hair loss and cytoxan

[leesh]

Hi guys! Just wondering how many of you had hair loss after cytoxan treatments? Starting next week and alittle nervous. thanks a million.
lots of love,
alicia

[Rosie446]

Hey Alicia

I had slight hair loss after cytoxan, but I found that after my hair started improving! I guess it would depend on your dosage...

Allie

[Raglet]

I lost about 2/3 of my hair with each series of cytoxan - I was definitely not bald, but if I was sitting down and someone looked down on my scalp they could definitely see my scalp through my hair. I was on a hefty dose though - 1500mg, which is higher than the usual 1000mg.

Hair definitely does grow back, but it does grow back differently (doctors don't tell you this - I don't think they even KNOW this, but ask anyone who has had chemo, they will agree).

After the first two treatments I developed a whole lot of crowns in my hair, so I can no longer wear my hair very short as it goes in all directions. But that is ok, I like my hair longer now and I was thinking of growing it out anyway. This last time if seems to be growing back curlier than it was - I have always had curly hair, but it is much curlier. It takes me about two years to get all my hair back to one length, so I am about half way there. I just use that anti fuzzy stuff you can get to keep it all together and smooth out all the fly away short bits.

I have had three series of cytoxan treatments, ranging from 6-12 months each. Not my favourite treatment, but for some it can be very helpful

hth, and good luck with your treatments

raglet

[leesh]

Thanks for the responses! I am a little nervous, but if the hair goes so be it. I'd rather be bald and feel good than have hair and feel like crud. I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.
take care,
leesh

[SoCalEric]

First time I had 10 treatments and my hair thinned a bit, that was quite a few years ago. It never did grow back. Just had 4 treatments and didn't seem to lose much at all, but I am running out of hair to lose, what I got seems to be holding on for dear life!
Best of luck with the treaments, hope it goes well for you!!

Eric

[flutterbye]

Wishing you all the best with your treatment.

I had some hair loss with cytoxan treatment, some thinning and some clumps, I found some pretty elasticated scarfs that were easy to wear and hid the hair loss a bit.

I think that it can help to have your hair cut a bit into a shorter manageable length, I have a feeling that one of the things the cytoxan does is to make the hair weaker, so extra weight can cause breakage.

I found as well that using a wide comb did less damage than a hairbrush.

Best of luck. xx

[leesh]

I think I've decided to just chop it real short and hope that it stays. If it doesn't I'll just wear cute hats or something to cover it up. It's hard being a 22 year old girl and having to worry about your hair falling out, but its worth it. Still pretty nervous, but it will all work out I'm sure. Thanks again for everyone's input. It's helping calm the nerves! :)

[erenae1974]

I also had cytoxan treatments, my hair thinned, I was prepared with scarves, but never got to the point where I needed them. It's been a year now since and my hair is growing back slowly & getting somewhat thicker although I think it thins out just from having lupus alone...?? It used to be straight as a board and now is very very curly. I kinda like it though. I think it will depend on how much you get and how many treatments you have to have. Don't be scared about losing your hair, hopefully it will just thin a bit. Cytoxan did wonders for my kidneys, I hope it does the same for you. Good luck

[Raglet]

don't worry too much about going bald, on the doses that are used for lupus this is very unusual. Thinning is common, but it tends to be the people who have cytoxan for cancer who go totally bald. They have treatments on consequetive days, whereas we only have it once a month, which makes if very different.

hth

raglet

[granola]

Hi, I am an Alicia also, with nephritis too. Hair did thin during the 6 tratments, stopped after and used cell cept for 1 1/2 years. It's back to normal. I kept it in a long thin ponytail, finally cut it short and it looks fuller now. Good luck.

[leesh]

It's always nice to meet another Alicia! :) I had my first treatment on the 10th. So far so good. My hair is thinning more than normal, but I'm the only one who can tell so far. I get my next treatment on June 7th so we'll so if it goes more then or not. Hopefully not:) Thanks for the reply!!

[Zoi]

Alicia,

Glad to hear your first treatment went well! :hehe:

Hope things improve for you soon!

Zoi