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i'm going into 5th month and have lost lots and lots of hair too. Sometimes my scalp is very itchy, etc...
hang in there. it'll be over and it'll grow back :)
52tele- thanks again...
WELL I GUESS A SENSE OF HUMOR IS ANOTHER GREAT FORM OF TX
I know what you mean. He kept telling me "hair doesn't hurt" but he has not done tx, cause it sure can hurt! My hair started to fall out about month 3 and ontinues to come out. I call it "shedding" because that is what it does, mine doesnt fall out in clumps. I can notice it, I say I have lost about 1/3 to 1/2 of my hair, but others say they can't tell.
The pain did go away about month 8, but it is still shedding.
I am almost 7 weeks post tx and still losing some hair. Not nearly as much as on tx though. Overall, I lost about 50-75% of my hair. I had a TON of hair to begin with (like I mean more than you can possibly imagine) so it wasn't overly noticable to the general public, just to people close to me.
I am hoping my hair doesn't come back in thicker than before, i don't think I could handle it. Also, most of my curls disappeared and I have no clue if they will come back in. Oh, and it seems like I have some gray hair coming back in, but I am just telling myself it is blond for now :)
I never tried the olive oil treatment, but I don't imagine it can hurt. I particularly think that much moisture would be good for your hair and scalp since tx is so drying. Good luck and let us know if you try it!
49 yr old male
dx fall of 2004 HCV 1a
infected 1975
bx= grade 2 stage 3
Just finished shot # 15 of 48
wk 12 pcr= responding w/ 304 iu/ml
tx=150 mcg/wk of pegintron and 1400mg/day of ribavirin
rescue meds=40,000 units of Procrit/wk-HGB at 11.8 now.
Outlook=Peachy.
My hair is falling out, but right in the front, soon I am afraid I will have a tonsure, you can definitely see my scalp, and my part is about 1.5 inches wide ;)...shot 22 down.
Actually, my doc told me the pain in the hair is not from the hair coming out, but from the scalp, when the hair starts to fall out, there is some serious dry scalp starting to happen, which was also my experience, and that causes some pain. My hair all grew back too and I finally got the HUGE clogs out of the shower drain, now I'm going to try treatment again and all I can think about is going for another buzz cut, which is so unladylike, but I love it. Very easy to care for and you can hardly see the gray. Have a good one, all.
willow
Sorry I dont' have hair loss, yet...hope I never do! I have heard that T-gel product helps. Not sure, others will probably pipe in on this.
I use Nioxin products for thinning hair and I think they help. You can pick up what they call a starter kit - 3 products - for about $40 and it lasts for a month. You can tell by then if it will help. The big bottles are cheaper.
Hey 52 -- that pepper was a tad radical. How are you handling tx? I was sorry to read about the detectible at week 12 but you have options. (maybe door # 4 -- ooh that must be fishdoc.
BTW, when I was on treatment, my scalp felt sore, too.
Susan
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Polish/BRKPolish.html
for those not yet off tx, my scalp has almost stopped hurting (now just a tiny bit on top) and the itching is completely gone (nice to go to a restaurant and not have the other patrons worry that my scratching means lice in the vicinity...).
P.S. I swam a lot during TX (and since). I doused my hair in conditioner and wore a cap but I'm sure the chlorine is taking it's toll.