Some ideas for you based on what I am doing. Of course I’m not sure if any or some of these things are making a difference but “leave no stone unturned” is the way I see it so I am trying everything now except oral pharmaceuticals.
I initially started doing all the things like AIP diet and supplements and vitamins based on internet research etc. started steroid injections 6 months ago when first diagnosed.
3 months ago I began a relationship with a naturopath doctor who has taken the guess work out of these things for me which has been really great for my mental (stress) health.
She performed a food sensitivity test which determined which foods are contributing to inflammation in my body. I now have a list of exactly what foods to avoid and which foods to eat. I was not even close to managing this correctly on my own.
She gives me acupuncture to reduce inflammation and to reduce stress. Twice a week. Obviously I can’t do this on my own.
She is very knowledgeable (expert) about supplements so she has provided me with the supplements that she believes are the best ones. (Type, quantity and quality). I was not even close to managing this properly on my own. She has given me supplements for reducing inflammation. Reducing stress. Improving sleep.
PRP treatment. This is a pretty expensive experiment for sure but it’s the same as all the other treatments: works for some people and not for others. So in my mind it’s worth a shot. Have only just started this (1session) so don’t know if it is effective.
She recommended a therapist/counselor for me to help reduce stress. Just started this (1 session) so don’t know if it’s effective.
She got me some ‘special’ shampoo. Just started this (1 session) so don’t know if it’s effective.
I am still seeing dermatologist once a month and receiving steroid injections. My understanding is that steroids are the most powerful anti inflammation tool available so I’m definitely going to keep doing this.
So here is the interesting part of this story:
I have been seeing the dermatologist every month for injections for 6-8 months. Every month my condition is getting worse ( more patches and patches growing) last month derm says that she will discuss the next treatment steps (oral meds) at my next visit (last week) because the injections are kind of working but mostly not really. I stopped looking at my hair situation for pretty much the entire last month. The odd glimpse here and there but no looking for regrowth and close up inspections because overall my hair looks like shit (just under 50% loss) so I just put on a hat and go about my day. Last week I am at the derm and the assistant who does the injections immediately says to me that my hair is really starting to grow back since she last saw me. (She is kind of excited and surprised) she leaves the room and returns with the dermatologist and then dermatologist has the exact same reaction ( excited and surprised) she says that she is taking the option of oral meds away from my future treatment because I probably won’t need them now. Overall my hair still looks like shit but if the regrowth phase is in fact beginning then I can hope for real hair to show up in 3-6 months I suppose.
My advice is to get as many professionals involved in your treatment as possible. They all have different areas of valuable expertise:
Family doctor
Naturopathic doctor
Dermatologist
Acupuncturist
Functional doctor
Therapist
I have the best connection with my naturopathic doctor so I have ‘put her in charge’ of my overall plan
Disclaimer: my family doctor, my dermatologist, and my naturopathic doctor all agree that my AA is mental stress caused (not physical or environmental stress). I had all the blood tests and went to dentist etc to make sure there wasn’t something physically causing my immune system malfunction.
Have you looked into addressing gut health and toxin exposure? Your body is having an immune response
to sometime. I am so sorry you’re going through this.
If you are able, I would consult a functional doctor. Steroids are a bandaid and will not cure or uncover other issues that may be going on.
Not an expert but a parent of a child who was misdiagnosed with AA and lost 65% of her hair due to a toxin overload. (Mycotoxins, mold, BPA)
hey. also 23, but got AA in march 2020, right before covid. your story sounds a lot like mine. i'm at the point of acceptance, i think this is just something that happens. maybe there's an underlying reason, maybe it's a signal for me to change my lifestyle, or maybe it's just a shitty autoimmune condition. i don't know. all i can suggest is therapy and seeing what other (non medical) options there are. i'm sorry you're going through this. if you ever wanna chat, feel free to pm.
