A Scar is Born...Part I

This ain't a love story, but definitely an on-going drama. This is one of the most uncomfortable things I‘ve had to do, but God told me that sharing what I've gone through with the world is part of my purpose. So, it's time to be real and get to the nitty gritty. This is my story.

In January 2019, I was rockin' long, almost "Poetic Justice" like braids. If you are not familiar to what I am talking about, in the movie "Poetic Justice", Janet Jackson's character had long thick braids. These type of braids were popular in the 90's and often referred to the movie to describe its length and thickness. Some people even call them Dookey Braids (lol I'm not going there). I got my hair braided the following month and wanted to leave them in for awhile, because it's a good protective style. However, my scalp developed tiny sores and it was getting uncomfortable. Transparency moment..I'm not going to lie, at first I blamed the hair stylist. (Even though you don't know that I blamed you, I'm so sorry!) I'm not going to go into details why, but I thought maybe she was the reason why I had the sores. I decided to take the braids down and go to my hairstylist Ann, because I knew she could take care of it. The sores weren't that bad, so I wasn't trippin' too hard about it.

“These type of braids were popular in the 90's and often referred to the movie to describe its length and thickness..”

Something Wasn't Right..

March 17, 2019

March 20, 2019

A couple months went by and the sores did not go away. Ann tried a lot of different methods to heal them but nothing worked. I decided to stop going to her, because the pain in the top, center part of my scalp was so bad that I didn't want anyone else to touch it. I also noticed my hair thinning a little. In March 2019, I decided it was time to go to the dermatologist. Later, I will go into details about how I felt about my experiences at the dermatologist. (Read, The Tea: My View on Dermatologist).

April 17, 2019

It took a month before I could get an appointment with the first dermatologist. In April 2019, I went to the dermatologist and she diagnosed me with dermatitis and she said I also had a fungus. She prescribed me with Ketoconazole shampoo (that same pink shit that they give everybody), a cream, medication for the fungus and the dreaded 10 day antibiotics. When I think about antibiotics, I cringe but I was trying to get this process over with.

So, I did everything she told me to do, and did not feel any different. As a matter of fact, sometimes I felt worse. Before my next appointment, I went to Destin for my friend Tara’s birthday party. I don't know what happened, but my scalp hurt so bad that I drenched it in Aloe Vera gel. It was as if someone took a torch and lit my scalp on fire. I've never felt pain like that coming from my head.

Anooother?!?!

During my follow up appointment in May 2019, I told my dermatologist my concerns. She stated that I probably wasn't doing something correctly (wooo chileee, another story). She gave me the same instructions that she gave the first time. I continued going through the process with no results. In June, 2019 the dermatologist gave me another cream and 30 days of another antibiotic (Me: Anooother?!?! in my Soulja Boy voice). She said that if the medication didn't work by the next appointment, I would need to get a scalp biopsy to see what's going on. That was my last appointment.

Moving On With Life..Or So I Thought..

My Best Friend's Wedding

I don't know about you, but I have this bad habit of thinking things will go away eventually. Like I'm blessed and highly favored right? After June 2019, I hadn't made another appointment. I pretty much started to ignore the irritation. On July 5, 2019, I decided to get my hair done for the first time since I stopped earlier that year. My best friend was getting married in Montgomery, and I wanted to make sure my hair looked good. I got an up-do that I had once before. My hair was twisted up into a bun with hair added to the top. The next day my head was throbbing, but I ignored it. I decided to keep my hair braided for a week, because I was trying to get my money's worth. By the time I took my hair down, my scalp was inflamed and bleeding. I still didn't go to the dermatologist and started looking into natural hair remedies. I don't know why a lot of us think Youtube and Pinterest are the saviors for all things needed in life lol. Looking back, that was a HORRIBLE idea.

“ You know that feeling in your stomach? Listen to it.” -Sally Kathryn

Over It..

TSU Homecoming 2019

Finally, in October 2019 I made an appointment with a different dermatologist after inquiring about one on Facebook. I know ya'll are like why would she wait this long? But, school started back, I was always on the move and honestly I tried to ignore it. Plus, I was still paying on the bills from the last two dermatologist (good insurance is important..also another story). In the meantime, I'm still wearing protective styles, ignoring the pain and irritation. So, I went to that dermatologist and she looked at my scalp for all of 10 seconds. She said it looked like I had dermatitis and folliculitis and prescribed me some ointment. I didn't feel good about it, but it was the week of my Alma Mater, Tennessee State University's homecoming. It was my 10th year reunion and all I cared about was being cute. I used the ointment and all it did was dry my scalp up so bad to the point where I bought a TSU cap to hide it. I never made it to that follow up appointment either.

I really can't tell you my thought process. I literally put this issue on the back burner even though my scalp hurt to the touch, it had sores and it was extremely dry. You would've thought I'd follow up immediately, but I wait another whole month to go to my third and final dermatologist. As soon as she saw my scalp, she said it looked like I had Alopecia. By then the symptoms worsened and my hair was thinning out. She said she couldn't determine it officially, unless I had a scalp biopsy (doesn't that sound familiar?) I have never experienced so many emotions at one time. I was tired, nervous, shocked, but also relieved because I felt like I was finally getting somewhere. Hearing that I possibly had Alopecia was scary because all I could picture was the women with the big bald spots in the middle of their head. However, it had almost been a year, and it was time to move on. On November 14th, I got a scalp biopsy and two weeks later I found out that I was diagnosed with Lichen Planopilaris.

Read A Scar is Born: Part II to see what happens next!

Boldy & Courageously,

Gia

"Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it and you’ll start believing in it."

-Jesse Owens