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  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 706
    edited December 2009
    Happy New Year to all and thanks for the ongoing encouragement. Judy, thanks for your support. I appreciate your comments.
  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited December 2009

    No worries, Helen. Just keep looking forward, one day at a time.

    Thinking of you, hugs, Judy xoxox

  • Lena
    Lena Member Posts: 132
    edited January 2010

    I had another hair dream last night. This time, I dreamed I was being forced to move out of my apartment, and I was rushing into the bedroom to get my wig so I could put it on and go, only as I found it, I passed by the dresser mirror and noticed that my hair had somehow, miraculously grown down to the bottom of my neck and I felt, while not yet attractive, at least able to ditch the wig!  :-O

    In reality, at 4 months PFC I am still uglier than sin and still embarrassed by my non-wig appearance -- my hair sticks up on top and on the sides it doesn't even cover my ears. Worse, because it was colorless white-mycelium-like when it first started growing back from total chemo baldness, it looks like I have a lot of grey. I think I can get rid of that without coloring it if only I just wait long enough to have enough for a trim (say if it actually does get down to the bottom of my neck all the way around), but for the time being, I'm still hideous without my wig. Yes, I go topless indoors, but no way do I leave my apt like that.

    ~Lena. 

  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 706
    edited January 2010

    Lena, I've also had a few hair dreams .... but then I wake up and nothing has changed. I'm almost 7 months PFC and my scalp is still not fully covered.

  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 403
    edited January 2010
    Lena, I also have had hair dreams where I dreamt my hair was at least 5" long and starting to look cute.  Only to wake up and find out that I am still ugly with really short hair. Yell
  • suzwes
    suzwes Member Posts: 765
    edited January 2010

    I've had hair dreams too.  I dream I have the most beautiful hair and it feels so silky - the dreams are so real.  Then I wake up to the yukky 3 month PFC hair.  I thought the dreams were crazy and am so glad to find I'm not alone in having these dreams.

  • Mai605
    Mai605 Member Posts: 23
    edited January 2010
    I was just telling my girlfriend the other day about my dreams.... weird thing is, I've never had a dream where I've had hair throughout this whole process.  Even in my dreams I'm bald Cry!
  • JudyNaomi
    JudyNaomi Member Posts: 209
    edited January 2010

    Lena, Helen and Jancie

    I am so sad reading your posts and wish that there was something I could say that would help you feel better. I know that to tell you to "hang in there" doesn't help much, but please know that I think of you often and hope that you start to feel better soon.

    I found it very difficult before my hair started to come in, but I found that feeling better physically helped me cope with it. I remember how hard it was when the hair came out - on some level, it felt worse than losing both my breasts. I am 40 years old, had a bilateral mastectomy, the reconstruction did not work, so at the moment, I have prosthetics. I am not happy about it, but that is what there is. I am just thankful that I made it through and have come so far. I wanted it all, but after BC, I couldn't have it all anymore and that sucks!!! So I completely understand your frustrations.

    Hope everyone has a good weekend, hugs to all, Judy xoxox

  • navymom
    navymom Member Posts: 842
    edited January 2010

    Count me in on the hair dreams.  About 2 months ago had a dream that I awoke with a full head of hair.  I have to say that it is the first pleasant dream I have had since this whole BC thing began.  But the reality still stinks........A bald scalp with translucent fuzz.   Time, time, time.  We must be patient, I know.

    Navy

  • Dawnmrn1
    Dawnmrn1 Member Posts: 21
    edited January 2010

    Hi Ladies Happy New Year!  I have been lurking on this thread for months I am 6 mo PFC, and I have 2 inches of straight white hair, longer on the sides and back than on the top.  I wear a wig daily , 12 to 14 hrs a day.  I am so ugly!!! I used to have a cute blonde bob, my hair was curly but could esily go into a bob.  I don't think I'll ever get back to that stage.  I saw my hairdresser last week and she looked at my hair and said to come back in a month for a cut and color, she'll spike it and I'll see how I look.  Probably like a 50yo woman with BC!!!! lol I give you all alot of credit for your strong self images!!! I wish I was as brave as you are.  Thanks for the support!  Dawn

  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 706
    edited January 2010
    Hi Dawnmrn1....I feel the same as you. ...no strong self image here. I still wear a wig every day because my scalp shows through and I'm 6 1/5 m. PFC .... you're not alone
  • ccbaby
    ccbaby Member Posts: 503
    edited January 2010

    I have had a lot of hair dreams too. I used to have long, blonde hair before chemo.  It is such a disappointment when I wake up and realize it was only a dream!  I have been looking at my pics from Christmas 2008. Little did I know then that I wouldn't have my long hair anymore....

