Alopecia World
www.alopeciaworld.com
The past 8 months...My story so far
So much of my life has changed within the last 8 months I don't even know where to begin. This may just be a way for me to vent but if anyone takes the time to read this kudos to you, and if you leave me some tips of feedback, it is greatly appreciated. I don't even know if anyone will read this.
I guess it all started at the end of last summer. I had just been hired to coach soccer at my old high school/middle school and was really excited. I have played soccer since I was 5 and played all the way up into college. After two years of college soccer I was injured and also ran out of years of eligability because I transfered from a four year school back to a 2 year school (going backwards?) because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. Then I decided to coach soccer, applied for a job as a head coach of the 7th and 8th grade boys program and was hired.
Right about the same time I noticed the patches. A friend of mine said that she thought I would look good with a full beard. I had always had some facial hair (goatee) so I figured why not grow out the full beard, I'm already pretty lazy so for me to stop shaving? I wasn't going to put up a fight. What was strange was that as my hair grew in I noticed a few small patches where no hair was growing. What was even worse in another day hair started to fall out of my chin, which meant no more goatee.
Now facial hair is one thing. I may be lazy but I can shave and no one notices the bald spots on my face. But as I started coaching, one of my players pointed out that I had a bald spot on the side of my head. After probably hours of looking at it in the mirror and feeling the smooth skin trying to figure out what would cause that. A quick internet search soon produced the answer: AA. So I made an appointment at a doctor dermanator and was sent for my first appointment which included steroid injections and I was sent on my way to get blood drawn for tests.
Not much happened for the next few months. Blood tests came back fine, and I continued the steroid shots. I had hair growth in the original spot on my head, but the AA grew around it. That left me with a very cool looking bullseye on the side of my head. So the injections continued and so did the "hey, do you know you have a bald spot on you're head?"
This is the question I can't stand the most. I always want to act shocked and ask where? But I don't. At first I used to act like I didn't know what caused it. Which worked for a while until about a month ago when it got worse. I went to get a haircut and the lady who cuts my hair noticed another spot, but didn't tell me. Instead she told my mom because she didn't want to hurt my feelings***(see below). So I went and got injections in that spot but from that moment on it got out of hand.
It seemed like everyday after I showered i would have 20-30 hairs in the towel after running it through my hair. I could run my hand through my hair and pull out at least 10 hairs in each swipe. New spots were even more noticable in the back of my head and on the top. I began wearing a hat everywhere I went so when I went to get my hair cut I told her to go short that way it wasn't so hot with the hat. That was when it was the most noticable.
Some of my close friends began to ask why I was wearing a hat so much lately, so I decided to stop trying to hide it and told them why I had the spots. I still wear the hat to avoid stares but most of my friends know what is going on. I just started coaching a girls soccer team for the summer and have even taken my hat off to show them why I wear it. Most of them were supportive which is pretty cool for girls that are under 12 years of age.
So that pretty much catches up to this point. I'll probably write on here a lot more in the future just as a way to cope with this strange disease. You never know what's going to happen next, but I'm trying to stay positive with it... Take care everyone.
-drew
I guess it all started at the end of last summer. I had just been hired to coach soccer at my old high school/middle school and was really excited. I have played soccer since I was 5 and played all the way up into college. After two years of college soccer I was injured and also ran out of years of eligability because I transfered from a four year school back to a 2 year school (going backwards?) because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. Then I decided to coach soccer, applied for a job as a head coach of the 7th and 8th grade boys program and was hired.
Right about the same time I noticed the patches. A friend of mine said that she thought I would look good with a full beard. I had always had some facial hair (goatee) so I figured why not grow out the full beard, I'm already pretty lazy so for me to stop shaving? I wasn't going to put up a fight. What was strange was that as my hair grew in I noticed a few small patches where no hair was growing. What was even worse in another day hair started to fall out of my chin, which meant no more goatee.
Now facial hair is one thing. I may be lazy but I can shave and no one notices the bald spots on my face. But as I started coaching, one of my players pointed out that I had a bald spot on the side of my head. After probably hours of looking at it in the mirror and feeling the smooth skin trying to figure out what would cause that. A quick internet search soon produced the answer: AA. So I made an appointment at a doctor dermanator and was sent for my first appointment which included steroid injections and I was sent on my way to get blood drawn for tests.
