posted
I have been diagnosed with alopecia Hair Loss. I have also suffered with Chronic Lyme For the past five years and am trying to manage my symptoms of Lyme with the help of doctors.
Most recently I have gone to my Der.pathologist due to what he diagnosed as alopecia which is hair loss and he has put me on a steroid. MY Head Itches beyond words till I want to pull my head apart.
I understand that steroids are extremely bad for Lyme patients.
Please, please give me anything on something I might try to soothe the itching and burning and inflammation and also possibly what I may want to be taking instead of a steroid to stop the hair loss
Posts: 1 | From Raleigh | Registered: Jul 2011
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Dogsandcats
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 28544
posted
I would call the doctor. It seems IMHO that scratching is only going to make the hair loss worse along with driving you crazy.
I looked up hair loss and steroids and it said steroids may cause hair loss, so you must be on something different.
Others will chime in and give you further insight.
Sorry you are experiencing this.
-------------------- God will prepare everything for our perfect happiness in heaven, and if it takes my dog being there, I believe he'll be there.
Billy Graham Posts: 1967 | From California | Registered: Oct 2010
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posted
Have you considered parasites? I had hair loss, itching, crawling feeling on my head. Stopped with parasite treatment.
The full moon this month brought some of the symptoms back, so I'm back on the herbs. I get relief within 1 day, sometimes even within a few hours.
I don't have lyme, but my son does.
Posts: 372 | From british columbia | Registered: Feb 2012
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- I'm sorry for what's happening, sadly, a very bad call from the doctor, indeed. But, moving on, how to get past it . . .
1. Proper treatment for lyme - even more important now that steroids have gotten into your body.
It does not sound at all like you have a doctor who knows anything about lyme. First, I hope you can find a LLMD - or a LL ND (is most likely to know how to help with the hair loss)
I may not be able to make all the transitions as to why I post what I do but it does all work together.
If you don't have funds to see a real LL doctor, the idiots at your disposal are still not helping and you will have to do what you can on your own, piecing it together as many here have to do. It is not easy but it can be done. Really.
I would call a LL ND - or any ND first thing in the morning. If you can't afford one, ask if they could just give you 5 minutes on the phone for this one question about relief for the immediate situation. -
[ 04-25-2013, 03:18 AM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Why you need a ND to help with this (ND is naturopathic doctor. A LL - lyme literate - ND is best. But, for tomorrow, any ND may be able to help.
I would think MAGNESIUM would be your first helper to lessen inflammation.
Topic: Minor surgery and steriods - complications from steroids that were not supposed to be administered. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
(What ILADS is) . . . WHY you need an ILADS-educated, Lyme Literate Doctor - starting with assessment / evaluation.
-------
When considering herbal / nutritional / adjunct methods:
if at all possible - because each person & each case is different - it's best to consult with an ILADS-educated LL ND (lyme literate naturopathic doctor) (or similar) who has completed four years of post-graduate medical education in the field of herbal and nutritional medicine -
- and someone who is current with ILADS' research & presentations, past and present, and has completed the ILADS Physician Training Program (see: www.ilads.org )
Many LL NDs incorporate antibiotics (depending upon the licensing laws in their state). Some LLMDs and LL NDs have good working relationships.
When possible, it's great to have both a LLMD and LL ND and even better when they have a long-standing professional relationship.
Integrative / Holistic M.D., etc. (Be aware that those in this category can have various levels of formal herbal &/or nutritional education, perhaps even just a short course. Do ask first.)
Links to many articles and books by holistic-minded LL doctors of various degrees who all have this basic approach in common:
Understanding of the importance of addressing the infection(s) fully head-on with specific measures from all corners of medicine;
knowing which supplements have direct impact, which are only support and which are both.
You can compare and contrast many approaches.
BASIC HERBAL EDUCATIONAL & SAFETY links,
BODY WORK links with safety tailored to lyme patients,
LOW HEAT INFRARED SAUNA detail,
BIONIC 880 (& PE-1) links, and
RIFE links. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- I would look at what can help calm a herxheimer reaction -- though steroids don't cause that (as a herx is die-off) . . . still, the overstimuation can be lessened by the same techiques that can calm a herxheimer.
LIVER & KIDNEY SUPPORT & and several HERXHEIMER support links, too. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- All that is rather daunting. You might start with a good brand of MAGNESIUM and a very good STINGING NETTLE - from the best health market in your area. Both will help calm the over reaction.
Topic: Lithium Orotate,thoughts, experiences? -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- Not so much about what to do tonight - or tomorrow to stop the reaction you are getting - but there are some things here that should help - and then, hopefully, with a LL ND you can devise a plan similar to this to fit what your body requires.
REVERSING STEROID DAMAGE for someone with lyme ?
From the site of a LL Master Herbalist, researcher and author
I never got antibiotics and was given steroids at least five different times. They left me handicapped, in a wheelchair � not able to lift my legs, stiff, with spasms. After eight years I�ve been on antibiotic pills and I.V. for two.
