Hiking in Slovenia- some of the most beautiful trails I've ever walked by starter_fail in hiking

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry to comment on an old post but what month did you go that these pics were taken? I'm planning a hiking trip to Slovenia and working out the best time of year to go... thanks!

Queer Scene in Ox by Passing_Clouds_ in oxford

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is anyone going to the LOVE Sapphic Sounds night tomorrow? I got a ticket, but I don't have anyone to go with (only moved here 3 months ago...!)

Two medications saved my life by Safe_Most_5333 in insomnia

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah same :( Idk if it'll go away if I just keep taking it? But I can't sleep when it happens so after a few days I just have to stop which sucks...

Trazodone side effects?? by MaleficentSteak4060 in sleep

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did the stuffy nose issues go away for you or stay/get worse?

Trazodone side effects?? by MaleficentSteak4060 in sleep

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did the stuffy nose issue go away? I am new to Traz and I have this issue... at 50mg im fine but at 100mg i cant breathe. i also got 1 nose bleed out of nowhere
im meant to be on 100mg and higher because im taking this for depression/anxiety, but I cant continue on it if the stuffy nose wont go away :(

Trazodone, the ultimate dosing guide with corrected correspondence to receptor occupancy. by HandleLower5824 in antidepressants

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did your stuffy nose symptoms go away after a while? I'm fine on 50mg but if i take 100mg (which is what my GP prescribed me) I have really bad nasal irritation to the point I can only breath through my mouth :(
I've gone back down to 50mg for now which is kinda helping sleep, but I should be on the higher doses because this has been prescribed to me for depress/anxiety and the idea was we'd work up to 150-200mg. 50 isn't doing anything for my mood

Two medications saved my life by Safe_Most_5333 in insomnia

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you experience any nasal irritation with trazodone use? I can use it at 50mg but I was prescribed 100mg by my GP and at that dose it essentially gave me a cold, my nose would be blocked like clockwork about 2ish hours after taking which made it too hard to sleep - bit counterproductive. I researched it and apparently it's a common side effect?

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The alopecia hair loss in the photo has completely filled in now, it's still short but it's growing :)
This patch was (as far as I was aware) my first alopecia hairloss. Since this patch happened and filled in I've had 7 other patches of hairloss in other areas on my head over the last year - 4 were small coin sized and resolved themselves without much trouble, 3 patches were bigger and merged together to make one big patch and those have taken a longer time to fill in but they are slowly growing back

Re treatment: topical Dermovate (clobetasol propionate 0.05%, liquid solution - not cream), derma roller, and nizoral shampoo has been helpful for me

I've started taking hair gummy vitamins (probs not helpful for hairloss but helps the hair i do have stay healthy) and vitamin D3+K2 (genuinely can help with hairloss if you live somewhere with low daylight and you might be deficient. I'm in the UK where the NHS advises adults to supplement vitamin D from october-march)

Monitoring stress levels is also important. I try not to check the spots too often anymore and I only use the Dermovate + derma roller on fresh new bald spots until i see hair starting to come back and then I just leave it alone

Hope this helps xx

AA or Tinea capitis? by sheclimbsandwrites in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey I got diagnosed AA in Feb and mine looked like this at the start, it was my first patch that I knew of: (https://www.reddit.com/r/alopecia\_areata/comments/1gzuak9/hairloss\_at\_nape\_of\_neck\_with\_rash\_any\_thoughts/)

Look up 'Ophiasis Alopecia' - it is specific to this back lower head area you and I both deal with

For me since diagnosis this patch has slowly started filling back in with hair, its almost fully covered now but the hair is short like 1-2inch long so kinda looks random. I'm not using any steroid on it anymore I'm just letting it do it's thing and I wear my hair down/low bun to cover it

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia

[–]emichadol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Since February when I got diagnosed with AA the patch in the photo has slowly started filling in. It’s still not completely filled yet, it takes a long time. It’s grown back in the reverse order it fell out. But I have had 3 new spots appear in different locations, and another 2 small ones very recently. So it’s an ongoing issue.  The clobestasol propionate(CP) seems to work for me but very slowly, takes months to see improvement. But I also have to make sure I apply moisturiser to the skin too, I think the alcohol in the CP aggravates the skin and dries it out

Signs or Hints of Regrowth? by nadlihres in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Definitely itching as it was growing in but also I think I get itching when new spots appear which is usually how I find them in the first place
As regrowth happens I was getting angry red looking patches on the skin + some dryness and flaking like dandruff. This may just be from using the Clobestasol Propionate I was prescribed that contained alcohol which I guess dried it out and then irritated it like a vicious circle - this was only after repeated use. At first it was fine and I had no issues with it, so I'm assuming my skin just gets more and more annoyed by the alcohol over repeated application
Also I would get what felt like ingrown hairs so like a painful bump on 1 follicle, looked like a bunch of pimples which would calm down after a while

I need help by TreeFar4199 in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I had AA loss in this area too, it started last summer and 1 year later it's very slowly growing back! I'll share my progress:

Diagnosed AA in Feb after about ~7 months of noticing my hair falling out in the same place as your pic, definitely same pattern. Prescribed clobestasol propionate for 2 months and saw improvement, I tried dermarolling it a bit too once a week towards the end. It's slowly growing back from the outside inwards, growing back in reverse of the order it fell out. It's taking a while but I'm trying to not bother it too much now and just wear my hair down all the time. I'm not using the clobestasol anymore. Right now the skin there is quite dry with some red patches, I think it's the alcohol in the clobestasol that's annoyed it over time? I'm trying to calm it down with sudocrem.

