Hair Loss And How To Treat It

Hair loss is not a fun thing to go through. My clexane injections are causing my hair to fall out in clumps, about 20-30 strands at a time. Luckily my hair seems to grow fairly quickly so this rate is manageable but if it gets any worse I'm going to think about getting my hair cut short seeing as I'm going to be on this for a while - I spoke to a friend of mine who's a nurse and she said 6 months is the minimum for heparin (clexane).

*UPDATE: so it's been a few years of living with occasional hair loss and I have to confirm that the best thing to do for my hair is to have it short. I've found that having longer hair (especially when it's thick) puts more strain on my scalp and hair follicles so more will fall out when I go through what I call my malting stage.  

I often switch up my shampoo and conditioner brands about every six months to also reduce the stress on my scalp.  I have found that if I stay with just one brand (doesn't particularly matter who as long as it's a quality brand like Bed Head or Tresemme) my hair will need washing more as it gets greasier but once I switch I'm back to my normal regime. 

One other easy tip I would recommend doing for people with longer hair is to switch to a spiral hair toggle rather than the traditional elastic hair band. I've found the spiral toggles to be a lot more forgiving to hair and I rarely have more than two or three strands come out compared to the ten or more I used to experience. 

Treating Hair Loss: What Is Alopecia And How To Treat It 

I picked up some of my prescriptions today which put me in a bit of a low mood. The doctor has prescribed clexane on repeat and I'll have to pick up my next dose in July so no drinking on my birthday like I had planned. On the up side I was able to pick up my pain meds today so I've got a few weeks of those before getting a refill - these wont be put on repeat as I need a consult each time.

Another side effect I'm experiencing is thinning of my skin, it's ever so slight but it's causing hypersensitivity and I'm easily bruised. I noticed that I have some bruising on my palms from my crutches even though the handles are padded up. I'm going to find some extra foam padding to strap around it, I might even find it at work.

The heat is unbelievable for me at the moment, I'm feeling it a lot more than usual. I was sweating in the office even with the air conditioner on, I think it's because of the compression stockings and padded gloves that I wear (for walking with the crutches) but even at home with light clothing on I'm struggling. I don't know if that's a symptom of what I'm going through or whether that's what heat is supposed to feel like. I've always struggled with the cold but rarely with heat so I'll mention it to Dr Mainwairing and see what he thinks. *Edit: turns out this is just something to live with now, I'll do some more research on blood thinners and the heat and come back to you.*

Tiredness is still an issue even though I managed to get in nearly 10 hours last night. It was really difficult to wake up this morning, I felt like I had been hit by a bus it was that bad but luckily I was kicked out of bed by Mr HouseWife when he came in to do my injections.

Asthma has been getting a bit better now that I've been remembering to take my meds for it. I think I'll start leaving it next to the injection box to remind me that I need to do it twice a day as well. My chest was  a bit tight today though but I think the pollen count was higher than normal and that normally effects it. I'm sure once my endurance and respiratory fitness increases I'll start getting back to where I was before the hospitalization.