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Hair loss from PMR or Steroids?

Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Sep 18, 2023 | Replies (45)
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@steph1939

I was diagnosed with PMR last February and began taking 15 mg of prednisone daily. I am on my second challenge of reducing my prednisone dosage very slowly and currently on 8 1/2 mg. My pain is very manageable so far. 4 weeks ago I noticed a lot of hair in my bathroom sink, hair brush etc. I was traveling so thought it was the stress of that but unfortunately it has continued. My Rhuematoligist told me that neither PMR or Prednisone could be the cause however some information I’ve read about prednisone suggests it could. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if so how have they treated the condition.

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Replies to "I was diagnosed with PMR last February and began taking 15 mg of prednisone daily. I..."
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Aug 15, 2022

Hello @steph1939, Welcome to Connect. You will notice that we merged your post with an existing discussion on the same topic here - Hair loss from PMR or Steroids?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hair-loss-from-pmr-or-steroids/ so that you can meet other members like @abbeyc, @rkndvm, @kspowell, @anniekirby and others who have posted about hair loss caused by prednisone.

Since you are tapering your dosage of prednisone I thought you might find the following discussion also helpful:
-- PMR Dosages and Managing Symptoms: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-dosages/

Are you having any challenges tapering off of prednisone?

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Teri | @tsc | Aug 16, 2022

Hi @steph1939, I had very thick hair. I noticed it started thinning with the onset of PMR symptoms. I also had Giant Cell Arteritis and started taking 40 mg prednisone. It really thinned my hair and changed the texture from coarse to smooth. This started over a year ago. I'm down to 1 mg of Prednisone now and my hair is coming back. My hairdresser noticed it the last time I had my hair cut. She also told me that a number of her clients on prednisone had thinning hair. So I hope that helps.

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