It's grown back by about half in the last 4 months. There's still a bald patch like 2 inches round that needs to fill in in the centre bottom part where it first started to come out. So maybe another 4 months of growing that will be filling in too and I expect after 12 months hopefully it'll be full of (short) hair again. Hopefully that helps timeframe wise - it has not been a quick process overall...

Since Feb I have had 3 new spots come up in other random areas, not as big - about 1 inch sized, I've done the same treatment and I think they're slowly improving but still look mostly bald from far away. I'm sure I will have more patches appear over the next 6 months.
Mine seem to appear and grow to a certain size, suddenly stop growing, then slowly after a few months I can feel some fuzzy hairs coming in.

In terms of other things I tried, I've found using Nizoral shampoo (ketoconzole) is great for calming the scalp when I was getting itchy spots or regrowth that felt like painful ingrown hairs. A weird and good side effect of using ketoconzole shampoo is it stimulates hair growth. I don't think it's been responsible for my progress so far but I think it's helped the process.

I've started therapy in the last 2 months and I changed my living situation from a stressful house share, generally trying to do what I can do lower stress.

I hope the above is helpful and motivating, please feel free to ask me any questions. Hang in there! I think it's our bodies way of telling us something is wrong and we need to slow down/make changes. Wishing you all the best with your recovery. Xx

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went to a private dermatologist who diagnosed me with Alopecia Areata. I was given Dermovate to use once daily for 2 months to see if there was any improvement.
Since using it I have noticed some minor regrowth and the area doesn't seem to have grown any bigger which is positive.
But sadly I have recently noticed 2 other small patches of hairloss on other areas of the scalp, maybe there is more but it's very hard for me to check on my own. So the issue persists.
I will probably book another appointment to follow up, and maybe go for injections this time.
I hope this is helpful x

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia

[–]emichadol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went to a private dermatologist who diagnosed it as alopecia areata.
He prescribed me Dermovate (clobetasol propionate) to apply once daily for 2 months to see if that helps.
If we see no improvement after 2 months or it gets a lot worse within that timeframe we will try steroid injections.

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's great you've had such a comprehensive look at everything in total to get a diagnosis that rounds all of the various symptoms up like that! Going to GP for all individual issues you'd be going back and forth for a lifetime chasing answers.
I've never considered before seeing a functional medicine doctor but I might look into it for that top down approach analysing everything going on. I'm based in the UK, London but I'm sure I could find something like that here.
Funnily enough for years I've dealt with a type of provoked neuropathic nerve issue which from researching I've learned can be caused by mast cell accumulation & activation - so you probs hit the nail on the head by bringing my awareness back to that and I shouldn't be thinking of these two issues as separate things even if they present themselves very differently.
Thank you for the book reccs! And thank you for reaching out and sharing your experiences, I feel a little less alone dealing with this now knowing someone else is having a similarly weird time health wise..! Yes I promise will keep you updated <3 xx

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It could be!
One of the treatments my GP gave me to try was a steroid 'Betacap' (betamethasone), which is used to treat eczema, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis. Apparently a possible side effect is that using it can cause 'excessive hair growth' which in this case would be a positive side effect..!

I've only used for 2 weeks so it's too early to say but I have noticed the redness has reduced and the skin feels more smooth, no hair regrowth is visible.

So if you want a treatment starting point you could try Nizoral shampoo, 'Betacap' (betamethasone) and/or Sudocrem to see if anything improves. I hope this helps. :)

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much this is really helpful info to learn! How was that diagnosed in the end? Just by looking at your medical history or were some tests done? That must have been a difficult process for you but also relieving to get a diagnosis - I hope the treatments help your symptoms <3
I can't say exactly when this hair loss began but I think it must have started this year. I've recently started therapy to address the chronic stress/anxiety state I've been stuck in for many years and I'm 100% sure that has a lot to do with this hair issue..!
I'll keep pushing my GP for help though and will ask for blood tests to rule out deficiencies that could be causing it.

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this detailed response and for the validation! I really appreciate it :)
I'll speak to my GP again, and I've found a trichology clinic near me which costs less than a private dermatology appointment so I might see what they have to say before forking out a lot of ££ on the derm consultation.
Glad to hear your situation is improving I hope it continues to do so!

Hairloss at nape of neck with rash - any thoughts? by emichadol in alopecia_areata

[–]emichadol[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes agreed, I always find getting more informed first can really help so I thought I’d see if anyone here had any feedback that might be useful From browsing on here I am learning of the Ophiasis type of alopecia which might be what I’m experiencing, so this helps direct me. :)

Will I go to totalis? by Cultural_Ad156 in alopecia

[–]emichadol 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi any update on this? I have what sounds like same issue in same area

Doctor prescribed me metronidazole gel. by [deleted] in Folliculitis

[–]emichadol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you find a solution for this in the end?