Alopecia World
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How Much Would You Subject Your Body To to Have Your Hair Grow Back Again?
Hello my fellow Alopecians!
I wanted to share a pivotal moment in my life with you guys, and specifically wanted to hear your thoughts. I recently went to see a brand new dermatologist, who shocked my by saying: "You know, your hair can grow back. There was a study done in Turkey recently where the women took three months of prednisone, along with anti-inflammatory drugs and Tums each day to counteract the calcium loss from the prednisone, and they experienced COMPLETE regrowth!"
Sitting on the examining table...my clinic standard-issue paper gown scrunching slightly beneath my hands in my lap, my eyes widened in surprise. And then my mouth pursed, waiting for the punchline. "Okkk..." I said, reeling from this news, trying to assimilate this information after three years of being an Alopecian.
And then the punchline came. My eyebrows raised, mouth slightly ajar, as I listened to the new (and very smart, perky and energetic) dermatologist try to sell me on this new course of therapy.
"Now, there are some very serious side effects to taking prednisone...we normally only prescribe prednisone for no more than two weeks at a time, but those with alopecia who had complete regrowth took it for three months, and then took more drugs for another six months in some cases." Me, thinking to myself "NO KIDDING, serious side effects! Mega-steroids for three months???" And then she rattled off the list of side effects...
"Osteoporosis...you'd have to take Tums three times a day to counteract the calcium loss to your bones...and you'd gain 10 pounds...you should watch your diet...and you' develop a small hump at the center of your back, and you'd have to take an anti-inflammatory drug in conjunction with the prednisone...and it would affect your energy level - it's like taking adrenaline..."
As she rattled off the list, my eyes grew wider and wider, and then my mind faded out of reality and I thought "But I like myself bald! Wait, wait - but being bald, this is ME now. You want to change ME? And I'd have to subject my body to this?" And then the kicker, the shocker, the idea that I had only prayed for in my most quiet of moments...somewhere along the way I had finally accepted that I had alopecia, and more shockingly, that my hair might NEVER grow back. Effectively, being bald and having alopecia had at some point fused itself into me, my self-concept. It's ME, a part of ME. I am no longer two people dueling in the mirror, pain and happiness. And so, when she told me that I could subject my body to these terrors and rigors, I reacted akin to someone suggesting I cut off my nose - "What!!!?" And then indignation, "Why should I do THAT?"
By the time my mind faded back into reality, she was finishing her spiel..."But it would only be for three months!!" Nice - I'd only have a hump in my back for three months, and coming down off my crack high and losing that extra 10 pounds or so would be a BREEZE. ONLY THREE MONTHS. Yaayyy crack!!
So, my fellow family: Does anyone else see the irony in this? I had once prayed that I'd always be able to see my own beauty, because at first I had been terrified, paralyzed by the idea that my body would be ugly forever without hair. Now, after several years of a gut-twisting, painful and rewarding psychological journey, I feel beautiful...and in a caustic twist of fate, a doctor is telling me that if I do some really ugly things to my body, I'll grow my hair back! Ironic!? I think so.
So tell me fellow Alopecians: What do you think? How far would you go, what would you subject your body to, to have your hair grow back? Has anyone tried this course of therapy? Just so you know, I told the doctor I'd do some more research on it, but I declined treatment. But, I'm more interested in the philosophical aspects of this question. I am asking because if a doctor had told me this a year ago, when I was in a different place in my psychological journey, I would be nursing the hump in my back and running around like a crack baby at this very moment. But, what would you do?
I wanted to share a pivotal moment in my life with you guys, and specifically wanted to hear your thoughts. I recently went to see a brand new dermatologist, who shocked my by saying: "You know, your hair can grow back. There was a study done in Turkey recently where the women took three months of prednisone, along with anti-inflammatory drugs and Tums each day to counteract the calcium loss from the prednisone, and they experienced COMPLETE regrowth!"
Sitting on the examining table...my clinic standard-issue paper gown scrunching slightly beneath my hands in my lap, my eyes widened in surprise. And then my mouth pursed, waiting for the punchline. "Okkk..." I said, reeling from this news, trying to assimilate this information after three years of being an Alopecian.
And then the punchline came. My eyebrows raised, mouth slightly ajar, as I listened to the new (and very smart, perky and energetic) dermatologist try to sell me on this new course of therapy.
"Now, there are some very serious side effects to taking prednisone...we normally only prescribe prednisone for no more than two weeks at a time, but those with alopecia who had complete regrowth took it for three months, and then took more drugs for another six months in some cases." Me, thinking to myself "NO KIDDING, serious side effects! Mega-steroids for three months???" And then she rattled off the list of side effects...