  • inthemoment
    inthemoment Member Posts: 15
    edited January 2010

    To all my "sisters",

    We have kissed (or kicked) 2009 goodbye, and now can look ahead to a much better 2010.  Thank you all for being there, even when you didn't know you were helping me, I was reading your posts, and taking knowledge and strength from them.  My New Year's resolution is to pay it forward, and reach out to other women to share hope with them, as you have with me.  Blessings, peace, health and strength to all of us. Happy New Year

    Geri

  • revricki
    revricki Member Posts: 51
    edited January 2010

    Hi everyone, I'm trying to post pics to show you all what my hair looks like at 8 wks pfc. Let's see if this works: 

     

     

  • revricki
    revricki Member Posts: 51
    edited January 2010

    Hmmm, can anyone help me post these pics? they are on photobucket. thx

  • revricki
    revricki Member Posts: 51
    edited February 2010
    Persistence!! Okay it should come up now. So this is what I have after 8 wks. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me that I'm on track because I of course look in the mirror every hour. I'm using the nioxin line (shampoo, conditioner, scalp treatment and follicle booster) as well as 10,000 mcg of biotin. Sorry pics are so big. 
     
     
     
     
    side 8wks" mce_src="
     
     
    Photobucket" mce_src=" 
     
     
    front 8wks" mce_src=" 
  • revricki
    revricki Member Posts: 51
    edited January 2010

    Here's the third pic that was deleted by mistake:

    Photobucket" mce_src="lt="" border="" hspace="" vspace="" width="" height="" align="" /> 

  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 403
    edited January 2010

    Revricki - you are exactly where I was at that stage of 8 weeks PFC.   My hair grows in spurts.  It seems like I will go a week with no growth and then suddenly hair starts growing again.  I remember how tough it was those first 3 months out of chemo, I looked in the mirror at least 10 times a day to see if I had any growth in the last couple of hours.  No kidding, I really did that!

  • JanetH77
    JanetH77 Member Posts: 10
    edited January 2010

    revricki, you are a bit further along at 8 weeks than I am at 12.  I have about the same covering as you do, but the length is shorter and the hair is very sparse on top.  I've concluded that there are differences in how and when the hair comes back for various reasons, certainly with different chemo drugs -- so it's good for us to know what others experience, but our experiences will still be different.

    Now that I have some hair peeking out around a hat, I am not using the wig much.  Try putting a knit cap on over that hair and look in the mirror, you'll enjoy seeing that frame of dark hair.  I'm having fun with hats, but expect it to be quite awhile before I will go topless outside my home.

    I'm using biotin, but not the nioxin.

    I lost my eyelashes shortly after I completed chemo (9/29), and I am just now seeing a tiny bit of new growth. 

    Hang in there . . .

  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 2,631
    edited January 2010

    Wow your hair growth looks great Revricki!  And makes me a little worried.... I have NO hair growth on my head at all (though eyebrows and lashes are growing back).  And I finished chemo on Nov 9 so that makes me 8 weeks PFC on Monday.... hmmmmm....

    Anyway it looks great!

    Cheers,

    Lilah

  • navymom
    navymom Member Posts: 842
    edited January 2010

    Revricki.. Thanks for posting those pics.I am 4 weeks PFC and have white fuzz.  I am looking forward to having as much hair as you do!

    Jancie.I thought I was the only one who looked in the mirror morning, noon and night.  And I'm talking about a magnifying mirror!

    Have a good day everyone.

    Navy

  • jenn3
    jenn3 Member Posts: 388
    edited January 2010

    Thanks for posting the pic - your hair looks wonderful!!  My hair started growing while I was on Taxol.  I'm now 2 weeks PFC and am about where you are on the sides and back but the top of my head is thinner.  Honestly, if it weren't cold I'd probably go w/o head covering because I'm tired of wearing them.  

    Have a great Saturday!!!!

  • weety
    weety Member Posts: 378
    edited January 2010

    Hi all,

    I've been following this thread for some time, now, but didn't really have anything to say since I was still undergoing chemo and still hairless/growthless.  Now that I'm finally DONE, I'd like to join in.  My situation is a bit different because I never completely lost all of my hair, so I never completely shaved it all off.  It is very, very sparse, but inconsistent.  I still have a teeny tiny bit of sideburns, which I used to my advantage whenever I wore scarves.  I had them peek out like a normal (LOL that we have to say normal!) person would do, so I always felt a little bit "mysterious"  like maybe other people might have to think twice about what they saw--does she or doesn't she have hair?  For the first 2 months, I even held onto a big strip of bangs and I would let it hang out from under the scarf as well.  For a long time (at least the first 2/3 of the chemo) I think I could really (almost) pull it off.  Even a casual friend who has a daughter in my son's classroom told me that for the longest time she just thought I was just being hip and trendy!  LOL!!!  I am so NOT hip and trendy!  I guess my young age and looks helped pull it off. Anyways, back to reality now.  It's not looking so hip and trendy anymore, so now the ears are getting covered as well as the forehead and, well, you all know how it goes.

