hair

For the past week every time I brush my teeth I notice at least a half dozen strands of my hair in the sink (and I'm not brushing my hair).

I'm beginning to wonder if brushing your teeth during TX cause your hair to fall out?  (hahahaha)

No, seriously, I'm at week 13 or 14 - is this when anyone else started to notice hair loss?

[GrandmaA]

Yes, it was close to that time that my hair started falliing out. Don't use a comb on it, just a hair pik. I'm still waiting for the 2 turbans I ordered. They should have come by today.

[wyntre9]

"Don't use a comb on it, just a hair pik"

I never did comb my hair much coz it's so curly.  I just scrunched it.

Guess there won't be much left to scrunch, soon.  (sigh)

[Myown]

I'm beginning to wonder if brushing your teeth during TX cause your hair to fall out? (hahahaha)
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hahahahaha!!!!
That is funny! You caught me off guard. I didn't feel a joke was comming up and boom there it was. Cracked me up!

But anyhow,I think tommorrow is the 12th shot for me and so far the hair is still thick and hopefully it will stay, but at least if it goes everyone says it comes back.

[orphanedhawk]

I realised that not only was my hair thinning, but it was breaking off. So, I'm doing super conditioning with a mild product. ( to avoid anymore scalp itchies) I do take omega 3 fish oil. Its supposed to be good for your hair and skin but I don't know how much good its doing. I don't think it can hurt.

[wyntre9]

Glad someone's laughing.

I'm laughing too but I'm secretly mourning my hair.  It's so noticeable coz it's coppery brown and the sink is porcelain white and I have one of those vanities with the 5 lightbulbs and even though I'm half blind even i can see all the dang hair.

(don't notice it in the tub so much -maybe coz it's yellow?  or dimly lit?  or I'm a terrible housekeeper?)  *LOL*

Guess it's time to cut it even shorter.

I'm going to bed.  I think hair loss is making me weak.

thanks for the Queen referral, btw, and that other song you mentioned.  already got the champion lyrics and will pull the others up tomorrow.

One other thing - (and I'll get back to you tomorrow)

Dietrich is your Dr., right?

[wyntre9]

It's a good thing i can't see the back of my head coz I'd probably be really freaked as I can FEEL there's less of it.  

Also at the crown of the head.

in the 3 way mirror I now have to sort of fiddle with it and shove part of it around to get full coverage.

the fish oil sounds good but i know me - i'm too distracted to remember to get it much less use it.  

I always was among the cosmetically-impaired.  

[Myown]

yes Dr. D.

I'm nodding off here. My body feels tired, but my mind isn't..

see ya tommorrow.

[friole]

ha ha ha ha ha ha -- brushing teeth causes hair fall out! -- I like that.   I was so anal retentive, I would line them up in groups of 10 on the shower wall as they came off in my hands, washing my hair.  They were like little soldiers on my wall. Then I could scoop them all out and put them in the trash can instead of clogging the drain.  My hair was short and each time I got it cut it was thinner.  I had lots of body and it all disappeared.  Finally, after comments by my hair dresser, I had to tell her it was the medicine I was taking.

I think my thick wavy hair broke off and when it came in, it was thin and bodyless.  After some period of time, I grew to like the new style. I liked the straightness. I found I could wear baseball caps and not have hat hair when I removed them.  I could wake up in the morning  and my hair was not sticking up everywhere.  Now, 7 months post tx,  my body and thickness is back and my hair sticks up all over the place in the morning.

I started using Nioxin for thinning hair (not the chemically treated kind) and felt like it helped.  I just bought some for a friend who is on week 5 now and doesn't even know what is in store for her.  THey have a starter pack which should last a month and by that time you will know if it is helping.

Another helpful hint someone gave me was to use a satin pillowcase.

What about eyebrows?  Anyone developing the Marx brothers eyebrows yet?  I pulled out a few during tx that were over an inch long!

Don't worry, friends, it will come back.
frijole

[sfbaygirl]

You have hair on your tongue???? You are kidding right? Sure you didn't run into some ware wolf or something? LOL  My hair is pretty awful. If I use conditioner and comb it through my wet hair I don't look as much like the guy on Beetle Juice. Sometimes I just look in the mirror and go, 'oh well, no one can say I am too vain...".

[dperry10]

Mine started falling out about after about 6 wks, I was noticing while driving to work , just how thin it had gotten.  with the light coming thru the moon roof, I could see the whole crown of my head,   outlined bald, sooo last weds , last week.  I went and got my hair cut shorter than its ever been.  Too bad we can't put pictures on here.  I would put a before, during and after cut.. LOL   you can see the change in hair and face ( weight loss ) and color.    I look like I am fading away..

