Dermatologist Visit

My hair was falling out fast. Although knowing the hair loss was from Alopecia Areata, a hint of “this is not normal” began to resonate in my mind. I had not seen a doctor for Alopecia since pre-teenage years, but it was time to consult with a dermatologist. I wanted to get up-to-date information on the disease and see if there was anything I could do to stop the balding.

New in town, I did not have a family physician or dermatologist to consult. Friends gave recommendations, but these doctors could not see me until months down the road. I did not have time to wait 3 months for answers. I resigned to using a phonebook to find a dermatologist.

The older doctor had sweet manners and listened to my concerns. He confirmed that I did have Alopecia Areata and my body had no other ailments. His lines were the same as the ones from my childhood dermatologist. There is no cure for the hair loss and it is unknown exactly what triggers the disease. Patterns of hair loss later in life are more likely to occur if the signs of Alopecia Areata appear before puberty. There are different treatments that can be applied to the scalp to stimulate growth, but there is no scale on the effectiveness of these treatments for someone with extreme hair loss.

The doctor told a cute story of how when he was growing up all the girls would wear wigs. He found his wife quite attractive in one particular wig. This anecdote was amusing, but gave no tangible answers on what to do with my hair loss. Resigned more from not being able to obtain immediate results than from the doctor’s advice, I decided not to get a second opinion. This disease was causes no physical harm to my body and the time had come to learn to live without hair.