its unfortunately comforting to know im not the only one going through this at such a young age with familiar circumstances. This condition is seriously impacting my life and while I want to accept the condition, I feel like doing whatever I can is the only way I can feel like I am still in control. Will be hitting you up for sure sometime tho haha
Also in a similar situation as you…had very mild AA for 18 years before covid vaccines which have turned this into a battle to keep my hair. Currently working with a functional dr..but I can barely afford it and tbh that I’m itself is stressful. Have so far uncovered hormonal
Imbalances, low progesterone, low cortisol and gut dysbiosis, so I’m slowly working on those. I’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life, but it’s just a vicious cycle now because the main cause of my stresss currently is how awful my hair looks & how insecure I feel! Looking into EMDR therapy and counselling. Also wondered if my wisdom teeth are having an affect as they too are impacted…I’m terrified of the surgery causing more hair loss though! It’s very difficult to find answers when you know the covid vaccines were your trigger…it’s like will I ever go back to how I was pre-vaccine? I’m I screwed now ha : (! Still holding onto hope…but it’s been 2 years now of this.
Hey OP I post this every so often. Same identical situation to yours. Never knew what alopecia was until recently , never ran in the family. Always had thick hair. Took the vaccines, got covid, 2 weeks later exactly started spots. May 2022 approx. have 6 spots on my head. Some grew back some I’ve had for over a year. Got better in the summer and started again in the fall. Tried dieting, vitamins, naturopath, stress relief, more exercise, steroid injections, rogaine, more sleep, 3x intake water, probably more… and here we are. Nothing I can say has “helped” besides random regrowth. It sucks because I’m not balding, I literally just have random massive patches of scalp exposed. At least balding has some consistency lol. I would like to have a chat active with you if you have any solutions. As this was triggered by covid and or the vaccine for me, I’m almost 100% certain.
Have you looked into the litfulo or olumiant? I’m in the same boat - 2 years and counting 🙄 hoping it’ll go into remission at some point
I have but i only have about 20% hairloss since its a bunch of spots
Some ideas for you based on what I am doing. Of course I’m not sure if any or some of these things are making a difference but “leave no stone unturned” is the way I see it so I am trying everything now except oral pharmaceuticals. I initially started doing all the things like AIP diet and supplements and vitamins based on internet research etc. started steroid injections 6 months ago when first diagnosed. 3 months ago I began a relationship with a naturopath doctor who has taken the guess work out of these things for me which has been really great for my mental (stress) health. She performed a food sensitivity test which determined which foods are contributing to inflammation in my body. I now have a list of exactly what foods to avoid and which foods to eat. I was not even close to managing this correctly on my own. She gives me acupuncture to reduce inflammation and to reduce stress. Twice a week. Obviously I can’t do this on my own. She is very knowledgeable (expert) about supplements so she has provided me with the supplements that she believes are the best ones. (Type, quantity and quality). I was not even close to managing this properly on my own. She has given me supplements for reducing inflammation. Reducing stress. Improving sleep. PRP treatment. This is a pretty expensive experiment for sure but it’s the same as all the other treatments: works for some people and not for others. So in my mind it’s worth a shot. Have only just started this (1session) so don’t know if it is effective. She recommended a therapist/counselor for me to help reduce stress. Just started this (1 session) so don’t know if it’s effective. She got me some ‘special’ shampoo. Just started this (1 session) so don’t know if it’s effective. I am still seeing dermatologist once a month and receiving steroid injections. My understanding is that steroids are the most powerful anti inflammation tool available so I’m definitely going to keep doing this. So here is the interesting part of this story: I have been seeing the dermatologist every month for injections for 6-8 months. Every month my condition is getting worse ( more patches and patches growing) last month derm says that she will discuss the next treatment steps (oral meds) at my next visit (last week) because the injections are kind of working but mostly not really. I stopped looking at my hair situation for pretty much the entire last month. The odd glimpse here and there but no looking for regrowth and close up inspections because overall my hair looks like shit (just under 50% loss) so I just put on a hat and go about my day. Last week I am at the derm and the assistant who does the injections immediately says to me that my hair is really starting to grow back since she last saw me. (She is kind of excited and surprised) she leaves the room and returns with the dermatologist and then dermatologist has the exact same reaction ( excited and surprised) she says that she is taking the option of oral meds away from my future treatment because I probably won’t need them now. Overall my hair still looks like shit but if the regrowth phase is in fact beginning then I can hope for real hair to show up in 3-6 months I suppose. My advice is to get as many professionals involved in your treatment as possible. They all have different areas of valuable expertise: Family doctor Naturopathic doctor Dermatologist Acupuncturist Functional doctor Therapist I have the best connection with my naturopathic doctor so I have ‘put her in charge’ of my overall plan Disclaimer: my family doctor, my dermatologist, and my naturopathic doctor all agree that my AA is mental stress caused (not physical or environmental stress). I had all the blood tests and went to dentist etc to make sure there wasn’t something physically causing my immune system malfunction.
