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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 verysad on
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manuka honey is good for lots of things, It is antibacterial and moisturizing. Cupping (a lot of my friends do this for their business) I don't know about....it supposedly gets rid of toxins. Acupuncture might be a better option and it is sometimes covered by insurance, with a good history of working for all kinds of things. But whatever works! It sounds like in general things that help stimulate circulation and the healing process like massage, cupping, caffeine....anyone see a trend here?
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Have you tried anthralin crème? There are so many success stories with this crème. Also new medications are coming out.
Hang in there. I have alopecia universalis and have not given up; so you don't either.
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Permalink Reply by Jordyn Napier on
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Hi Kailyn!
I am sorry that you are having to deal with this. Do you know what stage you're at or what form of Alopecia you have? My twin sister was born with alopecia areata so she still has hair on her head but it is very thin and she lives every day with the risk that it all could fall out; the perks of areata and not knowing what to expect ever! (sarcasm intended). She has tried every treatment, essential oil, etc. that is out there but she still lives with alopecia. He rname is Devyn and she is now 20, almost 21. Watchign her grow up and live with this has been such a difficult experience but a beautiful one now that we are older. I have never seen my sister so independent and confident in her life, so I would say that this indeed is a success. It is not about overcoming the disease biologically that is the success, the success comes from how you live with it. Please do not let this stop you from pursuing any of your dreams or keep you from living your life.
I have not heard of any success stories as in the disease goes away but I hope that for some people this is their case. For those who have to live with the permanence of this disease I want you to know that it is not all bad. To look at alopecia in a positive light, this is your time to experiment with your look and embrace your outer beauty. If you ever need support I am here and my sister is always working on her makeup routine I am sure she would love to share.
You are beautiful! xxx
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Maybe you havent heard of alopecia success stories because people who never saw it again will not post anything about it. It is better not to say such a thing when someone is looking for light of hope
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Permalink Reply by Hairloss1 on
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Hi have you check your iron level? most hair loss issue in female are cause by low iron level and low thyroid hormone
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Okay, I apologize in advance for this insanely long diatribe but I want you people to know this is just my story, and we all have different things going on. But one thing for sure, you didn't cause this, and docs don't seem to have an ideal solution. My hair is basically back to normal, although extremely fried looking. It's as if I have no hydration whatsoever, and I know this to be true because I don't drink enough water, am on a medicine that in fact causes dehydration and dry mouth, I don't get my blood pumping enough with exercise, I am up all night and my sleep is disordered. Your body heals and grows during sleep. I researched growth hormone back in school and it is at the highest level during sleep at NIGHT. This hasn't changed since the beginning of humans. People who work night shift have a higher level of illness and death, because you don't mess with mother nature's circadian rhythms. Secondly I was mildly malnourished, and have always been an anxious person. The one thing I have done right my whole life is I eat insanely healthy to make up for the rest. My hair fell out because I was very sick with depression and other things. But doctors did nothing -- I mean NOTHING -- to help. It was laughable how every appointment they were like pretend doctors. I did check my thyroid and it was supposedly "normal" but here's the thing: everyone is different and one person's level may need to be naturally higher than the "average" that the doctor learned in school, and the thyroid also fluctuates like all hormones. They don't even test everything and they definitely don't understand all hormones completely -- in fact they are still discovering hormones they didn't even know existed. And the hormones they do know about, they really have very little clue about them, which is why the pill killed people at first until they adjusted dosage -- and it still is messed up. Hormones affect everything, and I remember learning just how little doctors understand thyroid especially.
Sorry this got so long, but I consider myself a success story and I hope we who exchange ideas in our desperation can help one another. Lots on here have very different situations. My hair is longer than it could have gotten before, and so much thicker. Once I finally get to what I weighed (ironically the same weight my mom told me I was fat at) I hope it will look more hydrated. I am so sick of people telling me to deep condition my hair, since that's ALL I do. Expensive conditioners, all day long, and they do nothing because conditioners don't absorb, hair is dead once it grows out of your head, so I realize now how awful it is for people to claim that you can fix damaged hair and charge insane amounts of money. This is scientifically not possible. It only slaps a bandaid on something and does not change it. I wish someone would sue a hair company for fraudulent claims, because if you look at hair under a microscope before and after, say, argan oil (a total scam but people will insist that only a certain kind works) only the "cured" hair has a glaze over it that is merely an illusion. I know because I experimented on myself with a before and after (for two months) and there was literally no difference. Hair reflects health (Americans are mostly corn when examined under a microscope) and rogaine has been shown in studies to only work on a small percentage of women.
