Pregnant with AA and looking for advice/encouragement

Hello! I'm looking for some advice and encouragement. I'm 30 years old and just developed AA about a year and a half ago. It's been a rough ride but I've been pretty lucky and had some success with kenelog and prednisone injections so far. BUT, I am now pregnant (yay!) and haven't done any treatments since October to protect the future kiddo. My AA is now progressing fast, and starting to look ophiasis-like, which is really scary. I can't really hide my patches anymore without wearing a hat. It's causing me a lot of anxiety and sadness, at a time that I'd much rather be excited about being pregnant. Basically, I've been a mess, and have started wondering if it's time to just shave my head or "come out" to everyone I know or... really, I have no idea what to do.

I would love to hear any words of advice or encouragement about this. Also, does anyone know of AA treatments that are safe during pregnancy? (Long shot, probably.) For those whose hair came back during pregnancy, when in your pregnancy did that start? (I'm only about 8 weeks, so still holding out hope.) I knew my life would change with a baby, but I didn't realize it would change like this!

Thanks,
~Eli

p.s. I've been lurking here for a while but just joined this site yesterday. I want to say how grateful I am to all of you for helping me feel less alone in all of this. Thanks for that.

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Permalink Reply by Deana on January 12, 2013 at 12:37am

Oh, and maybe you can sport the wide headband for a while. That can look so cute.

Permalink Reply by Eli on January 12, 2013 at 7:24pm

Deana: I have been totally rocking the wide headband! People are starting to wonder if I have a fixation with wide headbands, I think...:) I should be able to do that for at least a little while longer, but then... who knows. The uncertainty of it all might be the worst part. But you are right that I really should just focus on the other aspects of my health now that I'm pregnant. I will keep trying. Thanks so much for your reply and your kind advice! I really appreciate it.

Permalink Reply by Emory on January 14, 2013 at 10:59am

Hi Eli,

I have AU and developed it 6 months after my son was born. It was a whirlwind and progressed quickly within just a few weeks from AA to AU. I tried all the medical, dietary, and naturopathic treatments without any success. After 6 months I accepted my disease and decided to move forward. I got pregnant with my daughter about 6 months later (off treatments). I had no issues with my pregnancy but no signs of remission either. She was born 2 weeks ago and is absolutely amazing. Being pregnant and having kids helps keep everything in perspective (it really is JUST hair), and it's awesome not having to figure out how to shave your legs when you're 9 months pregnant. Good luck with your new baby and just take things one day at a time.

Permalink Reply by Eli on January 14, 2013 at 11:06am

Congratulations on your new baby girl!! That's wonderful!!

I'm sorry to hear about your whirlwind experience, and I hope I can figure out how to handle this as well as you are. I think one of the hardest things for me is that the treatments actually *were* working pretty well for over a year (I still had hair loss, but not nearly to the extent I do without treatment). I'm just trying to stay focused on what really matters -- the future baby! -- and hearing your story helps with that. So thank you!

Permalink Reply by Delilah on January 31, 2013 at 10:39pm

Firstly Congrats!!

I'm almost 12 weeks myself, I've 'suffered' with AT for almost 2 years, I'll be 33 in a few weeks. This is our first bubs. I lost all of my hair within 6 weeks mid 2011 by end of 2011 it had all started growing back thicker than ever before. I thought WOW its not as bad as I thought, unfortunately by April 2012 it began again but this time it was coming out in patches not evenly as before & took almost 6 months. It didn't grow back UNTIL I got pregnant at the beginning of Dec although the original 3 patches are still bare. I was told that pregnancy suppresses autoimmune diseases so it didnt surprise me too much to discover it was growing back. I don't expect to keep my hair after the baby is born but you never know I suppose:) . I came to accept my condition pretty quickly my first visit with a dermatologist left much to be desired she bluntly said to me 'buy yourself a wig & have a good life'. Although I must say its great being bald in summer :P

I'll be keeping my eye on your thread to see how many other pregnant alopecia sufferers post about their experiences. Emory is right, its only hair at the end of the day. For me thinking about young kids that go through thousands of cancer treatments & still come out smiling on the other end that what keeps my image problems in check. They are the little fighters that truly suffer through a disease. Plus as you said, you have a wonderful baby to look forward too who knows it might just trigger your hair to stick around *fingers crossed for you*

Permalink Reply by matteo on February 3, 2013 at 8:11am

Hi i suffered from AA and got treated my hair grew back in just two weeks , its a recurring problem coz anything to do with hair and skin takes a while to completely get rid off, its imp u take hair supplements so as to strengthen your hair roots oil your scalp regularly with coconut oil, soak your hair n scalp with white vinegar or apple cider for a couple of hours once a week ........
now most importantly there is a cure ignorance from the doctors thats leading to a lot of people sufferin from AA especially, it starts off with a few patches n you could loose all your hair it spreads fast so its really important that you do whatever it takes to stop this disease that causes so much mental agony although not phycally painfull ,, i used croton tiglium seeds(its called jamal gota in india) mixed with a few drops of small onion juice on the patches for 5 days and thats it ,, thats all it takes to cure this damned problem but no one is ready to believe that its curable coz some doctors said its related to stress and people have read on the internet or ignorantly believe without trying to actually find a cure...AA is is cause by a fungus that feeds on your hair roots and they spread fast.. i insist you use this treatment it costs nothing(in my country we get thes seeds for less than a dollar)try to find if you can buy it on the internet but you'll get back your happiness your dreams ,you dont have to look at other people with hair n think why me? try the treatment and enjoy your pregnancy ...... after a month when you have all your hair back please share your experience so as many others would benefit like i did and like you will too.......... goodluck

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