Alopecia World
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Search Results - insurance wigs
- Blog Post: My Introduction to Alopecia
- In December, 2006 my daughter, Rachel, was wearing her hair up in a ponytail and a friend asked her what that bald spot was. The spot was about the size of a quarter. We took her to a pediatrician…
- Added by Paige at 3:33am on March 2, 2009
- Blog Post: When Life Hands You Lemons ....
- Make Lemonade … Right!! Well, I am So sick of drinking lemonade I could PUKE!! Please bare with me, this could get long..I just need to vent! And what better place than with women that have walked in…
- Added by Celeste Edwards at 12:39am on September 30, 2008
- Comment on: Topic 'What do you do when you see others with Alopecia?'
- bout a year ago. He is not trying to get his hair back (using treatments), as he is glad he does not have to shave his face every day! I have a good friend who is 45, and she developed AA last January, after experiencing major stress with her kids. New her hair is all growing back (she uses Roggaine and a cortiosteriod cream). About 18 years ago, I worked with a woman at an insurance company regional office, and she had AA. She only had a few tufts of hair (which barely changed over three years), and never wore a head scarf, wig or hat. She was very good at her job, kind and always dressed very professionally. Only after I asked, did someone say she had a disease that made her lose her hair. She and I had chatted a few times in the ladies' room while washing our hands. In my early 20s, I was very naive, and asked her about her disease and she explained. I don't really remember feeling empathy for anyone until then. She told me that her parents helped her to be strong. She was very accepted by all of us in the work place, and no one ever talked about her behind her back. A few times, I tried to talk her into going to "Happy Hour" with the group, and she replied that was something she wouldn't do. One day, she smiled into the ladies' room mirror and said ~ I haven't had this much hair in a long time! Her tufts were neatly combed together. I smiled back and told her she always looked so pretty. Now, 18 years later, that regional office is closed, and I would never have any way to contact her. Now, both of my kids have AA. How brave she was! Having known her, in some way, eases the worry I have for my children living with AA.…
- Added by Lynn AKA Mom of 2 w/AA at 11:59pm on July 26, 2008
- Blog Post: Releasing Toxins
- I'm REALLY trying to be positive!! I REALLY want to move forward!! I know I am more than my hair!! I HAVE done this before!! I WILL do it again!! I just need to get all this SHIT out!! I'm not sure…
- Added by Celeste Edwards at 5:29pm on October 2, 2008
- Comment on: Blog Post 'It wasn't supposed to be like this!'
- f your concerns, she is one of the most active women I know. I can answer your white water river rafting question, GO!!! Don't let this damn disease stop you from being you. When I go wwrr, I don't wear my cranial prosthesis (a.k.a. wig) in fact I have pretty much stopped wearing it ( that has not stopped me from taking on my Insurance company for coverage), sorry off that soap box & back to subject matter. I went on line & found some great scarves & head covers, I found a great place out of Canada, the family came up with them out of necessity, one of their children has alopecia. I found them through the NAAF, their called Nammu Swimming Hat, I have them in many colors, to go with my suits, they tie just like a scull cap, look great & stay on, I use them when we go snorkeling as well as riding on the back of my husband's motorcycle. Nammuhats.com. They worked for me look them up see if they might work for you. There are many scarves from great places on line, scarves are really in right now, Mary has a video that shows many ways to tie & wear them. I'm sorry your friends are not as supportive as you had hoped, I hope they come around, one of my friends called & asked what do I do, I don't know how to help you, I told her, you just did, your here but all I ask is you may not agree with what I do but support me in the decisions I make. I have never had to shave my head, when my hair fell out it came out completely, clean as a whistle, I have never had to shave, yet. There may come a day that I may have to. As I write this & look at your photo, I disagree with your friend, I think you look beautiful. Good luck telling our folks, they may surprise you they have a way of doing that. Your a strong Alopecian Woman, it takes a great deal of inner strength to deal with this disease of ours. I hope my suggestions help but most of all, don't let Alopecia stop you from living your best life. Best Wishes Janet.…
- Added by Pamela Rosse at 4:53pm on April 14, 2011
- Topic: Unnecessary comments from family
- really knows what is causing my (or anyone else's alopecia areata), my doctors and therapist believe stress is a major component in why I am not healthy in general. My parents know this, and they really do try really hard to be there for me, emotionally and financially. Sometimes though, maybe once every month or two (writing this today because it happened again today), my parents - usually my mom, like today, but sometimes both my parents, will blame me for my alopecia, and make me very stressed and upset. My mother literally said to me that it's my fault that I lost most of my hair, and it's my fault it hasn't grown back, because of unrelated things ("you aren't responsible about your finances, that's why you're losing hair! you aren't focusing on school, that's why you're losing hair! you're selfish and blah blah blah, that's why you're losing hair!). If that wasn't rough enough, she keeps at it for around 30-60 minutes, and then pretends like she never said anything mean about my hair loss in the first place. Whenever she acts like this, I get so stressed and get really intense physical reactions like the shakes, migraines, inability to eat because I feel so nervous, those kind of things. I really do thank my mom (and dad, and brother) for everything for the most part, because without their support, I wouldn't have had the insurance to see so many doctors, go to my therapist, or the money to buy my fabulous wig and hats, but her comments (which honestly seem to come out of no where, but seem to be her true feelings about my alopecia) really make me stressed and upset. To make matter kind of worse, I definitely notice more hair loss when she says those things to me, so I know that in some way, stress might be a real factor in my alopecia. This is mostly just a rant, but would also like to ask you all what you'd do in this situation? I feel like I can't really do anything, because 99% of the time, she is supportive. However, I really don't like these comments from her, about how the alopecia is my fault.…
- Added by Epo at 6:24pm on January 11, 2014
- Blog Post: Losing hair dramatically yet all labs come back normal. Even physicians baffled! History of antibiotic and steroid use!
