I went to a new Dermotologist yesterday, after waiting five months to get the visit! I thought the skin reaction on my head was due to scalp psoriasis, but because I’m not a doctor I was unsure. It turns out I have another auto immune disorder! A rare type of skin disease (scaring alopecia) known as Lichen planopilaris.
I started crying in the Dermatologist office! Damn stressful. I have several different autoimmune diseases now! Many of them are skin related. I pictured myself bald as a cue ball and I couldn’t help but cry..
The Dermotologist said I’d had it for a while because of the front hairline loss. It’s at the rate of about a 1/4 inch a year! I swear I just noticed the odd patchy redness on my scalp, and scales at the hair follicles back in May.
I thought it was perhaps stress related.? We moved to a new community in 2023, and we were doing so much construction daily on our home.
I also thought of the stress my daughter has created within me, by estranging us three years ago. (She has stage four cancer, so I have no idea.Her cancer is definitely part of her estrangement of me and her dad.)
According to the internet:
“While stress isn't the sole cause of lichen planopilaris (LPP), it is considered a potential trigger which can exasperate the condition..”
It helps me to be able to write about this. I’m trying to clarify my feelings and emotions regarding having yet another autoimmune disease.
I told my husband I felt like my body was eating me from the inside out!