PT is done, but it's weird

EZLiving66

I finished Physical Therapy on Monday and passed all my tests except one balance one but I'll keep on working at it.  The weird thing is, the hair on my left eyebrow has falled out AGAIN.  When I was in chemo only my left eyebrow and left eyelashes fell out but they grew back in.  I thought I was imagining it but this morning, I counted only three hairs left on the left and a full, thick eyebrow on the right!!  The other weird thing is, I keep losing weight even though I'm eating like a horse - I'm always hungry!!

I see my GP next month and I know what she'll say - "Oh Eldri, it's good you've lost more weight."  I'm going to tell her my new diet consists of eating everything in sight!!!  I've had to really curtail my walking too because I have blisters at the end of my both my big toes because my toenails are only half grown in.  I wear my bedroom slippers to work and everywhere else.  Our youngest graduates from college on Saturday and I'm hoping the blisters have healed so I can glue some toenails on to wear sandals - no way can I wear my new closed-toe pumps OR my bedroom slippers!!!  

I know most of you have a lot more to worry about than me worrying about my toes and eyebrows but I just feel like something weird is going on with my body.  Maybe the cancer is back in my stomach!!!  When I see my oncologist's PA in June I'm going to ask for a CT or MRI to see if something else is going on.

Love,

Eldri 

TeddyandBears_Mom

Eldri, I hope you are wrong

Eldri, I hope you are wrong about that! And... glad to hear that your nails are coming back.

Just so that you know, my brows and lashes came back in and now they are falling out again. Especially the lower eye lashes. Like you, I thought I was imagining things until I put mascara on and had major gaps between lashes. Very strange. They seem to be coming back though. I have some stubs that I can see in my 10 Xs magnifying mirror.  Until you, I don't recall anyone mentioning this.

Did anyone out there experience a return and then a loss and then a return of brows or lashes?

Love and Hugs,

Cindi

Kvdyson

Unexplained weight loss

Eldri, congrats on completing PT and on your child's college graduation! The unexplained weight loss you mentioned is worrisome. Maybe keeping a food diary for a few days would be helpful? There are many online apps that can make it easy. That information may be helpful when you see your doctor again. Kim

Editgrl

Thyroid?

Eldri, have you ever had thyroid issues?  I ask because I have a couple of friends who do have thyroid problems and rapid weight gain or loss was one thing that they dealt with before diagnosis.

ConnieSW

TeddyandBears_Mom said:

Eldri, I hope you are wrong

Eldri, I hope you are wrong about that! And... glad to hear that your nails are coming back.

Just so that you know, my brows and lashes came back in and now they are falling out again. Especially the lower eye lashes. Like you, I thought I was imagining things until I put mascara on and had major gaps between lashes. Very strange. They seem to be coming back though. I have some stubs that I can see in my 10 Xs magnifying mirror.  Until you, I don't recall anyone mentioning this.

Did anyone out there experience a return and then a loss and then a return of brows or lashes?

Love and Hugs,

Cindi

Yep

Happened to me.

Editgrl

Eyelashes

Eldri, I thought it was my imagination, but my eyelashes came in much thicker than before, but now they are thinning considerably.  Don't know if they are going to disappear completely again, but they are definitely sparser than they were, say, a month ago.

EZLiving66

Editgrl said:

Thyroid?

Eldri, have you ever had thyroid issues?  I ask because I have a couple of friends who do have thyroid problems and rapid weight gain or loss was one thing that they dealt with before diagnosis.

I've been on synthorid or

I've been on synthorid or levothyroxine since I was seven years old.  My grandma had thyoid problems, daughter #2 had thyroid cancer when she was 19 and now my sister started having problems.  When I was seven, I gained 20# almost overnight and my mother took me to the doctor to see what was wrong.  Over the years I have gained and lost huge amounts of weight but it always came with an increase or decrease in appetite.  Now I'm eating more than ever and still losing weight.  It's like my dream come true but it has me worried because of the all the stomach problems the chemo caused - maybe some permanent damage???  Yikes!!

Love,

Eldri

EZLiving66

I do feel better about the

I do feel better about the eyebrow thing now that several of you ladies - Chris and Cindi - said the same thing happened to them.  I read that the actual chemo drugs only stay in your system for three or four days but the side effects can last for years.  I may have to buy one of those fake eyebrows (or capture a caterpillar) and glue it on.  "Ma'am, is that a caterpillar crawling above your eye?"  "WHAT??  Do I look like the kind of woman who would have a caterpillar crawling on my face and/or fake toenails??" 