Not much happened for the next few months. Blood tests came back fine, and I continued the steroid shots. I had hair growth in the original spot on my head, but the AA grew around it. That left me with a very cool looking bullseye on the side of my head. So the injections continued and so did the "hey, do you know you have a bald spot on you're head?"
This is the question I can't stand the most. I always want to act shocked and ask where? But I don't. At first I used to act like I didn't know what caused it. Which worked for a while until about a month ago when it got worse. I went to get a haircut and the lady who cuts my hair noticed another spot, but didn't tell me. Instead she told my mom because she didn't want to hurt my feelings***(see below). So I went and got injections in that spot but from that moment on it got out of hand.
It seemed like everyday after I showered i would have 20-30 hairs in the towel after running it through my hair. I could run my hand through my hair and pull out at least 10 hairs in each swipe. New spots were even more noticable in the back of my head and on the top. I began wearing a hat everywhere I went so when I went to get my hair cut I told her to go short that way it wasn't so hot with the hat. That was when it was the most noticable.
Some of my close friends began to ask why I was wearing a hat so much lately, so I decided to stop trying to hide it and told them why I had the spots. I still wear the hat to avoid stares but most of my friends know what is going on. I just started coaching a girls soccer team for the summer and have even taken my hat off to show them why I wear it. Most of them were supportive which is pretty cool for girls that are under 12 years of age.
So that pretty much catches up to this point. I'll probably write on here a lot more in the future just as a way to cope with this strange disease. You never know what's going to happen next, but I'm trying to stay positive with it... Take care everyone.
-drew
-
Comment by Jennifer on May 16, 2008 at 10:52am
-
Your a good writer! I guess I'm lucky that I have delt with AA all my life. If it was to happen suddenly, that would be hard I think. I've been wearing hats recently too. I wore one on mothers day because I have a new spot on the top of my head which is hard to hide. My husband has 9 TALL brothers so I didn't want them to see it. But of couse a couple people have to say, "What's with the hat." Punks! j/k They all know about my condition, they just haven't seen how bad it really is,(my hair covers a lot of it) But It's starting to get bad.
-
Comment by Mandy on May 16, 2008 at 11:25am
-
Hey Drew. I know how ya feel. It's pretty much happening the same way for me. I'm 26 and this just came up out of nowhere. I think that it's especially hard to cope with being a female that has always been known for her long, beautiful hair. But in the end, it's just hair. I think it's good that you've started talking about it. I did, too, and found it very liberating to just get it out in the open. And I realize that no one cares what I look like. My friends will always be my friends. And yours will, too. Keep truckin, Drew!
-
Comment by Sara on May 19, 2008 at 2:22am
-
Drew...wow, it's like you pulled everything out of my brain about 5 months ago...you are not alone at all, don't worry.
That's my story like, down to a T.
I hope acupuncture works for you, also ask your dermatologist about Anthralin, it's a medicine for psoriasis. You rub it on the scalp and it sits in for an hour, then you wash it out. The side effect is it kind of dies your scalp a little if you are lazy (I am, so wearing a hat was excellent).
We should talk some time. My aim is saradellera
-
Comment by Alex on May 19, 2008 at 5:47pm
-
Kudos to you for 1) writing this and 2) getting AA when you were older. I've had it since I was 3, so I didn't know any other way to live. I couldn't imagine losing it now after having hair for my whole life.
I deff know what you mean about losing hair by just running your fingers through your hair. I always had most of my hair and then within a month it all fell out. I did the same thing you did and tried to hide it with wigs, scarfs, headbands and anything else I could use to cover it. Then I just got to the point where I decided it wasnt worth the fight. There was nothing I could do about being bald, so I stopped trying to hide it. Now I rarely wear anything on my head (mostly because im way to lazy to spend time on my wig haha).
Stay confident and I'm sure you'll be fine!
Comment
© 2024 Created by Alopecia World.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Alopecia World to add comments!
Join Alopecia World