I got tired of feeling the loose hairs on my arms, after they had fallen, and all over my clothes, forget wearing a black top, you could see those curly blonds everywhere.    We have a couple of those robo vacuums to use just during the week, between using the big vac, and MIke had to use scissors to remove the long hairs that had wrapped around the brush each time he used it.   He made a comment.. Man you really ARE losing alot of hair lately.  I got worried that I had a bald spot he saw or something.. he says nO>. its wrapped all up in the vaccum. LOL     Or see long ones hanging from the dogs mouth, LOL  ..  

My hair seems to have stopped growing, when I went to get it cut, my roots had only grown out about 1 inch. and I colored it before starting treatment in December  ( my last time before starting ), and I ususally have more growth than that in 1 month, so  Hopefully the ones that come back, will not be gray.. LOL   But thats not likely.    I have been getting gray since I was 17.. I just kept pulling em out, till I saw 6 - 8 coming back in its place.. LOL     And started the coloring process.  I just will have to leave it dark while on treatment I guess., looks kinda reddish now , since they cut all the dry off and over processed blonde.       And is it curly .... I had locks of ringlets before all this, so now it really looks full and short..  its above my collar.

[Lilla]

is hair loss a pretty standard side effect that, unfortunately affects most?  I'm starting week #8. I have fairly short (ear length) and very wavy hair.  I color it about every 5 weeks. Had it colored before tx started and again on week 5.  So far I've noticed nothing.  I believe I read someone said if it does thin, it usually happens later in tx versus beginning??  Or, again, is everyone different on every side effect?  Last week I felt very, very drained, fatigued and queezy. This week is all different---I actually feel pretty good (with exception of some fatigue in afternoons).  My appetite has been much better this week.   Weekend coming up - Enjoy to All.

[honey11]

haha wyntre,,,,I'm laughing too at hair falling out why you brush your teeth but I know its really not funny!!  Just don't shake your head at all and you may keep a few more strands! LOL  No nodding of the head or anything!!  ha
Seriously,,,I remember mine falling out everywhere and was in my car all over seat like a dog shedding!   I was scared to cook without it totally pulled up and remember when winter hit and it was cold and blowing one day and I can remember how very cold my head was,,,,like nothing was there!!  Freaked me out and then I realized how much hair I had really lost!  It finally quit thought about 8th month and of course,,,,it does grow back!

[nygirl7]

I lost about 80% of my hair from falling out and serious breakage.  Nothing could be done to prevent it and I tried everything.'

At one point it was coming out in giant clumps in the shower but generally it just fell out all over the place in strands.

Post-tx now 7 weeks I can see it growing back.  It's VERY healthy. Oddly I always had very naturally curly hair but it's still in the Interferon BabyFine Straight zone so far.  At least it's growing.

PS Why do you think I went out and bought so many wigs off of ebay?  ;)

[ladybug52]

Brushing my teeth makes hair fall off my tongue. Really!
I think I noticed my hair falling out more after week 12. I have handfuls of it whenever I take a bath, maybe bathing causes it too.
Have you noticed hair loss anywhere else?
I have thick hair (make that had thick hair) I don't anticipate needing a wig, scarf or turban for this short course, but I wonder how long it falls out post tx.
Mine is just thinner, broken and dry, but by gosh, it's not gray! :)
Bug

[dperry10]

I almost ordered one from ebay when you mentioned it a couple of months ago, but decided to cut it first and see how that fairs.    Of course if it really gets bad I will get one.    Just dealing with the thining hair now.. its thinner on one side than the other, and the top of course, and right in front you can see it, it I comb it back, if I try to do a bang thing its not so noticable.  This new short hair cut is easy to deal with.    Mike keeps calling me Meg.. LOL

[merlino]

Hi everyone - hope you all are doing well. Talking about hair!!  mine is everywhere. I had a thick head so no one has noticed yet but me but it has become very thin and dry. I hope it slows down soon. The hair on my legs has stopped growing but my eyelases and eyebrows are out of control. The long lashes are great! Never had them before.I used to have nice brows, now I have these wild looking bushes that have to constantly be groomed.

NYGirl - Deb, how r u - things have been a little rough at home so I haven't been up to posting. how r u doing - Did u test yet? Hope you are feeling good!

[FlGuy]

Nice to see you surface.  Number 22 tonight and there's a lot behind you.  Is your hgb under any amount of control these days?  Just want to qualify what you said in your post ..."I had a thick head so no".  It should read "I had a thick head OF HAIR"....   These meds had the ability to thin your hair, but thicken your head too - truly wonder drugs.  If you get the thicker lashes and brows, watch out for the nose hairs - I think you can actually see them grow.

[wyntre9]

I think she (NYG) said it's starting to grow again.

I heard that from others who have finished TX as well.