I have been on this site for over a month yet I have not been on here that much this is why. In may of 2014 my hair started falling out right after I saw my physician for fatigue and my…
- Added by Dee at 2:45am on April 8, 2014
- Comment on: Group 'Parents of Children with Hairloss'
- treatment that works including trying methotrexate (short term - with no result). Tried 4 Demo Dr.s before before finding one that made a difference at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland Ohio. Today 2 1/2 years later she has a full head of hair. The treatment that worked was DPCP (Applied to the scalp twice a week/not fda approved/not covered by insurance but not not expensive/need a demo Dr that willing and knowledgeable enough to prescribe/ we use Cleve Clinic in Cleveland Ohio) DPCP is prescribed in an increasing strength over several months designed to cause an mild irritation of the scalp. In layman's terms it tricks the immune system into attacking the chemical applied to the scalp rather then the hair folical. ALSO important it is use in combination with daily Vit D (5000) (have Dr check vit D levels very common that AA patients have very low Vit D), Allegra 180 mg daily, biotin forte with zinc. Stress reeducation and physical activity - very important. To date over 2 years has no side effects. Only down side. Life long treatment. If she gets sick (flu or severe cold) or stressed (anxiety) or prolong period of time will lose a little hair in spots but so far has always regrown. STRESS: physical or emotional is a factor for us. Don't let Doctors tell you it is not - it is. We also added zoloft 50 mg. Losing hair is stressful - period! Everyone is different. But as a parent, when we were first learning about AA I wanted to read a post like this one I am writing...specific instruction of what worked for others. AA is an auto immune condition, typically genetic . In our case my husband is diabetic, I have vitaliogo and my mother RA. Spend time educating yourself on triggers and solutions for any auto immune conditions in your child genetic family tree. I hope this helps! I been there - It's so hard for others to appreciate what us mothers go through! School bullies, wigs, hats, overcompensating with material items, friendship and boyfriend worries. Moms remember take care of yourself too - your kids will look to how you are managing your own feelings and stress over hair-loss. Be as honest as age appropriate with your child. I am not overly religious but admit that when I had no where else to go but down on my knees to pray and turned my stress and worries over to god believing that everything is happening for reason because I had no other options. I felt some relief and found strength to rise to this challenge. Educate yourself and find a Demo Dr that specializes in AA and hair loss. …
- Added by carolyn to Parents of Children with Hairloss at 9:50am on March 25, 2015
- Comment on: Topic 'Just diagnosed....feeling very scared'
- my story, and I hope it helps you. About 3 years ago, I woke in the morning to a bald spot the size of a baseball on the left corner of my head, just below the crown. I wasn’t aware of any hair falling out, nor did I find any of the hair that was lost. I wasn’t even aware of the spot at all till my husband pointed it out. He told me about it, and recommended I see a doctor. My first thought was the hair loss was due to my thyroid issue, so I went to see my endocrinologist. He looked it over, said it most likely wasn’t anything to do with the thyroid, that the thyroid does cause hair thinning, but not hair loss. Then fear kicked in, if it wasn’t the thyroid, what the heck was wrong with me, and was I in danger of a larger more complicated health issue. Next I went to the family doctor. He thought perhaps it was a fungal infection, and sent me to a dermatologist. So on to another doctor I went. The dermatologist identified what was happening as Alopecia Areata. She told me it is an auto-immune disease brought on by stress. She basically told me that due to the stress in my life, my immune system was attacking itself, and the hair loss was the result. She said this affliction does not affect grey hair, which they do not understand why. She told me that it is treatable, and set me on a course. Course 1 – A topical treatment. I was prescribed a spray that needed to be applied to the scalp twice per day. Initially, that wasn’t making much of a difference. Course 2 – She prescribed steroid shots. I had 80 mg of Steroids shot into me every six weeks (40mg in each hip). The first round of these shots were fine, and I did show some hair growth, and strength in the root system. The doctor would test this by actually pulling on my hair to see if it came out easily. Round 2 of the shots wasn’t as kind. My entire body broke out in a rash. I went