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Permalink Reply by Galena on March 15, 2009 at 12:12pm

Hello Marisa and thank you for responding to my question. As I look back over my knowledge of my hair, I’ve always had a slightly thin area above my right ear as long as I can remember. In 1986, I presented with about 4-5 small patches. I definitely attributed that alopecia onset to severe stress and the hair came back within a few months without treatment. In May 2007 with another major stress trigger, a patch presented above the left ear and like you, over the next 18 months the condition progressed without responding to injections, methoxotreate, anthralin or prednisone. I shaved the remaining hair off on Sept. 30, 2008. Currently, I've already loss my eyebrows and the right upper eyelash. I still have hair growth in other areas, but it's not the same.

I too believe that there is a hormonal component as well as a stress factor. AA/AT/AU is so unique for each individual that the only means for us to support one another is to alert dangerous treatments, comorbidity and encourage self-acceptance. There are no consistent successful medical options for us.

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Permalink Reply by Galena on March 15, 2009 at 2:20pm

Hello again Sandy! So what I learned from you is that 1) the likelihood of my hair returning is poor and that 2) hopefully because of my late onset, no one else in my family (I have three children) should develop alopecia? Or is because I now have it, the kids are at risk? I, like you am the only alopecian in my family.

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Permalink Reply by Wendy on March 15, 2009 at 4:37pm

Hello Ladies
I too developed alopecia in my 40's and now my eyebrows are almost gone as well. I am hoping to find some stencils to show me where to paint them on with makeup. Any ideas on where to find such stuff would be helpful. I have bald patches and a very tiny head so scarves don't look the best on me and they have a tendency to fall off.
No one else in my family has alopecia and I too am hoping that neither one of my girls developes it.

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Permalink Reply by M'Alopecia on March 15, 2009 at 7:35pm

I was 46 when it started, am now 62. I've always wondered if the hormonal changes associated with menopause "influenced" the onset either as a cause, a trigger, a catalyst, a factor or whatever. Have yet to find anything that addresses the issue.
I was patchy for most of the years and then suddenly, very suddenly, went AU 4 years ago. The dr. I'm currently seeing has me on prednisone - 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. Helps a bit; has brought back the eyelashes, some eyebrows and quite a bit of scalp hair which is pure white but not yet ready for public display. Hope you have better luck.

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Permalink Reply by Galena on March 15, 2009 at 7:55pm

Thanks for your contribution M'Alopecia! I went off my prednisone because it was making me very anxious and an insomniac. I will see my dermatologist soon and I will ask her about your regime. Have you been on the prednisone for the entire four years that you've been AU? I don't like how I felt mentally on that glucocorticoid, I wonder if there is another I could try?

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Permalink Reply by Galena on March 15, 2009 at 7:41pm

Welcome to the discussion Wendy! Since scarves don’t work, are you wearing a wig or hat that you like? I hate head covers of any kind, but I’m not yet ready to go out without one. We both have the same concerns for our children. I really wish we had a medical professional willing to give us some assistance in these discussions—we have so many questions.

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Permalink Reply by M'Alopecia on March 15, 2009 at 11:20pm

I've been on prednisone about 18 months. Fifteen months of 40mg for 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off and as of January am on 20 mg for 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. Some backsliding with the switch to 20mg but the eyelashes are holding which I think is a good indicator. My GP, GYN and Dermatologist have told me that 2 weeks is the maximum time period one can take the steroid without serious side affects, particularly bone density loss. I try to exercise 2 hours a day to counter any bone loss issues associated with the prednisone; won't know how effective it is until my next bone scan which is next month. My derm tells me that the therapy is not one that's common in the US although it has been utilized in other countries with limited success. I don't mind being an experiment and I have found it helps to have a sympathetic MD when dealing with alopecia - it's unfortunate there are so few of them around. Every day I tell myself alopecia will not kill me, but damn, it's frustrating.

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Permalink Reply by Mary on March 16, 2009 at 1:14am

I was 48 when I had my first bald spot. I always had really thick hair and no thinning or receding hairline. After 7 years of small, concealable bald patches that would always regrow after cortisone injections, the bald areas began to rapidly expand in late 2007, and in January 2008 I shaved my head. (See photos on my page). By May of 2008, at age 55, I was AU. No one else in my family has any immune disorders, including alopecia areata.

For me, embracing the "new me" has been the best route. I don't hide my baldness, and I'm comfortable and cool. It gets easier all the time, and now I don't really think about it. Watch "Living a Bald Life" on YouTube if you haven't seen it.

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