Day 21
Today was rough (on me). My alarm was on silent so I woke up 20 minutes late and could not implement her routine how I want to. I did not get a chance to have a hot rag on her head as long as I wanted to, I did not apply the ACV/ Aloe Vera mix and I did not get a chance to pack her lunch. * HEAVY SIGH * After I picked her up from the bus stop, I took the kids to visit their dad, so none of our night routine happened and she did not eat as healthy as she should have. Yesterday was on point, but today was a BUST! In all honesty I am a bit discouraged because of her recent hair loss - and although part of me wants to fight with all of me to figure it out, there's another part of me that feels so discouraged. I'm not a scientist, doctor, dietitian, immunologist or anyone that has any real background in the things I'm trying to do. Im so afraid :( I'm afraid that what I'm doing wont work, I'm afraid that my daughter will be severely self conscious and combative, I'm afraid that in her eyes I failed. It's so hard but tomorrow is a new day. Forgive me for the lack of a blog I have today, but I just couldn't. Peace.
January 19, 2014 - Day 19
Day 19
Today was interesting. Akhilah and Jahvel spent the night with my mom (shout out to the AWESOME GRANDMAS out there :-)). My mom knows the regimen I have her on in terms of the gluten free, diet, pro-biotics, less stress and the minoxidil - but I have not fully explained the hot rag sessions we do. However, my mom is a big advocate (and motivator) when it comes to me trying to figure out her triggers, so she is totally on board. She had a great time with her grandmother and was relaxed and happy when she got home. Tonight I decided to prepare beef stew because its COOLLDD, and of course gluten free. I love the fact that corn starch is gluten free because that means I can still thicken my soups/stews/chili without compromising our diet.
Dinner
We didn't eat dessert tonight because Akhilah lost a tooth. Once that happened I put up the rest of her dinner and passed on any other food - we went straight to bath time. Tonight I shampooed and conditioned her hair (please see the "Regimens" page for details). When I condition her hair I notice that there are some parts that are red - not super red and not raised, but red enough to notice. Honestly that is what I want to see because I need to know that what I am doing is stimulating her scalp. Since she is so little I only use the oils on her head once a week until I can better observe the type of effect they will have. I don't want to over stimulate her scalp or cause her discomfort. After I rinsed out the conditioner I sprayed on the ACV/Aloe Vera mix (please see the "Regimens" page for details). This caused her scalp to tingle/burn - but I know it was mild because had it been severe my baby would have lost it! Instead she told me it was burning and kept playing with her toys. I rinsed it out immediately and applied a warm rag for the next 5-7 minutes. Overall she is adjusting to our new diet and regimen very well. I hate the fact that she's lost about 50% of the regrowth she had, but I am encouraged by the fact that I still see new growth AND fuzz. Until tomorrow :-D
Today was interesting. Akhilah and Jahvel spent the night with my mom (shout out to the AWESOME GRANDMAS out there :-)). My mom knows the regimen I have her on in terms of the gluten free, diet, pro-biotics, less stress and the minoxidil - but I have not fully explained the hot rag sessions we do. However, my mom is a big advocate (and motivator) when it comes to me trying to figure out her triggers, so she is totally on board. She had a great time with her grandmother and was relaxed and happy when she got home. Tonight I decided to prepare beef stew because its COOLLDD, and of course gluten free. I love the fact that corn starch is gluten free because that means I can still thicken my soups/stews/chili without compromising our diet.
Dinner
- Beef Stew - Beef, (marinated in chicken stock, tumeric, garlic powder, bay leaves onion powder, cumin, sea salt, and ground black pepper), carrots, onions, celery and white potatoes. After I combined all the ingredients I added more of the above ingredients plus fresh parsley and then the corn starch at the end to thicken it.
- Arizona RX Iced Tea mixed with 1 oz of aloe vera juice
We didn't eat dessert tonight because Akhilah lost a tooth. Once that happened I put up the rest of her dinner and passed on any other food - we went straight to bath time. Tonight I shampooed and conditioned her hair (please see the "Regimens" page for details). When I condition her hair I notice that there are some parts that are red - not super red and not raised, but red enough to notice. Honestly that is what I want to see because I need to know that what I am doing is stimulating her scalp. Since she is so little I only use the oils on her head once a week until I can better observe the type of effect they will have. I don't want to over stimulate her scalp or cause her discomfort. After I rinsed out the conditioner I sprayed on the ACV/Aloe Vera mix (please see the "Regimens" page for details). This caused her scalp to tingle/burn - but I know it was mild because had it been severe my baby would have lost it! Instead she told me it was burning and kept playing with her toys. I rinsed it out immediately and applied a warm rag for the next 5-7 minutes. Overall she is adjusting to our new diet and regimen very well. I hate the fact that she's lost about 50% of the regrowth she had, but I am encouraged by the fact that I still see new growth AND fuzz. Until tomorrow :-D
January 12, 2014 - Day 12
After spending a few days with Grandma, she's baaaaaccckkkk, lol :-). During the day she ate fruit cups, fried chicken strips w/fries, tortilla
chips (gf free) and a banana.
