Hi all, nice to meet you. I'm very happy to have found this community. I haven't officially been diagnosed, and this is all BRAND NEW for me. As in, a few days old. Here's my story. I'm a 28 year old female.

Two days ago a friend of mine posted a lengthy status update on Facebook explaining that one of his young twin daughters has been diagnosed with Alopecia Areata. It was heartfelt and emotional and he was reaching out to see if anyone had experience with it. He is an amateur photographer and posts lots of pictures of his kids, so he also wanted to give everyone a heads up if we notice she becomes bald eventually.

This was the very first time I'd heard of Alopecia Areata.

The next day (yesterday), I woke up and got ready for work. As I was doing my hair, I noticed a penny sized bald spot. That is exactly what my friend had described as one of the first signs of Alopecia he noticed in his daughter.

Suddenly I remembered another instance 5 months ago when I got my hair cut. As my stylist was working, she asked me, "Did you cut a chunk of your hair off in the back?" Of course I hadn't, but she said I had a small patch of my hair that was only a few inches long. She brushed it off, saying it didn't really matter because I have so much hair it would never be noticeable.

In the past few days, I've learned that Alopecia can cause hair loss AND regrowth with no known pattern or reason. Now that patch of 2 inch hair made more sense.

So with that information I talked to my doctor last night. From what I described, he believes it could be Alopecia Areata. He told me to read up on it a little more and if I agree that it does seems like Alopecia, he will refer me to a dermatologist. Otherwise, he will run some tests for things like thyroid disorders, low iron, or even lupus. But at this rate, I really do think it falls in line with Alopecia. I will call him today and ask for that referral.

I think at this point I may be in a state of denial. Not because I don't think it's Alopecia, but because for some reason I think I'll be the lucky one where it doesn't escalate? And I know there's no way for me to ever know that for sure. I do have a thick head of hair, and even with the small bald spot I found yesterday, it will never be noticeable because of how much hair I have. If it remains at this state forever, I don't see it ever having a real impact on my life.

If I get the official diagnosis, I think it will always follow me in the back of my mind.

Will I get more bald spots?
Will I get bigger bald spots?
Is my hair going to grow back?
If my hair grows back, will it fall out again?
Am I going to lose hair anywhere else than my head?
Will I go completely bald and will THAT ever grow back?

I could go on and on and on.

Anyway, thanks for listening. I'm really happy I found this community here.