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Comment by Bald and Fabulous AKA Terri on August 28, 2013 at 12:24pm

Madeline, Im so sorry for you and please know you are not alone, on either case. I have lived with alopecia since I was 8 (38 yrs old now) And being a teenager during this time is extremely tough. I still have clear memories of my teenage years with alopecia and the pressures from family and school. As far as the cluster headaches are concern, I have been fortunate that I have never had one. My boyfriend use to get them all the time and I would cry for him constantly when one would hit. The pain he would experience was hard to watch, never mind what he was actually experiencing. I made him a hematite necklace, its stones that have a magnetic property to them. He has said that they did seem to help. The magnetics have properties to increase bloodflow and circulation of oxygen in the body. It is often worn to help in these things. Since wearing the necklace he has not had a reoccurence of the cluster headache but will sometimes get a migraine. I also agree that yoga during days you are not suffering a headache would be helpful to center your mind and body. My boyfriend said to hang in there, they do eventually go away, maybe not permanently but for long periods of time.

Comment by Michelle on July 16, 2013 at 12:00pm

Madeline, I am so sorry that you feeling so bad. Being a teenager is hard, and even harder when you suffer from headaches and live with alopecia. Have you ever tried yoga? It might help with your headaches and help you relax and manage the anxiety. I have anxiety/panic disorder and yoga has helped me immensely; in fact, when I was diagnosed with AA in March, I headed right back to yoga class to help me calm down and give me some peace in my my head and in my body (it's really helping). Find a class, go with a friend, and try it out- I think the restorative poses and breathing techniques might really help you. I hope you feel better soon!!

Comment by shaila on July 16, 2013 at 10:37am

Dear Madeline,
I lost my hair in my final year of (undergraduate) college and had to do my post graduate studies through correspondence. My advice to you is do not stress yourself . Hair or no hair life is meant to be enjoyed. So go right ahead and love whatever you are doing. Please learn Yoga. I find it helps in distressing and developing ourselves.
You sound very positive so continue your studies. You will do well

Comment by Yogita on July 16, 2013 at 6:05am

Hey Madeline... Being a teenager itself is a great challenge & you are facing many more...
From your blog I can sense that you are a strong person & you can & will overcome your problems. First of all don't your health conditions rule your mind. This time will pass & your life will be filled with colors of Rainbow.

Learn some relaxations techniques. Maintain healthy diet with your doctors help & try to learn how to withdraw yourself from troubling situations. Like when your parents are yelling at you, try to solve the most difficult problem of your syllabus, after some time your parents yelling will not bother you. This is very difficult but THE MOST effective measure of tackilng stress.
Take very good care of yourself. Have faith.

Comment by Neil on July 16, 2013 at 1:02am

Lots of good advice here. I read a few posts and agree with a lot of it but I will add my two cents so you have as many perspectives as possible. I am going to break it down and be as short and to the point as I can (which is not very short at all):

Headaches: The internet is your friend. Research and you may find a solution that works for you. Also, a lesson I learned from my father (it's a guy thing but you seem like you could use it), pain is simply a message from your brain that there is something wrong. Do something about it if you can but otherwise acknowledge it and you can make it go away. I know it sounds counter intuitive but I have found that if I concentrate on pain it will actually go away. More importantly, find the cause of the pain and address it in a constructive way. Stress can cause headaches and so can dehydration and caffeine withdrawal. I am sure there are many causes and if you look you may find the cause of your headaches.

Diet and lifestyle: Get lots of rest (especially since you are a teenager) and eat properly. And by properly I mean properly for you. Get allergy tests done and use a food diary to find which foods are not your friend. Also, ensure that you are getting the full spectrum of nutrients or your body can not possibly function properly.

Anxiety: I suspect that this may be normal at your age to an extent. I would suggest that you empower yourself physically and mentally. Martial arts are a good way to do this because they help condition your mind and body. I think quick thinking and physical ability are pretty good tools to combat anxiety.

Meditation: Relieves stress and expands your mind. I highly recommend it. There are different types and each has it's value. Meditation may not make your hair grow but it will help you deal with the loss of it. It may also help you combat your headaches.

