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Permalink Reply by Rose Marie' on August 9, 2012 at 9:14pm

Hi

I think what you are feeling is absolutely normal. The 'not knowing' is the worst part of this condition.

Hang in there you will find your way no matter what happens.

Rosy

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Permalink Reply by Hus on August 10, 2012 at 10:40am

Hey there I definitely felt alot worse at early stages when I got AA I have had AA for just over 2 years now (dont let that get to you though I know people whos AA grew within 3-6 months) at first I had one large area of hair on the back of my head which fell out I then got 4 more smaller patches across the sides and top of my hair they have all grown back now (There is always hope) apart from 1 area of hair which has still not grown back which is the one on the back of my head. I found that wearing hats (even though im not much of a hat person) has helped me so much. Sometimes I would go about my day without a hat such as if I go out with the family to a restaurant or something but most days I still wear hats.

I have cut my hair very short once to see how it would look but the patches were still visible some people use a sharp razor blade to cut all the hair and go with the clean bald look some wear wigs some wear hats and some just leave it and dont do anything to it...my advice is do whatever makes you comfortable. Im still quite young only 22 had a hard time at uni because of this alopecia problem wasnt able to go out much and enjoy my uni life much but wearing a hat did help me alot.

One more thing I may be able to help you out with is the beard ...my father had AA on his beard area once it was there for a while until he went to the barbers. One day the barber told him that he could help with the AA on his beard but that he would have to shave as close as possible to the skin using a cut throat blade to irritate the area as much as possible and so he did he then put a different type of lotion (not sure of the name) on the effected area and it went really really red it stung him quite abit but it worked, slowly but surely it started growing back in a white colour once it grew and after many shaves later it was as if he never had AA there.

So dont forget it may grow quick, it may grow slow, it may not grow, it may take a very very long time to grow but one thing I do know like you said the uncertainty is what it is ....the growth just depends on the person its different for everyone. Just think though you could be in much much worse situations so dont let it put you down to much.

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Permalink Reply by Christine on August 15, 2012 at 1:57am

These have been my exact words for years, you get to a point where you don't want to feel controlled by this anymore, and you just want it done with, AA is cruel in that it kinda plays with you, I've had AA for 10 yrs now, and I started with one big spot, than it morphed into the Ophiasis pattern and now I'm losing in the upper parts of my hair where I can't hide it anymore...But don't give up hope just yet, you are new to this right now, and as many will tell you the majority of those who get this get a few spots, they grow back in and never happens again, for the rest of us it is a roller coaster ride, and that not knowing what is around the next corner keeps you off balance. I almost felt it would be easier to lose it all and move on with my life too. Your feelings are totally normal.

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