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The almighty Chinese mallet

Martillo chino

As I have mentioned in previous postings, it turns out that now that I have alopecia areata I have found out that a bunch of other people have had it too. One of those affected by the disease was one of my nephews, who told me that he has had two bouts of bald spots and no recurrence in the last two years.

 

When he found out that I had Alopecia he got in touch with me and he told me: “I really recommend you to use the Chinese mallet.”

 

“What is that?” I said, and he explained that it was a little mallet with little needles in one end. To use it one has to basically hammer the area affected with the needles and one has to expect blood to come out.

 

After a few inquiries here in Cuba I realized there was NO way that I could find such a mallet in here. I got in touch again with my nephew and asked him if I could use a fork for the same purpose. He said “no,” it had to be the Chinese mallet. So he sent me his with my sister.

 

In the minute I touch the device I knew the procedure was going to hurt, but my nephew told me he started to see hair in his bald spots very soon after starting to use the mallet. He also sent me by email a link to a video that show how to use it:

 

 

You saw the video? You saw that BaldieGirl saying that it is painful? Well, let me tell you something: it is painful and bloody.

I am using it, although right now I am taking a break from it. In a future entry I will talk more about it and more about how my nephew got his hands on this mysterious device.

Laser Therapy

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It was less than a month after the diagnosis when my dermatologist, Dr. Silvia Garcia, told me that she was going to prescribe also 7 sessions of laser therapy.

By then I was already getting the cryotherapy, the cortisone, the minoxidil (the 2% solution and I was still waiting for the 5% solution that was brought by my sister) and the placenta lotion and shampoo. On top of that I was running and taking the flower therapy to control my anxiety. The Zoloft was still yet to arrive.

So, there I went, to the physiotherapy department of the Clinica Central Cira Garcia (where, as said before, most foreigners get medical attention in Cuba). A very nice doctor (whose name has slipped my mind) booked me for 7 consecutive laser therapies.

The Laser Therapy, according to what I have read on the Internet, consists of laser light applied to the affected area in order to alter the cellular function. Some of the documents I found in my web research said that this treatment has proven to be effective in the treatment of all types of hair loss (not only alopecia areata). But there are also other websites that say that the efficiency of the laser treatment is yet to be proved.

Anyway, there was nothing to loose (other than time).

So starting on April the 8th I went to Cira Garcia for 7 consecutive appointments for my laser therapy. Each time, the doctor applied the laser light over the bald spots for several minutes and while doing so I felt absolutely nothing.

During the 7 days I didn’t see any immediate result and actually the spots kept growing. The doctor explained that the result was not going to be immediate, that I had to wait. Patience again was the key word.

The bald spots are growing!!!

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Me and Veronica, on her wedding day, when the only thing I could think about was my hair.

Saturday March 23 was Veronica’s wedding day. She is my friend and housekeeper and I was chosen by her to be an official witness at the ceremony.

The day started with me baking some pecan tartlets for the wedding reception and then I had to wash my hair. Anyone that has read previous entries of this blog and anyone that has heard me complain about my hair problem know that washing my hair has become a nightmare. I don’t like it, it terrifies me, it gets my anxious… I do not enjoy it at all.

So I jumped in the shower and washed my hair. I felt so much of it fell from my head and when I came out of the shower I could see the bald spot on the top of my head looking at me from the mirror. It looked huge!

I got closer to the mirror and turned the lights on and yes, the spot was definitely bigger. I know that my dermatologist told me to avoid the mirror, not to look and the spots and stop paying attention to the hair that falls in the shower. But I can’t, I need to see and I rather see now than find a surprise in the future if the spot keeps growing.

Still, when we left to the wedding my bald spots were the only thing on my mind. I told my husband, Jeff, that I thought the spots were growing. He told me that I needed to calm down, “thanks for your support,” I said ironically, even when I knew that he is right, and that what I need is to calm down and keep doing what I am doing. I know I have to be patient, it is just so hard.

Later that day, after the wedding, we went to play tennis with some friends. Before arriving to the court I was still feeling down, depressed and worried, but the exercise worked its magic and after two hours of tennis I was smiling, happy, and enjoying life again

Human placenta… in my head?!

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The Placental Histotherapy Center, in Havana, Cuba, where the human placenta shampoo and lotion are sold.

Right after the visit with the dermatologist I headed to the PlacentalHistotherapyCenter which is just two blocks away from the Cira García Clinic (where most foreigners in Cuba get medical treatment.)

At the center they required the prescription issued by Dr. Garcia and they gave me a new prescription from the doctor in site so I could buy the Piloactive Placenta Lotion at the pharmacy in site.

The lotion is sold along with a shampoo for 20 dollars per set (200 ml of each). Both products are made with human placenta and they are the result of research done in the island in the 70s primarily to cure vitiligo, another skin disease which main symptom is the discoloration of the skin.

The research was done by Dr. Carlos Miyares Calo, a physician specialist in Gynecology, Obstetrics and Pharmacology, and professor from MedicalSchool of the University of Havana, Cuba, explains the Center’s website. (http://www.histoterapia-placentaria.cu/)

From the mid 1980s people from many countries were coming to Cuba to look for a cure for the vitiligo and the Center was created.

In the 90s the Cuban scientists created other medications made of human placenta to treat other diseases such as psoriasis, osteoporosis and alopecia.

The lotion and the shampoo are said to stimulate hair growth and regeneration, they increase blood circulation to the scalp and regulate the sebaceous secretions. They are also said to improve the protein synthesis that happens normally inside every hair follicle.

On top of all those things neither the shampoo nor the lotion have secondary effects. I am using them now (it has been a month), so far I have seen no results but as my doctor said it is too early for any results… patience!

Relaxing at the beach

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Sunday March the 10th, the next day after the discovery of the bald
spots I decided to go to the beach. It was a beautiful day and every Sunday a
group of friends go over there. So I figured out that if what I needed was toNothing more ralaxing.
relax there was no better way to do it than sitting by water to contemplate the
waves, enjoy the breeze and talk to my friends.

Sure enough it was really helpful. I first talked to my friend Yolanda and told her about the newly discovered problem. She told me about a friend that has the same thing: alopecia areata. In the case of her friends she has bald spots that come and go constantly depending on her level of stress. It was reassuring to know that those spots “go,” but not so reassuring to know that they may come back.

Then Francesca, another friend at the beach, told me about a friend of hers that also had a bald spot once, a really big one. “What you have is nothing compared to what she had,” Francesca said, and most important “the hair eventually grew back.” I thought at that moment that I would focus all my energy in that: in knowing and believing that my hair will eventually grow back.

And then there was Carlos, another friend that usually goes to the beach on Sundays and who is a psychiatrist (officially MY psychiatrist, now). He told me he has had several patients with the same problem, and that they all eventually recover their hair.

He also told me that he would prepare for me a concoction of Bach Flowers to help me relax. According to Wikipedia, these flower dilutions were developed by a bacteriologist called Edward Bach and are believe to have healing properties, primarily for conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress.

That day, the second day of my life with Alopecia Areata, was good day. I came back from the beach relaxed, optimistic and tanned!