Hey there,
Eek, what you are going through right now is horrible. I promise that it does get better. It’s the limbo of not knowing if it is all staying or all going or WHAT that is the hardest part, the part you are dealing with now. On your questions, when I just had patches of AA they were pretty small and appeared all of a sudden and then the rest of the hair was fine. When it was just patches I hardly noticed the hair falling out at all. However, in February this year, every time I touched my head some hair came out, it didn't matter what I did, like if I tried to brush it less or not wash it quite so often, it just kept on coming out. The shower was always clogged and my pillow was covered.
On your first question I'm afraid I don't know what to suggest. When my bald patches were too big to cover I started wearing scarves over my whole head, but I did not want to cut what hair I had left off as I was still really really hoping to get in back again, but after one day where I just felt totally rubbish and I hated looking at the straggly bits on my head in the mirror, my boyfriend and I took the kitchen scissors to it. It was very weird, but it felt so much better. Since then I have fake tanned my head and started to like it a lot more than I thought I would.
One of my big worries was that I would think about my hair loss every single day of my life, and I found myself having horrible dreams and feeling sick to the stomach with sadness when I thought about it. However, that too will change. So, while you are thinking about it lots now there will come a day when things get easier and you just know what to do and are much less worried.
All I can say is good luck and make sure you get lots of cuddles from your kids, as they will help lots!
Please ask as many questions as you like, that is the great thing about this website, we all know what its like and we all have time for each other.
Kate xxx

Michelle my daughter is 14 years old & my son is 9..

François

Hi Michelle,
All I can say is worrying about it will not make it you hair grow. Think of it as a challenge - and you're not going to let it get the better of you. When I first found a bald patch I was 17 and parting my hair before going to work as a waitress. Life was the best yet - looking forward to college and a wonderful boyfriend who I knew would be with me forever. So forget about it being caused by stress! - for me anyway. Years oon I have had ups and downs but never a full head of hair. Patches can look really bad and make you look ill when I know you're not. I too shaved the last few tuffs off and feel as though I have a new leese of life. I still hate it (every day) but I hate wearing wigs much more - they're so uncomfortable in the heat of summer - hats look daft as I have such a small head but I have grown in confidence like I don't know what. Keep talking and look to what is good in your life at the moment!
Margaret x