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Could antibiotics be a trigger for FFA?
I thought I would start a post dedicated to tracking antibiotic use prior to FFA diagnosis. I reviewed recent comments and counted up ten of us that have been on several rounds of antibiotics prior to our FFA diagnosis! I suspect there are more. By having this post it will catch the eye of those members that don't visit this site that often and hopefully they can add their background too.
The working theory is that these broad spectrum antibiotics wipe out the good bacteria in the gut, namely those good guys that help provide immunity. This is why diarrhea is often a side effect of these antibiotics. I want to add that the tetracyclines that many of us are on are generally not as intense with gastrointestinal side effects and likely are not the culprit. I don't want everyone panicking and stopping the treatments their dermatologists have recommended!
This is more of an attempt to gather information and I intend to bring this to a CARF support group meeting in Boston at the end of this month. I have never been to one, being such a newbie in all of this, but from what I understand Dr. Lynne Goldberg usually attends these meetings.
I thought we could list the name of the antibiotic, length of the course, the infection being treated, and the length of time prior to FFA diagnosis (or when we first started noticing symptoms). I noticed Jen mentioned that she was on Omeprazole, an acid reducer, two months prior to noticing her hair loss. Perhaps we could include that class of drugs as well, since they also alter the normal flora in the gut.
I called my pharmacy yesterday to confirm the drug names and dates. In December 2011 I was on Amoxicillin for 10 days and immediately after that Augmentin for 10 more days to treat a middle ear infection. For six months after that I suffered from chronic yeast infections. The following fall 2012 (approximately 10 months after antibiotic use) I noticed my eyebrows thinning but chalked it up to aging. They were very thick and full so it likely was happening for a while before I noticed. I was diagnosed with FFA on February 25 2014, a date unfortunately that I will never forget. : (
The following article was just posted days ago and theorizes that perhaps the antibiotic in conjunction with the infection could precede autoimmune disease. It is rather technical, but the nurse nerd in me loves reading these things!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140331153520.htm
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by PamW San Diego, CA, USA on
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I had several rounds of cipro, amoxicillin, and took omperazole for years! I don't know the dates or dosages, but remember thinking that I was constantly getting sinus and UT infections. I would say that I took an antibiotic at least three times a year prior to my diagnosis. The last sinus infection and urinary tract infections were really bad, too.
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Permalink Reply by DebbieT on
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Hello Anne. Interesting you mention antibiotics. I recently read an article concerning "leaky gut" and I am sure they mentioned in that article that NSAIDS and abuse thereof could also be a trigger for autoimmune diseases. I suffered from Asthma as a child and so was permanently on antibiotics to mention a few that I remember Albuterol, Amoxicillin. This went on right into adulthood and was eventually cured by Accupuncture. (spelling?). I still get odd bouts of it, but it is mainly seasonal. After suffering a really bad fall horse riding a couple of years or so ago, I was prescribed heavy painkillers, which I took on and off for at least 2-3 years. When I couldnt get them from my doctor anymore, I would get the OTC painkillers. Needless to say, thankfully that is over now, however I do believe that I took them for way too long as just after I weaned myself from them, I noticed my eyebrows thinning, eyelashes werent so full anymore and the hair on my legs did not need shaving as much! I ignored it and put it down to menopause and ageing, until my hairstylist brought my attention to my receding hairline! Have you done any research into NSAIDS? Perhaps something else to take to your CARF support group?
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Permalink Reply by Celia on
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Hi Anne - I think it's a plain as the nose on your lovely upside down face !! I firmly believe that the use of certain antibiotics will have had a negative effect on the body's ability to cope. For me I reckon my trigger was meds given to fight infection - pneumococcal pneumonia. I will research what I took and for how long. I recall ciprofloxacin was one. But I was pumped so full of anti-biotics as the prob I had was apparently very resistant to treatment so they threw everything at it......You are not a nerd - you are clearly passionate about your work and we need people like yourself to help fathom this out. I have put my theory to several medics but the usual response is that there is NO EVIDENCE ! Well done anyway !
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Permalink Reply by Anne Louise on
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Ha! Celia you're funny. I've decided that my picture is a good reflection of how this diagnosis has turned my world upside down. My sister and I were just talking last night - she is also a nurse- and she was saying how cipro is a particularly nasty antibiotic. I find the information seeking to be empowering, rather than feeling like a helpless victim with nowhere to turn.