back to the family doctor who prescribed an allergy medication to combat the rash. Subsequently, the allergy medication then messed with my menstrual cycle, causing anemia. Again, I was prescribed something to combat that side effect. Next, the dermatologist decided not to pursue the last round of steroid shots (they will only do 3 rounds of those due to the side effects and other medical conditions it can cause), and go back to course 1 with the topical treatment. This time around, the topical treatment started to cause migraine headaches, and such tenderness to the scalp that it made it very uncomfortable to sleep on a pillow. I had to wear a soft hat to sleep in. I’d finally had enough. I felt as if they were making things worse with the medications, rather than solving the issue. So I went to see a Chiropractor/Acupuncturist/Herbalist, on the recommendation of a friend. I was hoping for a natural treatment for this affliction. He conducted a test called the Meridian Stress Assessment (MSA). Basically, what this test did was assess the function of the health of organs by measuring the energy of associated acupuncture meridians. From this, he was able to determine what vitamins and minerals I was lacking in my system to rebalance me, and what foods I was eating that were contributing to the imbalance. He then prescribed the necessary natural treatments, and put me on a specified diet to remove the foods that I seemed to have an allergy or issue with. After about 3 months of natural treatment, my hair grew back in. It was weird though, it first came in white, then turned grey, then blonde, and finally back to normal color. I remained normal for several months, when once again my system became stressed and it started again. Basically, it starts with very small patches, about the size of a dime. For me, there would be roughly 3 or 4 of them in one area. These patches, as they grow, begin to connect to one another creating larger bald patches. I had about 5 areas on my head where this was occurring. I finally decided not to continue spending hundreds of dollars on treatments, after all – it was just hair. Any more, I can only keep my natural hair about 1 to 2 inches long, otherwise it falls out. Styling products also weigh my hair down too much and cause it to fall out. Unfortunately, health insurance does not cover this type of testing and/or treatment, so it can be quite costly. For me, and the level of imbalance I was experiencing, it was costing me $4,000 - $6,000 each quarter for testing and treatment. I decided to take a different approach, by purchasing wigs. I took my husband to the store with me. For fun, I tried on a blonde/brown mixture (I’m naturally a dark brunette), his eyes lit up, and I was sold. I purchased my first wig. I wasn’t quite confident enough yet to try it out on my co-workers. Since it was such a drastic change from my “normal” look, I wasn’t sure how it would be received, so I continued to try styling my hair using large bows and hair ties to hide the spots. One day, I just got tired of spending so much time trying to hide my affliction that I made the leap and wore the wig to work. It was a huge hit. I had so much fun. Initially, no one realized it was me, they thought I was someone new and just nodded as they walked by. But then it would hit them, and they would turn around and say “you changed your hair”. Everyone loved the new look. My husband loved it too, though he would sometimes forget what I looked like if we were in a store, and I’d have to say, I’m right next to you. LOL At that time, I decided to use the opportunity to increase awareness to this disease. I became an advocate for communicating information to others who either are afflicted with this disorder and/or know someone who is. And, I purchased several more wigs. My collection is now up to some 20 or so wigs of various colors, styles, and lengths. And I have a lot of fun with it. While some people might suffer some initial embarrassment at my unusual comments about the hair (such as, one lady asked what color my hair was and I told her plastic, actually I don’t know I bought it this way), most are stunned at how beautiful and natural looking wigs are these days and are very inquisitive and curious about the fun I’m having with it. It has changed my life and my perspective. When I was first diagnosed, I felt like a victim, and thought to myself, why couldn’t it just fall off my legs where no one would notice. Then I realized, it had to hurt so that I would notice it and improve my health, reduce my stress, and change the way I deal with things. I then realized the gift I was given. I was given the gift of changing myself for the better, and having fun along the way.…
- Added by Patti Clum at 6:21pm on June 22, 2012
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