Hair regrowth questions.

[pumpkin_head]

Hi guys its been two and a half months since my last inpatient session now and I have a few worries about my hair re-growth, as in the hair on my head.

My head hair has been growing back for a while and it started after 6 weeks as most people on here report. However, as a ball park figure, I'd say about 20% (even less on the sides and back) are growing. The hairs that are grwoing are growing well, but the other 80% are not growing at all. As a result my hair is pretty embarrassing at the moment and it looks frankly ridiculous and obviously im feeling pretty good now so I'm out and about and everything, but the giggles and glances I am getting from people are getting me down a bit. I know hair re-growth might seem trivial to some, and I apologise if it does, but at the moment its like a constant reminder for me of the troubles of the last few months when everything else is doing fine now. Could it be because i didnt let a lot of it afall out naturally. As a member of the recent generation, I was obsessed with styling my hair this way and that lol, so I couldnt help messing with it and running my hands through it when it was falling out to see how many were in my hand.

What worries me is that my facial hair is 100% back with even more hair follicles (dont ask me how that one works) and as a greek im not short of a fair few body hairs and although these have not yet returned to full length, you can see that they are ALL growing, whereas as I said, no where near all of my head hairs are growing back and it looks a bit silly.

Would be really grateful if anyone could share their experiences of hair regrowth.

[Stavros]

Dude, as a Greek myself, what is going on with all the Greek members and TC?!? It's starting to freak me out that such a rare disease has me adding now yet another Greek amongst the other 2 or 3 (one ball wonder is another member) I've ran across here...they should do a study on Greeks and TC, maybe it's from the over abundance of Mediterranean hormones or something :-P.

As for the hair, I'm about 6 weeks from 4x EP myself and although I've noticed a lot of my hair coming back on top of the head, like you, the sides and back are still pretty patchy. The hair is growing back super thin as well for me so don't feel so bad....I had my fiance just keep shaving it all off and hopefully it will come to some type of normal in the near future. But try not to think about it, instead just try to enjoy the time recovering and take joy in the extra time above ground we've been given my man :-D Though, if any members on here would care to share their hair re-growth experiences I would more than welcome it as well.

Megale, mipos milas Ellinika???

Ta lemme!

[smoothee]

Hey man,

I can certainly relate to your concerns and frustrations. Chemo is a wonderful thing isn't it ?! Initially my facial hair game back a lot sooner than the hair on my head (a lot thicker and darker as well). I was actually liking the new look. But like you, the hair on my head was still very thin in places, especially on the sides. I'm about 10 months post chemo right now, and it's really only been the past few months that my hair has started to fill in thick. It's now probably thicker than ever, but still as curly as hell (it was just a little wavy prior to treatment). I don't know if the curliness will ever go away, but hey the ladies seem to love it .

My facial hair on the other hand has been a complete roller coaster. I have been known to sport a playoff beard from time to time, so for me it was almost harder losing the facial hair than the hair on my head. Like I said, at first it came back really thick and black (it was dark before with a little tint of red). That lasted for a couple of months and it seemed to return to normal. Then all of a sudden it all completely turned red. Finally it started to become really patchy with black mixed in with red. I didn't know what was going on. But I'm happy to report that all is good once again.

Just give it time bro. It'll eventually return to its old form.

Damian

[moridorr]

My hair came back extremely dark and thick, but I'm told it will return to normal after a few months

[NicksGirlfriend]

I'm 4 weeks since my last bleo injection and my beard just started to really grow in. It's coming in a lot thicker and fuller than before it seems, kinda weird. The hair on my head is just fuzz and coming in really slow/patchy so I'm just continuously shaving it until one day it hopefully will look like its coming in think and full. Kind of sucks feeling 100% and still having the "chemo look".... raises some eyebrows when I'm at the gym to say the least.

Oh well, I guess we just need to play the waiting game and hope for the best.

-Nick

[will80]

Originally Posted by Stavros

what is going on with all the Greek members and TC?!?

Add another one to the list....

I'm through my first cycle, and have noticed an increased craving for dolmathes, and bougatsa, so that could be the secret cure !

As for the body hair, might save me a few dollars on waxing for a while.

Cheers,

Will

[NicksGirlfriend]

Italian here... hmm...

[Stavros]

Wowwww, what is going on here, I know Greeks and Italians are practically cousins and both are known to be high testosterone type of people...there must be some correlation there, I'm gonna run this by my onc Dr. Bosl who is on the forefront of TC treatment, who knows! This is freaky cause I'm in the chemo room and there are about 3 other young dudes getting the same type of treatment as me at Sloan and guess what, one other Greek and another Italian!!! I come on this great forum and I notice the same thing.

And I must confess, like my fiance says, being an over-abundant hairy type of Greek dude who drives fast and enjoys things like sky-diving, I always kinda knew my ball of all things would try and do me in :-P Will, good look with your treatments bro and take it easy on that Greek food, I know it's hard to resist lol.

Bless all of you guys!

[MonkeyDog]

The sides of my head are still really thin, and I've got some weird facial hair growth happening too!

I go from full hair beard, to only the bottom half beard and only the top half beard (looks like big side burns) Then it's only a moustache and some chin hair (I can work with it) and then it grows on only the middle of the lip (yes, i look like Adolf), and then only the bottom and top of my lip. It repeats that cycle every couple months.

