Alopecia World
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Newly Diagnosed
Hello. My name is Heather and I woke up Christmas morning to handfulls of hair falling out of my head leaving 3 very noticable bald spots. I saw my general pratictioner this last week and he diagnosed me with alopecia areata. Being the nurse in the medical field for 20 years, I have only heard of alopecia but never had a patient with it. Just me. I see a dermatologist on the 8th of Janurary for further evaluation. Hair seems to be just falling out everywhere. My husband takes it and makes little hearts everywhere in the shower. He is very supportive. My eight year daughter is very upset about it. I am trying to stay strong and not show the kids how upsetting it has been for me. I'm glad I have found a group and am hopefull knowing I am not alone.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by BaldGirlsDoLunch.org on
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Hi Heather,
Welcome.A new diagnosis is quite challenging mostly for seeing our usual look change and making the adjustments to still feel like ourselves.
It's possible that the hair loss will be slow and perhaps not even continue beyond the few spots. You can get Kenalog intralesional to jump start the bald areas to grow again and your dermatologist will know that as the standard treatment.
Try to reassure your daughter that the spots usually fill in again if she mentions it or acts worried about your hair. Most of all, try not to talk about it at all and don;t let her get the impression that her parents are talking about it behind closed doors either, which makes the fear seem justified. If she cries or says she's worried, reassure her that her hair is not changing which might be an imagined worry. She may have noticed alarm in your reaction in the past couple of weeks, but that doesn't mean she will continue to react that way. Once school starts again and she is busy with friends as usual, and you don't mention it when she's around, likely she'll be focusing on other things before you know it. And if the moment seems right, just be sure you mention that you're not sick in case you need to address a direct query. Try to make light of the whole thing even if you don't feel that way to keep your children thinking it's not something to worry about.
Sounds like your husband has his own way of dealing with the unexpected; but I have to say it's the first time I ever heard of anyone's spouse intentionally "playing" with hair that's fallen out. He is not a source of your daughter's high anxiety, is he? Try to find out what he might be saying when you're not around which might be alarming to her. Kids take their cues off us with this condition.
We have a growing community of women with aa in Connecticut. Let me know via our website how to contact you for our next CT event.
It will get easier. A new diagnosis is one of the most difficult times.
Thea
www.baldgirlsdolunch.org
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Permalink Reply by Heather Lynn Peckham on
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Thea, thank you so much for responding to my post and the advice for helping Kaitlyn. This is something I have never come across in my 20 years of nursing ( except when dealing with cancer patients). Therefore, I did'nt know what to expect or what to do. These websites and the people who are willing to share their own experiences have been such a help and very inspiring. I am a stubborn girl from Irish and Columbian descent always seeking a good challenge. Well...I got one. I am a survivor in many ways and this will certianly not stop me. It may slow me down a bit, but it will NOT stop me. I am a firm believer that knowledge is power and I intend to seek as much knowledge as possible. I am very nervous about my consultation with the dermatologist as I do not know what to expect. I appreciate you responding to my post and any advice you may have is greatly appreciated. Sincerely- Heather
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