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Anne - I have found my notes from hospital - Feb 2011. Seems I was on IV anti-biotics unspecified for a month in hospital then was prescribed ciprofloxacin 500mg 3 times daily for 6 weeks and also metronidazole 400mgs 3x daily for the same period. The pneumococcal pneumonia began on 26 Dec 2010. Hairloss really began about a month after stopping the anti-biotics. Had I known what I now to be the case, I would have possibly cut down on the meds. Anyway I have ordered some probiotics. I hope that others on the forum will add any anti-biotic stories they may have.
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Permalink Reply by MJ on
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I was on many antibiotics in the three years preceding FFA dx. Some as a standard protocal after three different surgeries, metronidazole for a recurrent bacterial infection, at least one zpak for sinus infection/strept throat. And overuse of omeprazole during at the year prior.
I think there has to be something else involved as well as antiobiotics as people have been taking them for years and years and FFA is a new disease. Like a just the right cocktail of meds, stess, and hormone fluctuations. -
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I agree MJ. It would be too simplistic to blame FFA squarely on antibiotics, but they seem to be a contributing factor. I've also been reading a lot about PPAR gamma, which has been implicated histologically in biopsies of FFA and LPP; fascinating stuff.
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Permalink Reply by Polly UK on
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I have taken BP meds for 15-20 years but my BP was still not controlled resulting in angina which led to Angioplasty in 2007. I now take an angiotensin, ace inhibitor, calcium channel blocker, statin and aspirin and this cocktail is working well in keeping my BP down and my derm says these meds are not responsible for my FFA.
Following my Angioplasty I had several viral infections with a succession of oral steroids and antibiotics and this carried on to a lesser degree until last year when I started taking vitamin supplements after my FFA diagnosis and advice from this forum.
I have taken Omeprazole for more than 10 years but for the last 7 months (since taking Hydroxychloroquine)I have only taken 1x10mg daily and sometimes only every other day.
I'm sure that stress plays a big part in my hair loss and inflammation now and I think it may have caused my immune system to not function properly in the past maybe resulting in FFA.
I have just taken my first Ultimate Flora capsule as recommended by Debs and I recently won a very apt prize on Twitter - 6 month supply of Immune System Supplement tablets :) -
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I agree with MJ about the antibiotics not being the trigger. I think that our immune systems are compromised and we all needed antibiotics to fight the infections because our immune systems could not since our system was busy fighting our own body (hair follicle). Perhaps if our own immune systems were functioning properly, we would not have needed the antibiotics in the first place.
I do believe there is a hormonal component to FFA. It could be our own hormones or the hormones that we ingested from animals and genetically modified foods. This is a relatively new disease, not seen before the mid 20th century. People didn't eat processed food before. Diabetes and obesity are rampant because of processed food. Perhaps FFA is along the same lines.
I asked Dr. Christos why I felt better in the morning, and got worse throughout the day. He said it was because of our body's natural steroid levels (hormones). Stress plays a large role in our hormone levels and that is why some of us feel worse when we are in a stressful period in our lives. Has anybody been to visit Dr. Harries or heard from Dr. Christos recently? Deb, can you connect with either of these two doctors and inquire about the status of their research? -
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Hi Anne,
I also have a history with antibiotics. As a kid, I was on them for a long time for ear infections (I believe penicillin), but this probably doesn't count...but thought I'd mention it.
I was on Amoxicillin for a couple of years (low dose) for adult acne when I started going through peri-menopause. I was on the Amox when I came down with a horrible Influenza and right after that is when I started noticing hair loss on my left temple. It took me months to get my lung capacity back after that illness...probably was close to having an pneumonia. Anyway, that's when everything started. I was going through peri-menopause, had lots of blood loss, ferritin levels very low and could not get them up, was on the Amoxicillin for the acne-cyst stuff, got Influenza...and then the hair loss started. Every year, for the next three years (until I connected the dots), I got a flu shot and each time I got that, I had more hair loss right after...right temple was next, then the front hairline started to go...etc...(I suspect my body was preparing for another bad illness, I don't know).
That's my story in a nutshell. If you would like any further details, please let me know.
Maddy
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Maddy, when you mentioned the flu shot, I just recalled that I got my first and only flu shot right before I believe my bald spot appeared! I wonder now, if that played a role in this! When we talk about FFA being a new condition, flu inoculations are also a relatively new thing as well....
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I also took antibiotics for a sebaceous cyst or chalazion on my lower eyelid in 2006 which was eventually surgically removed. I haven't had a recurrence but often wondered if there was any connection with the FFA as I've seen references to malfunctioning sebaceous glands and Cicatricial Alopecia?!
My Angioplasty and subsequent infections and antibiotics which I mentioned in my previous comments all occurred during my early menopause. -
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