PLEASE HELP ME--I'M FREAKING OUT--BALD PATCH UNDERNEATH HAIR

[jvantin1]

THIS THREAD HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE WOMEN'S GENERAL HAIR LOSS SECTION.

Hairlosstalk, please help me...just now I discovered a BALD PATCH--ATOTALLY BALD PATCH--the size of a half-dollar underneath my long shoulder-length hair--I've never seen it before because my hair covered it.

WHAT IS IT? IS IT Androgenetic Alopecia? OR WHAT? Could it be alopecia areata? Or can FPB cause something like this? There is NO hair on it at all.

I'm making a doctor's appointment tomorrow but SOMEBODY PLEASE ANSWER!!!!! I AM TOTALLY f*****g FREAKING OUT!

I've been taking 200 mg spironolactone since October and have stopped shedding for the most part--the line at the back of my head has filled in--SO WHAT IS WITH THIS????

 

[Stingray]

Taking it...orally? Dude, you'll turn into a woman! (assuming you're not one already) Sounds like it could be Areata... best get that checked out. Don't rule out male pattern baldness tho.

 

[lovely711]

could be alopecia areata.. dont worry, there are medicines to deal with it.. first thing is stop panicking.. it will put more stress and make it much worser.. cool down urself.. and stop thinking a't it

i have AA and male pattern baldness.. I am dealing with both of them..

Go to a good dermatologist.. let us know what he says

 

[jvantin1]

I'm a woman. So you can have BOTH AT THE SAME TIME? Androgenetic Alopecia and AA?

And Androgenetic Alopecia could have caused this?

 

[Guest]

This sounds kinda weird, since you say there is no hair at all, and I'm guessing it's something that really needs to be checked and just as much something that really might not be consequential in a hairloss context (not that I would know)? See a doctor and see another doctor if the first one doesn't give the answers you want.

Where on your head is this patch of bald skin?

 

[flux]

Taking it...orally? Dude, you'll turn into a woman! (assuming you're not one already) Sounds like it could be Areata... best get that checked out. Don't rule out male pattern baldness tho.

Lol, I think the fact that she was questioning the odds of FBP might have been your first clue

relax, jvantin, thats the best advice I can offer. Unfortunately here we're all far more knowledgeable on male pattern baldness, involving male hormones, and aren't nearly as schooled on female chemistry. Maybe some of the more knowledgeable guys around here will have a clue, but I think your doctor or the women in the women's forum are a better bet. See your dermatologist, hopefully he/she will have something for you. If worst comes to worst, you could always get a hair transplant. (nobody wants to go that route, but its good to know its there, no?)

 

[jvantin1]

It's on the lower left side of my head, underneath all my hair. I'd have never seen it if I hadn't been twisting my hair on my head in a funny way, because when I put my hair up in a normal way, you can't see it.

But this can be Androgenetic Alopecia, too? What else could it be if not AA?

 

[Guest]

That's a weird spot, it's probably ringworm (simple treatable fungus) or some crap.

Definitely stop freaking out. You need to see a doctor, most likely whatever it is will all be straightened out in couple weeks. Panic is WAY premature.

 

[lovely711]

It's on the lower left side of my head, underneath all my hair. I'd have never seen it if I hadn't been twisting my hair on my head in a funny way, because when I put my hair up in a normal way, you can't see it.

But this can be Androgenetic Alopecia, too? What else could it be if not AA?

if it is a clean spot with no hair at all it could possibly be AA.. It is possible to have male pattern baldness and AA, so I wud assume it is possible for Androgenetic Alopecia and AA.

I have a AA spot which is pretty much covered now in just 2 months after i used some cortisteroid oitments..

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Lovely711, glad it worked out. So, what are you wearing?

 

[Grantspots]

Jvantin1 - check out Carol's story:

http://www.hairlosstalk.com/photogallery/pgcarol.htm

Hope this helps - good luck.

jerry grant

 

[jvantin1]

Thanks Grant I'm on this board all the time, haven't posted much until recently. Thanks guys for your support...I'm going to the derm tomorrow. I'm hoping it's ringworm, but I know in my heart it's AA...

 

[Stingray]

Hope for the best..expect the worst...

 

[HairlossTalk]

jvantin -

Check out the link above that grant posted.

male pattern baldness doesn't cause patchy loss (nor does FPB). Alopecia Areata does this, and is actually very common in women at one point or another in their lives. As you can see above, my girlfriend got it, and took care of it, no problem.

Your dermatologist will most likely suggest you get injections like my girlfriend did, and that should take care of it. It will take a good year to fully grow back in, and it may get a bit bigger even after you start shots.

You didn't mention if you were on spironolactone because of having seen thinning in the past, and just wanting to prevent further loss?

As for causes... I would suggest looking in the women't section of this site (start at the home page under "Stopping your hair loss") and navigate to the 4th page or so where a list of blood tests are. These are diagnostic tests for women experiencing hair loss, to see if there is an imbalance that can be corrected that is causing the loss. With women, the majority of the time hair loss is a result of an imbalance of some sort.

