Hair Hair Hair - Another question

Jane_M

Chris - I take Femara and I'm not thrilled with it.  My last chemo was January 19.  I began Femara in April.  My hair has grown extremely slow.  I do not have chemo curls.  My hair is about 2 inches long.  I have about a dozen hot flashes a day/night.  I have numbness in my left hand/wrist and both feet.  Lyrica helps that.  I have pain in both lower legs, hips, knees, ankles, feet, etc.  I have a foot drop on the left.  I fall all the time. Ive gained 15 lbs. I hate it.  My onc nurse asked me today if I had talked to the onc about switching to Arimedex, but after reading your posts, it doesn't sound any better.

Lisa1964

Chevlev, your hair looks great!  I can't wait until my bangs are that long!  Good for you.

Lisa

ReneeJean

Thanks for the welcome ladies....It is encouraging to see and hear your stories.  I am sitting here in the living room with a very unattractive knit cap on my bald head because it is warm and soft.  In 11 days I have come to this point---warm and soft<g>.  Oh well, I can't wait to be one of the ladies encouraging everyone with my hair growth...until then, I will live vicariously through you ladies!!   Prayers for hair growth for each of you.

hrf

I am 18 weeks PFC and I still don't have enough hair to cover my scalp. I take lots of biotin every day. There has been a little bit of growth and I have fuzz all over my head but I still need to wear a wig or scarf because my scalp shows through. I'm getting very discouraged.

Lisa1964

hrf - don't be discouraged,  I learned many months ago to not gauge my hair growth by someone elses.  We are all different and on different drugs.  It will come.

Lisa

pdaw

To those on Taxol - did your hair start growing back while on the taxol?  I had 4 rounds of AC every 3 weeks and have had 2 weekly taxols.  I should be on week 4, but for the last 2 weeks, white blood count has been too low for treatment.

Pam

lollys

Pdaw  --I was on DD AC ( once every 2 weeks times 4 doses then Taxol once every 2 weeks times 4 doses--a little different routine from you but no my hair really didnt start growth until after I finished--my eyebrows and eyelashes fell out 2 weeks after i finished-- I am 3 months out and have hair covering my head but still very short-maybe 1/2 inch on top and very flat--cant go without my wig at this point--are you getting neupogen or neulista for the WBC?? Laura

lollys

Pdaw  --I was on DD AC ( once every 2 weeks times 4 doses then Taxol once every 2 weeks times 4 doses--a little different routine from you but no my hair really didnt start growth until after I finished--my eyebrows and eyelashes fell out 2 weeks after i finished-- I am 3 months out and have hair covering my head but still very short-maybe 1/2 inch on top and very flat--cant go without my wig at this point--are you getting neupogen or neulista for the WBC?? Laura

pdaw

Laura - I have white fuzz and some color coming back.  I was surprised because I did not expect to see anything until I completed the taxol.  The nurse did tell me that the taxol is not as hard on your hair.  I should have treatment on Thursday and will begin neupogen shots on Friday, Monday and Tuesday.  Dr. really does not want me to miss any more treatments - and neither do I.

Pam

ChrisC433

Dianne....CONGRATS!!!!  Nothing like being PFC...

I take 10,000mcg of Biotion and also use the hair stufff from Sally.  I used the whole set (shampoo, conditioner, and booster).  My hairs is about 1 1/2 - 2 inches and is coming in pretty thick,,,but very curly!

Jane:  I am going to try Celebrex if insurance covers it.  I started the Glucosamine/MSM supplement this week as well.  I figure I will probably get same SE's so I mine as well exhaust fixing SE's from this one before moving on to a new one.

arnie2two

Hey you all!   Hey Texas glad to hear your hair is growing so well.  My doctor suggested; Magnesium 400 mg and zinc 15 mg  3xdaily.  That's all I've been using...

I agree that everyone's hair growth rate is different.  My hair has always grown fast soooo maybe that's it?!?  I dunno... 

revricki

Hello hair thread ladies! Two weeks after tx#1 about 70% of my hair fell out so I shaved it all off razor smooth a week later. I guess the 30% continued growing and is now maybe 1/8 of an inch and looks AWFUL. Next week is my last chemo (t/c). Thank god!!!!!

QUESTION - Should I shave it smooth again after last chemo so that it all grows back evenly or leave it alone and let the new hairs catch up??

Mom_of_boys

ChrisC... Watch the celebrex.  I was on it for a short time for the Femara pains/aches... had to go to a cardio guy... he was a bit shocked I was put on it by my onc!

Arnie... Very interesting about the magnesium and zinc.  I'm reading a health book right now.  One of the doctors interviewed in the book talked about zinc being the one thing that promotes hair growth.

Lisa1964... I agree with your comment about not gauging your hair against others.  It'll drive ya nuts!  I, for one, had ZERO hair regrowth during chemo.  I wondered if part of the reason was because my onc wanted me off all vits/supplements during and for the three weeks following chemo.

ChrisC433

Mom of Boys:   Just curious, did the Celebrex help at all?  I know that I will have to watch the SE's of the Celebrex, but if it means being able to tolerate the Arimidex then I think I might try it.  Thanks for your input, it helps knowing that others have tried it too!

Nodapearl

I was also told about zinc. Head & shoulders shampoo was recommended because it contains zinc

JudyNaomi

Hi all,

hrf - don't be discouraged, I was told that it can take up to 6 months for the whole scalp to be covered. I am 12 weeks pfc and still wearing a scarf. How are you and your family holding up this week - thinking of you all.

pdaw - I had 4 rounds of Taxol DD and my hair did not come back during that time. In fact, it continued to fall out till around 2 weeks pfc and only then started to come in slowly. Brows and lashes also came out around a month after I finished taxol.

