Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Waiting Game...

So things with me are pretty good.  I go home for Thanksgiving Break next week and I have been doing well with my coursework.  But my hair woes still continue.  Last week I finally got to see the dermatologist.  I had to wait months to get an appointment; literally months - I called to make an appointment when I got to school in August, and they couldn't see me until November.  I'm not sure if it's because I have crappy student health insurance, or if there is just one dermatologist in Ithaca, or a combination of the two.

Well the doctor was definitely worth the wait.  She was fantastic and I immediately felt more comfortable under her care than I have previously with my doctor back in DC.  To my surprise, she wanted to do a scalp biopsy.  Mind you... I just put this weave in and it cost a pretty penny.  To my surprise, she was hip on her weave knowledge and she promised me that she wouldn't completely destroy my masterpiece :).  She cut about a 1/2 inch square of the net, so my scalp was exposed and the rest...I wasn't prepared for.

Next she whips out a needle and then asks me, "Are you good with needles?"  I mean I am but I wasn't prepared for all of this!  I thought she was just going to look at my scalp and go from there.  So she numbs the area of my scalp and literally takes a piece of my scalp and prepares it for the lab.  A hair specialist is as we speak analyzing my scalp and trying to figure out if indeed have Central Scarring Alopecia.  The doctor thinks that I do and she asked me how aggressively I want to try and treat this, if this is in fact the case.  I told her I am willing to try anything within reason.  There are some oral medications that we may be able to try, but I am waiting to hear back from her, before I think about that.

I miss my natural poof.

I'm sorry that I don't have more to say on "natural hair" at the moment, but I hope sharing my story helps others.  More to come soon.