u/jenn_lbw

I had an AA patch last year that resolved fairly quickly with just clobetasone ointment. had some hair shedding as well which I put down to my yearly shed.

the AA flared again last month and with that came a lot of scalp tenderness and itch. the pain was so bad that my family doctor decided to give me steroid jabs instead to calm the AA spot down and hopefully the surrounding inflammation. it worked on the patch, but my scalp still had itching and soreness intermittently for weeks. my hair shedding was ridiculous, but I couldn't find any more bald spots. I cannot recall any major stressful events since half a year ago, but I have been on iron supplementation since I discovered a low ferritin last year when I was first diagnosed with AA. my ferritin improved slightly (around 50s) and I am still supplementing. it was 17 when my first AA patch occured last year.

I'm currently still shedding massively and nothing seems to be working. my husband and family says my crown parting isn't widening/crown isn't thinning but I feel a generalised thinning (pony tail feels much smaller). when I shed, I see normal terminal hairs with a tiny white speck at the end (it doesn't look like a normal telogen bulb, just a small white dot), and I also see some very fine short hairs lost as well. on top of that, my family doctor also noted that my scalp was very scaly and I had some fine white dandruff- he thinks I most likely have seb derm which has been ongoing for many years since I recall having sebum under my nails when scratching my scalp as a child, and is now flaring up.

my family doctor recommended starting minoxidil, but if course I'm hesitant because of the dread shed, but also because I'm not sure what I have. from what ive been experiencing, I seem to have many things -

1. Seb derm

2. TE (caused by seb derm?)

3. AA flare

4. AGA? - can anything else cause the small fine hairs to be shedded?

my follicles are mainly showing 2-4 hairs but in the sore areas, a lot of them are showing only one hair emerging- does that mean AGA?

I'm now trying the ordinary serum - it does make my oily scalp more oily the next day. I'm also on ketoconazole 2% shampoo once a week which makes me shed even more on the day I use it and the next few days after. I shampoo daily, so I use a normal hydrating shampoo and once a week I use the L'Oréal elvive hyaluron pure shampoo (containing salicylic acid), and then once a week I use dercos anti dandruff shampoo (selenium sulfide) (this doesn't make me shed as much) - so basically a anti dandruff shampoo twice a week, a clarifying shampoo once a week, and a normal hydrating shampoo rest of the week. I've just made up a melatonin spray and am planning to try it tonight to see if it helps with the shedding...

any thoughts/advice please on what else I can do? thank you so much!