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Permalink Reply by Cindy on August 10, 2008 at 6:24pm

Hi Kate,

I am mom to a 6 year old daughter with AA. She has 100% hair loss and no lashes or brows. We tried several topical treatments with no avail. In December my daughter started SADBE, which is a very similar treatment. It has a success rate of about 70-80% and her doctor has seen complete regrowth and remission. She too was given the skin test that you described and as you and blistered, but 10 days later after developing her rash. The doctor gave her creams for it to heal and about 6 weeks later we did a small area of her head, about a quarter size. Unlike DCP we do an area of her head at a time vs half a head. We started with small areas and have built our way up to a quarter of head at a time twice a week. She has had some set backs but we have been able to make this work for her. Up until June Samantha used .002%. She developed a full body rash in May and the doctor believed it was from the treatment and said it was a good thing. We cut the dose in half and 3 weeks after the rash her hair began to grow. In July the doctor said she can do 2 treatments a week. My daughter now has several dark patches of hair and lots of fuzz. Her head does become itchy afterwards for a day or two and then it is not so bad. We put Aquaphor on when she needs it. Samantha is being treated at one of the top Children's Hospitals in the country and so we feel very confident in our doctor and they have been very cautious with the treatment so we can make it work for her. Over the course of 6 months she has had 24 applications and her hair began to grow by the 18th application. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My daughter has been very good about this treatment and wants to continue with it. But, I do know that is not for everyone. I hope this info helps..Cindy

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Permalink Reply by Vanessa on August 13, 2008 at 7:02pm

Hi Kate,

I have tried DPCP (assume it's the same as 'DCP'). I began the treatment in December of 2007 (just 8 months ago). I live in a small town in British Columbia, Canada, but happened upon a doctor who had used DPCP with one other patient and recommended I try it. I started losing my hair in Feb. of 2007 and by December had lost about 70%, and it was still falling out slowly. I didn't get the 'test patch', but my doctor started out with the lowest concentration (.0001 or something) and applied it to my entire head. He applied it once a week and gradually kept increasing the concentration.

I didn't react very much at all to the treatment - just a little itcing - and was getting quite discouraged (the whole point of the treatment being to create a reaction and distract the immune system) until we reached the highest concentration (2%) and then wham! I had a terrible reaction with painful blistering and angry looking burns all over my head. I thought I might be permanently scarred from this but it did end up healing suprisingly well. However a very frightening and unpleasant experience nonetheless... My doctor was giddy with excitement saying things like 'now we're getting somewhere!'

For the next treatment I had (about three weeks later when I had recovered) we brought the dosage way down again but I again had a bad reaction - this time with one half of my face becoming very swollen. Apparently I had been 'sensitized' to the DPCP. I used some type of steroid ointment and anti-histamines to deal with these reactions but I don't know that they really helped - it really just took time to recover. I perservered and kept having treatments and really didn't have any more 'bad' reactions, even as we worked our way back up with the dosage. By April I was back up to 2% without much reaction at all - just some (intense) itchiness and redness.

I had some hair start to regrow in February? It was white and fuzzy then became brown again... really just two patches on the crown of my head. I originally lost my hair in the 'ophiasis' pattern all around the base of my head and had no sign of regrowth there (apparently the area most resistant to treatment). Also, my original hair that I still had on the crown of my head was continuing to fall out - though I think that new fuzzy hairs were starting to replace it (again on the crown of my head)...

Alas, in May my hair loss suddenly sped up. I lost my remaining hair and all the new regrowth pretty quickly. The only change was that I had left home for a short term job (10 weeks) in another part of the province... I was continuing to use the DPCP (the doctor gave me permission to apply it myself since I was workingin a remote location). I was being a little more conservative with the application since I was working in the middle of nowhere, but not enough to explain the sudden change. Anyhow, I decided to give up on the treatment at this point.

The regrowth that I did have may not have had anything to do with the DPCP, since now I have lost virtually all of the hair on my body but notice that I have two small patches of brown hair regrowing on my head now. On a positive note, I did meet my doctor's other DPCP patient, and she had had great success with the treatment. this woman had Lupus, and had lost most of the hair on her head - though unlike me her loss was primarily on the crown - and all of her hair had grown back. She had reactions simlar to mine (blistering, swelling). When I met her she was having 'maintenance' treatments once a month and things seemed to be going well. Also, I have seen some convincing photos of people who have had AT for years who have had complete regrowth with this treatment. On the other hand I've seen some photos of people who've had some serious skin discolouration/pigment change...

A hard decision to make. One thing to consider is that you shouldn't become pregnant while having this treatment - or for a while afterwards (my doc suggested three months to clear it from the system). Good luck with your decision. Hope this helps...
Vanessa

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Permalink Reply by Liesl on August 13, 2008 at 9:23pm

hey kate

I haven't had the treatment on my head due to the fact that i had the same reaction as you did with the arm test. I thought no bloody way am i letting someone go anywhere near my head with that stuff. To be honest the doctor was a real idiot too. My opinion is not to go throught with it. I think it can lead to very dangerous side effects. Keep your little head happy!

Cheers,

Liesl

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Permalink Reply by Kate on September 17, 2008 at 10:52am

Hello all,
Thanks so much for you comments on this. As it turns out I actually didn't need too much advice as the skin test I had was so horrible that I decided pretty quick that this was not for me!
The blister stayed for about 4 weeks, since I wrote this note. Now it is just one huge scar that I really hope goes away...eek! Further, I also got hives on my arm, which are big swollen lumps brought on by an alergic reaction to the steriod! Great!
I decided pretty fast that I just couldn't take it. I am so happy in my funky wigs and just did not want to put myself through the pain and upset that I believe this treatment would have caused me.
Thanks massively for your advice though, and good luck to you all.
Kate xxx

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