Sorry! If anyone read this far, I apologize. One more thing: I stopped taking the birth control pill that has estrogen. Estrogen imbalance is quite high in the population -- mostly because it's intertwined with body fat -- extremely so. I have migraines and the dr knew but neglected to take me off the estrogen and progest. pill -- I could have had a stroke and my migraines were getting worse. ARGH. This means I had too much estrogen compared to progesterone OKAY I better not write any more. Suffice it to say that PROGESTERONE had good effects on my hair for SURE (it's why pregnant women with high levels of progest. sometimes get long beautiful hair which then falls out after the baby is born, because the hormones have a rapid drop. HORMONES and HEALTH are everything -- not your hair loss. You are all beautiful to me because people who suffer things like this tend to be far more empathetic. It;s why the best therapists are the ones who have been through hell themselves, not the ones who only know what they learned in the textbooks -- okay I'll slink out of the room now
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lol....
was thinking the same I swear.
we lost hair, not humor!
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Permalink Reply by KailynVengeance on
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Thank you everyone for your comments.
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Permalink Reply by Pmack64 on
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Hi Kailyn, losing one's hair can be the scariest experience ever. It was for me. I was diagnosed with alopecia arreata in June 2014. It started with 2 little spots that grew worse over time. I lost 90% of my hair. I've always had long, thick hair ever since I can remember. My problem growing up was I had too much hair. It was always a chore to wash and style it. When there was almost none left, I regretted all those times I complained about my thick hair. I went to a dermatologist who diagnosed my condition. We tried everything and nothing worked. Going into the shower to wash my hair was always a frightful event as my hair would fall in handfuls. I tried wearing wigs but they were just not for me. My scalp would get irritated. Scarves and hats became a fashion necessity. I surrendered to my fate. It was just something I needed to accept and embrace. I stopped using all those expensive shampoos and treatments that promised to regrow my hair. None of them worked. I went back to the basics. Used shampoos I bought from the drugstore. I started to take multivitamins, vit D, biotin. I tried Hair La Vie (vitamin supplement) for 6 months and I must say it helped a lot. After 2 years, my hair is back, except for 2 little spots where growth is a bit sluggish. My new hair is curly and most of the new growth is gray. I am Asian and was born with straight hair that could never hold a curl. Now, i have curly hair. I'm still trying to get used to it as I've never had curly hair before but I'll take it! My doctor says, alopecia could recur at any time. I am hoping it won't but if it does, I will deal with it. So, don't despair. You are not alone in your struggle. I will post photos of my before and after the next time I log into this site.
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Pmack this is interesting to me bc I have noticed that people with straight hair suddenly have very curly hair, and then menopause makes hair change again. So, this sounds like hormones or stress are why hair changes. I wish they would do more studies on what triggers alopecia hormone-wise. Right now it seems docs have no clue how to regrow hair or stop it from falling out. Also it scares me that baldness and dementia have a correlation, since poor circulation in the tiny blood vessels in the head is seen in both. That is, bald men had a higher incidence of Parkinson's, in which the vessels in the brain are destroyed.
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I agree, verysad. My alopecia actually occurred as i was mid-way through menopause. I did see an endocrinologist to check my hormone levels and she found nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact that my vit.d levels were low. But, I do have a very stressful job. Managing stress has been a learning experience for me. I've learned not to sweat the small stuff. When i learned to let go of things I could not control, that's when my condition started to improve. Your statement though about the correlation between baldness and dementia is scary, I must say. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and dementia is part of that whole package. One of my greatest fears is ending up with Alzheimer's. But, if it happens, then it happens. Again, I do agree that more research has to be done on alopecia.
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