I donāt want to contradict what tntlamb said about folic acid; however, I take 4 mg per day. I started on 1 mg, upped it to two, then about 6 months ago to the final amount of 4. That may or may not be what has helped, but it hasnāt hurt in any way so Iāll keep it for now.
The first major thing that turned my hair loss was this:
https://store.lifespa.com/product/healthy-hair-tablets/
After about two weeks my underarm hair started to grow back, dark and thick and quickly.
I do not allow chemicals, including all hair products, to touch my scalp or body as much as I can control. Anything you put on your scalp will be taken into your bloodstream. I use ayurvedic shampoo and hair oil. There are a lot of good hair oils and each have different consistency. If you dislike feeling oily, use it before you shower. Really rub it in hard. Scalp massage increases circulation and delivers the supplements and vitamins youāre putting in your body to your follicles. I also have a scalp massager by conair i use as often as possible. It relieves headache a lot and again, stimulates circulation to follicles.
Many people, including my rhumy, told me to take āhair, skin and nailsā supplements. They are all different so I researched what each of the ingredients offers and worked those into my diet through food.
I take collagen peptides with my morning vegan protein shake. This really helps skin problems as well.
I went vegetarian about 5 weeks ago. I eat a 90% plant bases diet, and I hated vegetable until now, and still donāt like many of them. Cooked correctly, many of them become sweet. Also, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, whole grains such as wild rice and quinoa and fruits are on the menu. I use Ghee, whole milk, the collagen as I mentioned daily, and I have an occasional egg. All cow products must be grass fed and organic. Non-homogenized milk is best but hard to find.
Do not take hot showers. Take warm enough for your comfort. Use a good wide tooth comb, especially after oiling scalp to disperse it through you hair before shower, never on wet hair. Let it air dry if possible. If you must blow dry, use coolest setting and keep it far from your head. Really massaging the scalp vigorously with the oil stimulates lymphatic drainage which is good for so many reasons. Do this everyday or as often as possible.
Supplement wise, ashwaghanda, triphala and the healthy hair tablets are what I use. Together the ashwaghanda and triphala will lower blood sugar so monitor this. Take triphala for three months, then stop for three months. Take the ashwaghanda every day. The amount you need will be different for everyone. Ashwaghanda has a multitude of health benefits, not just for hair.
I cannot say if any of these things offers more benefits than any of the others. But the results I am seeing are more than I ever believed possible. I was ready to shave my head and give up. But like i said, when the underarm hair, body hair and scalp hair started coming back with āintensityā is the word i think i am looking for, I was ecstatic.
Please research all of these things and choose what feels right for you. At the very least, start with the hair oil, vigorous massage and invest in conair scalp massager. It was like 15 bucks at Meijer. It feels wonderful and provides a lot of tension relief.
Also, cardiovascular exercise will further stimulate circulation and blood flow everywhere in your body and encourages lymphatic drainage. If your lymph is clogged and not draining, the garbage gets back into the bloodstream and the liver says, hey, i already processed this and didnāt know what to do with it in the first place, and it sends it to the fat cells to be stored where it remains, slowly poisoning you. Daily bodily oil massage and skin brushing encourages lymphatic drainage when done properly. In ayurveda, skin brushing is called Garshana and there are gloves made of rough pure silk that your rub all over, then oil massage whole body, then shower. You will see amazing results.
i recommend https://store.lifespa.com/
This is a doctor who links ancient ayurvedic wisdom with modern scientific studies. Very good info. He is also on youtube. The website offers really good sources of all the things Iāve mentioned.
Utmost importance is your diet. Vegetarian or not, you need clean, unadulterated food. Nutrient dense, low calories. Whole, organic foods as much as possible. Eliminate ALL processed foods. The more your body is working to clear out garbage, the less time and energy it can devote to healing itself.
I have come a very long way in the past 6 months since I committed to healing myself. I couldnāt keep waiting for the stelara to work. It is helping for sure, but i still rely on prednisone. iām stepping it down .5 mg at a time since I was on it for so long. It will take about a year to get off it. i canāt wait. I no longer going to the pain clinic, thank God! Donāt get me wrong, i suffer constantly from joint pain and sore muscles, but I am so much better than even 6 months ago.
Some of this may seem weird to you, i originally looked into ayurveda as a way to lose weight. i struggled throughout my life with ups and down of weight. Iām 5 foot 1 and got up to 223 lbs. i am now 167 after 6 months of this lifestyle and didnāt fully commit until january 15th when my separation from husband triggered a fire inside me to WORK for it.
Positive thinking, meditation and acceptance and especially forgiveness are key to healing. Try to get out of feeling like a victim of this disease. I do not condemn anyone who feels that way. I did for a LONG time. But this is something you can release and it will trigger a fire in you as well. Use it to power through the next few months if you decide to try any of these things. Do consult your physician before trying the supplements. I donāt know you or your details so I canāt say what is right. This is what is working for me and I hope some of this may help you, too.
Above all, LOVE yourself and your mind-body. It has not betrayed you. It is crying out for healing. It is not your fault you have this disease and no one who does not suffer from it can really understand. So, in light of this, listen to yourself. Comfort yourself by focusing on self care, as often as possible. Caring for your body will stop the fight/flight/freeze response and take you into parasympathetic calm. When your body learns to trust you again, by knowing when it needs nutrients, it will get them rather than garbage it cannot use, it will respond with enthusiasm. You will feel far less hungry, all cravings will stop and you will start to actually taste and appreciate your food without the overstimulation of salt, sugar and additives. One controversial topic is caffeine. Some are for it. I am not. I eliminated it and have far more energy now. Stimulants act like steroids in that the body would rather use them than use food and body fat for energy. Weāre just programmed that way genetically. As a human endowed with reason and the ability to choose, you can choose what to eat and how to treat your body. Youāre not confined to follow your genetic drives.
Good luck on your journey and please ask me if you have questions. Thank you for caring enough to share your thoughts and time with me.
. I would have thought that the level of prednisone that you are on would be manageable, but obviously everyone is different. You should always talk to your doctor about stopping a medication though. It wouldnāt help your hair but might have minimized the trouble coming off it. I hope things smooth out soon.