[FlGuy]

10.6?  That's almost astronomical for you!  Hope they can keep it at least in that neighborhood.  I started Aranesp (similar stuff) last week.  Doing ok, but it's so easy to be an airhead at the worst possible times on these meds.

[sailinlady]

Hair.  It is easy for me to say now but IT DOES COME BACK!!  I'm not a real vain person but the hair loss got to me.  My hair was long thick & curly prior to tx.  After about wk 15, forget it.  I lost over 60 percent of my hair.  What was left just looked "dead".  No more curls, it broke off and just stopped growing. I tried everything, nothing worked.

I totally relate to the vacuum cleaner story!  We have 3 dogs & 2 cats but it was MY hair that clogged the vacuum every week.  And the Marx Bro's eyebrows!  OMG, where did that come from?!?

I am about 8 mos post tx now and it is coming back thicker than ever.  No more breakage and my curls are back!  The bald spots are gone! Yeh!

Remember, WE ARE THE HEPPERS!!  It does come back!

[nygirl7]

DPerry - said Just dealing with the thining hair now..

That is what happened to me.  I never really went "bald" like you would think of a chemo patient it just fell out all over but not all the way. It was about as thin as thin can be and the curls I used to have went away so on the top it was STRAIGHT and thin and on the bottom it has my natural curls.  I looked like BOZO the CLOWN with the poofs at the ears!

You can see why I went and cut it all off and got a wig now ;)


MERLINO!
Girl I have been thinking so much about you. Call me this weekend I hope to be home the whole time if I can!
How's the hemo? The sides? The kids? The.......you know.

I got the tests this week. Got the CBC back hemo is already 13.3 in 7 weeks I think. Pretty happy about that! Enzymes are in the low 20s so I am hoping after 2 months that bodes well but one never knows. Will get the PCR back this week and praying on that one.
Son is making me MENTAL for real and turning life upside down. Exhusband should be getting out of jail for his latest DWI or driving under suspension or whatever it was in May and it starting to call me like CRAZY making me go out of my mind. Dude...I don't care WHEN you get out = do NOT expect any HELP from me, leave me the F alone! Last night he asked me something about my son and I said since when do you care or have anything to do with it...he acted shocked and indignant. LOL ok then.........

So call me. If anybody in this earth can relate to tough at home in any way, it's me. And you know it. And misery DOES love company doesn't it?  ;)

Your Friend,
Debby

SO GLAD you posted.

[FlGuy]

Is that liver panel a 7-week post blood draw too?  If so, 20's must make you pretty happy.  That's cool.

[orphanedhawk]

Why in the world are you looking in a 3-way mirror? Are you a masochist? Follow the government's advice, don't look, don't tell.
  No really, I decided the mirror was no longer my friend so I refuse to spend much time with her. Now, if I turn the dimmer switch down, she's much more tolerable, especailly at night.  Hair does grow back.
   BTW: you take the fish oil internally.

[Tater-ToT]

LoL... brushing my teeth always made mine fall out... as well as driving walking, sitting, taking something out of the fridge... It was EVERYWHERE!

I remember getting so upset with my doc when I told him about it & reached up * pulled on my hair & about 10 strands fell out & I said "Well don't Pull It Out" He laughed at me & said... "if it's coming out that easy, it's already disconnected from the folicle"... the assured me nobody ever goes absolutely bald from TX!

I talked to several hair dressers about it. they said the same thing... so really instead of trying to leave the loose ones IN... we should brush them all out (the ol 100 strokes twice a day) to keep from leaving trails of hair everywhere...

I had THICK hair prior to TX... a pony tail circumference was larger than a silver dollar & you couldn't get your index fingers & thumb around it... during TX, it became the circumfererce of maybe a dime... & turned Grey.. almost white....

My hair was Everywhere.... All over the floor in the office where I'd sit on the computer all day, tagled around the beater brush of the vaccum, In the fridge, all over the seat & floorboard of my car... it was even in the Dryer vent on the side of the house...LoL

After tx while it is difinately thicker & healthier, the texture is different & so is the color....my stylist said that I had plenty of hair... but that the shape of the folicle itself had changed, so now it's just baby fine & as far as the grey goes... she was right... that started reversing too... but the color still isn't the original shade & I still have a LOT of gray.... she said that many times while our bodys are trying to MEND other area's of our bodys... that our Hair quits producing pigment & instead exerts that energy elsewhere!

Sooo, it comes back.. it just may not be the same color or texture... but it comes back...

I have seen people with straight hair come back with curly & full of body... & folks with curly hair come back with straight... it's not unusual for someone whom is blond to come back darker... or someone darker to come back with reddish tints.... LoL

I am 11&1/2 mo post TX, still not happy with mine as far as the way it doesn't blend in color, but they make dye to help with that,  & I still don't like having a consistant FLAT Head...(I like Poof up top)... so I am still having bad hair days!

