Anyone else suffering Alopecia Areata or hair loss???

[Redjem]

Hi there.. i am currently 31 weeks pregnant and have just today been diagnosed with Alopecia Areata.. It has really upset me and i feel has ruined the final lap of pregnancy :( Has anyone else ever heard of this or had it? i feel totally alone with this and any help or feedback would be appreciated... Thanks Jem xxx

Hi there,

Please do not worry. I had shocking hair loss during pregnancy and a friend had patchy hair loss. In both instances the hair grew back. It is just your hormones. Did you have blood tests? Thyroid would be an important one which can go haywire during and after pregnancy. Everyone knows about the post-partum hair loss but during pregnancy its common too. I remember my midwife nodding when I told her and saying it was totally normal.
Please try and enjoy your last weeks of pregnancy. Do what you can with your hair to make yourself feel better. Have a fringe cut in or use thickening hair products and the colder weather means you will need a hat anyway . Eat well, lots of greens, and in a few months you will start to see regrowth. But you probably wont be bothered by then because you will have a lovely new baba. Good luck. x

Hi redgem my sister has this and has had the condition for about 25 years now....comes and goes and she has never got a reason for why the flare ups occur...they jsut do....not sure if they are hormone related from what I know it is and auto immune condition and thus not really hormone realted ...maybe just coincidence. Great website she uses is AUK...fab help, heres a link www.alopeciaonline.org.uk/
Happy to answer any questions but this site is invaluable.

Thank you so much for your replies.. I have felt totally alone in all this.. i am 28 and this is my second pregnancy.. I didnt have this in my first and have never had it so its very scary getting it now.. Is it just a preg related thing? I have heard all about it happening after but not in late pregnancy.. Very frustrating as there isnt much advice out there. My doctor was useless thoo :(.. I had my bloods took for my thyroid yest and all over bloods have come back fine.. A decrease in my iron levels from the start of pregnancy but i have been on iron supplements for them. My diet is good and iv been lucky because i have craved fruit and brocolli :).. I have not yet checked out the above website but this is a massive help and i will do it right now..xxx

Also i have started with the hat collection already haha.. xx

I was diagnosed with AA about 18 months ago, lost several large and small patches of hair (about a third of it in total) so I can sympathize. I was not pregnant or BF and attributed it to stress. My Gp referred me privately to a dermatologist who prescribed steroid gel, after about 6 months the hair started slowly growing back and stopping falling out. It took about a year for all the patches to start regrowing but my hair is all back now.

The dermatologist transferred me to his NHS practice and prescribed a wig, which I never actually wore, but the wig shop provided me with camouflage cream in a tube (a bit like mascara, I have dark hair). With this and a. variety of hairbands, slides and hats I managed to disguise it, I told a few people but other that I have told subsequently said they had never noticed a thing.

Every night Is used to look in the mirror, the thought that kept me going was to be thankful for the hair I did have and not mourn that which I did not. I cried my eyes out on more than one occasion, fingers crossed yours sorts itself out, chances are it will once baby is born.