Hair Hair Hair - Another question
Comments
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chiming in on the nail issues, all of my finger and first two toes have black streaks. My thumbs however are completely black. I had to start wearing dark nail polish to cover them. Pre chemo I was getting acrylic nails with light colored natural looking polish. Has anyone gone back to acrylic nails since finishing treatment?
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candi - I do gel nails.. they look good and the polish last a couple weeks..
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I worry about manicures....was told to be careful due to lymphedema risk/infection and neutropenia....
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I worry about manicures too. Even though the MO (a man) said OK, the infusion center said definitely not due to possible fungus infections.
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really? wow, I never even thought to ask if manicures were ok.. it really never occurred to me.
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I was also told no to them because of infection but I'm sure they are OK now that I'm done. I still keep them so short that no need to paint them. Hopefully I will get the OK to go back to my Pottery wheel and if so no nails for that or I will tear up my work.0 -
I heard it is better to bring your own manicure tools to the salon even if they sterilize their sets well.
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I was ok losing my hair. I go commando - nothing on my head. So why does it bother me so much that my eyebrows have now disappeared. Seems silly.
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Hi Mary Fox, I think that eyebrows give our face expression and exude our personality. When they are gone, we look so different and not in a good way. I did not lose all my eyebrows (but lost quite a few)...had a vew stragglers and I used the brow buddy and the universal brow pencil from billiondollarbrows.com and loved it. My eyebrows are coming in now, but I like the product so much, I am still using it.
MsP
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MaryFox, I can't speak for you, but it did bother me some when my eyebrows disappeared. It was even worse (just recently) when I realized that all of a sudden my eyelashes are gone. I think because it gives you the "chemo look" that makes it apparent to the rest of the world. It makes you look "sick." At least that's how I feel.
As far as the manicures, I was told to bring my own tools if I go because I had 18 lymph nodes removed on my right side, so I am at risk for lymphedema and infection.
Martha
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Maryfox. I just got my eyebrows tattooed on yesterday and they are awesome. I am 5 months post chemo and my eyebrows have yet to return. I wasn't so worried about them before as my wig has bangs and I wear glasses but I realized that I will be getting rid of the wig soon and everyone will see my eyebrows with short hair.
Anyway not sure if this is something you would be interested in but I do recommend it. It had mad the world of difference to my apperence.
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I have a question for everyone. I am 5 months post chemo and my hair still has not grown enough in the front that I am comfortable without my wig. I am using nioxin and I have seen some improvement but not a lot. How long did it take you ladies to have a decent amount if hair in the front of your head? I look like a man with a receding hairline!!
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Maryfox I was always concerned about my eyebrows. 2 weeks before surgery (my first treatment) I went and bought Anastasia brow duo. I didn't start looking for a wig till chemo started 7 weeks later. Been wearing it ever since (they thinned out on the Anastrozole)
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Hi, Shoppygirl, I'm 6.5 months PFC (TC) and I'm still very thin on top. I have between 2-2.5" of hair, but I am very sparse on top (see photo I posted earlier this week). I still hope to hear that others have been slow BUT successful in recovering their hair. For the past 7 weeks I've been using Rogaine (5%) 2x/day and the Hairmax Lasercomb--to it is still a little too early to tell. But, I do think I have detected some smaller hairs. Plus, I take Biotin and a multivitamin and have been eating a lot of lean protein. I'm starting to get scared about my head. But, my brows and lashes are just starting to make a come back. I wish everyone luck!
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Thanks jumpy!
I am very impatient to de-wig forever!!!
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Hi Nancy, I tried to put my new avatar photo up to share the hair but I cant get it to change. Just keeps giving me an error message. Any help would be great how did you change yours?
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melody46 Your photo must be too large for an avatar so that's why it won't load.
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jumpy, I am 11 months Pfc and I am having growth probs on top where I don't have full scalp coverage yet. I'm taking biotin and have tried a host of shampoos but not rogaine. New hair growth actually started falling out again about 4 months ago and it has been scaring me to thinking that I may be completely bald again. I have appt with dermatology tomorrow so I'll see what they say. It's been so frustrating trying to regrow my hair. I just always assumed it would grow back. Oh btw my brows and lashes grew back but are much thinner than before.
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Thanks, Mely19. My dermatologist thought it was the Tamoxifen for me. They also say that with menopause all women's hair will thin, but since our hair is still so short we really notice it now. My concern, of course, is that this is permanent chemo-induced alopecia (PCIA). But, from what I have read, that is almost always associated with loss of brows and lashes too. My brows and lashes are back, but thinner. Also, with PCIA hair does not usually grow longer than 4" (10 cm). And, with PCIA nails usually return to normal; which mine did, but I have a toenail that hasn't grown since chemo. My thyroid was fine. I just had my annual exam and my internist is also checking my Vit D, Iron, Zinc, and Testosterone levels--which are all associated with hair growth. The only thing I just learned about is Biosil 10mg 2x/day. Is anyone else taking that?
Finally, keep in mind that dermatologists are most likely to see the problem, but not see how those problems resolve. For example, the derma I saw was great, but unless I have another skin problem I don't know I'll ever see him again. He told me to use Rogaine and sent me on my way. Remember, it is the Oncology team (MO and RN) who keep seeing you, so be sure to grill them on the time line. My OncRN says that it can take 12-18 months to recover your hair after chemo when you are also adjusting to hormone changes.
Good luck in your appointment. Let us know what you learn!
Thanks, Jumpy
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Martha, I think you nailed it. Lack of brows and lashes makes you look sick.
MsP, you're so right about them giving our face expression. Almost everyone has brow movement as we speak. Bald is just bald, but it's our faces that people watch in order to know and understand us.