"Osteoporosis...you'd have to take Tums three times a day to counteract the calcium loss to your bones...and you'd gain 10 pounds...you should watch your diet...and you' develop a small hump at the center of your back, and you'd have to take an anti-inflammatory drug in conjunction with the prednisone...and it would affect your energy level - it's like taking adrenaline..."
As she rattled off the list, my eyes grew wider and wider, and then my mind faded out of reality and I thought "But I like myself bald! Wait, wait - but being bald, this is ME now. You want to change ME? And I'd have to subject my body to this?" And then the kicker, the shocker, the idea that I had only prayed for in my most quiet of moments...somewhere along the way I had finally accepted that I had alopecia, and more shockingly, that my hair might NEVER grow back. Effectively, being bald and having alopecia had at some point fused itself into me, my self-concept. It's ME, a part of ME. I am no longer two people dueling in the mirror, pain and happiness. And so, when she told me that I could subject my body to these terrors and rigors, I reacted akin to someone suggesting I cut off my nose - "What!!!?" And then indignation, "Why should I do THAT?"
By the time my mind faded back into reality, she was finishing her spiel..."But it would only be for three months!!" Nice - I'd only have a hump in my back for three months, and coming down off my crack high and losing that extra 10 pounds or so would be a BREEZE. ONLY THREE MONTHS. Yaayyy crack!!
So, my fellow family: Does anyone else see the irony in this? I had once prayed that I'd always be able to see my own beauty, because at first I had been terrified, paralyzed by the idea that my body would be ugly forever without hair. Now, after several years of a gut-twisting, painful and rewarding psychological journey, I feel beautiful...and in a caustic twist of fate, a doctor is telling me that if I do some really ugly things to my body, I'll grow my hair back! Ironic!? I think so.
So tell me fellow Alopecians: What do you think? How far would you go, what would you subject your body to, to have your hair grow back? Has anyone tried this course of therapy? Just so you know, I told the doctor I'd do some more research on it, but I declined treatment. But, I'm more interested in the philosophical aspects of this question. I am asking because if a doctor had told me this a year ago, when I was in a different place in my psychological journey, I would be nursing the hump in my back and running around like a crack baby at this very moment. But, what would you do?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by BaldGirlsDoLunch.org on
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It's a no brainer for me. No high dose prednisone nor pulse-therapeutic steroid courses for me. Too high a risk of serious health consequences. I am not compromising my good health to grow hair. No one knows for sure the future effects of taking any of the sytemic meds nor contact sensitizers in the quest to tamp down alopecia.
There is no guarantee that following the short course of therapy that the alopecia would not recur.
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Permalink Reply by Heather Lorelle Mattisson on
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Hi Arachnia:
I am so glad to see that you are doing what makes you happy, no matter the price. That's what's important - that's true peace! Thanks - really validates my decision to do what makes me happy and just decline treatment. Once you learn to be OK with yourself no matter what, life gets easier I'm finding.
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Permalink Reply by m on
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Honestly, I would do it. I had hair growing up until I was maybe 7 or 8, lost most of it, regrew it all at the beginning of my teen years (it lasted about 3 years), then lost it again. Right now I'm quickly losing what was once maybe 80 to 90% regrowth. It's sad, but in my heart I still feel like my natural state is WITH hair, not without.
I've taken the 2 week dosage of prednisone a bunch of times and the side effects are so strong! I had zero energy, felt starving constantly (gained 7-8 lbs, which is a lot if you only weigh 110!) and my feel were swollen. I can't imagine what three months would do to a person, but I'd be willing to find out. Really, I would sacrifice a lot.
Do you think a 3 month dosage of prednisone could work even if the 2 week dosage did not succeed in "jump starting" re-growth?
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Casey: If regrowing your hair would make you happy, even as you know the risks, then you should absolutely try it. Do what makes you happy. It looks like some people really have experienced regrowth with the prednisone after three months. The issue is that many people lose their hair after they stop treatment, meaning that in some cases if a person wanted to keep their hair, they'd be on steroids for years instead of months. The issues associated with immune suppression can be severe, but the real problem is that the doctors just don't completely understand how the body works.
With that said, it looks like some people have actually experienced the upside, where they take the drugs for 3 months, 6, 9 months, and then their hair remains for years afterwards. Bottom line: If that's what you want to do, you should try it. The good news: There is lots of information on the Web. I just googled "alopecia" and "prednisone" and got plenty of research information. Good luck!
