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Bl*&$y hair (or lack of it!)
Hi. I joined this forum a while back and have taken so much comfort from all the fabulous people who have refused to let alopecia hold them back.
As a bit of background I have always had fine wavy hair but alot of it. My Mum, all her 6 sisters and all my female cousins have really, really thick hair (not that I am jealous or anything!). My hair has thinned after each of my children (I have 3 fantastic kids ages 4, 8 and 10 who really are my reason for living) but not to the point that it looked too bad. Or maybe it had and I just hadn't noticed. Anyway about 10 months ago I noticed it was coming out more that normal and as you all know once you notice there is no going back....I went to see my GP who did tests and said I had low iron. Went to see a dermatologist who specialises in hair loss and he just looked at my hair briefly and said telogen effluvium - come back and see me if it doesn't get better.
Well it hasn't got better so I go back to my GP who prescribed me antidepressants. Don't want those so I go to another GP who runs more tests and everything comes back normal. So here I am with really, really thin hair which now looks c$*p all of the time and I am only 42. It is on my mind all the time and I mean all of the time and I know that wigs will feature in my future. I keep trying to picture myself doing my day to day things wearing a wig and I just can't imagine it. I keep thinking if Tina Turner can do it so can I! I am sure that when I do take the plunge I will be fine and will look so much better than I do now but it is taking that plunge that is so hard. I am disappointed in myself that I am letting this take over my life. I have a truly wonderful husband who has just qualified as an orthopaedic surgeon (last week) and I am still sitting here fretting about my hair instead of thinking of our wonderful future together.
Anyhow what I would like to know from all you wonderful people is can AGA progress really rapidly (as in get bad within a year) and if your ANA test is negative does this rule out alopecia areata? One more thing my cousin has been AU for 24 years and she has been fabulous through all this.
Sorry if this is a bit long!
As a bit of background I have always had fine wavy hair but alot of it. My Mum, all her 6 sisters and all my female cousins have really, really thick hair (not that I am jealous or anything!). My hair has thinned after each of my children (I have 3 fantastic kids ages 4, 8 and 10 who really are my reason for living) but not to the point that it looked too bad. Or maybe it had and I just hadn't noticed. Anyway about 10 months ago I noticed it was coming out more that normal and as you all know once you notice there is no going back....I went to see my GP who did tests and said I had low iron. Went to see a dermatologist who specialises in hair loss and he just looked at my hair briefly and said telogen effluvium - come back and see me if it doesn't get better.
Well it hasn't got better so I go back to my GP who prescribed me antidepressants. Don't want those so I go to another GP who runs more tests and everything comes back normal. So here I am with really, really thin hair which now looks c$*p all of the time and I am only 42. It is on my mind all the time and I mean all of the time and I know that wigs will feature in my future. I keep trying to picture myself doing my day to day things wearing a wig and I just can't imagine it. I keep thinking if Tina Turner can do it so can I! I am sure that when I do take the plunge I will be fine and will look so much better than I do now but it is taking that plunge that is so hard. I am disappointed in myself that I am letting this take over my life. I have a truly wonderful husband who has just qualified as an orthopaedic surgeon (last week) and I am still sitting here fretting about my hair instead of thinking of our wonderful future together.
Anyhow what I would like to know from all you wonderful people is can AGA progress really rapidly (as in get bad within a year) and if your ANA test is negative does this rule out alopecia areata? One more thing my cousin has been AU for 24 years and she has been fabulous through all this.
Sorry if this is a bit long!
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Comment by Pat on June 25, 2011 at 10:11pm
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Hi Joanne, I'm don't know much about AGA so can't advise you there...however I can relate to how you can't imagine wearing a wig. That was me too and it was a big step for me to do it. I had lost all my hair before I looked for a wig, as I kept thinking if I wore one it would be like giving up hope of my hair growing back. It's called magical thinking :) But once I got to grips with the reality of the situation I was able to look at my options. Was I more comfortable wearing a scarf or hat? I decided I wasn't. I pretty much like to blend in with the crowd...so I went the wig route. Letting alopecia take over our lives is pretty much par for the course in the early weeks/months. It gets better once you decide what options are out there. There are 'toppers', partial wigs that are made to blend in with your own hair, you may want to check those out online if there are no stores near you. All the best and good luck!
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Comment by Nicola on June 26, 2011 at 6:30pm
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Thanks Pat - you are so right in that once I have an option that works for me I can move forward and not let this thing get me down anymore. I have to say you look pretty amazing both with and without your wig. I think the next step for me is to try a bit of online shopping - I have been to a couple of places but I find it so uncomfortable and I can't stand the pity I get from the assistants. I feel like sreaming at them. X
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