Hair

[Jean]

 Some of you have talked about how badly your hair is doing. Today I got in the mail a catalogue, with tons of wigs and hairpieces. I cant vouch for the quality, but the prices are very reasonable. It is www.PaulaYoung. com . ( Not a link, you will need to copy and paste) The phone number, to get a catalogue is 1-800-343-9695

[Rerun]

When I lost my transplant and had to start in-center hemodialysis again, I think I was having a nervous breakdown and my hair got really thin.  I went and spent $100 on a nice wig.  It looked great but about 3 hours of wearing it and my head would itch so bad it was all I could think about until I could get home and rip it off.  It was very HOT underneath it too.  Winter was not bad, but summer made me put it up in the closet on it's Styrofoam head and there she sits today.

                             

[bette1]

I got braids with extensions on them and I loved it.  It lasted for a month and I felt so cute.  I am planning on doing it again.  I have a friend who'd gotten the sew in extension and those seem to be a good option that is not too hot. 

I think the chair was taking out my hair as well.  It is not good to have your head lying down all those hours on a nasty plastic chair.

[Tracy]

I had a transplant last Feb that failed and was removed 5 days later.  About end of March, I started loosing my  hair.  I'd say 70% of it fell out.  I just cut it off (It was down to the middle of my back) and wore it back in a pony tail.  I looked pretty bad, but it is finally growing back in.  It freaked me out though.  I sure wasn't expecting that.

[BRANDY]

I am predialysis and mine is very thin . My pony tail is so small. What do you do to help thicken it up. Is there a vit. or food that helps?  thanks.

[Dianejt]

I didn't realize that hair loss was a side effect of kidney disease.

[bette1]

I take prenatal vitamin that are OK'd by my doctor and keep the protein up.  It helps a little, but this disease hasn't been kind to my body.  I used to think I was cute!

[wolfken]

im new will i lose my hair before dialysis or after transplant?? wolfken

[calypso]

im new will i lose my hair before dialysis or after transplant?? wolfken

I've always heard that blood thinners like heparin that you are put on when you start hemodialysis cause hair loss. Don't know if that's true or not.

I was on peritoneal dialysis for 6 years and never had any hair loss until I had peritonitis and started hemodialysis, although I went through a lot of antibiotics and 3 CT scans so I don't know which one caused it but my hair got much much thinner.

[Stacy Without An E]

I remarkably still have a full head of hair even though Dialysis has been doing everything it can to make it fall out.  A friend of mine who survived cancer treatments said she used Nioxin products to good effect.  It doesn't really grow new hair, but helps the hair you still have grow longer.

The top of my head is still getting really thin.  I've already decided that when it gets really bad, I'm just going to shave my head and wear skull caps.

Sure, I'll look ridiculous, but after surviving six years of Dialysis its really not that important to me anymore.

[valve]

I'm glad to see i'm not the only one.  I have been complaining since I started hemo-dialysis.  I think my docs think I'm crazy cause they haven't really done anything.  Just lately my neph told me she would recommend a dermatologist for me to see about the hair loss.  Only because she tested my blood and everything turned out fine so she really don't know why I could be losing my hair.

When I first started dialysis my hair was long and thick.  Now it is long and very very thin.  Everyday I lose hand-fulls between washing and brushing. 

I hope they will find out what it is with hemo that causes this.  If anyone has any suggestions on how to restore hair let us thinning people know.

[monrein]

There are several threads about hair loss that should come up if you do a search.  It's very common, not hair loss like on chemo, but hair loss nonetheless. 

Meds are one issue, but also stress.  No matter how well any one of us might cope with the stress it still takes a toll on our bodies and hair is really a non-essential when the body is dealing with major organ failure of any kind.  Women's periods often slow down or stop completely on D, and hair growth suffers too.  Then you have transplant meds which is a whole new ball game.  Cyclosporine grows hair everywhere...and cellcept makes it fall out....you just feel like bursting into a rousing chorus of "Stayin Alive, Stayin Alive".

I use Nioxxin shampoo, I think it helps but who really knows...more hope in a bottle, and I take good quality fish oil every day.

[MooseMom]

I'm not on D yet so I don't know better, but a couple of months after I had my hysterectomy, I lost a lot of hair.  I HAD a lot of hair, so no one really noticed but me, but when I had my husband actually touch my head, he had to admit that it did feel different.  My hairdresser opined that it was the shock/stress of surgery; I was hoping she was right and that it wasn't due to surgical menopause.  Well, she seemed to be right because I then went through a period where I didn't lose any hair at all...not even the normal, every day amount.  Now it has all sort of evened out.  So, I'm thinking that dialysis is a constant shock to the body; I don't know if you ever physically adapt to it as it is an abnormal process.  That coupled with Monrein's idea that hair is not a necessity (along with periods) for sustaining life makes me think it is not really a surprise that hair is affected.

[jbeany]

Things that damage hair include anesthetics used for surgery, low iron levels, low protein levels, a lack of vitamins from unusual diets, steroid meds that many transplant patients are required to stay on, and yes, the friction from rubbing your head on the nasty plastic chairs or even the pillows can do more damage to already thin and dry hair.