However it took off growing & now touches my bra strap again!

Now on the upswing... with the hair loss, came the dramatic difference in you eyelashes.... When my hair started coming out... the eyelashes started growing... making it awkward to wear sunglasses as the eyelashes would BAT the lenses... & if you stood in the sun... you could see the shadow of those lucious lashes on the ground...LoL

When you wore mascara on top of that... they were so thick & full... they looked almost false!!
;)

[wyntre9]

Hahahahahaha!

At least we "live with an interesting" disease.  ya never know what's gonna happen next!

tongue Hair
MArx Bros eyebrows
little hairy soldiers on the shower wall
cold heads
thick heads
thin heads
hairy vacuums
tarantula eyelashes
nose hair

here's a new one - when i get my hair trimmed i wax my brows and the beautician always checks for chin hairs coz i can never see them.

the other day i found one that was 2 inches long!

Think ***** warty witchy hook chinny long -

Soon I'm gonna haveta start shaving!

Maybe we can transplant new unwanted hair growth on other parts of our body back to our heads.  :)

Hawke -
Thanks for telling me about INGESTING the dish oil.  I bet I WOULD HAVE tried to slather it on my skin.

'3-way mirror-no choice - that's what's in my bathroom.  I can't help looking - you know, like driving past the scene of an accident.

[Cindy10]

My hair is really coming out now as well. It started about week 12-13, I am on week 24 now. I had long, thick wavy hair that was thick like a horses tail.
So I cut 13 " off and donated it before I lost to much.

Now it is much thinner, if I put it up in a ponytail I can wrap the elastic, scrungie many times around. My hair is everyway, floors, shower, bed, chairs, clothes, cars. I have to pull it back to cook or I lose it there too.

Hubby feels bad for me, he knows this is my worst sx (sorry to be so shallow). He says if he starts to lose his, he will just shave it (lucky him).

So its headwraps for me, for now anyway!

[wyntre9]

There's nothing 'shallow' about hair!

I (was) very attached to mine.  Crowning glory and all that stuff.  It's true
(especially for women).

thanks for the heads up, though.  12 -13 weeks, huh?  That's where I am.

At least I know what to (possibly) expect.

[Pdilly]

Oh hair my gosh yes mine started like that too.   I then went out and bought one of those old time picks for hair.  I have dry hair anyway so I would only wash it once a week....yes ugh!   But I was advised to go as easy on your hair during treatment, no tugging, washing less, be gentle when combing.  I use to show my husband the 100 or so that I would get out of it when I washed my hair to my husband and told him I could save them for him to make into a rug. Ha...I don't think he enjoyed that one.    My hair use to be very thick and now for the first time in my life it is pretty thin.  Most don't notice I don't think because it is a little everyday. We notice it because we are aware what is falling out and what it was before.  Oh ....I also cut my hair to chin length which is pretty short for me.
Now that I just finished tx I am wondering how long it will be before it grows back. NYGIRL is 6 weeks ahead of me so I will find out from her.

[merlino]

Always happy to hear from you! I am lucky to remember my own name these days. When going b4 a client I have a ton of sticky notes all over in case I forget their name or why i am there!!!!! My HGB will never level off. I went on Monday, HGB 10.6 - gave me the shot - Had to sign a few documents because of the problems patients are having with the procrit. Today I can feel I dropped even more, after my shot tonight things will only get worse. Nothing I can do except deal with this the best I can. How are you feeling these days?

[rosebud57]

my hair was falling just a little about week 13-15, now falling out in clumps...

[wyntre9]

GEEE!

Thanks for sharing!  :(

(I swear it looks like I've lost a couple of hundred strands just since this morning)

[OnAPrettyPoison]

I lost hair every  time I shook my head brushing my teeth!  I started losing hair around week 20.  I have a friend with a cosmetology license and she took me to the beauty supply store and I bought some Mediceuticals Therapro shampoo, conditioner, etc. in a starter pack and it really worked.  I kept a head full of hair thru treatment.  Satin pillowcases  are good too!


LOL Friole!   I lined them up on the side of my tub everynight!

[wyntre9]

Thanks for the tip.

I'm gonna try that, too.

Although i don't even wash my hair more than once a week and sometimes every 2 weeks, now.

I know it sounds gross but for some reason the longer I go without shampooing the better it looks.  I guess that's from the oils?

[rosebud57]

that sounds like a plan, i think i will try it.  feeling down about sx and hair loss right now.

[TashaZZ]

My daughter when she was about 8 said - Did you ever notice that when your hair is dirty it makes it's own mousse?  Think of it as a salon treatment!

[matilton]

Has anyone tried H2 Ion Damaged Hair Treatment?  It suppose to mend the hair from the inside out.