stopping treatment

is there anyone here who isn't actively treating their AA?

I've taken prednisone, topical steroids, and rounds of injections. My derm said the loss was too severe to continue injections, so she prescribed me Olumiant. After some research I've decided not to take Olumiant, it just doesn't seem right for me atm. I'm healthy, just 80% bald :p

I've had AA for three years, shaved my head a few times, and it ebbs and flows. I've decided to just let it be for now. No medical interventions. I feel mostly okay about it because I wear a wig to work, and I don't mind having a shaved head. My mental health is okay, AA bothers me every now and then, but I accept it as it is.

Is anyone else deciding to just let it be?

Posted Dec 18, 2023, 6:06 PM UTC

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Anittablunt•2 yr. ago

I was diagnosed in august. Derm gave me clobetasol and suggested olumiant. I decided not to take olumiant because i read it could cause cancer. Im only doing the clobetasol; however i am seeking treatment from a functional/holistic medicine doctor- my appointment is tomorrow and im very hopeful. They unlike western medicine help you figure out the cause of the AA an make a treatment tailored to you. I have a very big spot on the side of my head which i can still cover with a side part and several in the back of my head which you cannot see. So i dont feel desperate just yet- i have good days and bad days.. mentally that is. Just trying to take it one day at a time 🤷🏻‍♀️

Head_Ad9593•2 yr. ago

Let us know how it goes with the functional doctor.. I have an appt in Jan with my son! Good luck to you!

dizzymonroe•2 yr. ago

Seconded, @anittablunt!

Equivalent_Bag_7948•2 yr. ago

It’s old and stupid information, good luck 😂

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Plus_Dux•2 yr. ago

I'm happy bald. When I was younger the steroids never worked just made me feel sick. I like being a hairless guy I look good. Only problem I'm having is with my finger nails

Gingerredhead5•2 yr. ago

Me! I’m just bald and don’t do anything for it. I’m a lady. And my AU is to a point where I would need JAK inhibitors and I’m not willing to do that.

vandad604•2 yr. ago

I just left it as it was. Some regrowth and some new patches. I live with it. It's not as bad as 7 months ago.

EqualPerformer1•2 yr. ago

31female here. I stopped all treatments last may… everything they use for AA or any autoimmune disease seems incredibly barbaric and just chasing tail. They are treating the symptoms and not the disease and I found I was having all sorts of side effects.. the steroid shots messed with hormones. The topicals messed with my hormones… I’m currently on a carnivore diet and I can’t say it’s helped a lot. I still have active spots and then spots that are in remission… im hoping that my body will just calm down naturally. I’m pretty sure my covid vaccine induced this as I started getting my first bald spot a month after I got it a few years ago. I’ve struggled with it ever since… just taking one day at a time…

Reasonable-Shape-598•2 yr. ago

I believe what you are saying is true ,was there one time where your head felt like it was going to explode, the vaccine seems to be a variant of different diseases that gets triggered at a certain point in your life so you can’t point the blame to the vaccine, greatly forcing population control by attacking mental health to encourage suicide

EqualPerformer1•2 yr. ago

The vaccine is designed to trigger an immune response … if you already have a dysfunctional immune system then triggering a massive immune response when you have no actual disease to fight could very well trigger auto immune disease flareups… so I think it’s completely justified to point the finger at the vaccine. My derm said he’d seen a threefold increase in alopecia after the vaccine came out. Obv correlation is not definite causation but all his patients had the same story/timeline as me.

Reasonable-Shape-598•2 yr. ago

Your derm could be sacked for saying that if it was publicised

EqualPerformer1•2 yr. ago

He made sure to say “correlation wasn’t causation but that there were a lot of stories similar to mine” he mentioned that it could be caused by covid stress and that it’s hard to know definitely… I could tell that he suspected it was vaccine related.

ScrotumLeather•2 yr. ago

I stopped any treatment years ago. Only thing I supplement with is vitamin D as I am often low. I found out that in my case it is linked directly to stress. When I was a student I lost hair every time during exam period. Then every summer holidays everything grew back. The thing is that one can have subconscious skeletons even when feeling absolutely OK in the surface. In this era we are living in we tend to bury a lot of shit deep inside us, which leads to a lot of psychosimatic issues, like for example alopecia.

dizzymonroe•2 yr. ago

Yep

iTurniScore•2 yr. ago

Me, not by choice though. Waiting to see if litfulo is approved in the UK or not

If it isn't, I'll start taking jaks since the side effects are proven to be blown out of proportion. If having no hair doesn't affect you mentally, then I understand not wanting to take them but, for me it does.

North_Street_8547•2 yr. ago

Do you know what the worst side effects can be? Besides death of course

iTurniScore•2 yr. ago

Cancer, DVT and all other scary side effects so far have been the same as placebo unless combined with TNF inhibitor and over 50 with one major health issue, based on 10 year xeljanz data.

It's different for people with AA 🤦‍♂️. Not saying it's impossible but, even if it does happen at those rates who's to say it was the Jak in the first place.

saverboy•2 yr. ago

I stopped all steroids treatments and I'm going through a lifestile change... and still looking for the cause... but my case seems specialy related to gluten and milk.

ChocolateMorsels•2 yr. ago

I've never done treatment because when I researched it was clear we still don't have a clue what causes it or how to effectively fix it. I'm not going to screw with my body with experimental treatments.

I just hope diet changes (hasn't helped yet) can fix it or my hair randomly comes back.

Crazy_General_4038•2 yr. ago

I’m a 32| M. Before I had let it be. Shave my head every week. Had AA for about ten years. I’m currently on Olumiant. It has worked wonders for me. Hell I would’ve been happy with just a beard lol. But it’s great your mental health is ok. Alopecia is definitely a confidence killer

Equivalent_Bag_7948•2 yr. ago

lol…………..

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