    I am now about 3 weeks PFC and I can't really see much growth, but I have noticed my old sparse hair is starting to "stick up" and I can't get it to lay down anymore.  It's hard to see, but I think I have a very fine, short "underlayer" growing in that is almost translucent.  I think that is what is making the other stuff stick up.  I haven't decided what to do about the hair that is still there.  On one hand , it makes me have hope that it will help hide my scalp earlier (and at least the old part is still dark brown as opposed to this new, clear stuff)  and maybe it will help with the bang growth since I still have about an inch of sparse hair there, but on the other hand it makes it hard to see the regrowth and willl eventually look ridiculous since it will be a different length than the new stuff, it will need to be evened out once the other starts coming in better.  I think I'm going to let it be for as long as I'm still wearing the scarves, because what's the difference--no one outside of my family can see it anyways.

    Well, sorry for the long post.  I just needed to get my thoughts out.  No one else understands what we really go through.  Thanks for listening (well, really reading!)

  • JanetH77
    JanetH77 Member Posts: 10
    edited January 2010

    Weety, I didn't lose all of my hair, either.  My oncologist said I'd lose about 50%, but the chemo teacher told me it would be 100% on my drug regimen.  At 15 days, I started losing hair, ended up keeping maybe 10% of it.  I kept it throughout chemo, liked that it peeked out from a hat.  The day after my last chemo, I shaved my head so the hair could grow back evenly.  My doctor said chemo stays in the body for about a month; I had no growth during that time, then started getting some.  At 3 months, I have a light covering of most of the head, with some very sparse areas, especially on top.  Now that some hair is visible around the hairline, I will pretty much ditch wigs and wear hats. 

  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 403
    edited January 2010

    Weety - my hair came in originally white and translucent but after about a couple of months it changed colors to mousey brown.  While I didn't like the brown color at all - at least it enabled me to see more hair growth.

    I went and got a mousse -  Roux FanciFull color styling mousse at the recomendation of CCbaby.  It worked as far as bringing in color to the translucent hair.  I used that product for about a month.  It washes right out when you wash your hair.  I was worried about putting anything permanent or semi-permanent on my hair as it was just growing and I didn't want to damage it.

    I waited until 6 months and then got my hair frosted the first time and the 2nd time 4 weeks later.  I wanted to the chemo to be totally out of my system.  My hair is dry now from the frosting so I am going to skip doing anything this month and wait until next month.  The bleaching process of brown hair to blonde is hard on your hair.

    Prior to getting chemo there was one time where I actually had them dye my hair a strawberry blonde.  I felt like my scalp was on fire from the dye and it was only in for 20 minutes.  My scalp seems to be super sensitive.

    Hang in there - it does get better!

  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 403
    edited January 2010

    Question:

    My hair is about 3-1/2" long right now.  I started out with a nice wave to my hair.  The longer it gets, the curlier it gets.  What is up with that?

  • ccbaby
    ccbaby Member Posts: 503
    edited January 2010

    revricki...Yes, my hair growth was exactly as yours is at 8 weeks.

  • ruthbru
    ruthbru Member Posts: 47,666
    edited January 2010

    Use Nioxon shampoo (which you can get at almost any salon) and your hair will come back faster and thicker (you can go back to your old shampoo once it's in). This is the product recommended to me separately both by my beautican and wig lady, and it worked for me, as my hair came back really nice and full (but too gray, which is another story all together). Good luck!!

  • suzwes
    suzwes Member Posts: 765
    edited January 2010

    I'm 3 1/2 months post chemo and you can see in my picture how my hair looks - not very much on my head but it's coming.  I just bought a biotin/B-complex thickening shampoo by Avalon Organics and have begun using it.  If it doesn't work I'll send DD to a salon to look for the Nioxon.  I'll let you all know if this shampoo works or if it doesn't after a few weeks trial.  Anyone have luck with the Biotin shampoos?

  • JanetH77
    JanetH77 Member Posts: 10
    edited January 2010

    I'm using the Biotin capsules.  Y'all have convinced me -- I am going to get some Nioxin shampoo.

    Addendum:  I just looked for Nioxin shampoo at Amazon, got a bunch of products.  What is the exact name on the shampoo bottle?

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