I have alopipicia had have had it for many years, my focus has been on finding what's causing it rather than "treatment". I think without finding the root cause than I'll never find the cure.

All of the research I've done points toward chronic infections( things like Lyme disease, fungal/yeast overgrowth , parasites etc)and heavy metal toxicity as the root causes , with heavy metals being primary and infections being secondary. How many members here have silver fillings in their teeth? They contain and leak mercury into the body round the clock. Also how many have co existing health problems (mental or physical , in reality they are one in the same )

Various allergies , depression , anxiety , panic attacks , fatigue , lethargy are all symptoms of these issues as well. I'm interested to hear members health histories and backround info. When did your alopecia start? Did anything change in your life before this like diet, stress, illness , dental work, vaccinations etc

Putting the pieces of this puzzle together might be easier then we think if we all get on the same page. A big thing for me was realizing alopecia was a symptom of a problem in my body , not the problem itself. Let's find out what the problem is ...

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I recently experience alopecia areata for the second time in my life. The first time I was 21 but I did not pay much attention to it as my hair grew back and I forgot about it. Now I am 28 and I have a bald patch around the same area where it first happened. Also for the past two years I have been experiencing issues with recurring yeast/bacterial infections (still trying to figure this out). I did gain weight in the last few years and have recently (last 5 months)lost a lot of weight not sure if this is a reason for the return of AA. I am trying to eat a healthy diet as I was pre diabetic. Hope this information helps you. I am just searching information on this condition but I agree it could be a symptom of something wrong with my body.

Matt, 

 You are correct, there is most definitely something going on in the body for hair loss to be triggered. I will say just from reading different threads on this site, that this site is not the place to discuss functional medicine, a lot of negativity. Autoimmune diseases are so very complex and hard to understand for some. One key thing to understand is that even though two people are having the same symptoms does not mean they are experiencing the same underlying cause. And yes traditional medicine is not what people think it is, It is all about money and not about what is best for the a person and their health. I am on a couple facebook groups with a lot of helpful and intelligent people who are having success and seeing regrowth with functional medicine. For me personally, it has almost been a year and I am still trying to find my underlying cause which can be a number of things. My health background is very complex all the way from when I was born weighing 2 and 9 ounces. I wish you luck in discovering the abnormalities going on in your body that may be triggering an immune response.  I can give you the information on a couple of really good resources such as some articles, videos, and even a couple of really good functions/integrative doctors that I have recently learned about that can guide you in the right direction.

it's not negativity... I don't know if you are new in this whole alopecia thing but let me tell u some stuff...
10 years ago doctors were telling you it's STRESS. lol give me a break. some babies are born like that!. and after they see more % with a family history most of them stop saying it is fungal or stress related.
5 years ago it was the whole gluten free stuff going on. ask REAL alopecians (the one with more than 4 or 5 years of AU) and diet doesn't make a difference.
now it's been a year or 2 where the stomach and leaky gut is getting a huge buzz. maybe it's true. am not God I don't know. but I know that there is no scientific evidence in saying so for the moment. meanwhile immunosuppresor are the gold standard, like it or not it is a REAL solution for a good portion.
btw big majority of people with a few patches will grow on its own. they could say it's the garlic they applied but whatever...
Stress , fungal infections, leaky gut, reactivity to gluten and immune suppressants calming symptoms all point to the same thing. Chronic infections and toxicity and inflammation in the body. If you have chronic infections and gut permeability(leaky gut)most of your symptoms come from the immune systems response to these issues. take an immunosuppressant and it will stop some symptoms . But the idea of suppressing your body's natural defense system purposely is very, very dumb.

And the idea that some people consider it genetic is non sense. Infections and toxins are passed from mother to child and many are sexually transmitted . If your mother had a fungal overgrowth while pregnant with you than you will have a fungal overgrowth as well.

It comes down to chronic infections (bacterial , fungal, viral , parasitic ) and toxins (heavy metals being the culprit with most)

Everything you say, Matt, comes from pseudoscience websites run by quack physicians. You seem to have a very poor understanding of biology and genetics, born of a refusal to read anything other than what these quacks write.  If you are so skeptical of -- well, everything -- wouldn't you want to read what the CDC actually says, or what reputable scientists actually write in peer-reviewed studies?  And I mean actually read the original source material, rather than the hearsay misrepresentations by your conspiracy theory quacks?  Don't you want to read what's written on QuackWatch and skeptic sites such as www.sciencebasedmedicine.com so that you can parse through the language of pseudoscience (or what I'm alleging to you is pseudoscience, since you do not believe me) and make an informed decision?

Where are the peer-reviewed, evidence-based, and replicable studies by your sources? Do you understand what peer review is?  Do you understand what evidence-based science is?    

