How quickly can it happen?

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   Hello Jamie

Welcome to the forum.

All the questions you have are very usual... but this is a condition without definitive answers.  That makes it very very hard to come to terms with and understand.  So if you read multiple answers its not being vague or unhelpful, its just how the condition works.
The condition is very much an individual thing - the speed of loss, how much, the speed of return, when it returns all of these things are not comparable to anyone else.  Its simply not possible to look to another person and assume their experience will be yours.
So AA, ie a patch or many, simply means that, and absolutely its is NOT a certainty that it becomes AT or AU.
This uncertainty and inability to predict anything about it, causes us so much heartache, it would be a bit easier if we knew what's what.
So all any of us truly know is how our alopecia is today, and how it was last week... none of us know what it will be like tomorrow, whether that's more loss or regrowth.
Its not uncommon to have people diagnosed with fungal infections or other things rather than alopecia.  Have you had blood tests?  Usually we get the standard ones to check on our general health.  Alopecia is NOT diagnosed by blood tests, rather they are used the other way around... its not any of these things, like thyroid problems which can cause hairloss, so all that's left is to say its alopecia.
A dermatologist sees more cases than your GP, so a referral there may be helpful to get a better explanation of things.  However, GPs often delay the request because of the condition's ability to recover itself.
The burning and itching are part of alopecia.  Its not quite the pain free condition people assume - how can your hair hurt?  But it can be very very painful and uncomfortable, so its not necessarily psychological.
Remember.... this condition has the ability to right itself, so it doesn't have to be a forever thing, and it certainly doesn't have to equal total baldness.  Whatever happens the forum can help you through. 
Take care