A mum-of-two from Tuam in County Galway has spoken out on what is often perceived to be an embarrassing medical condition – female hair loss. Vivienne McIntyre has spoken to local newspapers and even appeared on a TV show to talk about her fight with not one, but two types of alopecia.
Vivienne, 52, first realised she was losing her hair when she awoke to clumps of it lying on her pillow. At the GP’s office, she was told in no uncertain terms to prepare herself for total baldness. She describes her experience, saying:
“I always had a great head of hair. Then last year, I started noticing hair on my pillow every morning. I ignored it for a while, but it started getting worse and worse.
“I went to two different doctors and their lack of empathy was overwhelming.
“I was told it was due to menopause and to forget about it — at least I didn’t have cancer. I went away feeling very alone, guilty and down.”
This continued until Vivienne visited a trichologist, a specialist in female hair loss, who told her that she had two types of alopecia. She is currently undergoing hair loss treatment and is in recovery.
Overall, Vivienne wants to use her experience to tell other women suffering from hair loss not to be embarrassed or to pretend it isn’t happening. Her message to hair loss sufferers is: “you are not alone”.