Hair Loss

[jonihs]

I' just curious how long it takes before yuo all start noticing hair thinning. I' sure it's different w/ everyone, but just want to get a general idea.   Thanks,  Joni

[Jim55]

I was the same way. Didn't loose much hair, and I had to cut my nails every week or two at the most.

Get Well

[DebbieDo]

I start TX Dec 29 and hair loss will be a big issue with me.  I had thyroid problems some years back and my hair began to thin.  It got healthy again and just recently i have noticed hair in the  hair -catcher in the shower. I'm not even on TX....my hair is very fine........Im very concerned about this side

[Galen]

I've been a hairdresser for almost 30 years and have worked with many, many chemo patients in that time.  There is a wig and breast prosthesis shop adjoined with our salon.  As OHC said, I colored my hair all through tx using a demi-permanent color.  The reason our hair thins is that we aren't producing epithelial cells at the rate we normally do.  These cells cover all of our organs which explains why our skin, nails, and intestinal tract are affected, too.  Nioxin may help a little, as well as avoiding harsh tx of your hair (that goes for all the time, not just during tx.  No towel drying the hair, blot.  Detangle with a pick not a brush.  Brush dry hair, don't detangle it with a comb. Detangle hair before getting it wet, there will be fewer snarls after.)  If you want to continue coloring your hair durning tx, I reccommend that your stylist use is a demi- or semi-permanent.  If you have extremely fine hair it is probably best not to color.  Perming is a no-no because the rods pull the hair too much and the thioglycolic acid would probably do a number on it.  I also shampooed and blew dry my hair every day.
Bottom line?  If it is going to fall out, it will and nothing you do will stop it.  However there is plenty you can do to make it worse so be gentle, folks.

[BethUK]

Vanity prevented me from not colouring my hair during treatment.  I couldnt stand those grey roots. I had montly root tints and a few highlights here and there!  Yes it did thin, but I had thick hair anyway.  I dont think anyone goes bald on this treatment.  I used to look around the clinic at the hospital at peoples hair.  They all looked a bit messy and dry but no bald women!  Mine grew back too.

[DownThisRoad]

I've colored (highlighted and lowlighted) my hair before treatment and during my treatment. I've experienced hair loss and it started to fall out pretty good around week 15.  I'm now on week 34 and my hair is still shedding.  The thing that bothers me the most is having to vacuum constantly and then always having to lint brush my clothes.  Even when I know that I've cleaned up all the hair, I have the feeling that it is still on me and on my carpet.

Well, if figured that if I was going to loose my hair anyway due to these treatment meds, I still wanted to have it colored and trimmed well.  My hairdresser put me on Nioxin around week 20 and I'm using it still. Maybe it help and maybe it doesn't but I continue to use it and hope that my hair will return to normal once I'm finished with treatment and all these meds wash out of my system.

[hepc_avenger]

Just wanted to note that when I STOPPED using Nioxin, my scalp stopped itching so much.  I started using Progaine shampoo and find that it does not cause my scalp to itch like the Nioxin did.  Sorry Nioxin company, but your product bites!

[layla]

FYI That locks of love is getting to be quit a popular program with college student. I notices a couple college age girls I know hair getting longer than I had ever seen and when I mentioned it to them I was told they are growing it to get it cut to donate it to locks of love. These girls don't know each other and are from different areas. Guess they need 10 inches to donate. What a nice thing for young people to do. LL

[Bodie]

Sorry to hear you have had so much trouble with your hair. Try the Nioxin. It has helped me. When I was on tx the first time, mine fell out all over the place. When I washed it, it was like I was caught in a spider web.After that, I just cut about 16 inches off of it and it has been a lot better since. It doesn't fall out near as much and I only wash it once to twice a week.
BTW, sent my pony tail to Locks of Love. Takes three tails to make one wig for kids. They have a site by the same name.
Hope it gets better.

[Indiana]

Are you BLONDE by any chance??   Just checkin..........

[oldhippiechick67]

Well kids, Galen is a hairdresser and she said she colored her hair all thru tx.  My doc said I could continue coloring it, but I still havent. I have also heard that your eyelashes get longer, and also the eyebrows. My hair started falling out around 16 wks and got really noticable about week 20-21.  I have quit the daily shampooing quite awhile ago, try to keep it at 2 x's a week.  Oh ya, I had heavy duty scalp itching for several weeks too around 2nd and 3rd month.   OHC

[hph5477]

Thanks for the comment.  Guess I'll call my hairdresser this week and see what she thinks about the highlights first....then check with my doc.

[raheem]

I'm a guy on week 28 of 48 and I noticed my hair getting thin maybe 12 weeks into tx. It is short and gray, used to be very wavey, almost curley.  Now it's thin, fine and straight hair, kind of lifeless. No big deal.  I'll trade it for a healthy liver any day.

[cindee]

I begged to have a perm...but I was told NO CHEMICALS on hair! I want a perm soooooooooo bad but will wait, like I've been told too. I asked doctor, doctor said NO, I called CVS Pro Care who supplied my meds...they said NO WAY! So I will wait, w/ straight hair!!!! I did loose a good bit of hair in the 5th month, but it only came out for about 2months...but like someone else posted my eyelashes are longer than ever!!! Go figure. BTW I am 1 month post 48/48, geno type 1a, and so far a responder. I will find out on May 6th if I am still clear. prayers to you and all, but listen to the people in here....don't do the chemical thing on your hair! much love, Cindee

[LvdByGod]

i have a new hair related side to report. i now have face fuzz!!! my face looks like a peach. no mustache yet. i never had that before tx. i know that some bulimics get this but i thought it was from some type of imbalance. electrolites or vitamins. i'm eating fine, and taking my vitamins and suppliments,no vommiting. but, i have lost 15 lbs. since starting tx. but, i think it's mostly water weight. since the swelling in my legs and ankles went down with the start of tx as well. has anyone else experienced this "furry" situation. i said to myself "i'm supposed to be loosing hair". i am losing some on my head, not much yet to freak out about. hope this tx is working...one wonders what all this med is up to in our bodies beside killing virus.

