General hair loss and alopecia (thanks a bunch mother nature!)

[Amblu81]

Mumsnetters, I have suffered from alopecia areata for a number of years but usually manageble and in places that I can hide it. When it has been at its worse, steroid injections directly into the area got it growing back successfully for 6 or 7 years before I had another hair loss. Now aged 42 I have developed 2 new patches over the past 4/5 months and general shedding/thining all over. My hair looks awful and ages me so much. I am really loosing my confidence each time I look in the mirror. I can see my scalp clearly through what is left of my hair.

I am going to ring the gp and see if there is anything they can do, but just wondering if anyone has similar issues and products or practises they swear by and are happy to recommend. I take a vitamin D supplement and eat a balanced (most of the time!) diet and sm fairly active. Thanks in advance

As the general shedding all over is new it doesn't sound like it's related to your alopecia. It could be two conditions happening at the same time. Have you been through a stressful time over the last few months to a year? It could be telogen effluvium, in which case it will gradually thicken up again but shedding will always be your response to stress. Or could it be related to menopause? The advice I received from a private specialist was that caffeine shampoo is snake oil and doesn't work. I was also told to keep on top of my iron levels although it wasn't low enough to be the primary cause. The only treatment he recommended was rogaine but the tablet version. I had concerns for my heart health though so I opted to live with the thinning.