Comment by asdf234 on October 31, 2012 at 10:48am

I will contact you with more details, Jen, privately. Otherwise I am afraid I will sound like an advertisement. Basically, I used the paleo diet to starve the candida. I also used a series of herbal supplements to poison and weaken the candida itself and took probiotics to crowd out the candida in my gut if it tried to reinvade. Shane told me that the candida leads to thyroid issues, so by getting rid of it, it would help my thyroid too.

Comment by Deidre on October 31, 2012 at 10:58am

Hi Tracy! I rarely log on to alopecia world anymore, but once in a while I see a discussion that sparks a desire to reply. I've taken intermittent time off from the website only because I seem to do much better when I'm not focused on how losing my hair affects my life by sitting like a load of bricks in the forefront of my mind. It seems somewhat cold and unsupportive, but I believe much of the reason I ever lost my hair to begin with was from not taking enough care of me and my emotions. Everyone with whom I've had contact on this website has been amazing. Others I've gained admiration from reading their stories. I posted an update on my page a couple of years back...and good news, I still have a head full of hair. (Newer pic of me above) I've had a few scary episodes of itchy spots that would thin, but regrow. And over the past 6 months or so I've had disperse thinning that immediately grows back. The tiny new hairs that stick straight up are my only pain (only because they look like antennae at times)...but I'll take em! No complaints. I felt most comforted when I would read regrowth stories, especially from those who somewhat share my situation, i.e age, circumstance, loss/regrowth patterns. I've become a firm believer in take care of your mind and your body will follow, I hope this helps you too. Take care!

Comment by Deidre on October 31, 2012 at 11:00am

WOW That's a HUGE picture!! I was worried the pic link wouldn't work. It did...Billboard Style! Ooops ;)

Comment by somegirl on October 31, 2012 at 11:22am

Tracey,
In April I lost more than half my hair in a period of three weeks. Obviously this summer was devastating for me. After going from doctor to doctor I finally went to a specialist that treats alopecia extremely aggressively. Here is the treatment:
Tazorac ointment - all over my scalp, once a day. (tazorac induces a rash, shedding the top layer of skin, and creating an environment that promotes hair growth.)
Clobetasol Propionate liquid - twice a day, once in the a.m. and once at night (right after using the tazorac.)
I have extremely sensitive skin, so this combination of treatment resulted in lots of rashes and sores, but ALL of my hair grew back! in only 4 months! It was well worth enduring the pain of the rashes. This month marks 5 months since my hair fell out. I am so lucky that my hair has come back. I do have 4 nickle sized bald spots randomly placed through my scalp right now. These spots are extremely recent and I have no doubt that with the treatment i used before they will grow back. And even if one or two of them don't, I have an almost completely full head of hair (albeit it is much thinner.)
Don't give up hope. I agree that this sight can be depressing, but there are people that are experiencing regrowth.
I also changed my diet over the last 5 months. I cut out gluten (wheat exasperates ANY auto-immune disorder.) And (for my body, at least) I cut back on dairy and completely stopped caffeine. The last few weeks i have actually been more lax on the dietary restrictions, to which i attribute the current small bald patches.
anyway, hope this helps some how.

Comment by Tracey on October 31, 2012 at 1:16pm

Wow- such amazing stories! Thanks all for sharing. And, Deirdre, I am jealous, but WOW, so happy for you! Your hair looks amazing!!! :-))) Kathy, I've been wondering about the impact of hormonal changes. I went off the pill a few months before I noticed the first patch, but what I think really triggered my onset was an allergic reaction I had to vicodin that landed me in the ER. And regarding the diet angle, I figure if nothing else cooling the inflammation would help the hair that is growing back in to not be so kinky and curly (normally I have straight hair). My derm said the textural changes are due to inflammation. But, hey, it's regrowth and I'll take it no matter what it looks like! So far overall I seem to be winning my current hair battle-- there is only a small area near my bangs and one temple that has patches that show-- the rest is all covered with hair! A far cry from where I was in May with the top of my head quity bald. And as an FYI, I am doing regular steroid injections, 5% minoxidil religiously 2x/day, biotin, fish oil, clean diet (recent addition), exercise and I've had a couple rounds of prednisone during my heavier shedding periods. I guess that is my hopeful story to share with you! :-)

