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Alopecia areata help!
Hello! I'm a 26-year-old female and I was diagnosed with alopecia areata in a May 2016. I first found one bald spot at the end of my part when it was the size of a pencil eraser. A complete comb through of my hair by my boyfriend turned up 0 additional bald spots - thankfully. I consulted a dermatologist right away and started steroid injections (intradermal - triamcinolone). My hair loss spread rapidly in the first 3-4 months through September 2016 where I now had this 1/2 inch wide band literally almost spanning ear to ear (despite me receiving monthly steroid injections). Around September, my hair loss seemed to slow tremendously. I have very few tiny bald spots "budding" off of my band but it doesn't add to the overall picture too much. I've been receiving monthly injections all along at full dose and have never missed an appointment. I have yet to have substantial hair growth on my original bald spots, and I'm about to engage in my 7th month of injections. I can't look at my bald spots that easily because they're on the backside of the top of my head. My dermatologist says I have the small white hairs but there's less than he expected at this point. He also says he would have expected much more hair regrowth by now and he seems confused how to proceed further. He's decreasing my return intervals from 4 weeks to 3 weeks to try and give "more medicine in a shorter amount of time".
Has anyone else's experience been like this or taken this many months of treatment without substantial regrowth? Many of the websites I read say hair regrows in 4-6 months :(
Thank you in advance for your input! :)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alo-mom on
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Hello from a mom who has gone through this with her daughter, when she was 22, while away at college. I believe that the injections work if it the alopecia is going to be small patches and it is not heading towards Totalis or Universalis. I knew that my daughters was going to be Universalis when she starting losing hair on her legs and arms. I did have a boss years ago that lost patches of hair and it came back after a few months on its own. I think with Auto Ammunine it is a wait and see to be honest. I think this is a wait and see kind of thing unfortunately. I will hope for the best for you. I know that Miss California Brie, forgot her last name had your kind of Alopecia and the spots grew back in on their own without injections. Please let me know if you have anymore questions that I can help you with, Lisa
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Permalink Reply by ampeckham on
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Hi! Thank you so much for your response! I should add that I do not have any hair loss on eyebrows, eyelashes, or arms. I wax everything else so any other area is hard to judge. Would it be normal to not lose hair on other body parts for this long? I ask my doctor every visit if I'm progressing to totalis or univeralis and he says "unlikely" so I just feel stuck! :(
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Permalink Reply by Tallgirl on
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Your doc cannot predict this. Alopecia has a mind of its own. Yes, leg and other hair can still grow. I had alopecia off and on ages 10-40, then AU, now just reverse ophiasis plus minimal as arm and leg hair. Eyebrows seem to be iffy, especially if I use the crayon eyebrow pencil instead of eyebrow powder. I gave up on shots and creams, accepted my fate (genetic: 2-3 other males on the family tree had or have alopecia), and wear wigs.
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Chances are by your side..try to be optimistic.
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