Hello everyone,

I have been reading your posts for over a year now and finally decided to join in. I am 66 and last year I lost all of my hair, out of the blue, over a period of 1 week. I have a close friend that had AA in her 40's and lived with the loss for 2 years before her hair grew back. She said it happened during a stressful time in her life but then she learned that her father had it so for her it is genetic. She's 68 now and hasn't suffered another attack. What she told me gave me hope, she said: "There are many, many success stories like hers that we don't hear about."  This is so true, like me not joining until now over a year later but I happen to be an extreme case with no hair in sight. Well, little vellus hairs that never seem to be more than peach fuzz. Lol

I have learned more about this disease from this site to the point of asking my doctors about the different treatments. I worked with a nutritionist for a year, took tons of supplements, tried oils on my scalp and I am gluten, dairy, and sugar-free. No caffeine or alcohol either. Nothing has helped so far. I won't give up though!

I am now seeing a Functional Doctor who is a detective at heart. She did prescribe LDN 4.5 mg a day and  ran some additional blood tests. She's adjusted my thyroid medication and added some metabolic supplements. I am looking into Xeljanz and have started applying Minoxidil 7% to my scalp. After about 6 months of  Kenalog injections, I decided it wasn't helping enough for the damage it was doing to my body. I ride horses competitively and have occasional falls, steroids weaken bones, so I decided it was too risky. 

This has been an incredibly humbling journey, I believe I will have hair again and when that day comes I will be the happiest woman on earth. I will post my progress from now on and continue reading about yours.