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Permalink Reply by Alo-mom on March 27, 2016 at 10:02pm

Hello my name is Lisa Dutra, I have a daughter who developed alopecia when she was attending college in Arizona at age 22.. Within 4 months she lost all of her hair. I took her to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale as well as to several doctors in Tucson. Between the blood work and the scalp biopsy it was determined that it was Alopecia. Her blood work was normal except for a bit higher level of Testosterone. Other then that she is healthy. She did  as a younger women have a bit of Ecema. Thyroid problems can cause hair loss, but from the picture you posted it does remind me of my daughters hair loss. She is now 27 years old and has accepted her hair loss and I have searched high a low for the best human hair wigs possible. The are natural looking and comfortable. The red bumps are most likely inflammation that is occurring. Our daughter has a bit of that but more of a burning feeling, again I believe that to be the inflammation. My guess it is non scarring alopecia which means that hair could grow back but if the immune system is working against her hair follicle then it will fall out and not grow. I think it would be a good idea to contact the National Alopecia Foundation and they can provide much information on the condition . The conference is in Washington DC in July. If you would like to contact me I can be reached at 310 291 0729. As a mother I know this condition can cause you much pain. It has taken years for me to accept this and I am lucky my daughter has accepted this and loves her wigs and has a wonderful job and a fantastic boyfriend. She is my hero. I wish you well and am there if you need to talk. I am the phone support person in the desert of Ca. Best regards Lisa

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Permalink Reply by SabineTawni on March 28, 2016 at 11:01am

Karson, First of all, you need to fight that insurance company with all your might.  It has been my experience that insurance companies will try to get out of paying for anything they can.  Your daughter's situation is NOT cosmetic.  It is the result of an autoimmune disease.  You might find out if the insurance covers other autoimmune diseases, such as vitaligo, eczema, psoriasis.  If they do, why?  Do they not consider them to be "cosmetic" as well.  I remember my insurance company telling me they could not pay for a wig for me because it was not "medically necessary".  However, they said that they do pay for wigs for chemo patients.  I asked them why a wig is not medically necessary for one disease, but is medically necessary for another disease.  They could not answer me.  We all know the answer.  It may not be medically necessary for chemo patients, but it is POLITICALLY necessary for the insurance company.  Can you imagine the outrage they would face if they denied a breast cancer patient who has lose their hair to chemo a wig??  On a more important note, I am so sorry that your daughter has to go through this at age 15.  I am 67, and I don't find it easy.  I cannot imagine being 15 and having alopecia universalis (which I have).  I have heard that if the hair does not grow back after 2 years with alopecia universalis, it will not grow back.  WRONG!  After almost 3 years, the hair on my face has come back (perfectly normal), and now my scalp hair is coming back as well (very slowly, but surely). By the way, over the past 3 years, I have had no treatment whatsoever for it.  What a crazy, unpredictable condition!  

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Permalink Reply by penny on April 7, 2016 at 7:05pm

Does your daughter have the pitting in her fingernails?   That was an indicator to my 13 year old son's dermatologist that his alopecia was autoimmune related.   

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