Today we started using the products I ordered from Better Health. I shampooed her hair and scalp with the grapefruit shampoo and applied a (homemade) conditioner with an egg an olive oil base with 3 drops of peppermint oil, two drops of rosemary and lavender oil, and a half cap full of jojoba oil. She complained that it was itching, but only along the back of her head (ironically exactly where her storks bite is – ill have to research this). The itching was not severe, however, that area was red, but it went away. Apart of me was worried, but another of me was happy because atleast I knew that the products I used were stimulating her scalp- that area has been especially difficult to grow back. (But I am happy that I did not introduce the tree tea oil yet because this might have been a problem). It is one of the only areas that has not had fuzz or any hair growth. Before I took the conditioner off I placed a warm rag on her head for about one minute – and then I rinsed. After she got out of the tub I waited for about 45 minutes and looked at her scalp again, the redness and itching was gone from the back so proceeded with applying the minoxidil 2% to her scalp and eyebrows. At this point I decided I would only use the essential oils every seven days and then increase the dose IF the irritation went away.
After that I gave her a banana, (since as of recently she is hungry ALL of the time – I think she’s just bored or either trying to cope with the fact she realizes her hair is coming out again). Once she was finished with that I have her the pro-biotic. About 45 minutes later she complained that her stomach hurt. I’m not sure what to make of this since she did not vomit. I will continue to give it to her for the next two weeks. I will alter when I give it her if she continues to complain about her stomach after this week. I asked her if it feels like she needs to go to the bathroom (#2) and she said yes, but she never did. Instead I have her about 3 oz of water and after that she was fine. I took pics and her hair is significantly thinner than what it was about a month ago but I have hope that maybe we’ve counteracted this last flare up. Most of her (after conditioning) is soft – the only part that still feels brittle is the patch in the very back. In addition, she has fuzz on top of her head and some on the back left side of her scalp. …so here we go!!
January 6, 2014 - Day 6
Day 6
Breakfast
Breakfast
- 1 Banana
- Turkey Bacon and Egg seasoned in black pepper and sea salt
- Canned Pineapples
- Cup of Arizona green tea mixed with some of the juice from the canned pineapples
Lunch
- Marshmallows
- Water
Dinner
- Chili with mild cheddar cheese and sour cream
- A bowl of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup
January 4, 2014 - Day 4
Day 4
Goals for
Tomorrow
- Purchase the minoxidil and multi-vitamin
- Buy something to make a good beef stew with (gluten free of course J
- Have a snowball fight! – she loves the snow and I know this would make her happy- just waiting for her brother to get over his sniffles and cough
- Continue the warm rags and ACV , scalp massages, and her lying inverted
What I Accomplished
Today was difficult because my granny, (my great aunt but
really a grandmother to me because she raised my mother), had to be rushed to the hospital. The doctors said it is a type of hypotension that causes her blood pressure to drop when she changes postures. Whether their right or wrong, it’s hard to find out your loved one had to be rushed to the hospital by an ambulance and that they totally passed out beforehand. My mom is really worried because Akhilah witnessed both of my Granny’s sick spells – last night and this morning during breakfast – and we are both trying to get rid of any source of stress in her life. But leave it to my Kila Bee too be unavoidably observant- she doesn’t want to see it but she keeps on looking. Anyhow, I didn’t get much accomplished as for as what I stated above. The good thing is that I got a chance to see some of our family and Granny ate ( apple sauce, crackers, some off brand juice)
January 7, 2014 - Day 7
Day 7
Today was rough because we were going on the 3rd snow day and the 2nd day with no transportation. It was so cold that “Bonnie” would not start yesterday, and today I waited until my dad came by to help. So in the meantime I had to deal with what we had L It’s not what I wanted to feed her (or her brother), but that’s all we had for the time being. We still did the hot rag therapy + minoxidil (twice a day – once in the morning and once at night) and despite her hair loss she has new fuzz coming in. She is at about 50% loss right now, but the good thing is she still has fuzz and signs of new growth. When her Alopecia flared up (bad) this last time, we didn’t see that. I am still waiting on grandpa aka Fed Ex to deliver the oils and probiotic I ordered six days ago from a company that’s 15 miles away :-/ It would have been here by now if they did ship it from Livonia to Ohia L In any case I think that her hair loss is slowing down. If this were like her first very bad episode, it would all be gone by now. It’s still shedding, but I still see new growth – which is encouraging/
