so now it's completely gone......

dorion

Hello again Girls, ok so now the hair is all gone, we had a shave fest yesterday, we did all kinds of things, first tried a mohawk, then the funnies was the comb over, I did a Donald Trump impersonation, we laughed so hard, and then I did Hitler, what was scary is I really looked like Hitler. Meghan my daughter actually did most of the work, I'm so glad because it took her fear away and after we were finished she said that I didn't look so bad and that she kind of likes it. Me? Well it took me until today to get use to it, everytime I past a mirror I forgot I had no hair and would scare myself, well I do with hair anyway.....lol....I'm afriad that I'm losing my mind though, when they mentioned "chemo brain" I think I got it good. I went to pour myself a cup of coffee yesterday and couldn't understand why it was spilling over onto the counter til I realized I was pouring into a cereal bowl, I mean I went to the cupboard to get a mug and got a cereal bowl instead and still didn't notice, that scares me. But I do have a question, once there is no hair, besides still using shampoo while in the shower, is there anything I should be doing like some kind of cream on my head or just leave it? I'm not going to bother with a wig either, I'm hot enough with just wearing a bandana, I can't imagine how hot it would be with a wig on, I would be yanking that thing off in public if it bothered me as much as the bandana did today at Walmart, gosh it was hot. I hope everyone is doing well and I hope you all have a wonderful Easter. God Bless all of you, me too!

Linda

mopar

Well Linda, you went even one step further than I did when I buzzed it off - you had a fashion frenzy! Sounds like all of you made lite of a very difficult situation, and all in all, you dealt with it wonderfully! Here's another funny thought - maybe the reason we get chemo brain is because we have no hair to hold our senses in - just joking!

Yes, it was definitely an issue for me. Not too extreme, but I was much slower to think, I had trouble sometimes coming up with the right words to express myself also. It's all part of the neurological affect of chemo. When you're done it does get better. I also noticed my hearing isn't as good as it used to be. And my hands still shake a little at times, again the neurological effect. But take heart - much of this improves once chemo is done, takes a little time, of course.

So what are the temps like in your area? Do you normally feel warm anyway? I have a tendency to feel cold, so wearing a wig wasn't too bad for me. Of course, in the heat of the summer I certainly wouldn't have worn it to do gardening! But to work, special outings, etc. (If you were a wig, get a wig cap too - it's helping against itching and rough spots from the wig.) Otherwise, I have a white baseball cap with a teal ribbon on it that I wore often. Nighttime (once again I tend to get cold) I would wear a pretty cotton cap that kept my body warm. But even then, sometimes I would take it off in the middle of the night because it was too warm, or sometimes it was just uncomfortable to have on my head to sleep on. I also used bandanas, too.

Happy Easter to you and your family, Linda. May you have peace today, and renewed strength and hope that this day is all about!

Hugs!
Monika

floridajo

Hi Dorion,
I like the approach you took to loosing your hair, and made what is normally a very emotional day and turned it into fun!!! I never thought of that..and if I'm ever on that type of chemo I will do it!!! I used a shampoo call Nioxin, it keep the head moisturized as well as encourages growth. It smells like Head and Shoulders to me. I also did not wear wigs unless I was going to some special event. I usually wore doo-rags. I live in FL,and lost my hair in Dec..so it was cold..but I liked not having to fuss with an hot itchy wig. Plus my hotflashes could have lit up the town!!! Have a great Easter...(((hugz)))~~Joanne

dorion

Hi Joanne and Monika, once again thanks for your response to my question. I"m on my way to the drug store so I'll pick up that shampoo you recommended Joanne. Well I live in Toronto, now, was in Hawaii remember, I sure wish I was there now so I can get a tan on my baldness. But that's ok. I'm always hot, so even in the winter it's not uncommon for me to get hot, but I think it's hot flashes too. You know I really haven't experienced much of those, I think I did before because I was taking myself off the pain meds, I noticed every time I did I would wake up in the middle of the night so hot. But that only happened a handful of times. I haven't had real mood swings....well.....lol...I did before the surgery so it's hard to tell eh? My daughter tells me I'm moody, but again I think it's the pain meds, I've been popping them like candy latey and once again I really need to quit because I think I'm forming a habit if you know what I mean. I don't need to be battling another addiction, one being cigarettes.....I really really really need to quit but it's so hard, today though I will be picking up some patches but will hold off slapping them suckers on until I see my doctor on Tuesday, want to make sure that the nicotine going straight into my blood won't cause any further complications. Well I got to run. Love you guys and you too have a wonderful Easter, what's left of it. It;s already 3:30 and I haven't made it out the door yet. I only had a half hour sleep and been like that all week. I"m so sleepy and if I lay still for a minute I could go out but for some strange reason it's like I'm forcing myself to stay awake and I don't know why, anyone have answers to that one? C U soon! God Bless you!!!
Linda

saundra

What fun! I really like the shaved head better than the inch of sparse growth I have. Joe says I look like the yellow birds in the cartoon "Peanuts". I think I like the slick shiny look better. This week I have lost all eyelashes and eyebrows. Thank goodness for eye paint! We are off to Costa Rica for ten days this week and I am taking bandanas and a wig. Hot and humid there and I will test the hot head on our trip. Hot and dry where we live in W. Texas. I am either hot or cold most of the time. Boy is my thermostat broken. I go to bed with a bandana or sleeping cap but off it comes with the first hot flash and unless it's cold I sleep bare headed. You just have to experiment. I look awful in a baseball hat but would wear them if I didn't. Brims are better and helps with the sun. I also have trouble thinking of the right word and this week I put something in a drawer instead of the refrigerator! God Bless!