Medication: Be wary and do all the research before you go down this road. It has been my observation that even when medications help to reduce a symptom they often come with undesirable side effects. A cure is one thing but a crutch is something else.

Alopecia: The reason you are here. And you've come to the right place. There are a lot of "survivors" on this site. And more than a few who will say that their struggles with alopecia have actually made them stronger. But by no means am I saying that you should be passive or that this is some sort of gift. The two non-medical treatments that seem to have the most success are diet changes (cut out gluten or any other food that causes you inflammation) and onion juice. Apparently rubbing onion juice on your patches will cause the hair to grow back. I have not tried this yet but thanks to a recent post on this site I learned that this has worked for quite a few people. I myself have had a lot of success by eliminating wheat from my diet.

I wish you the best and hope you find the tools you need to deal with your alopecia, and your parents ;)

Comment by Bety on July 15, 2013 at 2:49pm

Madeline,

I just want to give you a big hug and send you all my support. You are a very strong girl, and I know you will get through this, this too shall pass :)

Comment by Kristin on July 15, 2013 at 2:39pm

That's a lot to deal with at such a young age! I wonder if changing your diet (you might need your parents' help with this) would help the cluster headaches. People with migraines and cluster headaches often have other issues that go untreated. Once treated, the migraine/cluster symptoms go away. Sleep apnea, food allergies, etc. Try the autoimmune diet to see if that helps. It's a super hard diet to follow, but you might feel better. If so, it's totally worth it. Check it out here:
http://www.thepaleomom.com/autoimmunity/the-autoimmune-protocol

You may also want to get an allergy test at the doctor to see if there's a concrete trigger for your clusters.

I used to get migraines all the time (at 10-25 years old), so I sort of understand where you're coming from. It may be hard to see now, but I would choose my AU over migraines any day.

I'd also echo what Anne Vanderlaan said: seek therapy. It's incredibly useful to work through all the sadness, anger, loss, and frustration that comes with hair loss. You can start your search here:
http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/

I hope you feel better soon!

Comment by Christa on July 14, 2013 at 4:01pm

Hi Madeline,

I remember the stresses of school and getting into college. Then the hairloss on top of it all must really weigh on you. You could always take a year off after you graduate? Your physical and mental health are more important! Try to only focus on one thing at a time until then. Hang in there.

I'd suggest looking at possible food allergies for your headaches. Doctors never suggest it because they often don't look into the cause of our problems, they only try to treat the symptoms. I had my food allergies tested (blood test) by a naturopath and found out I was allergic to many foods which eliminating has reduced many of my irritating symptoms. I also had a friend that found out by eliminating soy she was able to stop her persistent headaches. May be something worth looking into.

Try to find time to do things that will cheer you up like watching a funny movie. I always feel better after dancing like a complete goof (alone) to some good music. You're young and still have a lot of mistakes to make and you should have fun while your doing it. I know it all seems really serious now, but take some time to forget about all the stresses of life and just be yourself. It's ok to be sad from time to time and it's totally understandable, but crying won't help anything. My boyfriend was good at helping me realize that I was stuck being a victim of alopecia instead of actually living my life. It got to a point where he just had to tell me to stop feeling sorry for myself and BE HAPPY! (tough love is his specialty). It took some time, but I just needed to change my frame of mind.

I'm sorry your having such a difficult time. Just remember there will be good days ahead! You can do it.

Comment by Abdul on July 14, 2013 at 9:41am

Madeline,
I'm so sorry for you ......... really it is hard to explain
try to not let the alopecia beat you
I had A.U since two years . and i feel my self like an alien but i will still fight this deasies till the end ...
Regards

Comment by Anne Vanderlaan on July 14, 2013 at 9:31am

Hi,
It might be a good idea to see a therapist. I am one and I know some can help teach you how to meditate. This will help with your headaches. My son who is 18 will wear amethyst and feels it helps with his headaches. As far as the hair loss it is hard to come to terms with the fact you have something that might be with you your whole life. I do not like being bald at all but there is nothing I can do about it so I just have to accept that I have it. You are welcome to contact me if you need a listening ear. Sounds like to me you have a lot of people on this site who care about you! Or they would not be posting. Love and light to you.

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