I have had alopecia since I was 16 but never really showed visible signs til I had breast reduction surgery 2 years ago. Then my hair got progressively worse and I had to buy a 3 quarter wig. I went gluten free a month and a half ago, which has made me feel better in general but so far I see minimal progress if any (though I've lost six pounds, yay!). Anyway, I have started taking vitamins and researching more, to discover that I seem to match a lot of symptoms of adrenal fatigue. Coincidentally, the adrenals are in control of liver function, where cortisol is produced. I know most of you know how relevant cortisol is to stress management and it's relation to alopecia areata, but I did not realize how reluctant most western medicine doctors are to perform saliva tests to address adrenal fatigue, which from what I've read seem to be the most accurate in diagnosing adrenal fatigue. Has anyone else gone down this path of research to be left wondering if it may have some relevance to optimizing adrenal health/stress management which could in turn improve the percentage of hair loss? I realize that autoimmune diseases are just quirks in medicine, but is it not possible that relieving the body of stress symptoms could lead to overall improvement or possibilities of a cure? I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on this, but particularly those who have visited naturopaths or those who have taken adrenal supplements that have given way to change for them, regardless of whether the results were negative or positive...