Question:
I had thin hair before chemo, and I'm losing more and more every day. I've ordered a wig. My oncologist wrote a prescription for it and my insurance will pay some. (I have Aetna). If it gets real bad, call your insurance co. and see if they will help out.
B.A.Mc.
Answer:
I washed my hair yesterday, and got another alarming handfull....Made a pony tail and it's about half the thickness it used to be. It still looks ok, nobody notices that it's thinner, so if it stays this way, I can live with it. But, with 4 more months of chemo ahead, I'm not sure. I think I might go ahead and order a wig. There's a store in my neighborhood that has some nice wigs, very natural looking, with a "scalp" even. They're kind of expensive, and my insurance doesn't cover wigs, but I'm going to do it anyway. Then at least I'll have it ready to go if my own hair thins out too much. And even if it doesn't, on the days when I don't have time to do my hair, I can just put my "spare hair" on, and I'm good to go!
By the way, my oncologist started me off on a lower dose of 5FU for my first 6 treatments. Then I bumped up to 85% of the total dose for the next 3 treatments, and now I am at the full 100%. I have been having a pretty esay time of it, as far a side effects so far, but this weekend, after the first full dose, I was having waves of nausea, nothing I couldn't handle, and had a BM last night that "burned".....does this happen with 5FU? My doc says if I get bad side effects, he'll drop my dose.....but so far, nothing horrible has happened...
Best to All......
W.
Answer:
Hi Windy,
I lost a lot of hair, but only my hairdresser noticed! (I have a good head of hair on me, too!) I noticed that it did slow down as time went on. I hope it does for you, too.
My bum burned horribly on 5FU/radiation. When I was on 5FU alone I did not use my bum so I can't speak to that. I can tell you that I had LOTS of diarrhea that burns the skin around my stoma, so I would assume it would burn the bum as well. If you are having burning that goes up to your throat I would ask for Nexium or some kind of med like that. Also try some aquaphor and sitz baths for the bum pain.
Good luck to you!
Cats
PS - CD I could TOTALLY relate to your post... thanks for putting that feeling into words...be sure to add that to your book!
Answer:
Yeah, CD hits the nail dead on there. Hair loss, although disturbing(especially more so for the women) does not compare to such things as pain and nausea yet I too was asked by those who knew I was on chemo, if my hair was falling out. In my case it wasn't but why not ask if I was feeling ill or if there was any pain?
I too had diarrhea and if the colostomy wafer had any gaps bewteen the barrier and the stoma then the skin got burned. The radiation also gave me a very painful butt burn.
Answer:
You mentioned burn. See if your dr. will prescribe lidocaine cream or ointment. Also nupercainal is good. It's non prescription, but I could not find it in the drug store. Had to order it online.
I take probiotics to try to ward off the burn. I've had a combination of side effects. First treatment, 5 days of diarrhea. Only one day was bad enough to take immodium. Second, normal. Third treatment constipation. Tomorrow I go for number 4. I'm on folfox. Hope this helps.
B.A.Mc.