January 3, 2014 - Day 3
Day 3
Today I woke up feeling somewhat
apprehensive about this journey and wondering what her hair loss would look
like today. Unfortunately I need to go grocery shopping – which is something I
cannot do until next week. The good news is that my mom heard from her dermatologist
(he used my emergency contact info for some reason), and he said that it was ok
to use Minoxidil – just as long as it’s the one for women. So tomorrow I will
go buy it so that we can start using it on Sunday. My mom, (who is AWESOME by
the way), took her and my little guy to the movies, so their spending the night
with Grandma J
We only had a limited amount of time together today, but here is what we did:
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Breakfast
- 1 Banana
- 1 cup of cereal L (I really need to go grocery shopping. I gave her Multi-Grain Cheerios and a cup of milk). I did not want to give her cereal, especially a multi grain cereal (which, from what I can tell, is high in gluten. So needless to say I had a rough “mommy morning”. Ugghh! However…..
While she ate breakfast I put a warm rag on her hear after spraying on a diluted mist of Apple Cider Vinegar. We did that for about fifteen minutes. After that I braided my sons hair and had her lay inverted for a total of about 5 minutes (she really does not like this for some reason). We worked on her breathing exercises, (during the times when she got upset). Last but not least, ( the moment that I was dreading), I applied the Grogranics to her scalp, massaged, and then brushed her hair/scalp. Her hair is still shedding, but it is not aggressive – but it still is not normal.
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The pictures below are from today. Also, I have pictures of what
I pulled out her brush afterwards. I know that there might be some who feel
like I’m panicking, but please see below:
Tomorrow I
am going to buy her multi-vitamins (which I can use for my son as well), and
the Minoxidil. Until tomorrow loves J Prayers and blessings to you all!
January 5, 2014 - Day 5
Day 5
Today was a little
rough. For whatever reason my love likes to fight me about everything I ask her
to do. We had our ups and downs but the thing is I kept up our regimen
Breakfast
1 Banana
Turkey Bacon and Egg seasoned in black pepper, sea salt and
garlic powder
Canned Pineapples
Water
Afternoon
Marshmallows
Banana
Hot rag for 10 minutes w/ apple cider vinegar applied to her
scalp. After this I applied the minoxidil.
Dinner
Bowl of Chili w/mild cheddar cheese and sour cream
Cup of Arizona green tea
Small bowl of ice cream
After bath time we did the hot rag/acv and minoxidil
application.
January 2, 2014 - Day 2
Day 2
Goals for Day 2 (the * indicates places that I favored)
- Find the oils that I want to use – price them out at a few different (local) stores
- Price Rogaine
- **GNC**
- Zerbos
- **Better Health**
- **Walgreens**
- Get Akhilah to get more used to our new diet
- Working on breathing exercises with her
- Look for shampoo/conditioner
- Look for gluten-free recipes
After being awake for about thirty minutes, I had her lay down, (in an inverted position), for about three minutes. Then I put a warm-hot rag on her hair/scalp twice for about five minutes each. Next she ate breakfast:
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Breakfast
- 2 eggs – seasoned with salt, pepper & cilantro
- Turkey (from the holidays) – I added sage and basil
- A cup of water
- 1 Banana
- 1cup of jello in the afternoon (for the time being I'm trying to take it easy on her stomach until I can introduce the pro-biotic)
- 1 banana
- ½ cup of marshmallows
Dinner:
- Cornish Hen
- Cucumber, tomato and celery mixture from previous night (please see “Day 1 entry for contents)
- ½ cup of jello
- We drank water with all of the meals
Night Time Regimen
- Bath time
- I placed a warm rag on head for four times for a total of about 15 minutes (with acv – Apple Cider Vinegar - sprayed onto her scalp).
I found some really good prices through Better Health. All in all, the total will be right around $100, but I suspect a lot of this will last long since some things I will not use every day. The only thing I will use every day is the Rogaine/minoxidil. They have a one month supply that I am going to try. They also have a three month supply that’s about $18 more, but I’m not sure if I should get it or not. I guess I’ll sleep on it and decide in the morning.