Comment by Tracey on October 31, 2012 at 1:25pm

...forgot to add. My doctor said the most wonderful words last week: "I can't believe how fast your hair is growing!". I said, "Me either. I have been having to wax my face and neck weekly!" Ha ha!!! Sadly that is not really a joke (thanks minoxidil), but at present it's maintenance I am willing to do if it means having hair on my head!

Comment by ziba on October 31, 2012 at 1:27pm

Hi all, I also been dealing with AA for a while now, speaking of hopeful stories, I ran across this one in one of my searches, it's inspiring, www.indiegogo.com and search "Window of hope for all alopecia children", PRETTY AMAZING.

Comment by haley on October 31, 2012 at 2:21pm

i loved the story of how the woman did the tatooe, my grand daughter has alopecia all over her body. she lost her hair at 4 and she is 12 now as of oct 12. she doesnt like the wigs says they are itchy and give her a headache. as a parent you would rather have something like that to happen to you and not her. you would probably know how to deal with i better than a 4 or 12 year old. but thats not what god wanted. haley is a smart and pretty girl. she makes ab honor roll and she was blonde with the bluest eyes that people would love to have been borned with but wasnt. i dont know people go thro this and i pray every day that someone will find a cure for it so no one has to ever go thro this again.it is heart breaking .good luck to every one

Comment by Mommito3 on October 31, 2012 at 2:25pm

Hi Tracey! I just wanted to share with you that I had been diagnosed with AA at the age of 30 in the month of January of this year. It hit me and my family out of nowhere! It started on the top of my head and with the Dr. that I had, he offered little treatment options for me. I changed doctors in March bc at that point the whole top of my head was completely bald. My new Dr. immediately sent me to a dermatologist and steroid injections were inserted that day! With 20 shots each visit every 2 months, I am happy to say that I have regrowth and is almost 2 1/2 inches long!! I wear hats from time to time and even wigs to my childrens schools but over all I feel normal again and have hope. It was and is at times an emotional journey. I continue to spread awareness to all everyone and am 'living' again. Thanking God each day for my supportive husband and family. There is hope!!!

Comment by MariaR. on October 31, 2012 at 2:38pm

Hi, Tracey. I lost all of my hair when I was 3 1/2. When I was six, it came back. From six until twenty-three, my hair was pretty good. I'd occasionally get a bald patch, but then my doctor would inject it with steroids, and it would fill in. Starting at twenty-three, my disease became much more aggressive, but I could still manage it. Three years, though, my husband and I separated, and all of my hair fell out. That was really rough. However, I had a doctor who treated me very aggressively with methotrexate (25 mg/week), cortisone injections (probably about 100 all around the scalp every month), and oral prednisone (varying amounts, but usually 10mg/day unless I was having a flare-up). My hair completely returned. However, I have since moved, and thus I had to change doctors. This is my first time ever posting on here, and maybe someone here can give me some pointers. My new doctor is much more cautious, and last month, I had elevated LFTs (liver function test levels--I need to check these because of methotrexate). While my general practitioner said my LFTs were not very elevated and I should stay on methotrexate and just keep vigilantly monitoring them, my dermatologist disagreed and pulled me off cold turkey. That was three weeks ago. Today, I am almost entirely bald. I am shocked, saddened, and terribly depressed. One month ago I would never dream that I would be this far gone today. My dermatologist said she doesn't do contact therapy, which I think would be the next logical choice, so that's out. Does anybody know of any other aggressive treatments where the liver isn't involved? By the way, thank you for saying something about hormones. I've routinely mentioned this to my doctor (when I was twenty-three (which was when my disease got a lot more aggressive), my menstrual cycle went wacky, and I've always wondered if there is a connection), and I think I'll have to more aggressively mention it.

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