alopecia areata and male pattern baldness. Need some help please!

[GC]

Ok, so after panick attacks due to the fact that my eyebrows are falling out, i decided to read up on it.

I ran into nothing but Alopecia forums and websites.
To my understanding, Alopecia areata is where the body mistakes hair follicle as a foreign tissue and simply fucks it up.

Now, i'm currently on finasteride and Nizoral (haven't added minoxidil to the mix as of yet) and am curious as to whether this is a waste of time if infact I do have alopecia.

I'll be seeing a Doctor next week more than likely where i'd like to also get a thyroid check performed.

I have the worst hormone levels ever due to the hormone replacement therapy i'm currently on and my levels are constantly fluctuating.

I'm sure I have some form of male pattern baldness (Around temples) but i think the rest of my hairloss is alopecia related.

Just curious as to whether anyone here is definetely suffering from alopecia, and if so, what are you using to treat it.

Thanks in advance people!

 

[s.a.f]

Look under the womens hairloss section, they have a whole section on alopecia.

 

[docj077]

http://www.duke.edu/~papabell/cbarber/faqs_alopecia.htm

How can it be treated?

At present, there is no cure for alopecia areata, although it can go away by itself. There are treatments which are most effective in milder cases, but none are universally effective and it is not known how any of the drugs work.

Some of the drugs used to treat alopecia areata include:

Steroids - Can be administrated by injection below the skin (particularly effective when used in the eyebrow area), applying a cream topically or by mouth (can cause serious side effects).
Diphencyprone (DPCP), dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB), squaric acid dibutylester (SADBE) and anthralin - All are agents, which when applied to the areas of hair loss, create a skin rash. It is speculated that this reaction diverts the attention of the immune system from acting on the hair to responding to the skin rash, thus allowing the hair to grow. Of these four agents, only anthralin is generally available in the U.S.
Psoralen with ultraviolet light A (PUVA) - More effective in people who experienced their first episode of alopecia areata after the age of 20. Requires travel to the physician's office two to three times a week. A major side of PUVA treatment is skin cancer.
Minoxidil - Can be prescribed alone or in combination with other drugs such as topical steriods or anthralin.
Immunosuppressants - These drugs, such as cyclosporine and isoprinosine, can have serious side effects and are therefore not used very often.




Unfortunately, finasteride and nizoral are worthless when it comes to the treatment of alopecia areata. Minoxidil is somewhat effective along with the drugs that I bolded above. I hate to say it, but you might be in for the long haul on this one. Just hang in there. Autoimmune disease sucks and it might take a while for a doctor to find a treatment that works just for you.