kris43

Linda - I'm glad you got the hair thing out of the way. My friend shaved mine off for me and we had a good laugh - but when I wrote about it on my caring bridge site Sheri corrected me and said when she drove home she just cried and cried. Those around me had a much harder time with the whole cancer thing then I did - I was just trying to get through it all day to day - so I couldn't see the whole picture, you know?

I only wore scarves - my friends had a scarf party for me and I swear I came home with about 100 scarfs. Something to wear with any outfit I might come up with. Be careful out in the sun though - chemo can cause you to burn.

I didn't use anything special on my head re: shampoo. I just used my regular shampoo and would massage my head well.

Re: chemo brain....I just laughed out loud when you shared your story! I had so many moments like that. I'd be talking to someone and all of the sudden I'd just quit and stare at them. Could not remember for the life of me what was being said or why. The worst part was not being able to concentrate enough to read. I am in 2 book clubs and for 6 months I didn't read one of the books all the way through, just couldn't do it. Same for any magazines. Drove me crazy. I am finally getting my "mind" back - my son said I can't use chemo brain for an excuse any longer.

Keep posting and have a great week! Hugs.

Kris

groundeffect

I had chemo through the winter, and found I needed to keep my head covered almost constantly in our cold climate. I got a free pattern from Nancy's Notions for a chemo beret (look for "Creative Kindness" near the bottom of the home page - there are a number of different projects there), and made a few of them from fleece. They're easy to make - if you don't sew, maybe you could get someone who does to make a few for you. Three is a good number - one to wear, one to wash, and one for in between!

My head always seemed to be oily, so those berets were washed frequently, and I did wear a wig when I was out of the house. We had an exceptionally hard winter that year, and I live in what is called the "snow belt" here-going without something on your head could acutually be dangerous!

My friend who was diagnosed with OVCA shortly after me had a good time with the gentle teasing she got for her bouts of "chemonesia". It's all right, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, so you may as well make the best of it! Think up a prank to pull on someone on April 1, and WRITE IT DOWN somewhere that you can find it...

curlyq1971

Linda,
You make me laugh..you are too funny, but you know you gotta have a sense of humor with all of this. Humor is the best medicine, and I am so happy to hear that your daughter seems to be doing so well with all of this. I still have days where I have a hard time remembering stuff and I still blame it on Chemo Brain, and I am certain that is what it is. The only thing that I wore when I was bald was a hat when I went outside cuz it was winter otherwise I went au natural, cuz like you I was hot all the time (thanks to medically induced menopause). You have such a great outlook, and positive attitude, I love reading your posts:) Now, the dreaded hair loss is over, and you can relax about that, and it wasn't that bad was it? I know it is traumatic at first, but afterward it is almost a relief cuz you know it is coming, and its scary. I can't wait to hear how it looks after it starts growing back in. Keep us posted on how you are doing, and if you have any other questions or concerns I will be here. Take Care and never ever lose your spirit.

Leslie

dorion

Hey ladies....yeah I keep rubbing my head like a genie bottle, my daughter tells me that's all I do, the 5 o'clock shadow feels kind of neat. Well poor little ole me don't know enough people to throw me a party, it would be me, myself and I there. Well Ladies the only thing left now is the brows and lashes but I hope that takes its time to go, I'm in no hurry. Yeah we really made a laugh out of the whole head shaving thing video taped it, then we shaved half my head and I did a comb over and did a Donald trump inpersonation then my favorite was Hitler, with the black comb over my mouth, it was hysterical. What can we do? Right? At least my hair was short to begin with. I had my second round of chemo yesterday and Meghan really wanted to go, so I kept her out of school and off she trooded to the hospital with her game boy in tow, now she knows how boring it is and that's it's not such a big deal and she isn't so scared when I go, so I think I made the right decision in letting her come with me. Plus she helped the day go by a lot faster not to mention that darn cute nurse that was attending to my needs.....I everytime my alarm went off I kept telling him I was doing it on purpose so I can get him over here. Then when I was all done, IV out and I'm putting my shoes off someone elses alarm went off and I'm sitting there saying "I didn't do it" not realizing that I wasn't hooked up anymore. You ladies all make me laugh too, we have to laugh or else we will go out of our minds, me that's easy to do on a good day never mind going through this. I so enjoy reading everyones posts and I'll make notes of any funny stories and I love hearing yours. Anyway got to run, I absolutely love all of you guys. From the bottom of my heart....
Linda

stage3ovarian

loosing hair
Use nioxin