Alison's Story
One morning, I was drying my hair when I noticed a small bald patch on my head. I was horrified and made an appointment with my GP for the next day. Although he was not that sympathetic he told me to come back and see him again if the patch became bigger or if I found any more patches.
Over the course of the next few weeks this solitary bald patch grew larger so I returned to my GP in the hope that he would prescribe something to make my hair re-appear. Unfortunately this did not happen and I was eventually referred to a dermatologist who diagnosed alopecia.
During the next six months my hair started to fall out in handfuls and waking up in the morning became quite an ordeal. Seeing numerous strands of your hair lying on the pillow and in the shower every day can be quite a distressing experience. It wasn’t long before I didn’t have one hair left on my head and I felt as if I had been bereaved. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, my eyebrows and eyelashes also started to disappear and my fingernails became pitted and ridged and looked terrible. I felt that what was happening to me was spiralling out of control.
I decided to return to my GP, convinced that something more could be done. It transpired that I had an under active thyroid gland and was consequently prescribed the appropriate medication. In a way I was glad to hear this diagnosis as amongst other things, thinning hair and hair loss are two symptoms of thyroid under activity. At last I could see a reason for my hair loss and immediately assumed that my hair would re-grow, but when this didn’t happen I became very despondent. My GP then referred me to a dermatologist where I agreed to a course of steroid injections in my scalp. I was also prescribed various scalp lotions and even undertook ultra violet light treatment. Unfortunately none of these treatments worked for me.
I was psychologically devastated by this point and started to examine my lifestyle in a desperate search to see why my hair had fallen out. I sought the advice of a nutritionist and incorporated many of her recommended changes to my eating habits, but although my general health benefited, nothing seemed to make a difference to my hair loss. I joined a health club and cut down on my hours at work. I also bought a wig. Telling family and friends helped me to come to terms with alopecia and at that point I decided that my life would not go on hold.
I started to scour the internet to find out as much information as I could about alopecia and found several web sites that provided me with the basic facts. However there didn’t seem to be one web site that contained all the information I needed and that is why I decided to create wherehasmyhairgone.com
Throughout my experience of alopecia, I felt a range of emotions including anger, disbelief, confusion and most of all isolation. However with the support of my family and friends, I have now become used to my new appearance and continue to remain positive, by using some of the self help coping mechanisms as outlined on this site.
good luck
- Alison Brown
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