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Permalink Reply by Diane on July 22, 2008 at 10:05pm

Hi Lori,
I supposed that the dermatologist will suggest you the intradermal, intralesional shot of 'Kenalog'. I have it for many many years before becoming AU. I've always had good results with it. It was usually given once a month. Between appointments, I was putting Betnovate cream at bed time and Betnovate lotion in the morning (this was my own receipt... I am a pharmacist... ;-) After a few months, the results were there (i.e. no more hairless spot) but this does not prevent others hairs to fall, new spots to appear.

From my past experience, the most bothering side effect was the pain at the injection site. As for side effects related to steroids, the dose used is very small plus it is injected directly at the site of action... very little systemic side effects are expected (never had any myself)...

I do not know what will be suggested to you.... when the spots are too big, given the shot is generally considered to be useless and too painful...

Good luck with your appointment.
Diane

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on July 23, 2008 at 9:58am

Lori,
It is very difficult to give advice on this subject because it is a very personal choice and it won't affect one person the same as the other. I have heard many people that get the shots and swear by them. For me, I did 2 treatments of the shots and decided to stop. Main reason for me was that I was losing hair so quickly that even if the shots were helping the affected spots, I was still getting new spots at the same time. The shots hurt, but it's only for a minute. The thing that was hard for me to deal with was the indentations that appear (the shots cause the skin to thin, creating these divots in your head). They felt awful to me and everyone convinced me they would go away with time...I still have a couple spots that haven't filled back in...worries me. I had also heard that if you stop doing the shots there is a good chance the hair will fall out again and I didn't like the thought of that. I thought, so am I supposed to do the shots forever then, or what? I just personally decided against it. I didn't want to have them help me and then one day quit the shots and lose everything. But PLEASE make the decision for yourself. As I said, I have spoken with many people on this site that have said the shots helped completely and they love the results. So everyone is different! I don't think it would hurt to try it and then see how you feel? That's what I did. You should check with your insurance company to see if they will cover it. I didn't check with them first, and in the end they didn't pay a dime claiming it was cosmetic surgery!

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Permalink Reply by Bri on July 23, 2008 at 11:05am

Morning Lori!!!
I've just been diagnosed with Alopecia Areata and understand your fustration with waiting to see a Dermatologist...

I live in a small town and after seeing my Family Physican she told me that loosing hair was a sign of Stress which was roughly a year ago. After finding new spots in November, I made another appointment for a second opinion and he clearified that it was indeed Alopecia however, I would need to see a Dermatologist to diagnose it.. I waited until June 16th, and it was in fact Alopecia Areata, and sure enough within 2 minutes of seeing him... He prepared the cortisone injections.

I think the pain depends on how large the needle is and whether they mix freezing with the steroid prior to injecting. The first time, he mixed it with water and injected it 7 times in four different spots.. I will warn you that it's painful and like Mandy I do have little fly bite marks all over from the injections...

According to research, it's difficult to tell whether the injections actually stimulate hair growth.. Raised with a father as a physician, his against the use of steriods for it's long term effect on someone's body. I guess it depends on how you feel about the situation...

I've just recently returned for my second injection given to me by my doctor and this time she used some freezing to reduce the pain. After 12 weeks, I have an inch of peach fuzz but still weak hair. I don't necessarily have side effects but I do have trouble sleeping after my injections because of where my spots are located...

The people I've spoken to you said it was either effective or not effective... Unfortunately, like Mandy I'm thinking about cancelling my next appointment because of the indentations.. They're quite like fly bites scattered everywhere....

Best of luck with your appointment
Brianne

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Permalink Reply by Maggie on July 23, 2008 at 8:57pm

Lori,

I agree with Mandy that it is definitely a choice you should make on your own. A lot of websites say the injections don't hurt, so when I went in there I thought, "I have a good pain tolerance this won't be bad at all." I found out, for me, its according to where I get them. The first time I only got two injections. One in my eyebrow and one on a spot the size of a quarter near the front of my head. The eyebrow stung the most. In a month, hair started growing back at the eyebrow, but not so great at the other spot. By the second month I had about 6 more spots. I kept on getting shots and they kept getting more and more painful for me. Even though the injection pain only lasted seconds the after effects were hard on me. I have spots all over my head ( in varying sizes), and the injections made my head extremely sore and sesitive for days, sometimes weeks after.

I have also gotten the "bites" and the divots. The divots, for lack of a better term, freaked me out. The doctor said it happens but I have SEVERAL that are really shocking when felt.

I am now trying to decide if its worth it. I have the peach fuzz, but I have a dent where I only got a shot once 5 months ago that hasnt returned to normal. Its such a hard decision to make. I felt like it was my only option, and sometime i still do. I think I got my hopes up in the begining, had family members urging me to keep trying, and society telling me that what was happening to me was going to make me unattractive and I stayed in it longer than I think i should have given the way MY body reacts to it.

I go back the first of August and decide how I want to procede. And honestly thats what you need to do. YOU need to decide how YOU want to procede. If you want to try it out you should; it may work wonders for you, but try to remember that even though we feel helpless in this sometimes, we still have a choice on how we want to procede. Make the decision on your own and look into other alternatives if you aren't happy with the one "they" give you. I have.

I hope this helps in some way.

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on July 24, 2008 at 9:44am

I want to add to this saying that like Maggie, the divots in my head were also pretty shocking. They did all fill in / return to normal after a while except for one. I've heard lots of people say the divots all filled in for them back to normal...but like me I've also heard a handful of other people say they didn't. I think that's important for you to hear. Because when I went to the dermatologist the first time I got the "don't worry these shots will make the hair grow back, I promise, and the divots will go away, I promise" lecture. I'd like to go back and smack them cuz you really shouldn't promise things that you can't be 100% sure of. Everyone's body reacts differently to the disease as well as to the treatments.

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Permalink Reply by Zoey on August 5, 2008 at 6:46pm

I got those years ago.. They did not work for me... As, it was so painful my own mother could not watch she had to turn her head.
I just remember all the pain with no hair regrowth. :(

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