Not sure about tattoos, but I'll be checking out billiondollarbrows.com
Thanks, all
Mary
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hey all just came out of my derm appt. I am waiting for lab work as I type. I have come to terms that hair won't be he same but just looking for scalp coverage. She told me to use rogaine as well but men's strength. She said women's strength is too weak and she has used mens rogaine on herself when her hair started to thin. So at least she has some personal experience with it. i was concerned about dependency on it but she said she didn't think we would be dependent like the men because we are looking for a jump start rather than prevent permanent baldness. Any one out there use rogaine for long periods of time and what are your experiences with it?
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Hi shoppygirl
Seemed my hair came back as they got me started on arimidex. I have Slavic blood so I looked like an older male KGB agent. Its the hair on the chin I could have done with out. Pre treatments I had lots of very fine hair no curls now I have lots of dry curlyish hair go figure ! I no longer look KGB like. I've been called sir but that's OK I'm getting "curls" I'll show them. I never could stand stuff on my head so I opted out of the wig and used a bandanna when in public. Chemo last dose end of august
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Hi nursenadia, your post made me laugh and think back to when I was a kid. I have always had short hair, in fact I had just grown it a ittle bit longer (below my ears!) before I got the diagnosis and the chemo. You speak of looking like a male KGB agent. When I was a kid (about 12, before growing breasts) my younger brother and I would go to the local Woolworth's 5 and 10 store sometimes to have lunch at the lunch counter. The waitress would always say....."what can I get you boys?" And every one told me that I looked like Bobby Orr, who was an NHL hockey player for the Boston Bruins. It just occurred to me that I could go out now with a hat and no hair, no foobs and be flat chested......."what can I get you boys?" Somehow I'm not sure my husband would appreciate it if someone though he was out with another man........
I too will be glad to get rid of the wig. It's getting more and more itchy as the hair starts to come in. It is getting noticeably thicker along the sides but the top is quite sparse. When it came out it was primarily on the top. There was always some stubble on the sides and low back, I just kept shaving it to keep the itchiness down. But this morning I noticed that you can actually see the hair on the sides without a magnifying glass!
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Shoppygirl, the "de-wig" made me LOL. I can't wait to de-wig either!
I am actually getting back some hair as the Taxol winds down...we'll see how soon I can go 'topless!' I think that as soon as the scalp is all covered I will uncover...I'm just so tired of the wig, even though it's always styled
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melody46 - did you figure it our yet? can you make the picture smller? I'd love to see your new avatar..
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Hello, ladies!
Pfc was on December 23rd, 2013 and hair is growing.
Here's the history of my hair's behaviour:
October 21st, 2013 - first chemo session. I cut my 20 inch braid on October 24th - and kept it as a souvenir. The hair started coming out on November 5th and stopped about a week later. It never came out in chunks, just gradually. I would brush it several times during the day and that was how it came out. In a week my hair was so sparseo that I had to wear a wig.
Anyway the hair that did not come out in that week, sort of remained on the head. Even to this day, but these survivors are extremely few.
November 11th, 2013 - second round of chemo. On November 14th, there are some dark tiny points on the scalp that's visible (how not all the hair came out, not all the scalp was visible). I didn't pay much attention because I thought it can't be the new hair. But one week later there were no doubts anymore, it was actually the new hair.
December 4th, 2013 - third round of chemo (should have been two days before, but was delayed because of low WBC), the top of my head sports tiny tiny tiny hairs. The sides are still nude, but then again, that's where the pre-chemo hair came out less.
December 23rd, 2013 - fourth and last round of chemo. The top hairs have grown, the sides start to get moving, but the temples are still naked, it worried me a little. But it's filling in day by day, now 3 weeks after, scalp is still visible because the hair is very short and coverage is not complete. At any rate, it's fascinating to see how the process evolves. When there's hair on your head, you never have the chance to observe how things happen. So, at least this experience allows to see how things really go on.
Now I start the Herceptin, which I'll take for a year. And I'm a little bit sad that there might be the possibility that my hair's growing rhythm might slow down. My onc and the nurses said it doesn't affect the hair growth. There are also patients that said that their hair grew normally. But on this forum and on the herceptin support group many complained about this side effect. Well, I must say that for each "slow" seems to mean something different.
I didn't suffer much at losing the hair to chemo, I knew it would happen and I knew it would grow back. I just can't make peace with the idea of a year of commando hair, should Herceptin really have this effect on everyone.
I don't ask for length, just complete coverage and maybe one inch length in April. And, after all, hair growth slowing down doesn't mean that hair growth stops. Well, I'll just have to go through it and see how my body will react.
I know there is a hair growth during herceptin thread on the appropriate forum, but it,' less active than this one. Any Herceptin ladies here as well?
Thank you and have fun with the fascinating process of hair growth. :-)
Fond greetings and stay serene!
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Congrats on being done with chemo, Stellina...you have a great attitude.
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Hello, warrior, thanks for the congratulations, I hope you're getting ahead with attitude and fight, fight, fight. It's worth it.
As far as my attitude is concerned, you should have seen me two days ago, I could have competed with an open water tap, that's how I cried. It's not knowing how I will react that's making me freak out and then I become the world's greatest cry baby. I did that before surgery, before chemo... If I didn't do it before Herceptin, one could accuse me of not being politically correct! OMG, I can't believe I make these jokes... Well, smiles and laughter are fantastic medicine and they're for free and always available...
All the best to you, warrior!
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Stellina my hair grew a little faster when Hereceptin ended but it wasn't a big difference.
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Hello, lago,
Thanks for your answer, you're kind! I remember reading you and your hair grew really fast all the time. Can you please tell me if there was some time between your last chemo and the start of Herceptin?
I just think that if they let me about 20 days time, my head would fill in, given it's present rhythm.
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