It looks really dumb and I feel like a tool.

My doctor isn't sure what is causing it, he's been around a long time and he says he's never seen it do that before!

He thinks it's either testostarone problems or from the chemo, but I had my last chemo treatment about a year ago, so I'm not sure what to think.

I just wish it would just all go back to normal.

[pumpkin_head]

Hey guys thanks for all the replies. Mine isnt coming back patchy as such, its coming back all over but OUTRAGEOUSLY thin. Its like I have lost all my hair follicles. I will try and upload a photo, like you can still see my scalp everywhere, its pathetic, im sick of having to explain to people whats wrong with it. I am convinced this is because i used to run my hands through my hair to make them fall out or to see how many fell out.

Its not thin its just not there, Im starting to think im stuck with this as no one else really seems to have had the same experience. like i cant even pass for having a normal head of hair i just look ridiculous. I might seem like im getting over agitated by the whole thing, but i used to model on the side, and thats well and truly over now. Its getting me down every day because otherwise I feel fine.

NicksGirlfriend described his hair as fuzz which is how id describe mine, but he also said its thick and full, mines embarrasingly thin though.

Has anyone had their hair not grow back properly at all? I dont care about getting perfect hair back, i just want somethign that i can not look like a complete weirdo with.

[NicksGirlfriend]

Originally Posted by pumpkin_head

Hey guys thanks for all the replies. Mine isnt coming back patchy as such, its coming back all over but OUTRAGEOUSLY thin. Its like I have lost all my hair follicles. I will try and upload a photo, like you can still see my scalp everywhere, its pathetic, im sick of having to explain to people whats wrong with it. I am convinced this is because i used to run my hands through my hair to make them fall out or to see how many fell out.

Its not thin its just not there, Im starting to think im stuck with this as no one else really seems to have had the same experience. like i cant even pass for having a normal head of hair i just look ridiculous. I might seem like im getting over agitated by the whole thing, but i used to model on the side, and thats well and truly over now. Its getting me down every day because otherwise I feel fine.

NicksGirlfriend described his hair as fuzz which is how id describe mine, but he also said its thick and full, mines embarrasingly thin though.

Has anyone had their hair not grow back properly at all? I dont care about getting perfect hair back, i just want somethign that i can not look like a complete weirdo with.

I meant that my beard is coming in full and think. My hair on my head seems to be very similar to your situation. It's coming in "patchy" in the sense that it is all over the place in very random spots, some hairs growing in much faster than others that aren't even growing at all. It looks very random and is coming in very VERY thin. I'm continuously wet shaving my head until one day I hope it will come in a bit more fuller.

[pumpkin_head]

Originally Posted by NicksGirlfriend

It looks very random and is coming in very VERY thin. I'm continuously wet shaving my head until one day I hope it will come in a bit more fuller.

Ah ok mate, seems we are in the same boat, as my faical came back ridiculously thick aswell. Although its started to back to nomral over the last few days. But like i have hair all over but you can still me scalp everywhere too, its all very bizarre. Have you found the wet shaving is working? Like does it come back better than before, as I am considering this too.

[NicksGirlfriend]

Wet shaving definitely helps it look the most clean cut in my opinion. But yeah, I've examined it pretty closely and I can tell that every time I shave it, it comes back in fuller (but just slightly and not yet visible unless you really, really look at my head closely). I don't think shaving has anything to do with its growth, just time... Even with what I consider my hair to now be "grown in" still looks bald to the third person lol

[Crimson617]

Guys, you don't need to worry about your hair. I finished chemo in mid-May and my hair also came in very thin...very much like baby hair. You could see my scalp and I wore a hat for more than two months after my chemo treatment. It will start to get fuller, though a spot on one of my sides seemed to be patchy, but it's ok now.

I'm 3 months out of chemo and my hair now looks normal, in which people don't question my style. The girls love that it's soft.

[ss19crew]

Odd I am Italian also, cant help with the hair question though I am getting ready to start chemo on the 14th of sep

[buffbills]

Well i'm 14 months post chemo and my hair still hasnt came back yet. my facial hair goes through shedding periods where all my facial comes back then it gets really patchy. I had a full head of hair before chemo rocked a mohawk during chemo and now my hair is just super thin. totally depressing and my docs have no answer why. So I think my hair is gone for good

[debrag]

My son is also going through the have then have not cycle of head and facial hair growth. I think that it just will take time for the body to rid itself of the toxic effects of chemo. Then the hair growth will normalize. Although I have thought of getting "green" clay and having him soak in a tub with it to try and extract the toxins quicker.

[alexios]

Hello all,

new to the forum. I am having the BEP cocktail and right now I am right in the middle of the 4XBEP course.

Had my second cycle and as far as hair is concerned, I have 10 days to shave, since there is nothing there BUT I have not lost any hair. I shaved my head, waiting for the "rain" to start, but it never did

Eyebrows are there but kind of thinner...

That's my hair story As for the therapy, first cycle was HELL but the second was easier.

I will keep you updated since I like this site.

[Aegletes]

Welcome to the forum, Alexios. Nice name.

Alex

[alexios]

Hello to you too, Aegletes