Scalp Biopsy

No not heard of a biopsy for hair loss, I hope the doctors can sort you out.

Thank you,it is not unusual really, it is in my case because there is hair roots but it isn't growing, and put down to stress ,
My other hair that is left seems to be compensating as i have to cut it every 2 weeks approx, or it would be down to my knees

As mentioned many times on here, I have had total hair loss for over 10 years. It's never going to grow back and I wear a hair system. No medical person or hairdresser has ever got to the bottom of it. My hair didn't fall out but just stopped growing through. Some people don't believe me but it's true. There is only one person I have ever heard say that this is a condition. It was a hairdresser on daytime TV who explained that pores can get clogged, the hair is there but can't get through. He said it can be rectified with certain oils and treatments. I'm sorry I can't remember what they are. Apparently it takes time and for me I needed something quick to cover the hair loss. The hair clinic I go to does laser treatment which works for some people but also takes time.

That seems to be the case with me,i think he is testing for a certain condition but couldn't catch what he said,he does tend to mumble
I am using steroid lotion which does work for some people as i have seen posts on here where it has worked
Did you lose all your hair KatyK? i can't remember!
Steroid injections work too for some but he said the area is too big on me to do that
I sent for a topper but the colour doesn't match, and not really long enough

Yes I lost all mine blondenana Good luck with your treatment. Losing all your hair is difficult to say the least.

Hi
Yes I've had a scalp biopsy, its a little sore for 24 hours - you'll need rest and paracetamol.
Mine came back as Telogen Effluvium - which was clearly wrong as within 6 months i'd lost all my hair with alopecia universals.
Dr Fenton works NHS at St Thomas' and has a private clinic in Harley Street, he's got a crap 'bedside manner' but he is very knowledgeable and pioneering for hair loss.
I also have a hair system - its real hair and nobody would ever know, I go to Lucinda Ellery (various locations) but there are, I believe cheaper options. Lucinda will give a discount if you model for her site, take a look, she is a very glamorous alopecian herself, so she really 'gets it'.
Hopefully yours will grow back, good luck.

Hi Tigertooth thank you, it has already been diagnosed as
TE but the dermatologist mentioned something else whicj i didn't hear, as he mumbled it
He said he doesn't think t's that but wants to make sure
How long had you been losing your hair for when you were told it was TE then lost it all
Mine has been about a yea really badly,but apparently according to my daughter longer, but she never told me
I couldn't afford to go private so i am really pleased that this Dr is doing what he can to help
I have since learned that some ladies who used a hair colour, the same as me have had hair loss, so worried about that now
Looked on Trust pilot and reviews are horrendous, re hair loss

Hi
No, Mine was quick and clearly was alopecia - it was just the biopsy that said TE. I had a patch the size of a penny in April 2015 and was bald by Nov 15. Eyebrows and lashes departed March 16 along with body hair.
Alopecia is not thinning - its distinctive patches, usually round or oval. Most people with Alopecia don't get the severe form that I have though.

Thanks Tigertooth mine isn't all over thinningi have a large patch from the crown down,
My Dr said it isn't in the usual pattern for female hair loss, and Derm said TE although rest ofhair grows very fast
My own Dr said Estrogen helps with hair growth and gave me some HRT patch which specified coud cause hair loss, so i lost more still got eyelashes etc,
My daughters also started falling out after taking the same HRT, which is why i think partly at least hormonal
Were you given any reason why yours fell out. Stress etc?
Mine was put down to stress originally

No, no reason but it fell out when I started the menopause, at 50, I'm convinced that it is hormonal.

My hairline started to recede about 10 years ago and was diagnosed as frontal fibrosing alopecia and after lots of questions about other things I have suffered through my life I was told it was an auto immune disorder. Basically my immune system was attacking the hair follicles. In the past it had attacked skin, nerves, joints and caused IBS. I too lost eyebrows, lashes and body hair but apparently this was a different kind of alopecia. I have been treated with everything including a scalp biopsy and steroid injections into the scalp which were a little uncomfortable but did not really bother me. It certainly did not help the hair loss. They have now run out of treatments and I was discharged this year as frankly it was a waste of their time and mine. I just have to learn to live with it.

blondenana I was given the option for a letter after the consultation. Maybe that would help with your mumbling doctor. Also I was told that hair colorant would not make it worse.

Grandma2213 thank you, for your input, i am long past menopause,so not that, but i did go back on HRT as i was haviong bad night sweats, also at the same time or not long after had a period of extreme stress, which the Dermatologist put it down to
I have read on gransnet about several people who were given steroid treatment,including injections and the hair grew back

RE;the hair colour, again around the same time,i used a new hair colour for roots only, and recently read that others had hair loss after it, could just be coincidence
All the vitamins etc,have had no effect except on my remaining hair which grows almost overnight,
I read a few days ago that the hair follicles can get blocked which stops hair coming through,
I have been looking at toppers,and even wigs, which i don't fancy having, but i can't go around with a hat on all the time, not so bad now in winter, but not in summer
I will keep searching for a solution, ,but if you saw me from the front you would never believe i had hair loss at the back,it looks quite thick and healthy,
Very strange
Sorry you had no joy, but i will update if any new results
I still jave eyebrows and lashes, but very sparse,

I'm surprised at the help some of you were given. My GP said 'it's difficult to treat hair loss. Maybe you could get a wig'. This from a female GP.

There are some great advances in the States with alopecia treatment - I was invited by St Thomas's to go on the UK trial 3 years ago but the funding was withdrawn.

Grandma2213-Did your eye

oops! Did your eyelashes and brows ever grow back?

Tigertooth I have sparse eyelashes still and no eyebrows. I was told nothing would grow back as the follicles were destroyed. It's difficult now to hide the lack of eyebrows as my hairline is receding upwards as well as at the sides so growing a fringe is harder. I can't draw or tattoo them on as I have too many wrinkles!!

KatyK I am very surprised too, but i guess it is just lucky that one of my surgeries Drs is also a dermatologist
I am very grateful that at least he is trying, and he said the roots are there which is why he is now doing a scalp biopsy,he said my hair would grow back, but sometimes takes a long time
Min is chronic Telogen Effluvium he said as it has lasted more than 6 months
I have read that the follicles can get blocked, so maybe it's something i need to do to unblock them, it is really a mystery, but i definitely lost quite a lot when my own Dr put me on Evoral Conti hrt, as did my daughter ,it is the type of progesterone in that particular one apparently that can cause it,even gives a warning in the side effects, my Dr said the Estrogen would help, unfortunately the prog side of it counteracted it