About 5 months ago I noticed what looked like a small knick in the back of my head...long story short, this was no knick! It progressed into a large patch, more patches appeared, i began losing facial hair, etc. After the first patch becam quarter sized, I saw a dermatologist and she said I had AA...i figured this prior to my visit because I had googled it! Lol, the power of the internet...I think i had more info about it than the doctor knew! Anyway, she gave me a sample of a topical cream and said the patch looked like it was done growing bigger and would regrow. WRONG! Obviously it didnt, and i knew from my research that there wasnt much I could do, as far as effective treatments go....I accepted it and eventually shaved my head since I could no longer hide it with a hat.

Long story short, I probably had a similair experience to all of ya'lls! I'm 32 and this is my first experience with my alopecia, needless to say...its rough coming to terms with lossing your hair in such a drastic way! Upon surfing the web for info i came across stories of gluten free diets and the notion that eliminating certain foods could help with regrowth. I also found this awesome site called "Alopecia World"...you may have heard of it?!? Here i found real support and a place to connect with others who know EXACTLY what i'm going through! Its a great thing! I also found people who are seeing results from G/F diets and anti inflammatory diets or just eleminating foods they are sensitive to. It just seemed to make sense to me.... It definately couldnt hurt to try!

I made up my mimd to fully make the switch and STICK to it, at least for 3 months to see if i could get results. (it seems to take 3-6 months before people get any type of results) I began with immediately eliminating caffeine from my diet about 4 weeks ago, since I was a heavy soda drinker. I replaced soda with water and now drink more juice when i crave soda or something with more flavor.nothing with sugar added...100% juices and only natural sweetners.

The following week I began to eliminate gluten from my diet and other anti- inflamatory foods. I may have slipped a bit, due to being uninformed and being confused about what was and wasnt ok to eat but I knew I was making HUGE strides in the right direction! I figured even if a few things slipped through, it still had to be an improvement and I had to crawl before I walk! It is a MAJOR change for me and easing into it seemed to make it less drastic.
I know that everyone has different sensetivities to different foods but I am not able to pay for these tests or for additional testing. I just decided to eliminate gluten, caffiene, dairy and red meats from my diet since these seemed to be the major pro-inflammatory foods.
It has been a month since I began this whole process and about 4 days ago i stopped shaving my head to see if I could notice any changes. To my surprise...regrowth! It seems that the majority of my bald spots are now covered with white or clear hairs. Mainly the last places that I lost hair are the ones growing back first, or so it seems. The original patch, which now covers 15% of my head is still bald but i now have some hope. I am excited but dont know if this is just coincidence or there is a connection to my dietary change?!? Surely it has to be from the diet??? I find it hard to believe that its sure coincidence! I def will continue with the diet change and hope for the best! I will add some pics later and keep ya'll posted! Any shared experiences, comments, suggestions, questioms are welcome! Please share your stories, as it helps others and yourself!