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Permalink Reply by Franchesca N, Sanchez on July 6, 2010 at 1:15pm

My 21 yr old has had AA-AT for 2 yrs. DPCP was our last chance. She used the chemical (which I applied) for almost one yr.; after 9 months she had 75% regrowth. But in back of ears along neck-nape area no regrowth but we were elated. The hair kept moving down back of head towards neck but the first hair regrowth started to fall out again. The Derm. Doc. said that the hair will grow back and to continue. She had a finger-sized baldspot on top of head w/o hair. It got bigger and bigger. My daughter got tired and just stopped. The hair continued to fallout. She never got a severe reaction though, only a litle red splothes on her nape no itching. I supported her. I was worried that there would be some kind of secondary effects. DPCP is strong, had to be applied outside with gloves, holding cottonballs with tweezers and she would cover her nose. On the third day she would wash it off. So sad..... I guess the immune system won.

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Permalink Reply by Cari on July 6, 2010 at 5:43pm

Hi there. My daughter has not used that yet but has been using a similar medication called Dithro-Scalp. Judging from your description, it's not quite as harsh as the DPCP but it's the same idea - it causes an allergic reaction. My daughter has not had many issues with the Dithro - slight itching.

My daughter has had a lot of regrowth but it's falling out at the same time so I'm unsure if it is really working or not - the common theme of Alopecia, right?

Have you read the recent articles about the gene research? It said that given the genes, they now think Alopecia resembles Celiac or Rheumatoid arthritis moreso than psoriasis. And, I might be wrong but I thought her dermatologist told me that the Dithro and Dpcp were for psoriasis? Just a connection I made today when reading through the news with my husband. It makes me wonder if they are going to start trying medicine used for celiac or rheuma arthritis for Alopecia instead.

Best of luck to you!
Cari

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Permalink Reply by Amy on July 6, 2010 at 9:02pm

I have been doing the DPCP treatments and have about 80% regrowth. I still have to wear a wig because of the bald spots. I did quit the treatments because I was finding them to be too much. I may start treating only the bald spots and see how that goes. Keep me posted on your progress!

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Permalink Reply by Cari on July 6, 2010 at 11:06pm

Are you/were you doing anything in addition to the DPCP? Just wondering if you tried using a topical or cream as well. The doc told me to put Lidex (which is a gel like steroid topical cream) on spots that seemed really itchy or red to calm them down.

Also, with the Dithro - it's only on the bald patches but not sure if that is because she is so young or if that is how it's prescribed to everyone?

Hang in there and let me know how you are doing!
Cari

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Permalink Reply by Amy on July 7, 2010 at 12:07am

The first dermatologist I went to had me try Rx strength Rogain, but basically she didn't care and told me not to worry and that it would grow back. A few months after I stopped with the Rogain the hair started to come back. About 10 months later, it all started to fall out again, I tried to make another appointment with the dermatologist, but because it had been over 6 months since I last saw her, I had to go back to my GP and get another referral just to wait another 5 months. So I did some research and found a much better dermatologist who I was able to see within 3 months. By this time, about 60% of my hair was gone, lost my eyelashes and eyebrows and all the hair on my body. She said that if the first dermatologist had treated the first bald spot properly, I probably would have avoided losing more. I started DPCP right away, treating the entire scalp. I ended up losing all of my hair anyways. I did the DCPC for about 5 months, and the hair started to grow back and is still growing. It's still patchy and I still have one large bald spot on the right side of my head, but it looks like things are slowly filling in. My dermatologist suggested starting the DCPC again, but just on the spots.

So that's what I did. I probably would have done more topical treatments, but by the time I got to see the dermatologist who knew what she was talking about, my hair loss was too far gone for that.

I've done quite a few other things to try to help the hair grow back. Thinking it could be stress, I started doing things to help better deal with stress (and the fact that I was losing my hair). I started seeing a counselor, started anti-depressants, went (am still seeing) to a naturopath and have done acupuncture. My work situation was also very stressful, so I have since changed my work location, and hope that will help enough so that I can get off the anti-depressants.

Then I also thought it could be the fact that I changed my diet. I've been eating wheat and dairy-free on and off for quite a while. My naturopath suggested this years ago to help with my eczema and asthma, and it did wonders! My skin is so nice when I'm on the diet and I even stop needing my inhalers. I swear by that diet. So thinking that maybe my body wasn't trying to fight the slight allergy I had to wheat and dairy, it turned to my hair. So I've been off the diet for about 4 months now and thats when i've seen the most hair growth. I honestly don't know for sure if not being on the diet is the trick or not. I did so much at once, that it could be any one thing, or a combination of several. I'll be going back on the diet soon, and will she what the hair does.

I was also taking to one of my students parents (I'm a teacher) and she said that when her daughter was about 4 or 5 she suddenly got a large bald spot at the back of her head. They took her to the pediatrician and they couldn't figure out what was going on. A little while later, she said she was picking her daughter up from the babysitters and the babysitter mentioned that her and her husband were getting a divorce. This mom figured that there was a lot of tension and stress in the babysitters house and that her daughter was picking up on it and hair loss was the result. They found another babysitter and within a few weeks of being in a more stable environment, the little girls hair came back. She's now in grade 6 and hasn't has a problem since!

The crazy thing about alopecia is that you never really know what the cause is! It's frustrating and i know all you want to do is help your daughter. I'm 27 and my mom still feels that way. I still call my mom crying about my hair and I've been dealing with it for over 3 years. I'd say try anything that you feel is safe for your daughter. Once she starts school feel free to contact me and I can give you some hints in dealing with this from the perspective of someone with alopecia and as a teacher.

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