Where has that fairy got to???

Hugs, Judy x

hrf

Lisa1964, JudyNaomi...thanks for the encouragement regarding hair growth. I sure hope you are right. I'll keep you posted.

The family is still in shock. We saw her parents, husband, brothers over the weekend and they are just operating on adrenalin. After today, when they go back to work, school etc. the reality will hit them. Her children go to schools that I supervise so I have spoken to the principals and they have promised to look after the kids.

JudyNaomi

hrf - hang in there. We are here for you!

Hugs, Judy x

Rachel_BC

chelev- Looking GREAT!!! Wow!  

:::waving hello to all my hairy gal pals::::

(well, that's my visualization for you all... I imagine you getting hairier and hairier....)  

aris

Can I drop in here with a hair question? I finished chemo at the end of August, but had some hair starting to come in before I finished (at that time, I was already on Taxol/Herceptin).   I have about 1/2 inch covering my head all over and it's finally getting thicker on the top of my head. My question is about a trim. I'm not ready for a haircut, but my hair is a bit uneven. I have some longer hairs and some shorter hairs and some long hairs on my neck that need to go. Have you all had trims on your very short post chemo hair? And what do you instruct the hair stylist to do?

I don't have a hair stylist to go to that I've been going to. I had long hair prior to cancer and didn't get it cut very often.

Any suggestions would be so so appreciated.

Thank you!

Pam

lollys

Hi all --I have question to those of you who have had double mastectomies--what is your follow-up are you going to have yearly chest xrays or bone scans or nothing just labs and physical exam--my doc will to chest x-rays and maybe bone scans for me just because I asked --he said according to the oncology assoc. they are not necessary and make no difference in outcomes--just wondering what other docs are doing in the country?? hope everyone is doing well Thanks Laura

ChrisC433

I had my hair trimmed early...just around the ears and my neck line...to even it up.  She evened out some of the longer hairs on top too.

JudyNaomi

Hi Lollys, I had a bilateral mastectomy and the docs said that they would be examing me physically. I am not sure if there will be a sonnogram for under my arms though. I am having my first check in November with the breast surgeon.

Hope everyone is doing ok today, hugs, Judy xxx

jancie

Aris - I am going in for my first haircut and color PFC on Monday.  I am going to instruct my stylist to cut off the very top tippy ends only to get my hair length even as I have some hair wild hair thing going right now.  I do need a trim around my ears as it looks like I have long gray sideburns.

I am trying to grow my hair long again - at least get it to my shoulders so only the very tips will be trimmed off.

As far as the wild neck hairs - I have a pair of doggy clippers and actually took them to the lady at the wig shop about 3 weeks ago and she trimmed the back of my neck because it was so uneven.  I had hair growing really down low on my neck that was not what I call "scalp hair" and it made a huge difference when she shaved that area.

I know it costs more but my personal opinion is that you should go to a styling salon and pay the $45 to $50 instead of one of these fast clip places (super cuts, etc.).  Sorry, I don't mean to knock those places down but I have gotten nothing but butcher jobs at those types of places and I end up regretting trying to save money and dealing with a very poor trim.

On the other hand, I went to an expensive styling salon prior to chemo and told the lady that I wanted my hair layered throughout.  She just didn't get it at all.  I was concerned because she was 20 years old - not enough experience as far as I was concerned but since I didn't have a regular stylist, I didn't have much choice.  The only reason I didn't get really upset was the fact I was using a gift certificate and it wasn't any money out of my own pocket.

blondie45

lollys..I only had right sided mastectomy but am now done with the Taxol and I asked my oncologist if I needed to get followup scans and he also said the same thing, that it was not necessary but if I wanted them he would order them.

I am 4 week PFC and I can't wait to be able to join some of you in talking about getting your trims and about your hair filling in your entire head. I am a LONG way from that at this point (just getting anxious for it to come back I think).

Anonymous

Pam, I had two trims - one to just get off all of the scraggly first hairs and then almost a real haircut.  For the first one, I asked just to get the bad stuff off and shape it a little.

Boy oh boy, I am setting up and will be working at the Ft. Lauderdale boat show - and it is HUMID here . .. you know what that does to PFC hair that is very wavy???? Yup - I am getting an afro every day!!  It's bigger and bigger every day - so funny!  I can't keep any of it straight, it immediately puffs up and turns into Ali McGraw in Convoy or worst case, like Mike Brady of the Brady Bunch after he got that perm.  Really attractive!!

jancie

chelev - your hair looks beautiful!  I wish I looked like you!

I figure I will get a "baby" trim every 8 weeks and hopefully my hair will grow more than what I trim off.  I was always one that got a haircut every 6 months but now I figure I need to keep it as healthy as possible so regular trims is the way I should go.  

Question - My hair started in white.  Then it changed to a dark gray/mousey brown.  Now my hair is getting lighter each week and I have natural highlites in it.  Anyone else with this type of experience?  Does your hair change color month to month?

Rachel_BC

chelev- oh please please take a picture with the 'fro!!!!!

hrf

RE: DMx ... my doctor says they follow up only with physical exam. She said if I had any pain, they would do a scan but that it doesn't help to do routine scans.

lollys

THanks hrf--looks like that is the general consensus!!