[layla]

Here is my story. I'm at 41 weeks now. I think it was about 4 months into tx when my hair really started shedding. It seemed it was all over the place but it stopped after about 6 or 8 weeks. It was noticeable to my husband before me but no one else seemed to notice. It was thin. I have fine thin hair anyway and wear it very short so that helps. I dye my hair every 3 weeks and have all through tx and contunue to now. Now it's thinner than normal and a little dryer but it looks ok and it doesn't seem to fall out much more than normal. I also wash my hair everyday and just use a maoisturizing shampoo. I did bleach it blonde before tx but didn't dare while on tx. Now it's very dark brown.

[doll face]

I am on week 24 and just this past two weeks has my hair loss gotten bad. First time on tx I had long thick hair and lost probably almost half of it, cut it to my shoulders and started looking for a wig. Thank goodness it never came to that.I was starting to get excited that my hair loss has been minimal but not any more it is falling out in clumps. Good Luck with yours.

[ringading]

hi there hph5477.....read that your having highlights?...just a sugestion, but might want to ask about that , even the people i spoke with at the cancer center....( interferon, same medication i am told as chemo, where i went to discuss wigs and my hair) STRONGLY empahais NOT to do this as well as my hep nurse, my hep doctor and anyone else i've spoken with about it...chemical treatment can be very hard on your already struggling hair folicles.....hey...wish i had the courage to experiement on myself, and try for my high/low lights, as there seems to be this weird inch and ahalf of discolored hair at my roots...can't figure out where the hell it came from...as i AM a blonde!!! ha ha....maybe just ask a few more questions first so you are really sure this is what you are prepared to experiment with okay...good luck.who knows, maybe i will break down eventually and try too....opps...or not!..does anyone else (female ), sorry guys, hits women harder..have any experience with this???

[hph5477]

Just did shot 8/48 this past Friday.  I bought the Nioxin shampoo and started using it at the beginning.  Haven't noticed any hair loss yet, though.  I have short, thick hair.  Hairdresser always thins in out when I get it cut.  I'm due to get highlights this next week.....we'll see how that goes.  Oh, yea, and I'm one of those people that washes my hair every morning in the shower.  I'm still hoping that between the short hair, the shampoo, and little sx I've had, that I will not experience any hair loss......think it's possible?

Good luck.  Don't worry about it because there's not a lot you can do if you do lose some hair.  This isn't important enough to waste much time on in my opinion.  Too many other things going on and too many other things I can choose to worry about.

Again, good luck with tx.

[slarso]

hair loss is not to bad for me, I am 52and was getting a bit thin on top anyway. This is weird though. After 4 weeks, I notice both my hair and nails growing faster! I have a very light beard and use to shave only every three days or so, now I look like yasser arafrat after one day....go figure!

[ringading]

hey there, wow i'm lovin this place....as for hair....think it's different for everyone, i already find i am thinning out, and have very long hair...and am pretty dependant on it, so this is definately a major drag....umm dr. told me that it (hair loss)seems to be more prevelant in women then men....go figure....and that the greatest hair loss seems to be around 8 to 10 months....in preperation ,even though i am only doing 6 months, i went out with my best friend and bought a wig, long blonde one, like my own hair...i certainly don't need it yet and may never...knock knock knock,( in which case, will donate it when this is over) but have it in advance just incase...besides a few teary eyed moments getting the wig...there were many hysterical ones too..i wore it out of the store and as we approached the door, had to wonder out load if my hair would.."beep"...YES i paid for it....and then after awhile causually said to my friend that i couldn't WAIT to get home and "take off my hair and put up my feet".....i must find the humour in all of this, cause you just gotta believe it's there....laughin through the tears...if hair loss varies for all, some simple things may help slow it down..#1..NEVER have any chemical treatments done to your hair while on treatment or for at least 6 months after,(some say a year and a half after treatment, yah like THATS realistic)...#2..wash once a week if you can stand to, twice at the most....#3 brush or comb out very gently...avoid pulling up in clips and hair ties, #4 try and get NIOXIN products or something eagually gentle..most shampoos are full of detergent and VERY hard on hair, (baby shampoo is the hardest on hair)hope this helps some....and there is a great chance you will NOT loss any, other than a bit of thinning...
cheers
kimmy

[Bodie]

I started somewhere around week 4 the first time I did tx. I was on full dose then. But I have really thick hair and it was down past my butt long. So any hair loss seemed like a lot to me cause one hair was so much. I cut 16 inches off my hair in January and it seemed to help. This time I have been using the Nioxin faithfully and I haven't had that bad a time with it. I am on week 18-20, somewhere in there. Some say it gets bad about this time. I can't tell it so I guess it is better this time. I'm only on half dose of Pegasys tho.
Good luck and try the Nioxin, if you can afford it. That stuff is real expensive if you don't get it at a beauty supply. I have a friend that gets it for me and it is about half the price it is in salons.
Gotta go
Bodie

[oldhippiechick67]

Hit the enter button by boo boo joni?? lol, BTW I am losing mine like crazy, seems to be letting up a TAD, am at week 23.
I read on another site that the Nioxin shampoo etc really helps, I shoulda bought it long ago, dang cheapsake me!!  OHC