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Thanks Prophet! It's funny that you say that: The first time I was ever diagnosed with alopecia, my doctor immediately began the therapy of the "subcutaneous injections" meaning scalp injections. I was elated - I experienced regrowth within months, and thought that my problems were over. Then, after my hair had grown back (90%), my doctor recommended I stop therapy, and then I learned one of the first lessons about autoimmune disease and Western medicine. The drugs don't fix the problem - they help cover up the symptoms. Of course, my hair fell out again, completely, and instead of alopecia areata, I went Universalis.
At any rate, I do think that the prednisone is a poor way to deal with alopecia, and I'm glad I was able to hear about other people's experiences on AlopeciaWorld.
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Permalink Reply by Lori Black on
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I have been AA since I was 12 and had all the ointments, shots, prednisone and even slept in saran wrap trying to grow hair. This went on for 3 yrs and I had regrowth for 2 yrs and then I quit the Dr thing and my hair actually came back by itself and stayed for 10 yrs. All this time I was smoking, drinking and using illegal drugs. I have been delivered from all these habits for 10 yrs, thank the Lord! I believe these were a sort of immune supression for me, though I mean they are not healthy habits. I had a son and the hormone fluctuation caused an all out let go, so AU I am for 8yrs. I just spent 8 1/2 yrs married to my late husband after a double lung transplant. Transplant patients take prednisone everyday and differing versions of cyclosporine all for immune suppression and they experience all the same symptoms as far as weight gain, oteoporosis, vitamin and minerals being leeched from their systems, blood pressure problems and heart rate fluctuations, and complete susceptibility to any number of illness. You know my late husband never had issues with the lungs, it was all the other things he contracted because of the meds affects on his body that caused problems. I wouldn't trade any part of that for my bald head anyday! I am 36 yrs old and have just now gotten emotionally comfortable seeing myself without hair. Personal acceptance for everyone no matter our issue/disability far outweighs the illness possibility for me. I can act like a crazy woman with no real cause so extra meds isn't for me. Plus I just don't want to spend the money or the time to go through all that. I can buy hair anywhere, try Ebay!! lol 15 minutes and me and my boys are out the door on the way to life!! I myself just purchased a new style, new color wig after years of the same basic combination and I love the change, it has made a big difference! Blessings to you all!! Lori
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Hi Lori! What a fantastic and inspiring story, and what a strong person you are. That is great information - knowing what types of symptoms transplant patients experience, since they are so similar. Your new do is fly girl - wigs can be so much fun!
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Permalink Reply by Lee on
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I was prednisone for almost two months and it did not make any hair grow back...it only kept the little hair I had. By then, I was in a wig...so I stopped. Yes, I also gained 10 lbs. For me to do something extreme, it would have to be something new..like stem cells, or something along those lines. The only thing I have not done was DCP (I beleive its called) Where they irritate your scalp so bad...it blisters. I need to wear my wig, and I couldn't with that. As far as people telling you what drugs you should or should not take, I don't agree at all. It's your body...your decision. It may work for you. I also don't agree with the Dr telling you all your WILL come back...because that may not be the case..AND if you stop, it may come back out.
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This is great information Lee - I figured that even if I took the medicine, I might have to take it forever to keep my hair. These days, I am using Chinese medicine much more to manage my health, and I'm having great results. I'm just no longer willing to run to Western medicine unless I absolutely have to, since I have found some great alternatives that don't have the side effects that the steroids and other medicines do.
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Permalink Reply by Mukti on
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This has made me think....once way back in the early 90's I was on a sulfa medicine for hives I developed as a result of a "friend" putting wild blueberries-picked off the side of the road on his bike tour- into my blueberry yogurt. I had an allergic reaction to the sulfa and as a result was put on prednisone! So now after almost 18 years --- I wonder if that has contributed to my AT?!?! I should also say that my first episode with alopecia was at the age of 12.
I'm with you on not taking these drugs to alter the healthy body we have now for hair!
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Permalink Reply by Nants the Rebellion Dog on
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I am losing my hair and am healthy as a horse. I have looked at treatment options, and I'm going au naturale. I don't care if my hair never grows back! Look what taking steroids did for Bobby Bonds...
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Permalink Reply by Mary on
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Beautifully, wonderfully written, Heather! You said everything I have thought about this issue. I took Prednisone for 3 week when my AA began turning rapidly into AT. It did nothing to slow the progression to AU, so I just stopped all "treatment", shaved my remaining hair, and went on with life. There was NEVER an issue for me. Being healthy and able to be active and pain-free is my number one priority.
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