You throw around terms like "chronic infection," "immune suppressants," and "toxins," but you don't seem to understand that, in life and in science, you must be specific because there are thousands upon thousands of things that those very vague terms could mean.  You can't convert scientific-sounding words into a generic concept and then make a blanket statement that any of them, or all of them, are causing people's problems.  

CourtneyBrieAnna, you too should read up on the very serious problems that so-called "functional" and/or "integrative" medicine presents to the public at large.  Many of the physicians involved in this field have questionable histories, questionable credentials, and the field as a whole tends to use nonsense language that sounds good but really is meaningless -- all to induce vulnerable patients into believing that no one truly understands except these particular physicians and that nothing will really help except years and years of unproven treatment.  Point the same keen suspicion with which you regard "traditional" medicine to the words used by functional medicine providers.  Do they make sense?    

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/functional-medicine-new-kid-on-the...

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/functional-medicine-in-practice/

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/is-there-a-distinct-standard-of-ca...

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/functional-medicine-the-ultimate-m...

https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/integrative-medicine-a-brand-not-a...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sciencebiz/2011/04/21/bad-medicine-at-...

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/04/18/the-quackery-of-so-cal...

Matt,

I am confident that stress is whats causing my AA. I am almost done with going through a divorce. I have been stressing out over it for months. The research that I have read says that stress may or may not play a role in AA. I do get plenty of exercise to " relieve" stress. My diet is on a scale of 1 to 10 about a 7. So I don't really think that diet plays a role in AA. Yes it helps to have a balanced diet, but when your daily foods are yogurt, berries, carrots, spinach, chicken, pork and small amounts of beef that should help AA.

Hi MATT, first of al thank you for your post and efforts. I'm sorry and sad to see all of the negative comments. I'm in complete agreement with you. I've had AA and now AU for 25 years. I was pumped with steroids for 20 of those years. Because that's what the BEST dermatologists have in their arsenal. Steroids that destroy our organs. i could say lots about this subject but this is not the place. One thing I do know is that our bodies are designed to function properly under ideal circumstances. So if something is not functioning properly then something is out of whack It's definitely complicated but I believe it's possible. Let The medicine be the food and the food be the medicine. I too belong to other sites that support our thinking. This site is all about a quick fix with hard core drugs that do more harm then good.
One other thing I will say in regards to functional medicine from personal experience. I've had severe GERD/heartburn for many years probably as a result of 20 years on steroids for AA/AU. My DOCTORS tell me to take PPI's. they won't hurt you, even though the package warnings say not take past xx amount of days. Docs say they need to say that but if it helps me then continue. Because that's how smart they are! So now it's on the news that long term use is harmful. Imagine that! So I did some of my own due diligence and found bone broth. I've made my own and have been drinking it daily for 2 1/2 weeks now and my GERD is GONE! Completely gone! First time in years!!! I done know if I should be happy or pissed off!! The real quacks are main stream doctors.
Well, I thought I was the only one in my family tree, so I looked for all the causes you mentioned. Then I found a cousin on Facebook I didn't know about (my grandparents divorced about 1930), and she told me that two males in two different age groups on her side had alopecia. THEN my dad's cousin in another state told me the family safe in the old homestead contained only great-grandpa's toupee. My theory? Alopecia is genetic, and older generations just didn't talk about it. Come to think of it, hair, mustache and eyebrows in Great Granddad's photo look entirely painted on, too heavily. See the 2010 genetic link article online for alopecia as related to gene markers for arthritis and other conditions. I think I had the Perfect Storm, genetically, what with arthritis, diabetes and asthma on either side of the family. Lucky me.
P.S. Great Grandpa was born in 1864, in Poland. He never lived in my state. I never travelled to Poland. The other two males who had alopecia areata may have lived in Detroit at some point, but moved elsewhere. I had hair regrowth while still in Michigan, but lost hair again in cleaner California. So...it is not environmental.
heheh it's like me. people in my family blamed my AU on my lifestyle and some choices I made when I was 18-21...
that's hard to hear especially when your vulnerable.
but this year BOOM, a family member developed AA. nothing like my AU but still, it is genetic. people who say genetic has nothing to do have Absolutely 0 respect for the tremendous work and research some scientists did. today we have much more knowledge on t-cell and cytokine than 10 years ago.

That is fascinating. I too believe that Alopecia Areata has a genetic basis as there is too much evidence to support that fact.

Additionally, my uncle has vitiligo universalis in which he used to have very dark skin but now 99% has been bleached white in what started as white patches eventually spreading throughout his body very quickly (within a few months). I have alopecia universalis and mine worked very much the same (lost all hair within a few months too).

Coincidence? I think not.

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