Can anything reverse the steriod damage?
Stephen�s response:
One of the truly great tragedies of �modern� medicine is the improper use of steroids. They can destroy the bone/cartilage in the body and leave a person severely debilitated, as you well know. Restoration is difficult.
You can help your condition but it will take a long time and you will have to be extremely focused and persistent. How much you can correct, I can�t predict.
Here is what I would do to begin with:
Herbs:
Drynaria (1st Chinese herbs.com) [Use coupon code "LYME" at checkout for 10% off.]
Teasel root tincture (Woodland Essence)
Panax notoginseng tincture (Woodland Essence)
Pine pollen tincture (Woodland Essence) Nettle root: 1200 mg daily
Japanese knotweed (Green Dragon Botanicals) 3 capsules 3x daily
Buy the three tinctures from Woodland Essence and combine together (you can pour them back in the bottles, just label them, or you can ask Woodland Essence to do it for you and put them in a 4 ounce bottle). Take 1 tsp 3x daily for at least a year.
Buy powdered drynaria, take 1 TBS in a.m. in juice and 1 TBS in evening before bed (in juice) for a year.
This formulation would also be useful long term:
Seven Forests Drynaria 12.
Supplements:
Quercetin 1500 mg daily on empty stomach in 3 divided doses
Egcg (green tea extract, 1500 mg daily on an empty stomach in 3 divided doses)
Cal/mag supplement, effervescent (Thorne Research, dosage as on label)
Manganese, 20 mg daily Vitamin K, 1 mg daily
Vitamin B complex 2 tablets daily Boron, 2 mg daily Vitamin D3, 400 IU daily
Everything should be taken long term. It will take awhile. You might also consider using ashwagandha and rhodiola long term as well, they will help.
Stephen (end excerted segment)
-----------------------------
I'm adding this set as Medical Mushrooms can really help support immune function:
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:375671.
Epub 2012 Jan 24.
Wound Healing and Anti-Inflammatory Effect in Animal Models of Calendula officinalis L. Growing in Brazil.
Excerpt:
. . . This experimental study revealed that C. officinalis presented
anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities as well as angiogenic and fibroplastic properties acting in a positive way on the inflammatory and proliferative phases of the healing -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- None of my suggestions actually address lyme, they are mostly to calm down the reaction you are experiencing now.
I do hope you can find good LLMD (who knows enough not to lead you to steroids and to check all Rx other doctors may prescribe before you take them).
Remember that lyme can cause hair loss. But so can thyroid and adrenal issues that are often very much complicated by lyme.
Malnourishment can affect hair growth, too. Celiac, especially. Many with lyme have trouble with gluten and the "leaky gut" often caused by lyme & candida can cause malnutrition, too.
Parasites can as well. And parasites often go with lyme. A good LLMD will know how to address all of this or who else can offer you expertise.
Genetic testing should have been done for you BEFORE the steroids were prescribed . . . but, somehow, I doubt that was done. Even if your parents (or maybe even grandparents) did not have hair loss of this degree, there may still be a genetic link.
It's just important to know if that is a piece of the puzzle to help with the plan forward. -
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
- To help recover from steroid use, it's vital to support the adrenals. How do that:
posted
I was just thinking how your posts had been short lately, Keebler.
Canadianmama.. what did you do for parasites? Will you inbox me???
Scalp itching is a HUGE Candida symptoms and steroids would make Candida go crazy. Be careful!
Posts: 631 | From the south | Registered: Nov 2008
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Catgirl
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 31149
posted
Don't do steroids. It's difficult to undo the damage they do. It drives lyme deeper and shuts your immune function off (the opposite of what you want). Whatever relief you get from it is usually temporary anyway. It's a quick fix from western medicine. It's okay for life and death situations, but not something like this.
Change your diet, fast. No sugar. Make sure your shampoo and cream rinse does not have sugar in it as well. Hydrogen peroxide cuts the itch. You can also try tea tree oil but you have to dilute it. You can put a few drops in some coconut oil, or olive oil and rub on.
-------------------- --Keep an open mind about everything. Also, remember to visit ACTIVISM (we can change things together). Posts: 5418 | From earth | Registered: Mar 2011
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Would be nice to know if CreativeClutter saw any of this.
(Maybe she's bogged down with reading)
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96222 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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nefferdun
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 20157
posted
Try Low Dose Naltrexone. It is great for halting auto immune attacks. I just looked up alopecia and it is an auto immune attack against the hair follicles. If LDN can stop MS and Hashimoto's as well as many other auto immune diseases, I sure would give it a try if I were you. Nothing to lose and no side effects.
-------------------- old joke: idiopathic means the patient is pathological and the the doctor is an idiot Posts: 4676 | From western Montana | Registered: Apr 2009
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