Intro!
hi, my name is alexa and i'm going to be 13 in November of 2014. honestly I don't know exactly what I'm writing or what made me want to write this, but for some reason I do. the purpose of writing this is telling my story of alopecia areata. i know that there aren't a lot of people at all who know what I'm talking about, but alopecia is an auto-immune disease where your red cells attack the white, and the system can become very weak like mine did for a while and your hair falls out. I was diagnosed in the fall of 2006 when I was in 1st grade. Right now I have no eyebrows and am very quickly losing lashes. the alopecia doesn't bug me at all, and neither do most of the comments because I still have heavy brown hair on my head that doesn't cooperate when I work with it but I'm still lucky to have it, despite the rapid patches that don't ever finish their expanding and lately it's been falling out faster. when it does fall out it is completely painless and a little irritating because I'm still young and I want to be like the rest of the girls and look like them without having to worry "oh, I can't wear my hair like that because of my patches" or "what will they think if my patch starts to show?". as I think about it more and more I honestly don't need to try and be someone I know I'm not because I have the most amazing boyfriend right now and every time I see him, he tells me that I can be who I want to be and that he'll still stand by me, without using words. he knows about the alopecia already but not very deeply, or what it's like to live with. but this article isn't just to tell him what it's like, it's to elaborate on it to anybody who wonders about it.
What is Alopecia Areata?
Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. It usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth patches on the scalp and can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis).
Alopecia areata affects approximately two percent of the population overall, including more than 6.5 million people in the United States alone. This common skin disease is highly unpredictable and cyclical. Hair can grow back in or fall out again at any time, and the disease course is different for each person.
(article from www.naaf.org)
What It's Like to Live With it (my story):
First Grade
When I was in first grade during the fall of 2006 I was diagnosed with alopecia areata. I had dark brown, curly hair that was past my waist and I loved to wear it down or pulled back tight. one day I was braiding my hair and I noticed that I was missing a lot of hair about an inch above my right ear and it was a good three inches across (back of the head towards my face) and about two inches high (from the top of my head to about the inch above my ear). immediately after I noticed it, I put my hair down. throughout the day I was playing with my hair and noticed two more, one on the back of my head, and another small one on the left side of my head only about the size of a quarter. then I knew I had to tell my mom, when I came home I told her right away. she called to make a dermatology appointment for the following week. at the appointment she explained everything to my mom, and I understood a lot of what she was saying because it was things that we were learning in school and things that I learned from a private lesson youth group. I didn't give a lot of thought to it.
Second Grade
After a year of doctors appointments I was advised to get my hair cut short to relieve some of the weight. reluctantly I'd cut it from below my waist to my shoulders, that's where it still is today even though I'm trying to grow it out again. I also lost one full eyebrow by May.
Third Grade
I began getting a little uncomfortable with it because I lost one and a half eyebrows by December, but the spot on the left and in back were gone and the one on the right was reduced by quite a bit.i gained a lot of weight over the summer between 3rd, and 4th grade.
Fourth Grade
During the year I lost the rest of my remaining eyebrow, and a lot of weight but I was still over weight according to my doctor. my confidence went from a perfect ten getting ready to go off the charts, down to a four continuing to drop.
Fifth Grade
I became completely unconfident, writing music was the one thing that made me forget. I made new friends and tried new things. I was changing and it was natural, not forced.
Sixth Grade
my confidence dropped even more from 4 to a 2, and my eyelashes started to fall out faster then I could handle. I started skipping lunch and eating little to nothing for beakfast but my music was still there for me. I began to talk more to the guy who is the most amazing person I've ever met -even if he doesn't believe me. at the end of the year i went from a 2 up to a 6 all because of him.
Seventh Grade
I still wasn't eating lunch until the end of March, and I went from 6 to a 3. (this was the most recent school year) On June 6th, 2014 I asked out the amazing guy who is now my boyfriend today. He has known about the alopecia since last year, even though we've been going to school together since kindergarden. he is so kind, and sweet, and funny, but even if he doesn't believe me he is so smart. this summer is our first summer together, and it should be great!
Any questions, comment below and I'd be happy to respond!
