Comment by Brian on January 23, 2017 at 4:49am

Hi Michael,

There isn't a normal time frame when it comes to alopecia. I've read articles by people who have lost all hair in 3 weeks. I've read from other people who've lost it over 3 months. I've also read articles from some people where it's taken a year or longer. It's really all dependent on how each person's body reacts.

Yours sounds like it's taking several months to progress. Though, keep in mind that it can come and go also. So, you may find that in a few months that your hair starts growing back only to fall out again at some point in the future. Alopecia is a bit unpredictable in that way.

Since medical science hasn't yet pinpointed the trigger(s) (though they do seem to understand the immune system response behind it), this means that each person's trigger may play a part in how fast it progresses. It may also be related to how efficient your immune system is. Some people's immune systems may respond more aggressively than others.

If you're interested in seeing a real-life unintentionally documented alopecia progression, check out Ben Lowrey's channel on YouTube. He's a minor YT personality. If you go back to the beginning of his videos, he had hair. In one of his slightly later episodes he begins wearing a cap and somewhat quickly explains his hair loss. Fast forward several years later and it seems his has also progressed to AU, though he doesn't really talk about his alopecia on the channel. Note, I can't vouch for the content in his videos as they're kind of all over the place. I'm only pointing out his videos as a point of reference for a series of videos that unintentionally documents an alopecia progression. There are upload dates on each video, so you can see the time frame of his progression.

As for your own sense of self, don't get caught up in what you see in the mirror. You are still you. It's also up to you to present yourself to the world as you are, with or without hair. Without hair, though, you may find that you end up more frequently educating people on your condition. A lot of people may assume cancer, but that's just because many don't even know alopecia is a thing. If you're not the kind of person who finds it easy to talk to random strangers, alopecia might make it more of a challenge to be out in public. Likewise, alopecia can definitely break the ice for conversation starters.

The one thing I always suggest is, be confident in yourself no matter how you look. Without hair, you're now more unique than ever. With AU, few people will ever be as you are. Personally, I've always found hair grooming to be time consuming. I'd rather have had that time (and money) back to do other things.

Comment by Michael on January 23, 2017 at 6:33am

Hi Brian

Thank you for the response/comment.

I agree that there is nothing normal when it comes to Alopecia, and my phrase is not so good in that respect. I probably mean that I have no idea of others experience, and thereby no ide what is fast progression and what is slow. I am sure that everyone will feel the progression as fast.

I am not feeling bad for being bald at all, and I think what bothered me the most was when my hair was suddenly so thin as it made me feel older than I should feel. I feel confident that most people see me for being me regardless of my hair style (rather lack of such atm).

I think currently my immune system is working on more than one disease, as it is high season for Atopic Dermatitis. But also it seems to be shifting area from time to time. But that is just a feeling. 

I am current awaiting an information package from NAAF, which I hope will give me a good basis information. More than I have currently i expect.

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