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Any alopecia areata success stories?
I am 22 years old and I just found out that I have alopecia areata. I found my first patch in early October and it stayed the same up until about a week ago. It grew an inch in diameter and I also found a second spot about the size of a quarter. Luckily I have long, thick hair so I can hide my spots. But I don't know for how long. I am really down about the whole thing and couldn't really use some hope. Are there any of you with success stories or advice? Please and thank you
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Eric on
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Acupuncture is a very open ended treatment and there are many doctors and chiropractors doing it on the side to help some patients with pain. This is not the acupuncture I suggest. You need to find someone who has been doing acupuncture for decades and believes in Traditional Chinese Medicine.The needles are not put in your spots, but in specific points in your body that correlate to you as an individual. It is a very subjective procedure, which is why having a master of the craft is critical. My best experiences are with older chinese acupuncturists. My AA was extreme, and I have grown back probably 80% of my head hair, 50% of my beard, but I still do not have eyebrows. I had to take a break from getting acupuncture though because the $$ adds up. I have no doubt in my mind that it was working wonders for my body though. There is also pills from herbs I was taking called "7 Treasures for Hair Tea Pills" and "Six Flavor Teapills" that my acupuncturist prescribed me, but they are on amazon as well.
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I actually done have an bare spots on my head anymore (and my head used to be 70-80% bare), but some of the regrowth is thin still
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Permalink Reply by Malika on
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I noticed a patch in June, a month after I started a new job, moved to a different place and had a completely different schedule. I assume the reason of my alopecia was stress from the new job (even though I don't think i was stressing that much) and ecology in the new place (the job is next to a petrochemical plant). I used some vitamins for hair growth, rubbed pepper tincture into the patch, and tried many different shampoos which said anything about hair growth or root strengthening on their labels, but not hormone medicine. 3 or 4 months later I noticed my hair started growing, and the bald spot started itching. The patch is not completely covered yet, but I hope the growing process won't stop. I remember being very scared when I just noticed the patch. I was also looking for success alopecia stories in the internet. I believe there are many people who got rid of alopecia, but not all of them write about it on the Internet when they hair finally grows back. Most important is to stay positive and don't stress about it.
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And my after pic, current situation
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Permalink Reply by MarcoB on
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Amy, good advice here. And I like the order of your items. As someone that has had AA for about 10 years in some form (now progressing towards what looks like AU), #1 is so important. Personally, if I could go back, I would not have gone to the cortisone shots right away. I ended up using them for too many years and my body just stopped responding. They worked initially, but they give you a false hope I think. As you say, there is no cure. None. And just because some people have success with this or that treatment, doesn't mean you will. Every treatment available today is just that. A treatment. Their purpose is to halt the immune response. But they are temporary treatments. Once you start using them, you have to continue to use them. And the longer you use them, the less effective they are (that's just my opinion, based on may own experiences).
Kailyn, if I could say one thing it would be to echo Amy's #1 through #5. That is great advice. I would add prayer, if you're into that. This will be especially important if the hair loss continues to spread. Be frank with yourself that you may have to deal with this for the long term. This is a crazy disease (I hate calling it that). Your immune system is just out of whack. You will have spots come and they will grow back. Then others will show up. Don't let stress and anxiety get the best of you, because it will make things worse. Don't let your AA get to the point where it's dominating your thought throughout the day. Some people say just doing something to treat it is therapeutic. Personally, I think getting it off your mind so it's not dominating your mental state is more therapeutic. Even as I am losing more hair on other parts of my body, I still believe this. I just look at them, and instead of stressing about them, I just kind of laugh at the oddness of it all and say "whatever". :) Maybe I've just gotten tired of worrying about it. You will definitely get to that point if it progresses. At some point, if it continues to progress, you just need to accept that you don't have a lot of control over it. But you CAN have positive influence on it. That's where Amy's advice comes into play.
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I concur, Amy I love everything you said. It's so easy to throw medical treatments at people, but the best work can be done by OURSELVES. Kind of like in Wizard of Oz when Dorothy realizes, "There's no place like home," or when Voltaire's Candide realized he should start with tending to his own garden rather than seek outwards. The sleep thing is insanely important, and I should know since I was actually BORN with a damn sleep disorder. There is nothing more important than those healing hours and deep REM sleep. Amy you have helped more than you know with your advice. Be well!
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Amy that was so beautifully said. It's the holidays now and I think it's stressful just because it's the holidays which of course does not help anything. Does anyone out there have FF a and has it spread all over their head or just at the hairline?
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Be careful and judge carefully of what has been recommended. Follicles left too long without any regrowth can potentially die. The sooner the alopecia is caught the more you can do for it.
Instagram - hair loss clinics
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I agree, pay little attention to a lot of the "magic" cures you read. Including going to hair loss clinics. There is no "hair loss clinic" in America, or anywhere else, that has a cure for AA, unless your idea of a "cure" is wearing a wig. Don't get me wrong, for some, that may be a good solution as they deal with the hair loss.
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Permalink Reply by Mama Burd on
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I noticed my first patch when I was 33. I had long, thick, dark hair and I was able to hide it for quite some time, but then I eventually lost almost all of it. (I have Alopecia Ophiasis.) However, about a year later, it started growing back! It actually happened when we moved a state away. I also noticed when we moved that my seasonal allergies totally went away. Not sure if they're related, but I know seasonal allergies do flare the immune system (and alopecia is an autoimmune disorder), so that might be worth looking into.
I've now had a full head of hair for two years. I still have a tiny patch just above my left ear, but I can hide it easily. I know that I could lose it again at any time, but I'm enjoying it for as long as I can!
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Mama Burd, I believe you are on to something. Inflammation is involved in pretty much every major disease, and many of these diseases are autoimmune diseases like AA. I believe that controlling inflammation in the body can have great benefits on any abnormality within the body. That includes allergies of all sorts - seasonal, food, etc. By eliminating (or reducing) your allergic reactions, you reduced inflammation, and that has helped you. I'm happy for you!
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