Comment by Tallgirl on March 20, 2009 at 12:00am

Gee, I had completely forgotten about the headaches after the shot treatments. I stopped the shots and just gave up about 15 years ago. Gee, great reminder...one forgets all this over the years. White Wisp Me

Comment by meg on March 20, 2009 at 10:38am

Take a breath... relax. Fear and panic give you dry mouth and exhaustion not cortisone injections. The injections should get back your hair, it did for me and I went for years with injections=hair growth then new areas developed and more injections until I could no longer receive injections due to dermis thinning. I even went for a period of ten years with full re-growth before another spot appeared. Yes some people go from full hair to AU within months but that does not mean you will be like them and if you are, then we all will help.
Never Fear Alopecia World is Here! Kidding aside, I mean no disrespect. I can sympathize with you. Because you may get full growth again... this is frightening only if you allow it to be. Change your mind set, stop talking about the unknown possible outcomes that includes the mind chatter. When the thought comes, let it but do not add any further commentary otherwise you will drive yourself mad. Just see what the outcome is from the injections and after looking daily for re-growth give it up after the third day and go about life. You will feel better and so will those around you.

Comment by JeffreySF on March 20, 2009 at 1:49pm

Hi Jac,

I know what you are going through right now.
You will find tons of support here.
Let me know if I can help. I've got 1 1/2 years under my belt.

Hugz,

Jeffrey

Comment by Jodi on March 20, 2009 at 3:44pm

wow. you guys are awesome. i read somewhere that AA only aflicts 2% of the population. without a website like this it would be very unlikely that i would be able to benefit from your knowledge. in this i am blessed for sure. i guess i am a bit of a control freak and all of the unknown variables are making me a bit batty... or at least battier than usual (batty was a preexisting condition). thank you for bringing me down to earth again. i mean at the end of the day it is a cosmetic disease, yes? so as long as i can keep my vanity in check i should be totallyl fine. thank you. taming the monkey mind, jac.

Comment by James on March 20, 2009 at 4:49pm

JAC,
Wow, you articulate very well just how I felt. I understand you completely. I had alopecia areata since I was a wee lad. I also had very nice shoulder length black hair that was one of my character traits. Vanity or not, that's just the way it was. I received cortisone injections for the most part of 16 years (from aged 16 to 32) to these little patches. Hair would begin to grow usually within 6 to 8 weeks but new patches would eventually appear. I really hated having this condition but there is not much we can do about it; It is an auto-immune disorder. I, and everyone else with this condition, reached a point of acceptance. You will too. The sooner the better otherwise you'll continue to be on the roller coaster of emotions you're on. You will find a way to deal with it on a daily basis. Your friends and family will support you because you are you with or without perfect hair, or any hair for that matter. One of the things that will help tremendously is the advice and support from the people here on this site. Many, many of us had nothing at all as a support mechanism. We felt isolated each and every day. But now that this site is available to us, we can connect with similar people for advice and camaraderie. You will find it very helpful.
Sorry you have this condition and there is nothing you did to bring this on to yourself. You had this genetic condition all along and only now did it reveal itself.
if you need a shoulder, I am everyone here are available for your support.

Sincerely,
James.

Comment by Mary on March 20, 2009 at 7:02pm

Jac,
Welcome to the world. People here are so warm, beautiful, caring and fun. I'm a mom of an 18 yr. old who developed universalis in 4 months. We were totally flipped out. Never even heard of alopecia. Now a year later he is without the wig thing and is handling this condition well. While he was dealing with this I suddenly noticed a "PATCH" on my head too. Actually I have a couple of patches. After seeing that the injections didn't work for my son, I decided I wouldn't do them. I went to a derm and I am using a cortesoid cream and taking megadose of biotin and using the shampoo called Nioxin. I can see some growth coming back (my nails are growing real good). I didn't develop any noticable bald spots in my whole life until recently (at least that I could see) so I'm praying I don't go through the ordeal of losing all of it. I'm thinking I might be one of the lucky ones where it comes and goes, comes back again and grows back again. But who knows, we'll just have to see. It's so unpredictable. I would bet it will be the same for you. I hope so. There's something in the salons called XFusion which you spray onto the spots. Look it up on th e internet. It seems to be a great remedy to hide spots. It's pricey and I'm still doing good with hiding it. Take care. You're in my prayers. Mary

Comment by JeffreySF on March 20, 2009 at 8:58pm

Hey Mary I used XFusion for months and loved the stuff. I got it for only $30.00 a can which lasted a couple months for me. Plus the hairspray but you can use any ol hairspray you want.

Comment by Stephanie on March 21, 2009 at 7:25pm

Hi Jac
Welcome--I've had alopecia for about 11 years now, and have been a member since January. This is definitely the place to come for support. It has helped me greatly!! Sorry to hear about your patch. I went through years of injections too with success at first so make sure you keep going to the dermatologist. I also used Olux foam the Clobex shampoo in conjunction with the shots. It's OK to be pissed--I was and I still am at times, but I am thankful I have a place to vent and talk with others who understand. Take care!!

Comment by ErinMichele on March 21, 2009 at 10:01pm

Hey Jac,
I can definitely relate to you. I found my first spot in december, right on my front hairline. I lost a lot of hair since then and have tried all my derm's suggestions. I started with the injections, did two of those. Then the last time I went I had so much hair loss he put me on Prednisone. It was the worse thing I have ever done. It didn't help at all and the side affects were not worth it. So 4 months later since my first onset I am going all natural. I am using the treatment Nioxin. Its a 4 step process that you use in the shower and I have seen great results even after only using it for a week and a half. It could be from the steroids still but my mind is set on thinking its the Nioxin. All in all my mind set has changed about my recent "loss" and I am beginning to accept that AA is a part of me. Since neither of us have a medical reason for this disease, trying to not stress about this is the best treatment. I know easier said then done, but this is coming from someone who has spent the last 3 months crying over losing my beautiful hair. Its better to accept it then to put yourself through practically anything just to TRY to get back something that is only one part of who we are. Remember you are more than just hair.

Comment by Paula on March 22, 2009 at 4:15pm

that's how i felt when I noticed my first patch (about the size of a quarter at the time). and simply put, it just sucks! i am hopeful that you will just have the one patch. you can also try using rogaine foam on the area to speed up the hair growth (despite explicit warnings on the box that women should not use the men's formula, every dermatologist that i have talked to has assured me it's ok. plus the 5% is much more effective than the 2% strength in the women's formula).

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