Alopecia, anyone?

J

jackthelad

Joined
Feb 21, 2005
Messages
496
Hello there,
I am just curious if anyone here has, or has any experience with alopecia, in any form. Even though I don't have a hugely high post count, I have been here for a decent amount of time, and I have found everyone here, for the most part, to be people that I would consider friends. The type of people that if they lived in my neighborhood, I would walk over with a couple of beers if I saw you outside and we could sit on those cool plastic Adirondack chairs in your garage and have a beer. I have had this crap for the last 20 years, on and off, and most recently "on", with a vengeance. Anyone else here ever dealt with it? I have it pretty good for the last 8 months or so, and I am just curious about anyone else out there. I don't know anyone else that has it, and during the brief "off times" over the last 20 years, I don't think about it very much. Over the last 8 months or so, it seems to be attached to me like a set of cheap luggage, and progressively worse. I am curious if anyone else here has any dealings with this ridiculous disease (?).
 
Don't know, for sure. Is this male pattern baldness? If so, yeah. If not, well, no. However, either way, you shouldn't feel too bad. Annoying as it may be, there are others who have experienced similar 'headaches' in life...in my case, adult onset epilepsy. Life isn't as smooth as it should be sometimes. Trust me, you aren't alone. I am 34, yet I tend to remember being a 18 to 21 year old...the golden age of immortality. Now the steps to my living room seem fraught with danger. The signs of our own mortality really suck, but most times it's our perceptions of said aging that cause the problems. This probably isn't the response you were looking for, but oh well....my .02.

-Kyle
 
not male pattern baldness, but the total loss of your hair in patches. Patches that start the size of a quarter, then combine all over your head until , as my wife put it, you "look like you have the Mange"
 
Ohhhh. Sorry, no specific experience with that. Would a buzzcut minimize the problem for you?
 
Alopecia is hair loss. There are specific conditions like Alopecia areata (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).

Alopecia areata (AA) is a condition affecting humans, in which hair is lost from areas of the body, usually from the scalp.[1] Because it causes bald spots on the scalp, especially in the first stages, it is sometimes called spot baldness. In 1%–2% of cases, the condition can spread to the entire scalp (Alopecia totalis) or to the entire epidermis (Alopecia universalis). Conditions resembling AA, and having a similar cause, occur also in other species.[2]
 
Hair is one of those atavistic attachments we develop. Not just the hair itself, but our attitude towards it.

I spent most of my life with long thick hair and eventually beard. Even doing office work, suit and tie, I would come in shaggier than anyone else in the place. I guess it was part of the image I grew into.

The summer after I retired, I shaved my head. Kept it shaved for a couple of months, then let it grow to the shortest stubble. For about 15 years I kept hair and beard cut back with an electric beard-trimmer, with occasional attempts to grow it back. Uncomfortable. Cut it all off again.

Recently - I grew it all out again. I have no idea why. It was much more comfortable trimmed down to nothing. I have no one to impress. :) It would be much easier to deal with if it all fell out! :D
 
A lot of meds can cause alopecia. Are you taking anything new or adjusted the dose of something old? If you are on any meds, find a pharmacist who isn't slammed busy, and they can check your meds for any known hair loss. Even if you are on something for years and years, it can suddenly start causing an effect you didn't have before. Just another benefit of the aging process.
 
I happen to have dated a girl for several years who was afflicted with alopecia areata. She had totalis and with the exception of a few wisps of hair on the side of her head in front of and above her ears, she had virtually no hair on her body (including absence of eye lashes and eye brows. She was a beautiful girl and dealt with it well without ever wearing a wig. Her biggest problem was probably the insensitive people who would stare and make stupid comments which occasionally made her uncomfortable. At that time the thinking was that most cases were caused by a hyperactive immune system in which the body mistakenly attacked the hair folicles. But bear in mind that that was more than ten years ago and more recent research may indicate otherwise. Other than the fact that she would get things in her eyes more frequently than most people due to the lack of eye lashes, the primary disadvantages seemed to be sociological and psychological. Any way, I wish you luck with your condition and if there are any questions you have that I might be able to answer feel free to PM me. -DT
 
God only made so many perfect heads.

He had to hair on the rest of them.
 
I've had it twice because of various and sundry meds I've taken. Just shave it off and enjoy. The razor blades get kind of expensive but other than that it's cool.
 
kamkazmoto said:
I've had it twice because of various and sundry meds I've taken. Just shave it off and enjoy. The razor blades get kind of expensive but other than that it's cool.
Click to expand...

Judging from your avatar, your short hair really makes you look younger too! :D
 
Thanks for all the replies. No, I don't take any prescription medicines at all. I think the current thinking still has the immune system attacking the hair follicles. I had A. Totalia when I was in my ealry 20s, and everything grew back. Thanks for the encouragement.
 
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