Comment by James on March 4, 2009 at 12:29am

Hi Julie...all you need to do is ask. Everyone here is willing to give advice at any time. This is a great site with great people who are very knowledgeable.
Cheers!

Comment by Barbara Steinberg on March 4, 2009 at 12:45am

Hi Julie --

I've had alopecia for nine years and while I'm no expert on the subject, I am very willing to share what I know and offer you loads of support! Alopecia is scary and unpredictable and can be very isolating if we let it. Please let me know how I can help with this difficult time.
Barb

Comment by Frank on March 4, 2009 at 1:12am

Julie...
The people here are awesome. I have been doing the alopecia thing for 37 years now. Everyone's individual experience differs as to how old they are and regrowth. Spend as much time here as you can. Chat with everyone and make a couple of close friends to talk with. It will make a HUGE difference.

Comment by Natalie on March 4, 2009 at 4:19am

Hey Julie,

I was recently diagnosed, roughly 4 weeks ago, and I'm just beginning to get over (i think so anyway) that feeling of absolute terror. Everyone is individual in their case, so its really hard for anyone to tell you one way or the other whats going to happen. What helped me was researching as much as i could. Then i came to terms with the fact that no one could tell me what was going to happen, why, or how to stop it. I then decided, that I was going to deal with one bald patch at a time, rather than deal with having alopecia. Some may say that I am not facing up to it, and not coming to terms with it. But thinking this way made it seem alot easier in my mind to cope with.
If you want to chat anytime, let us know. I cant offer you the answers i know you want, but I can listen.

xxxxxxxxxx

Comment by Mari on March 4, 2009 at 2:14pm

Howdy Julie, nice to have you here. As Natalie says, everyone's experience is different. And some get their hair back, some don't. they also don't really know why. It is just a take it as you go unfortunately. And actually I don't think that Natalies approach is all bad. Easier to take in steps instead of being overwhelmed with the whole ordeal :o) If you need ANYTHING, let me know! Am always here

Comment by julie on March 4, 2009 at 6:29pm

Thank you all for your responses. It is really nice to know that there are people out there who are there for support.

Comment by Emma-Louise on March 4, 2009 at 9:40pm

Hi Julie
I just wanna say that I have alopecia/hair loss, don't know cos I haven't had it diagnosed, but I haven't told any of my family about this so I'm going through this on my own, my friends act like they pretend to care, but they don't.
I can't look after my hair properly cos all I do is pull my hair apart when it's in a knot, I never go to the hair dressers to get my hair cut cos I feel upset that everyone seems to turn round to look at my head, but when I try to find any bald patches, I can't seem to see any which is weird as so much hair has fallen out.

Comment by Barbara Steinberg on March 4, 2009 at 9:57pm

Hi Emma Louise --
Your hair loss may not be alopecia areata but perhaps another condition such as difuse alopecia or what is sometimes simply labeled as "female pattern baldness." When hair seems to be falling out everywhere, it feels like there must be some bald patches somewhere but that doesn't have to be the case. It can feel like you're losing a ton of hair without your family even noticing. And friends don't really know what you're going through because they honestly don't notice either. But you don't have to have alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis to still feel the anxiety of hair loss. Like Julie, you've done the right thing by coming here and looking for support from people who can definitely relate to what you're experiencing. Hang in there and keep talking to us. We know how devastating hair loss can feel!

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