juliepeach

Female

philly, PA

United States

Profile Information:

Relationship Status:
In a Relationship
About Me:
i was ATL, GA born & raised for eighteen years before packing up and heading to philly, PA for art school. after a year and a half, i changed paths and started applying to universities to study environmental science (hopefully going to be a wildlife technician some day!)-- after much debate, i decided to stick it out in my new city instead of moving home where all of my lifelong friends & family are. my first week of my new university, i began to lose my hair. this, of course, made the first doctor i went to write it off as stress- though i was feeling very fine about everything!
soon after, the little awful round patches started to develop. i went to my dermatologist here, and she diagnosed me with AA. we did oral & topical steroids, as well as steroid shots (i'm guessing upwards of 300 total). nothing helped, and it has been over 5 months. my oral steroids were making me totally nutty, but as soon as i went off of them my hair loss got unbearable. it all came out, but luckily it's making a return.

i feel incredibly vain and petty, because i know things always could be worse. but i am now at the point where i have nooo self confidence, and have made no friends in my classes because i cannot look anyone in the eye. i am used to being popular (ugh, cannot believe i said that! ha!) with lots of diverse wonderful friends. now i feel like a mean tuff girl, since i have tattoos and what appears as a buzzed head. eeekk

EDIT FALL 2009.
so all my hair fell out by december of last year (when that info was first posted). then it all started to slowly, patchy, grow back for a few months. i actually had a full head of hair for about two months, but in the middle of the summer it all started coming out again. i am now back at 60-70% loss. what a rip.
Do you have alopecia?
Alopecia areata
Are you age 18 or older?
Yes - I am 18 or older
Your Website (Leave blank if you don't have one):
http://juliepeach.etsy.com

Comment Wall:

  • rj, Co-founder

    Hi, Julie. Welcome to Alopecia World! This is a great place for great people, so be sure to make your positive presence known. :-) - rj, Co-founder

    Nov 5, 2008

  • Roger

    Welcome.

    Roger.

    Nov 6, 2008

  • Cherylnz

    Hi Julie,
    Welcome to Alopecia World

    Nov 6, 2008

  • Linda

    Hi Julie, welcome to AlopeciaWorld!

    Nov 7, 2008

  • LeslieAnn Butler

    Hi Julie,
    I know how hard it can be. I have had alopecia for about 30 years. After I became the spokesperson for the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, a lot of women were needing my help and support, so I wrote a book called, "If Your Hair Falls Out, Keep Dancing!" It might make you feel better. Check it out on my page -- and let me know how else I can help.
    LeslieAnn

    Nov 8, 2008

  • Cheryl, Co-founder

    Hi Julie, I wanted to welcome you to Alopecia World. I can honestly say that we are a great community here and I hope you enjoy the time you spend with us and we look forward to your input. Cheryl, co-founder

    Nov 9, 2008

  • Lia

    hey there! no, the patches are not a very pretty site. sometimes i'll stare at mine in disbelief. anywayyyy, forget about those people who are telling you your spots look "sick and disgusting". honesty sh-monesty, it's only going to make you feel worse, right? when my spots r no longer concealable it will definitely be hats & wigs for me! i guess the only thing we can do is focus on our surroundings and psych ourselves out to not obsess about the dreaded bald spots =/ i wish i had better advice. i'm a newbie =/ anyway! forget ur hair, u're so pretty!

    take care!
    <3 lia

    Nov 10, 2008

  • Shana and Taylor

    How old r u? 20 or something??????????

    Nov 10, 2008

  • Shana and Taylor

    oh and i forgot....why do u call yourself julie peach?
    I see that u have a tattoo....

    Nov 10, 2008

  • Shana and Taylor

    I have lost about 75% of hair also....it is terrible...I am still coping though....I have a wig of course...when i take it off I just wanna start screaming at myself!!!!!!!! Well Thank god I have it on all the time mostly....

    Taylor

    Nov 10, 2008

  • Marie

    I feel exactly as you do. I have universalis and have lost everything in 2 months. I'm getting married in 5 months and feel really petty that I'm so upset by it. But at the end of the day this really sucks and people to some extent judge on looks but I think not as much as we believe they do. All we can do is get on with our lives and try to enjoy the small things. It's so hard to be yourself with this because you always feel judged. Good luck

    Nov 29, 2008

  • Nants the Rebellion Dog

    I'm new to this, as my hair started falling out in one spot 6 months ago but I kept ignoring it. I finally went to the doctor when I noticed it had started falling out in another place. So now I know its alopecia, and AARRGGGHHH! It makes me crazy they don't know how bad it will get, what causes it and what helps it! (There are those who say I'm already crazy.) Anyway, don't let anything external define who you are. You're fabulous!

    Dec 30, 2008