First shot was on Sept 20th 2015. I think my hair started falling out right after the first shot but I never really noticed until after my third shot which was around Nov 14th 2015. I have a large bald patch now at the back of my head (near my right ear) and new bald spots around the top of my crown, one where my hairline starts and around the right temple. There is also defused thinning. I have been so distressed with all this as it has been a big shock. My dermatologist wanted me to get 6 shots in total but I have stopped after the third as the benefits don't really outweigh the ill effects in my case (I can live with hand eczema and hay fever but it's depressing to see myself going bald). Also my dermatologist refuses to believe that xolair has anything to do with my hair loss and has diagnosed me with alopecia areata. I am getting inj's. on my scalp to promote hair growth (for AA) and hope it all comes back. Going to start on Iron and Vitamin D supplements as my blood reports showed some deficiency in those.Feel very encouraged after reading Joe's posts. Thanx for the consistent updates Joe!

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Yes I have noticed my hair thinning with the Xolair shot!!

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