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serendipity1996
05-10-16, 03:14
I've been feeling very anxious and stressed at the moment - something which has been severely compounded in the past few days. I have recently moved abroad to Germany to do an Erasmus year at a university there so the change has been quite stressful and I have been feeling terribly homesick. Well, a few days ago I discovered a smooth circular bald patch on my scalp which I think I have had a for a while but for some reason it didn't really register as a cause for concern before. My brain seems to have picked up on that worry after showing it to a friend who said that it was quite bad and anxiety has kicked in hard. (btw I'm a female not male in case that helps).

And then suddenly, what feels like literally overnight my hair has changed texture radically - my thick hair has suddenly become the polar opposite - it feels very wispy and thin and delicate especially at the back. It honestly feels like I've lost so much hair - yet I'm not noticing clumping or significant fallout on pillows, in the shower etc so I am quite stumped as to what is going on. It has never felt this weak before ever.

I can single out a number of factors which may have contributed to this - I've spent the past three days basically holed up in my room and not eating very much. It could be a chronic lack of sleep. Stress or anxiety. I've also suffered from a dry flaky scalp. But I feel like I can't keep it together anymore, I'm having a meltdown. In my mind, I may as well already be bald. It doesn't help that I've spent hours scaring myself silly with alopecia stories of women who went completely bald in a week, finding myself on balding support groups at 2am. I'm going to walk in to a doctor's today and see if I can get an appointment - added to my stress is the fact that I'm in a foreign country, don't really know how to navigate the healthcare system, have to deal with the language barrier (although hopefully it won't be hard to find an english speaking doctor where I am). My family has no history of balding but that doesn't assuage my fears. My mind is basically programmed to foresee the worst case scenario.

I've been feeling utterly utterly miserable - I cry every single day, call home a lot, feel homesick and alone and completely out of my depth. I feel at the end of my tether. I even tried to call samaritans only to discover that I can't call from abroad so I feel I have nobody to talk to.

Just wondering if anyone else on here has ever had a similar fear particularly regarding hair loss?

Captain irrational
05-10-16, 08:56
Well, a few days ago I discovered a smooth circular bald patch on my scalp which I think I have had a for a while but for some reason it didn't really register as a cause for concern before.


That could just be a birthmark. I have a similar bald patch on the side of my head about 1cm in size. I first noticed it when I cut my hair very short once and it certainly freaked me out, but my mum said I have had it since I was a baby.

Lucinda07
05-10-16, 10:42
You have not noticed any considerable fall out of hair in the shower etc.- which is good. Perhaps a change of hair products would help & eating certain types of food/vitamins.
Hope doctor's appointment goes well for you. They will offer the best advice. Good luck!:)

SLA
05-10-16, 10:59
Sorry to hear you're having a rough time.

The main things to focus on right now are eating and drinking well to give yourself a fighting chance at beating the stress.

Get to the Doctors to get it checked out.

Take a break. Take some time out, and maybe find someone to talk to. Drop me a PM if you want to chat.

spacebunnyx
05-10-16, 12:17
I have alopecia areata. It's a pain... but it's not the end of the world.... certainly not worth losing sleep over.

serendipity1996
05-10-16, 19:02
You have not noticed any considerable fall out of hair in the shower etc.- which is good. Perhaps a change of hair products would help & eating certain types of food/vitamins.
Hope doctor's appointment goes well for you. They will offer the best advice. Good luck!:)

I haven't noticed any hair falling out in the shower or on my pillow but I have actually noticed a bit just lying around on the floor etc although that may just be accumulated over a few weeks. I've been feeling a bit calmer today although hair does still feel drastically thin especially at the back where it really catches the cold when I go outside. I'm going to try out biotin supplements and try out some different hair products and see if they make a difference.:)