Also, evaluate your own situation. Have you been on any antidepressants? Birth control pills? Recently given birth? Recently gone through menopause? Thyroid medication or thyroid problems in the past? All very common causes of hair loss in women, even Alopecia Areata.

By the way, regarding the blood tests ... expect that your Doctor will not be willing to do all of them, or will not have heard of half of them. Doctors are a joke these days unfortunately. Just do your best to kindly and patiently insist, and if you need to, tell him your cousin is a dermatologist and told you to get them. The family excuse usually works. The last concern will be covering the cost. Carol had all of them done and her bill was $1,000, so check thoroughly for insurance and whether it covers them. Also there are some testing centers which cost significantly less than others. Labcorp is an example of a very expensive testing center, but is only one of many you can choose from.

HairLossTalk.com

 

[flux]

As you can see above, my girlfriend got it, and took care of it, no problem.

Thats your girlfriend? Rowr! ^5!

 

[Grantspots]

So, do we consider her a GILF? :lol:

jerry grant
Husband of a MILF

 

[jvantin1]

Thanks HairLossTalk.com...

Actually, this latest development is in addition to hair loss I sustained when I went off the Depo-Provera shot. I had Yoko Ono hair...tons and tons of it, so much that I used to put a hat on my head while my hair was wet to keep it down. Anyone looking at me would think I have a normal head of hair. I went off Depo in 3/02; hair loss started within weeks; in October 02 I started oral spironolactone; in 4/03 my hair started looking much, much better. Shedding is way down--or was. Today, it seems, I had more hairs drop on my arm, although they didn't drop in the shower. God knows what's going on.

And now this.

It just keeps getting better and better.

Anyway, I realize this is the men's site...sorry to crash it, but the women's site just isn't as active. Thanks for all your help and support...I really appreciate it.

 

[HairlossTalk]

Yeah, Carol is my main squeeze

jvantin1 -

Carol started losing her hair after going off of the birth control pill so we may have a very similar situation here. She turned out to be 100% ok on all the diagnostic blood tests, high on DHEA though I believe. Doctor wasn't educated enough to know what to do with that though.

Point being, the shots in the scalp aren't fun, and hurt a bit, but they work, so ask to get that going when you go see your Doctor. That should take care of it, if he knows what he's doing.

The effects of Depo and other various drugs can last a long long time, but you're on top of it. Consider this nothing but a pothole, on the road to recovery. As long as you know that depo caused it, and you're depo free, its just a matter of your system recovering. Hair takes a *long* time to recover from something that negatively affects it. The minimum is usually 1 year. Took carol that long to get her spot covered. So its very possible that this will take a grand total of a few years for you. In other words, you should be fine.

You may want to try Tricomin therapy spray too. Other women have rported results on it, and if you have the money (its rather expensive) it should be a great addition to your regimen to help kickstart some more growth. You can discontinue it once you've got your total thickness back.

Ill move this thread to the womens area when its "done".

HairLossTalk.com

 

[jvantin1]

Many thanks...and I think I'm done!

Hi HairLossTalk.com...

Thanks again for your words of encouragement. But my last shot of Depo was 12/01, so it really should be out of my system by now. The weird thing is, my hair seems to be thicker some days, thinner some days, so I'm not sure where I'm at with any recovery. But I'm calling the derm today, and will get right on the shots.

Just a few more questions, and then this can go to the women's board: 1. I've been using the Folligen lotion and I THINK it's working. But is Tricomin better? (I know this is the FDA-approved stuff.)
2. Would the spray be okay for someone who still has a fair amount of hair coverage, like me?
3. If I get the Tricomin, can I still use the topical spironolactone?

Thank God you're all here. A million thanks to all of you who answered my desperate post.

J

 

[lovely711]

jvantin1

As HairLossTalk.com told dont forget to ask ur doctor to take those tests. I took a print out of carol's page and asked him to do all those tests. But all those came normal to me. Stress could very trigger this auto immune process, and naturally we will get more stressed after seeing this, which made my case severe.. Thts why i am saying to relax and cool down.. it is no big deal, there are ways to deal with it..

My problem was my doctor could not recognise that it was AA, and he treated me for male pattern baldness, which made my case much worser.. Doctors are big fun nowadays.. Funny thing is, after 8 months of living with it, with all my desperation I went to a hair transplant doctor. He told me that I have an AA as opposed to male pattern baldness.. I took an appointment with a dermatologist 50 miles away and he confimed I have AA, but I have male pattern baldness too showing my receding hairline.. we decided to try cortisteroid oitments first, and if that does'nt work go for injections.. I responded to the oitments itself. After 3 weeks hair started growing.. if u r taking cortisteroid oitments it is important that u should go on and off every week to get maximum results.. in my case it was not possible coz I had high inflammation there, and going off from it was returning those back.. so i used a potent one and less potent one on alternate weeks.. i saw that when i did that hair growth was getting faster.. I used tricomin and laser comb too.. both did a wonderful job. laser comb is expensive but if u could get that, it wud be nice.. i bought a used one from ebay for $350.

minoxidil was making my case worser, i had to drop it. It was causing inflammation.. but if u dont have inflammation like I had u can add minoxidil too.. hope this helps.. good luck