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Permalink Reply by Amber Lounder on February 5, 2009 at 11:59am

Hi I just read your post and I have been gluten free since November 11th. It's not as hard as I expected i also went off the pill 2months ago and i'm seeing regrowth I'm not sure what to attribute it to.

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Permalink Reply by Lori Black on February 4, 2009 at 2:50pm

I was diagnosed with AA in 1984 at age 12. Auto immune was the diagnosis then, proof in the family since my paternal grandmother had died of leukemia. I had the thyroid tested also to rule out hypothyroidism. Have not seen any new findings. You may want to look up the National Alopecia Areata Foundation and see what they may have noted as research studies. www.naaf.org happy hunting!

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Permalink Reply by Julie on February 4, 2009 at 5:38pm

It's great to hear from you all. Erin I haven't tried a flour free/gluten free diet, as I would have assumed that this would show up in other ways, maybe?

Lori thank you for the webstie link, I will take a look at the weekend.

James, thank you for your information and will have a look into that also.

Thanks again.

Jules

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Permalink Reply by glenmor on February 8, 2009 at 4:41pm

My hair loss is either a delayed reaction to 7 constant years of stress (2000-2007, nothing in 2008)or a side effect of my then (now removed) contraceptive implant, Implanon - it is thought the surge of hormone when it was replaced last June caused an hormonal imbalance and my hair started to fall out 8 weeks later. The company Implanon have confirmed that hair loss is a side effect of their product and it is "declared" in the small print of the leaflet - who read small print or even thinks it will affect them?) Every day been dropping and now very nearly bald. Who knows? Just want to be "normal" again!!!! P.S. I live in the UK as well.

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Permalink Reply by BaldGirlsDoLunch.org on February 8, 2009 at 4:55pm

I think the best answer is Nope. All autoimmunity is notoriously one big gigantic mystery.

The key to successful living today with alopecias is in understanding what's realistic and what's hype....and it gets harder and harder every day for the lay person to sort it out.

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Permalink Reply by Karina Louise on February 10, 2009 at 3:21pm

I have a real problem with the notion that alopecia is caused by stress. By my way of thinking, this implies that we have control over it and that my hair loss is therefore, at least partly, my fault. And anyway, alopecia often first appears in childhood - what kind of stress do tiny children have? Most of the kids on here were happy, well-adjusted kids before their alopecia started, so I think this puts paid to the idea that it is triggered by stress. I have been told by multiple drs that it is auto-immune, and this makes a lot more sense to me. Auto-immune conditions are notoriously badly understood by the medical profession, there is still a lot that drs do not understand as to why some people's immune systems attack their own bodies.

I have heard of the link between wheat/gluten intolerance, or coeliac disease, and alopecia and this makes sense because coeliac disease is also thought to be auto-immune. However, I agree with Julie that I think that this would come with other symptoms too and do not think a gluten free diet can be a cure for everyone with alopecia.

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Permalink Reply by Nicole on February 12, 2009 at 3:23pm

I just went for my last testing to find out the source to my alopecia and I'm still waiting for the results as we speak. My doctor (endocronolgy) stated that my alopecia is from stress. I told him that there is not that much stress in the world for me to suffer from hair loss for six years. I am waiting for my cortisol results to come back. I already know that it is going to come back normal. I told my doctor that once I received the results of this test that I will not be doing anymore test. I have went through so many test that I cannot even count on my fingers & toes :-) Every result would come back normal and the doctor would have a silly face on and saying they have no idea why my body hair is falling off. This year, I am giving up on testing and will learn more about my condition and embrace it.

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