So after spending multiple days with the doctor, she diagnosed me with Lupus, another autoimmune disorder that causes serious damage to one's body. My mother, terrified, put me on a medication for Lupus. Fortunately, my tests for Lupus came back negative, and I was finally diagnosed with Alopecia Areata.
Today, like many other people with Alopecia, I wear a wig to cover up any spots I have with missing hair. People often ask me what happened to my hair, and for a long time, I did not know. I now realize that it isn't just my hair that falls out, but instead there is a biological process behind Alopecia.
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When I was 9 months old, my mother found a bald patch on my head about the size of a nickel, and took me to the pediatrician. Because Alopecia does not pose a threat to anyone's life, there has been little research done on the topic.
For a long time, there was nothing we could do. There were no cures or treatments that we had found. Eventually, we found a doctor with a plan. I was 9 years old, and I had to start receiving steroid shots into my head every 6 weeks. It grew back my lost hair, but never prevented any loss.
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