My story - part two - the traditional treatments

Alopecia, I was learning, came in many forms. I had been diagnosed with Alopecia Areata.
This, I was explained, meant bits of bald patches on the head. So I was "just" patchy.

The other forms, I began to understand were similar, just more bald.
In simple terms:
Alopecia totalis - complete head baldness
Alopecia universalis - complete body baldness

Following the diagnosis of the condition in early 2005, the patches continued to grow. To a point where 18 months later, I was faced with the prospect of wearing a wig. The increasing size and visibility of the patches were no longer manageable with hairstyles and headscarves. The inevitability of the solution was looming. I was scared. I had never seen a bald woman. As far as I knew, they didn't exist.

I then seriously began considering medical intervention, maybe this thing could be stopped or even reversed. I had to give it a try. On a deeper level, I had also also began accepting that this alopecia thing was not going away.  That was also a real scenario and one I had to seriously get to grips with.

A few days later, I went back to the dermatologist, who sat me down and bluntly explained to me the options of treatment, they appeared the same for all forms. The two I recall discussing were:

1. Corticosteroid treatments
2. DHCP

Neither were a guarantee for hair growth, but some success rates were known, thus he recommended either one.

At this time I made a philosophical decision, a decision that would guide all my treatment choices. I decided to create no further medical issues with my body, therefore if a treatment had possible side effects, I would not go down that route. I did not want to cause any health issus through a treatment for a non health threatening condition.

My decision was clear, for me there would be no cortisone. I did not wish to administer frequent injections into my scalp, although oral or topcial could be considered, but cortisone was a no-no for me.

I began to explore option two which was topical immunotherapy using DPCP (diphencyprone). This involved using chemicals directly on the scalp to produce an allergic reaction.  The success rate suggested that about 40% of patients regrow scalp hair after about six months of treatment.

Despite the bizarre nature of intentionally causing a head rash, I thought I would give it a whirl.

This involved weekly trips to the hospital where they would smear the scalp with this lotion and then I would leave. Within a few hours I would always get a reaction and the stronger the reaction the more effective the treatment should be.

Each time I went back for treatment the strength of the DPCP was increased. This meant each time I left the hospital, the more likely I would experience discomfort, burn and pain.  I went through this weekly procedure for months. It was awful, close to unbearable. My head was constantly itchy and scabby.

After 3 months, I could no longer carry on. There were no developments at all, nothing, not one hair had appeared. All I had was a scabby and itchy scalp and a constant reminder that I was suffering from a disease.

This last point was the reason I stopped. I did not want to be constantly reminded that I had Alopecia. I dreaded the hospital visits and the days after. I had begun to spend half of my week, down right miserable.

This was the turning point.

It was then, that I chose to live with Alopecia and not to suffer with it.

I discontinued the treatment at that stage and since then I have never been back for medical intervention.

In part three, I will share with you the quirky, alternative methods I embarked upon to bring back the hair and some of the ways I tried to hide it.

Stay tuned my loyal readers..........