Love,

Eldri

Abbycat2

Eldri, your weight loss is not likely

to be due to cancer. It just doesn't make sense to me as often a symptom of a recurrence is bloating (ascites weight gain).  I read somewhere- and have seen it myself with two friends- that end stage cancer can cause wasting, similar to end stage AIDS. YOU, sweetheart, are no where near "end-stage".  Now, the eyebrow and eyelash situation, just on one side, is a new side effect of cancer treatment to me. I did noticed that initially my eyelashes and eyebrows came back nicely but have since thinned. Maybe this is a common occurrence. Eldri, you are such a gem; I am sorry that you have had such a rough road to travel lately, but your strength lies in your humility and phenomenal sense of humor.

Thank you for being you- Eldri!

With Love,

Cathy

Sandy3185

EZLiving66 said:

I do feel better about the

I do feel better about the eyebrow thing now that several of you ladies - Chris and Cindi - said the same thing happened to them.  I read that the actual chemo drugs only stay in your system for three or four days but the side effects can last for years.  I may have to buy one of those fake eyebrows (or capture a caterpillar) and glue it on.  "Ma'am, is that a caterpillar crawling above your eye?"  "WHAT??  Do I look like the kind of woman who would have a caterpillar crawling on my face and/or fake toenails??" 

Love,

Eldri

HaHaHa

Eldri you crack me up! By the way, I wish I would get that weight loss side effect! I keep doing the eating all the time part but, unfortunately, I keep gaining weight!  Lots of love, Sandy

Soup52

Eldri, I hope the dr can get

Eldri, I hope the dr can get to the bottom of the weight loss. Maybe an aftereffect of chemo or radiation somehow? When I mentioned to my oncologist about my continued stomach problems, he said I would probably have them for life:( after effects of radiation. Boo! Anyway I'm so sorry about all the problems you have had. Yet you still have a great sense of humor. I'll be praying for you! You deserve it!

Double Whammy

Brows and lashes

I think they react differently than other hair.  My brows and lashes only thinned slighly while on Taxotere.  Then about a month or so AFTER chemo - boom!  They jumped off me.  Some of my lashes came back, and they're wonky, but I've learned to work around that with permanent eyeliner and a tube of mascara.  My brows never came back.  Again, permanent makeup.  And you know about my head hair . . . It seems pretty common amongst us chemotherapy survivors, no matter what our cocktail, to have been left eyelash or eyebrow challenged at least to some degree.  But only one?  Dunno.  Hope you enjoy the graduation with SHOES!

Suzanne

SandyD

Mine are weird too

Eldri, I have something similar with my eyebrows. More hairs on the left side and like you, only 3 hairs on the right!

Weird thing is, unlike with the hair on my head, I don't even remember when my eyebrows and lashes fell out! I guess just another little perk  

For me I think it might have something to do with my bad eye allergies. My right eye is often more affected than the left and I tend to rub it a lot (including the brow area). I've learned that rubbing doesn't help the hair shafts.

Sandy

EZLiving66

SandyD said:

Mine are weird too

Eldri, I have something similar with my eyebrows. More hairs on the left side and like you, only 3 hairs on the right!

Weird thing is, unlike with the hair on my head, I don't even remember when my eyebrows and lashes fell out! I guess just another little perk  

For me I think it might have something to do with my bad eye allergies. My right eye is often more affected than the left and I tend to rub it a lot (including the brow area). I've learned that rubbing doesn't help the hair shafts.

Sandy

The other weird thing is that

The other weird thing is that my eyelashes on the left side came back super straight while the right side which didn't really fall out are real curly.  That's easy to fix with an eyelash curler but strange all the same.  And....I still have that ONE long hair on my forearm - it's black and about an inch long.  The rest of my arms look like I've shaved them; no hair at all.  Anyway, I'm encouraging "Toby" - yes, I've named him, to see how long he will actually grow.  I just read this and my life is pretty pathetic if the only excitement is life is watching Toby grow.  Oh well, it is what it is....stay tuned for updates on "Watching Toby Grow."

Love,

Eldri 

Editgrl

Hey, Eldri

I can see a new viral sensation...  Toby can have his own YouTube channel.  I see subscribers, sponsors... heck, maybe you can make money off of Toby!