Hair Update

Many of you have noticed that I've been wearing a lot of hats in public lately...  Well, I'm to the point where I've lost quite a bit of hair and I'm becoming self conscious about it.

More on that in a minute....  It's been several days since I've posted, so I'll first start with a quick update on how I've been feeling this week!

The word of the week has been tired.  Holy moly, I feel like I've slept away most of the week!  Doc says that's to be expected as the longer you get chemo the more it wears on your body.  That coupled with the fact that my white blood cells are likely really low means lots of sleepy time for Melissa.  The irony is that I don't typically sleep through the night.  I nap a little throughout the day (not really by choice - sometimes I just fall asleep unintentionally) and I find it hard to stay awake past 9 p.m.  But then I'm usually awake around 3 a.m.  Sometimes I'm awake for several hours, sometimes I can fall back asleep after an hour or so.  Zzzquil is my friend and I'll take it every few days just to get a full night's sleep.

Aside from superfatigue, I've not felt too bad this week.  I've had the typical nausea and lack of appetite.  Constipation hasn't been quite as bad this time around, but it's still there.  I just can't seem to stay hydrated enough, which makes me have stomach cramps and hard, painful poops (sorry for sharing).  Overall it's been an ok week.  I think it's easier knowing that this is the last time and that in a matter of days I'll be mostly back to feeling normal again.

Ok, onto the hair...  Thankfully I started this whole ordeal with a whole lotta hair!  I've always had really thick hair (which I used to complain about) so although I've lost quite a bit of it, it's not super obvious.  Here's a picture:

You can tell it's pretty sparse, especially at the part, but it's not too terrible.  Unfortunately it's coming out like gangbusters right now.  My house is covered with hair!  We got a cover for the drain so I don't clog the shower.

My hope is that the hair loss will slow down over the next several days and by this time next week be just about done coming out.  Just wishful thinking, I'm not really sure :)  Good news is that the radiation shouldn't cause much hair loss except maybe just a little bit where the radiation rays will hit on the nape of my neck.  I *should* be able to get away with not shaving my head, so if I'm wearing a hat I'll look normal.

To be honest I'm not that concerned about looking like a cancer patient with a shaved head.  I'm more concerned about the 12-24 months of it growing back in and looking awkward.  So if I can keep some of it and not shave it all, I will.

So for now I'm buying hats and making the best of it :)  Oh, and I'll NEVER complain about my thick hair again.  Or about having to blow dry it, or about a bad hair day.  I'm looking forward to long, thick, beautiful hair again!

I've got a bunch of stuff I'll be sharing this week, so stay tuned!

Love,
Melissa