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Ulcerative Colitis and Acquiring Other Autoimmune Diseases

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 5/24/2021 2:08 PM (GMT -6)
I had my first flareup in the first quarter of this year. It was awful and I lost 30 pounds. After taking Xeljanz, I improved within four days, and have been on it for a little over a month. But, last week, my hair started falling out in clumps. Is this a reaction to losing 30 pounds in a little over sixty days? Is this a newly acquired autoimmune disease called Alopecia? Does Xeljanz cause hair loss? I don't know. But, during that terrible ordeal of 20-35 visits to the bathroom all day and night, I discovered another strange assault on my body... my hands were getting extremely cold, and changing colors. When I finally got in to see my family physician, he said it looked like Reynard's Syndrome. And I still have it at least once a day, sometimes more. I asked my doctor is it is common that a major flare could cause you to acquire other autoimmune diseases. He said he didn't know for sure, but since his son was diagnosed with UC when he was younger, and he got Reynard's Syndrome, he knew what was happening to me. Anyone else notice more autoimmune diseases? Thank you.
Posted 5/25/2021 8:25 AM (GMT -6)
Hair loss can be a reaction to your flare. When I have a bad flare I can mark on the calendar 3 months to the day my hair will start falling out. It's alarming to see as it feels like a lot is coming out be it will eventually stop and your hair will recover or at least that is my experience.
Posted 5/25/2021 9:42 AM (GMT -6)
Thank you very much for your helpful response. I truly appreciate it!
Posted 5/25/2021 11:28 PM (GMT -6)
Over time we've heard from other forum members that they got diagnosed with Reynaud's syndrome, affecting the hands & fingers. One post I especially remember came from Deltaforce, who said it bothered him especially if his hands are exposed to cold, such as during winter while clearing snow & ice off his car. You can try looking up Reynaud's on the Mayo Clinic Online Website, section for info about diseases & conditions. It seems to annoy some IBDers off & on, rather than continuously. / Old Hat (40 yrs with left-sided UC; in remission taking Colazal)
Posted 5/26/2021 12:08 AM (GMT -6)
I have mild Raynaud's. My mother and my two sisters also have it - and for them it's more than just mild. It's quite significant.

I don't know of any association between UC and Raynaud's, but I do know that Raynaud's is loosely associated with another class of autoimmune diseases, the connective tissue diseases.

You should ask your doctor for a blood test for ANAs (anti nuclear antibodies). Anybody with Raynaud's should have this test done.

There are two forms/classifications of Raynaud's - the form in which you just have Raynaud's, and the form in which Raynaud's is a symptom of an underlying connective tissue disease.

I have an underlying connective tissue disease with associated Raynaud's, but as far as we know my mother and sisters just have Raynaud's, with no associated connective tissue disease.
Posted 5/26/2021 5:55 AM (GMT -6)
I had consistent hairfall too couple of months before my last flare too. I didn't tie it to the flare at that time or even now because I was also severely anemic and my doc said my hairfall was because of being anemic. The hairfall did stop with iron transfusions though. Maybe check your iron levels too.

I have had Hypothyroidism years and years before my UC diagnosis and had anemia off and on since my childhood. So some part of me tends to believe other autoimmune conditions are in some way connected here to this condition. Interestingly no one in my immediate or distant family has UC or any IBD but Type 1 Diabetes which is also an auto immune condition is common in my family.
Posted 5/27/2021 9:03 AM (GMT -6)
I have have UC and developed ankylosing spondylitis, Raynaud's disease, Enteropathic arthropathy and lupus.
Posted 5/27/2021 1:31 PM (GMT -6)
My hair thins and falls out every flare. I already have male pattern baldness on my crown but it's progressing very slowly. My flares make it seem like it's progressing fast, but once the flare ends and things normalize, I have a lot more hair again.

Prednisone really makes things a lot worse. When cortisone is high (even fake cortisol like prednisone), hair stops shedding. I forget the reason why. Then eventually when cortisone drops, the hair cycle returns to normal and a lot of hair can fall out. Usually when I get down to 5mg of prednisone I shed hair like crazy, but the new hair that grows in is thicker and stronger. That's if my hemoglobin and iron are normal, and they aren't always.
Posted 5/27/2021 3:54 PM (GMT -6)
Seeker — just to add a data point — type 1 diabetes is in my family too. I always worried that I would get it as I have a needle phobia from watching my dad give himself shots, and breathed a sigh of relief when it passed me by — only to end up with a different but just as horrid auto immune condition of UC. ::irony::
Posted 5/27/2021 7:30 PM (GMT -6)

FlowersGal said...
Seeker — just to add a data point — type 1 diabetes is in my family too. I always worried that I would get it as I have a needle phobia from watching my dad give himself shots, and breathed a sigh of relief when it passed me by — only to end up with a different but just as horrid auto immune condition of UC. ::irony::

My Dad also has type 1 diabetes and many in my family have thyroid diseases. I figure that we all have some differences in our immune system and it has been triggered differently to develop different autoimmune diseases. Who knows
Posted 5/27/2021 8:00 PM (GMT -6)
For me..flares equal hair loss. I haven't stopped flaring since 2015 so unsure if it ever comes back.

Once I was diagnosed with UC...and then Crohns...I developed arthritis, Uevitis, psoriasis, exzema, pyroderma gangrenosum, kidney disease...and we are currently testing for a few others.

All of my doctors think these other issues are caused by the UC/Crohns. 6 years ago I went from completely healthy to food poisoning to UC/Crohns.

How sad that we have to suffer with all these other things while television makes it appear as though it is only a "bathroom" issue. If I hear one more person say...I didn't think people with UC/Crohns could be chubby.... I am going to scream... But that is probably the 40 mg of prednison I am on talking...

Clo
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