Changing our world one head at a time!

Newly Diagnosed with Alopecia

Information

This group is for people who are new to alopecia. It's a place to learn the essentials of coping and how to continue living life to the fullest despite the condition. More experienced alopecians are also invited to offer support and guidance.

Members: 100
Latest Activity: 1 day ago

Tips for Coping with Alopecia from Day One

1. Love yourself unconditionally, with or without hair.

2. Consult a physician when you think your hair loss has become excessive or abnormal.

3. Get a second or third opinion if you need confirmation of a physician’s diagnosis.

4. Educate yourself about alopecia (hair loss), its many possible causes, traditional and alternative treatments, treatment costs, possible side-effects, and other options (e.g., wigs, scarves, etc.).

5. Remember that bald is beautiful, too.

6. Seek the advice of your physician and people who love and care about you before making decisions about treatments or lifestyle changes.

7. Join an alopecia support group to receive insight and inspiration from others who are living with hair loss.

8. Give others who may also be concerned (e.g., your employer, school, or church) appropriate information about your condition.

9. Maintain your emotional well-being by learning positive strategies for coping with depression, rejection, ridicule, stress, anxiety, and other negative feelings and experiences. Also develop conflict management skills, and other strong interpersonal skills, which you can use when dealing with people who choose to remain ignorant or insensitive. In other words, see a professional counselor, if you must.

10. Live life to the fullest, which includes allowing yourself to truly love and be loved and taking full advantage of the new opportunities alopecia opens to you.

Cheryl Carvery and richard jones (rj) encourage you to share these 10 helpful suggestions with others who are dealing with alopecia.

Discussion Forum

Not sure I want treatment 11 Replies

Started by jj. Last reply by Jenn 1 day ago.

help! 6 Replies

Started by kelly godfrey. Last reply by Cheryl Carvery Oct 2.

Dealing with peoples glances 5 Replies

Started by Cheryl Carvery. Last reply by Jbkny Sep 20.

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Comment Wall (38 comments)

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38 Comments

Comment by Jenn 1 day ago: desert angel - thnx so much, i love hugs!

Comment by Jenn 1 day ago: hey mel,welcome. i am just a couple of months ahead of you, but i never knew anyone with this so it is really hard for me. before i found this site (last week) i didn't know there were other people like me and i am struggling to deal with it. but this site has been such a god send. i know that i am not alone and there is always several peole that answer questions.

Comment by mel 1 day ago: hi im mel, im 33 and have olpecia im not sure what type i have has it is due to havin lupus sle, i still have hair at the moment but it is fallin out very rapidly. Im not sure what treatment i will be taking if any has the side effects maybe worst than losing my hair, i was fortune enough to meet gail porter at work last year before i had olpecia i admired her courage and will be brave enough to shave my hair when the time comes, im glad i found this website as it will help me when no-one else understands how im feeling

Comment by DesertAngel on October 2, 2008 at 10:48pm: Hi, Jennifer and SylviaB. Wish I could give you a great big hug because I'm having a hard time dealing with this too. But you know what? It's getting better for me and it will for you too. We'll learn how to deal with this together. Lots of great people here to help us with that.

Comment by Jenn on October 2, 2008 at 2:13pm: hi everyone, i am jennifer. that is me in the middle in the pic and that was april with my real hair. today is a different story. i lost so much hair that i ended up shaving the rest of it off, lets face it a comb over on anyone is not attractive! i am having a lot of problems coping with this! i just don't know how to deal with it.

Comment by SylviaBonin2008 on September 30, 2008 at 2:20am: hello..
i am not sure, exactly, why i am loosing my hair (around the top-part)
at the moment.. my doctor said, could be "female pattern baldness"..
my-dear-god.. i cannot understand, why that is happening to me..
any help appreciated, thank you..

sylvia

Comment by Alexander S on September 24, 2008 at 10:51pm: well,
perhaps i repeat myself, but, no-matter..
let me tell you, you, your foto, your "being"
is so great, so inspiring for many many people,
no matter, they suffer from alopecia or not..

keep on..

alexander

Comment by DesertAngel on September 22, 2008 at 1:08am: I was diagnosed with scarring alopecia in July. I've been reading all I can on this form of alopecia. I still don't know if it will one day take all of my hair. I do know that some days the itching drives me crazy and the tender scalp is a downer too. My pattern of balding is a bit comical. Maybe I'll laugh at it next year because right now, I'm in no laughing mood.

I'm happy to have found this site though. I know in the days to come, this place will be an anchor for me (besides my family and friends. But they all have hair :p).

Comment by Angela on September 2, 2008 at 9:29pm: Well, I'm not exactly new, but I only have had alopecia for about 2 yrs now. It started with huge patches of hair loss. My hair really thinned out a lot, to the point it looked wierd, so I shaved it off. It grew back unevenly again, really short and then I got frustrated, so I shaved it again. At the moment it's growing but again unevenly with smooth bald spots and white hair. I only have a few natural black strands of hair left. AArgh I look like a snowman.
Angela