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Comment by Jay on February 12, 2016 at 7:02am

I struggled with this decision as well. I felt a lot of the stress i had was from keeping alopecia a secret. I met the mother of my children when i had all may hair and eyebrows and she has been supportive through the loss of my eyebrows and patches of hair. Im not sure how i would of work through my depressing times without her love and support. But as result of the enjections i do have dents on my head and eyebrow area that i really dont like. Now that im older and came out of hidding i feel that i have more self confidence and a positive outlook on all the more important things in life

Comment by Debwp on February 12, 2016 at 6:58am

Hi Cathy,

I know this sounds simplistic but your hair loss is caused by STRESS.  I have suffered from AA all my life and I am now 60, I traced back the periods of my life when it came back, it was always linked with the STRESS trigger, every time.  So, you have to try and stop the stress, the panic attacks (which I also suffer from) and this is why your body is attacking itself.  Meditation, counselling and calming your mind and unhooking from the stress triggers is what I found very helpful.  Wear your hair up, colourful bands, clips etc. etc. and just keep on with the injections and try to unhook from worrying about your hair, when the stress goes from your body then hair will re-grow.  Even now, after all this time, if I have a stress-attack and forget what triggers my AA, I occasionally find a bunch of hair much shorter than my other hair.......  it's just a reminder that a bald spot occurred without me even realising, it grew back because the stress was short-live but the bald spot would have kept growing bigger had I not pulled myself out of the stress-pit, the body is amazing and that is how it has been for me, I sincerely hope this helps you and gives you hope, try it and learn to recognise the signs of stress for you and to stop it in its tracks, try not to panic (I know this is hard) and commit yourself to relaxing as much as possible, meditation, switch off from worry, stay calm with children & if not, walk away and sit under a tree if possible!   Good luck & hope this helps you as it has me. (This is my truth, it works for me, if others comment on this please keep it positive, thanks.)

Your sister in Alopecia

Deb

Comment by joan on February 12, 2016 at 6:57am

I too took the shots for about 6 months.  Then the massive headaches began.  I became very scared and even went to hospital ER once.  Afterwards I read up on side effects of Kenalog- not at the standard sites but at forums where people actually spoke about it.  Seems Kenalog can cause a myriad of reactions and some are long lasting.  When I asked the doctor about it, he said the same thing as yours- he just denied it.  Unbelievable that they inject you with this stuff and really don't understand what it is doing.

Anyhow, I gave up the shots and spent the last 2 years coming to terms with the bald spots.  Not easy but I am beginning to accept it and to get on with living. I have purchased a wig and wear on occasions when I want to look a bit prettier.  

Also, I have tried to change my diet away from processed foods and gluten.  This seems to help overall but not a cure.  I think a better diet calms down the inflammation in the body which helps the alopecia.  

As others have said, hang in there, try to stay positive, and try to put only good things in your body.  

Comment by Cue Ball of Steel on February 1, 2016 at 6:35pm

When I first started getting the shots I also stressed about it. I would work myself up so much that I would get sick after. 

Eventually you get used to it, your scalp sort of toughens up and it's no big deal. It also really helps with the hair loss, at least in my experience. I wouldn't give up.

However if it really bothers you that much, don't make life harder. Being bald is also no big deal. If you're cool with it, you could definitely swing that. Otherwise you could do the wig thing. 

Comment by Katniss on January 19, 2016 at 4:48pm

If they are making you feel bad, I'd suggest stopping and spend your time and money to find a cute wig. Wigsupport.com is a great resource! I only got kenalog injections once. It gave me a horrendous migraine. When I asked my dermatologist about it he basically said that I couldn't have reacted to the shots. But I know better! Always kills me when doctors deny side effects. Anyway, after I stopped, some spots got bigger. Some filled in. I think it's a crap shoot either way. Hugs! I know for me, I just didn't feel right doing them.

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