General
Alopecia post transplant
After my transplant surgery I developed alopecia (hair loss). I found its actually quite common, ranging from thinning hair to losing it all and going bald. I ended up losing quite a lot of hair, and now wear extensions and wigs regularly. My hair is slowly growing back in - an entirely different color and texture than before!
This month is alopecia awareness month and I'm partnering with a local boutique in my area for their more than her hair alopecia awareness campaign. When i first lost my hair it was a huge deal. it was one of my worst fears going into transplant. Now I'm far more confident, and love my fake hair. Crazy colors, lengths, it's all a fun part of my self expression.
If you lost your hair due to transplant, what toll did it take on your self esteem and how did you begin practicing self acceptance and expression
1 - 9 of 9 Replies
@AliEm14
I started to loose my hair as well a little over a month post transplant. Reminder: I'm only 3 months post presently. It has definitely been giving my esteem a hit. I can tell my hair is thinner and is coming out more. I was told this was a potential side effect of the Tacrolimus, particularly for women... I won't change to the cyclosporine due to that drugs alternative side effect.
I had read that using a moisturizing shampoo can weigh down hair and make it easier to come out! (That was what I was using! I O.o )
I'm not getting a wig or anything yet. I'm giving a new shampoo a try. It's supposed to help thicken and volumize the strands to help hair look thicker. If that fails I would try a wig.
Transplant Patient
@PoisonRose21 yes, it’s a huge side effect of tacrolimus. I change up my hair so often a wig wasn’t a huge change for me, and actually gave me more freedom to play with my hair. But everyone is different. And regardless how you think you’d deal with it you never know. It was a huge hit to my self esteem in the beginning, and it took a while to really embrace it
I found that before transplant because of chemo and radiation my hair got very thin and started using Vigro hair shampoo and also product called Hair Grow shampoo (not sure if available in other countries) which definitely helped with regrowth. For the last couple of months I have taken hydrolised collagen and definitely! see a huge decrease in amount of hair loss, as well as better muscle recover from excercise and skin not being so dry.
I am 1 year and 3 months in from my Transplant and I have lost at least 2/3 of my hair. My scalp is very itchy. I would really appreciate any advice because this has taken a toll on my self-esteem. What is the shampoo that people are using seems to work?
Transplant Patient
@Ski73 i actually ended up going no ‘poo and ditching traditional shampoos when I lost my hair. I think it definitely helped my overall scalp and hair health
I have long hair, down to my mid-back. I have always lost a significant amount of hair each day. I think its a normal thing, but noticeable since my hair is long. I ended up with a scab on my head after surgery due to my head position and movements during surgery. That hair started falling out and that totally freaked me out about 2 weeks after surgery. I was positive I would have a huge scar and no hair would grow there and it would be a big bald spot. My hair has grown back in, and I happy to report no bald spot. People tell me all the time that my hair looks so good after transplant. It still falls out a lot, I still have to sweep the floor everyday after brushing and clean out the shower after washing. I also noticed quite a bit of other hair growth... like the peach fuzz on my face - whoa! It was thick about 6 months after transplant. Also, my eyelashes are thicker!
I have always had long very thick hair. I had a kidney transplant 6 months ago and since about a month and a half ago i have lost about half i would say of my hair. I am told this is from the tacrolimus. They told me they would approve me to swith meds but that there is a chance of rejection when you do that. I have tried biotin shampoo and conditioner, as well as Actiiv shampoo and conditioner and Green tea rinse. They all left my hair so tangled together even with deep conditioning that i lost so much hair just detangling it. I am trying biotin 5000mg and prenatal vitamins to see if they help. Anyone have anything that has worked for them? Also if you know on average how long the hair loss lasts.
Transplant Patient
@suezq i mentioned above but ditching traditional shampoo/conditioner, styling products and heat helped me. I also focused a lot on diet, healing my whole body, and I did rosemary infusions. I want to say my hair didn’t start coming back until my tac dose stabilized, which for me was around the 1.5 year mark. I did extensions and wigs in between
Thank you for the reply. I just started getting into extensions and wigs.