alopecia

by BlackSwan of Memphis 26 Replies latest jw friends

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  BlackSwan of Memphis

  Here pulling out here hair. Hm, that's definitely a possibility. Yeah, LDH, I called the doctor yesterday and they just called me back a few minutes ago, We got her in for 10:15. I have noticed it for, I guess, a couple of months, maybe more. But I don't think I thought much about it. After we got home from the Special Olympics, I noticed a ton of hair on her bed one morning before school. That's when I finally pointed it out to my husband. Since then we've been watching it. There was one time that I KNOW she had scissors and caught her clipping. But it didn't result in this. Other then that, she hasn't really had the scissors available to her like that without us knowing.

  Her pulling her hair out is always possible for sure. How do you figure that one out though?

  All the responses have been excellent. I have a better idea of what alopecia is. And yeah, I did look it up on web md. But reading all the various possibilites and the info on alopeica itself, AND the reminders about thyroid, stress and other disorders has given me stuff to go off of with the doc. The DS link is excellent.

  Some years back when she was first born I used to be on a discussion board for Down Syndrome parents. I think I'm going to see if I can find it again. It just has seemed like many of the concerns that most DS parents have, we don't share. So I've lost touch with alot of things. Looks like I gotta get back in the swing of stuff.

  Thanks for all the replies, thank you looking glass and Thanks Damsel for that link. I am going to read that as well before I go.

  I'll keep ya posted. Either way, I really don't think it's 'serious' I just want to know what we're up against. She's not the kind of kid to care about her hair. She doesn't get all freaky about things like that. To her it would be not a big deal. If it all fell out she would probably Love to not have us washing her hair, lol.

  BSoM
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  BlackSwan of Memphis

  Ok took her to the doctor today and she looked at her hair and scalp and basically said it doesn't look like it's breaking off. But that it is just thinning out.

  So she sent us away with a scrip for blood work for her thyroid. If the thyroid comes back wacky we go to the ped. endocrinologist if it comes back normal we go to the dermatologist.

  We'll see what happens. My husband has sort of been in a funk about it all day.

  I figure like this: if it doesn't bother her then it's ok. She has beautiful blue eyes and is a beautiful little girl with or without hair. Right now she still has hair, just not nearly as much as she did. So we have some time (I guess)

  I'll keep ya posted. Thanks for the replies!!

  BSoM
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  BlackSwan of Memphis

  OK well I thought I would update the hair issue with my daughter for those of you who had replied to this.

  We had gotten her blood checked for the various possibilities and the blood tests came back normal.

  Then we had an interesting conversation with my husband's brother who does hair. He is very good at what he does and he and has partner own two salons in Michigan.

  We explained to him the situation with her hair and that over the winter she had been antibiotics for about a month. He seemed to think that it was possibly the antibiotics that stunted her hair growth.

  So we ended up adding a good daily vitamin to her diet. It's a liquid that she takes 2 tbs every night. Her hair is really looking much better. She was at the doctor recently for something else and the doctor noticed right away that her hair was looking much healthier and thicker.

  I felt so bad for my husband, he was certain that it was because his hairwashing abilities were lousy and he wasn't getting her hair clean enough, therefore it was all his fault. But nope, turned out it was possibly the antibiotics.
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  freedomloverr

  That is really good news!
  
  My one daughter had really dry hair that was breaking off and would never grow. I added a good multi-vitamin and EFA'a (essential fatty acids.) It's a liquid supplement of omegas 3-6-9 and it's good for TONS of things for our bodies. Well, her hair is amazing now! I take omegas also and my hair, skin, and nails have been awesome.
  
  It's at health food stores and you can get a flavored liquid supplement for kids.
  
  -freedomlover
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  damselfly

  That is good! Poor kid, glad it turned out to be not a serious situation.
  
  Dams
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  free2beme

  My niece had issue with this when she was younger. The doctor put her on a strict diet and vitamin regiment and it seemed to go away in time. She now has a lot of hair on her head and seems very healthy. To add, the doctor did not feel the child was neglected, only going though a change in her biological make up that was requiring more of certian vitamins and things like that.
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  BlackSwan of Memphis

  That is really good news!
  
  My one daughter had really dry hair that was breaking off and would never grow. I added a good multi-vitamin and EFA'a (essential fatty acids.) It's a liquid supplement of omegas 3-6-9 and it's good for TONS of things for our bodies. Well, her hair is amazing now! I take omegas also and my hair, skin, and nails have been awesome.
  
  It's at health food stores and you can get a flavored liquid supplement for kids.
  
  -freedomlover

  Thanks FL! I do have 2 different vitamins that I give her when I can. One is based on EFA's and is designed for focus. But I knew when I bought them that the fatty acid's would help. It's just a little more hard getting her those. I'll make her milkshakes or smoothies to get them to her.

  That is good! Poor kid, glad it turned out to be not a serious situation.
  
  Dams

  Thanks Dams! We are too. We were aboslutely terrified that she would lose it all. I hope this doesn't sound awful, but we have to deal with some people staring at her already, that we didn't want to give people one more reason to look. Either way, she is beautiful. She has gorgeous blue eyes and a sparkling smile. Still, we're glad. Thankx to everyone for the support!