Touchy/Sensitive Subject

Is anyone here familur with Alopecia? I'm unfortunately trying to confirm if I have small case of it.

*Sigh*

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

Is that the condition that causes total loss of hair? A guy at work has that. Ironically, he must still wear a hair bouffant in the clean room...

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

It can, but in extreme cases from what I am reading. More common is little patches. Something about the immune system attacking hair folicles thinking they are something bad. It can look like a little round patch where hair simply stopped growing.

Can keep happening or stop just as quick as it started. My first patch was on my chin. I cant grow hair anymore. It feels as smooth as baby skin in that area.

But worse is the small patch on the back of my head. Not too noticable, can be covered, so far, But very upsetting to me. Hope this is as bad as it's gonna get.

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

That would be a variant called (oddly enough) alopecia totalis. It is extremely rare. (David Ferrie, one of the total whack-jobs who figured in Jim Garrison's three-ring circus of an "investigation" into the shooting of JFK, suffered from the condition - among others both mental and physical, one suspects. He famously wore a very cheap, bright red wig of some hideous synthetic fiber, and glued tuff of equally garish carpeting to his face in place of eyebrows. Note to Adam: If the condition spreads I do not recommend going this route. You may remember what Joe Pesci looked like in the Oliver Stone film. )

Regular Alopecia is much more as Adam describes it, and most commonly affects head hair. Not sure how common problems with facial hair are.

One thing that can bring this on is stress. Another is a weakend immune system due to overwork. I managed to combine both.

Many years ago I was directing a musical for my church's theater group when we suddenly had a massive and unexpected project dumped on us at work. A few months earlier I had promised my boss that I would cut back on my theater work, which often involved late nights and me being several of the dwarves at work the next day. (Dopey and Sleepy, usually, sometimes with a bit of Grumpy thrown in.) I only agreed to direct the church play because the original director had to back out at the last minute and several of the cast members specifically asked me. Also because - at the time I agreed to do it - we were expecting a quiet summer at the office with no big projects, just time for people to take vacation and catch up on maintenance.

By that time it was too late to pull out of the show, the work at the office still had to be done, my boss felt I had let her down and definitely let me know it, the show itself turned into a nightmare during rehearsal and a few days into our summer-long project my boss discovered she was pregnant, and on her doctor's orders she had to cut back her working hours.

Suddenly my hair started falling out. The whole left side of my head from the just above the sideburns to an inch or so above the ear, and from my face back to just behind the ear stopped growing hair, it all just dropped out in a matter of days. I just grew out the hair above it and let it drop down, but if the wind blew you could see it. From a distance it the skin looked so white that people thought I was just going gray.

A few weeks after the show closed and I started getting some more rest (and not spending every night arguing with actors and crew members) my hair started growing back and by fall it was like there had never been a problem. I've never had an outbreak since. But I still remember the oddly smooth feeling of that exposed skin, and the cold feeling I would get when there was the slighest breeze. (Kinda like how you can always tell where a draft is coming from for the first couple of days after you shave off a beard or mustache.)

Regards,

Joe

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

My job is definately not stressful, nor is anything else I can think of, Unles something is affecting me more than I realize.

I do have a wedding coming up in November, and didnt have a job for awhile. It was my part to pay for the Honeymoon. But I have a job now, and things are looking good financially. I will have enough money to pay off the Honeymoon before the final payment is due, and we have come into some extra money (Credit card) that is really going to help us. And my job which is temp, is gonna become perm.

So as far as stress and me goes... I dont know if that is what could be causing it. I try to get a good nights sleep. I eat ok...Im not even close to the healthyest person. But I dont drink or smoke or anything. Way too much soda though.

Thi8s does affect facial hair from what I read. If it is what I have, mine startd with facial hair.

I found this also:

http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2506.html

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

No more calls, please, we have a winner! Yeah, weddings. Nothing stressful about those.

Maybe you're just having a delayed reaction to the cumulative stress you went through in the past few months. And maybe the approaching wedding is stressing you out a little. Even happy anticipation can be a form of stress. "Stress" doesn't have to mean unpleasant pressure, just that a person is constantly operating at a high level of emotion over an extended period of time with little or no respite. People show high levels of "stress" even when engaged in activities they enjoy, like riding roller coasters or watching horror films (and some others I can think of. ) That sounds a lot like you these past few months, and despite the job situation and other things going well you're probably going to feel increasing "stress" (just from the demands of planning, invitations, family dinners and the like) until the after the first of next year. (Believe me, going right from the honeymoon into your first set of holidays as a married couple is going to do nothing to reduce the stress level.)

I'd look for that hair to start coming back sometime around March.

Regards,

Joe

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

Hey when your fiancee is handling almost ALL of it, and I do mean that, and your only worry is the Honeymoon, it really ISN'T Thats stressful.

Ironically...seeing the little patches on my head. Now THAT is stressing me out. I don't what it to get worse.

Ok guys Joke of the day.


Ready?


Ready?


Wait for it...wait for it.



Warning Spoiler! Click to show

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

Maybe you're just going bald. I had a tiny little bald patch on my head from 23 to 34. Once I hit 35 the rest of the hair decided to vamoose as well. Sorry, I'm sure that possibility is just as depressing for you.

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

I had a friend who had it a couple times many years ago. Both times she had a quarter sized patch of hair loss on her head. She went to dermatologist who
gave her some topical med to encourage regrowth. Filled back in, and after those couple of episodes never happened again. Doc said stress brings it on.

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

Bob: Thanks for the reply. I'll try to get myself to a Doctor. I currently lack insurance though. Would love to find an over the counter option.

Michael: I so don't want to hear that!

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

i worked with a guy who has it.

i asked him if he was pranked while he was sleeping and he told me he had the alopecia.

he's 20 years old and lives with it, no big deal.

its part of life for him and thats just the way it is.
doesnt bother him, doesnt try to hide it.
it's there and thats it.

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

I wonder if I can diagnos myself or if I have to goto a doctor or Derm to know for sure. I seem to have the symptoms of it, but I image there are other things that have what I have as an affect too.

Re: Touchy/Sensitive Subject

I suppose it helps that a completely bald head can also be quite fashionable these days? In the past, when no one deliberately shaved his head as a fashion statement it might have been harder to live with.