hair loss/ painful?

I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING RAPID HAIRLOSS.  I AM ABOUT TO START 5TH MONTH OF TX, MY HAIR JUST STARTED FALLING OUT FIRST OF MAY AND WELL OVER HALF OF MY HAIR IS GONE, STILL FALLING OUT REALLY STRONG.  MY SCALP HAS BEEN HURTING SO BAD, FEELS LIKE I'M BEING SCALPED SOME DAYS, DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE SERIOUS PAIN OF THE SCALP?  HAS ANYONE TRIED OLIVE OIL TREATMENT FOR HAIRLOSS?

[amirtracy]

bnowik,
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...

[52TELE]

Sorry , I meant no disrespect. It just sounded good and I haven't eaten today. I have been fortunate enough to actually grow hair in places that I didn't have any , and quite actually didn't really want any.

[bnowik]

I TAKE IT 52TELE IS A COMEDIAN HUH?
WELL I GUESS A SENSE OF HUMOR IS ANOTHER GREAT FORM OF TX

[amirtracy]

Yes. You've guessed it! Door number 3 is 52Tele. Door number 2 you'll meet if you hang around. he goes by the name of Can-do-man, and Door number 1 is Goofydad...All forum comedians and lovely individuals who lighten the mood whenever possible. And it does help tremendously!

[Kalio1]

My husband would roll his eyes when I said "my hair hurts!"
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.

[amommy]

The hair loss really does hurt.  I felt like I had ALWAYS had a ponytail in my hair too long. And forget it if something touched my scalp.  OUCH!  I must say that the pain got a lot better after several weeks.  

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!

[bnowik]

I'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS TIME TO THANK MY HUSBAND FOR ALL HIS HELP AND SUPPORT DURING THIS CRAZY TIME,ALSO THANKS TO YOU ALL FOR YOUR COMMENTS

[52TELE]

Sorry bnowik , how rude of me.
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.

[bnowik]

no offense taken,  really i thought pepper wow that my burn my scalp even further then realized you must of been joking, lorl

[fishdoc]

Gee amitracy, my feelings are hurt, and I try so hard............and still don't get a da^n door!!


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.

[willows]

First time I did tx I lost about half my hair, it was kind of strange at first, your hair is something you sort of take for granted that it will stay on your head.  I saw it as an opportunity to get a very short haircut, which is fun for a fifty year old like me. The oil, pepper and tomato thing might really work tho.  Capsasin, in the pepper, is supposted to be a pain reliever and tomato has a bit of Vitamin C, so how bad could the combo be?  

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

[lilmoma]

I totally agree with the Ponytail thing.It does hurt, I have to massage my scalp.Mine started shedding at the 15th week. Actually, it's more like my hair has given itself a haircut.....its weird, but rather than falling out "at the root" its breaking off, about the last 5 inches or so looks like baby hair, the top, near the scalp isnt so bad yet.

[Alady1620]

My hair was long and when it started coming out, I cut it off.  I also only wash it every other day now and I use a deep conditioner.  It is much better now.

[goldyn]

My hair started falling out about the end of the third month of tx i had 3 head fulls of hair to begin with , and i have lost over half, its getting down to were you could see some of my scalp when i pull my hair back in a ponytail, im on 30/48, and the amount has slowed down a little, and ive gotten over the drama of it all, because it will grow back as soon as tx is done and out of your system, its weird my gray hairs tend to be the ones hanging on , just my luck.......

[sfbaygirl]

C'mon Tele, be nice! LOL

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.

[goldyn]

also it feels sometimes like you have had a tight ponytail for about a week in your hair and slept on it is this how your scalp feels, thats how mine feels sometimes...

[friole]

Apparently the hair hurting is real.  Mine just mainly itched and got all over everywhere - started at week 12 and dropped heavily for about 12 weeks.  Head started itching again about week 40+ but the fallout is light.  My 28 yo niece is undergoing chemo for breast cancer and her head just hurt terribly after her first chemo.  Her mom, having had the same chemo at age 32 told her that was it -- the hair was going to be coming out soon -- so she just shaved it right away.  We are truly lucky with only 40-60% loss.

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.

[Drarig]

I just took shot 18 of 48 & I am now experiencing what you are.  Lots of hair falling out all of a sudden, scalp is little sore at times, etc.  I have my hair up in a ponytail alot because I teach fitness classes, & that just kills it -- to keep pulling it back like that.  We just spent a week at the beach, so I had it constantly pulled back - ouch!   Plus I finally broke down couple weeks ago & got a color rinse because I couldn't stand to see the gray coming in for a visit.  I'm sure that wasn't the smartest thing to do at this point, but oh well.  Live and learn...  Never tried the olive oil on my head, but just had some with garlic & oregano on my steak, haha...

[amirtracy]

Ya know what fishy? As soon as I hit post i thought of you! You've GOT to be the funniest chick I know and I don't even know you! You keep me rollin' and for that I thank you. BTW, My husband asked me if you're the alien abductee who pushes a wheelbarrow and cuts open roadkill...(I've tried to explain people on this board to him and that's what his amassed from your info. Roswell, biologist, and the whole wheelbarrow full of sh*t episodes...LOL) ;)

[52TELE]

How in the hello do you teach fitness? My gosh woman , dont you realize your in treatment? It's that shot and all those pills you take everyday ! You are amazing.

[Drarig]

Tele, haha, that's too funny!  Thx for the compliment, I really don't know how I do it, all I can tell you is I have been one of the few lucky ones...  not many side fx other than low wbc & riba rash, etc., the usual.  I do have other issues, like disk probs, some hearts issues, bronchial asthma from chronic sinusitis, but I deal with all it. Oh, yes, & almost forgot -- hep c... lol! But there's always somebody worse off, so why complain?  If you scroll down to thread on June 30 about single mom's working by MommyToo, I explained how I put tx off because I have two jobs & didn't think I could get thru tx.  But so far so good!

[susan400]

On my hair, where it started to regrow, it looks like a mohawk!!  :)    It's because the new growth is so much short on the top of my head and when it grows in it wants to stand straight up, these little 4-5 inch pieces.  It looks silly, but at least it's growing in.

BTW, when I was on treatment, my scalp felt sore, too.

Susan

[52TELE]

I find that the olive oil with  fresh ground pepper and maybe some sun dried tomatos to dip my head in works best for me.:)

[fishdoc]

Tell people you are going for the polish chicken look, it works for me!!

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Polish/BRKPolish.html

[Algernon]

how long did it take for your hair to start growing in again?  4 weeks out of tx and I swear mine is falling out more than ever.

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...).

[goldyn]

Oh algie i didnt want to hear that, give it another 2 weeks and bring me better news, Please.....

[Algernon]

Hey.  Everybody's different--you may not follow my path at all!!  My hair didn't start falling out until about 16 weeks and it wasn't too intense until about week 20.  Maybe I'm just a late bloomer.

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.