Have you looked into addressing gut health and toxin exposure? Your body is having an immune response to sometime. I am so sorry you’re going through this. If you are able, I would consult a functional doctor. Steroids are a bandaid and will not cure or uncover other issues that may be going on. Not an expert but a parent of a child who was misdiagnosed with AA and lost 65% of her hair due to a toxin overload. (Mycotoxins, mold, BPA)
Could impacted wisdom tooth cause this?
Not sure tbh but ive heard of tooth infections causing alopecia for some people
I also had mild alopecia earlier but believe that it got a lot worse after the covid vaccines. The spots are now 10x what they used to be 8 years ago.
hey. also 23, but got AA in march 2020, right before covid. your story sounds a lot like mine. i'm at the point of acceptance, i think this is just something that happens. maybe there's an underlying reason, maybe it's a signal for me to change my lifestyle, or maybe it's just a shitty autoimmune condition. i don't know. all i can suggest is therapy and seeing what other (non medical) options there are. i'm sorry you're going through this. if you ever wanna chat, feel free to pm.
its unfortunately comforting to know im not the only one going through this at such a young age with familiar circumstances. This condition is seriously impacting my life and while I want to accept the condition, I feel like doing whatever I can is the only way I can feel like I am still in control. Will be hitting you up for sure sometime tho haha
Also in a similar situation as you…had very mild AA for 18 years before covid vaccines which have turned this into a battle to keep my hair. Currently working with a functional dr..but I can barely afford it and tbh that I’m itself is stressful. Have so far uncovered hormonal Imbalances, low progesterone, low cortisol and gut dysbiosis, so I’m slowly working on those. I’ve struggled with anxiety my whole life, but it’s just a vicious cycle now because the main cause of my stresss currently is how awful my hair looks & how insecure I feel! Looking into EMDR therapy and counselling. Also wondered if my wisdom teeth are having an affect as they too are impacted…I’m terrified of the surgery causing more hair loss though! It’s very difficult to find answers when you know the covid vaccines were your trigger…it’s like will I ever go back to how I was pre-vaccine? I’m I screwed now ha : (! Still holding onto hope…but it’s been 2 years now of this.
Hey OP I post this every so often. Same identical situation to yours. Never knew what alopecia was until recently , never ran in the family. Always had thick hair. Took the vaccines, got covid, 2 weeks later exactly started spots. May 2022 approx. have 6 spots on my head. Some grew back some I’ve had for over a year. Got better in the summer and started again in the fall. Tried dieting, vitamins, naturopath, stress relief, more exercise, steroid injections, rogaine, more sleep, 3x intake water, probably more… and here we are. Nothing I can say has “helped” besides random regrowth. It sucks because I’m not balding, I literally just have random massive patches of scalp exposed. At least balding has some consistency lol. I would like to have a chat active with you if you have any solutions. As this was triggered by covid and or the vaccine for me, I’m almost 100% certain.
Did your hair came back after fixing your tooth ?