Overall today was good. I was able to get her to eat all of her food – even her veggies :-D She did not have a reaction to anything, (like throwing up or coughing) which is always a positive sign. She doesn't really like the whole laying inverted thing yet, lol. Hopefully she will get used to it over time. I think I am going to try things in two to three month intervals. If I don’t see any signs of improvement by mid to end March, I will try a different regimen. So far her shedding is light, (compared to how it was before), but it is definitely still shedding. She’s probably lost about 10%-20% of her regrowth – especially in the back and at her crown. I looked up Apple Cider Vinegar and saw in quite a few places that it has a positive effect on the hair and scalp, so I’m going to give that a try (please see "Products We Use" page for more information). Once I start using the minoxidil, I will discontinue the Groganics. The minoxidil also has properties that block DHT, so I feel there’s no need to use both. I can’t wait to get started with her new diet and use these forms of treatment! I called her dermatologist to set up an appointment and of course he’s booked a month out! The first available date is February 7 :-O Honestly it is not for his advice/diagnosis, but rather for the fact I need a doctor's note in order to apply to different non-profits to get her a wig. Akhilah is getting older is a serious "girly girl". She loves hair and if she loses all of her hair again I know it will have a huge impact on her confidence - despite whatever I say. In the meantime I am going stick to my original plan. Wish me luck! Much Love :-)
January 1, 2014 - **Day 1**
The Start of New Journey
So here goes nothing and everything. I figured out about a week ago that Akhilah’s Alopecia was flaring up again. Needless to say I was devastated. After almost a year of positive growth, I began to notice in December that her hair was thinner than what it was in November – and a lot of the fuzz she had was gone. I began to panic. All I could think of were the images of her with total hair loss; no hair, no eyebrows and no eye lashes. |
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So here I am. Disappointed but not defeated and ready to try and tackle this head on. I hate to use my daughter as a guinea pig, but the fact is the doctors don’t know much and won’t try much. They say it’s not stress related, or diet related, or related to anything accept genes– and even that doesn’t always explain it. My gut is telling me that it’s diet and stress related – more diet than stress. Today we started a gluten free diet and within the next week I am going to start giving her probiotics. Although I might not be perfect in my implementation and strategy just yet I am going to give this a shot and see it through for the entire year. In addition, I plan on introducing essentials oils as topical therapy (and for her stress) as opposed to the steroids. From everything that I’ve looked up, I decided on rosemary, thyme, cedarwood, jojoba, sage, peppermint, lavender, olive, and possibly coconut milk and aloe vera. Rogaine will also be a part of the regimen – this will be used the most consistently because it obviously has provided results in re-growing hair. Finally I am going to try a few tactics to increase the blood circulation to her scalp – using gingko biloba, Echinacea, a hot rag on her head during baths, apple cider vinegar, aloe vera and a few rounds of her lying inverted on the couch (I'll explainw why on my "Product We Use" page. I know it sounds like a lot, but I believe in due time all of these things will help to stimulate her hair growth and turn off whatever trigger that’s causing her Alopecia. I hope you join me on this journey and that it helps you in your own. Welcome to Akhilah’s Alopecia Adventure!
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Breakfast:
- Eggs – Scrambled with butter salt and pepper
- Pork Bacon
- Grits w/butter & sugar
Snacks:
- Jello w/fruit(canned)
- Banana
Dinner:
- Pan Seared Chicken (seared in butter – I’m out of olive oil, but when buy it that will be what I use exclusively). Cooked in Lawry’s seasoning salt, pepper, cumin, ginger and minced garlic
- A veggie medley with tomatoes, celery, and cucumbers. Mixed with sea salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, ginger paste, basil, parsley, and light ranch.
She also did two five minute sessions of lying inverted on the couch as well as massaging and brushing her hair and scalp with Groganics-DHT Blocker System. It is a daily topical treatment that is made from petrolatum, (which I’m not a fan of), mineral oil, menthol, camphor, saw palmetto, camomille extract, and violet #2. When she took a bath I put a warm-hot rag on her head twice for five minutes at a time.
So here it goes everyone. I am trying this because the doctors can’t give me any answers and there is not a blog online that I can find that really documents a person’s day by day, week by week, regimen in battling this frustrating disease – and if it does it costs money(that I don’t have right now). So in the meantime just call me Dr. Mom and wish US luck. Until the next post - Peace and Blessings to all :-)
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