Anthralin Update: Week 3

I am on week three of my treatment: which means I have moved to full head treatment! All I can say about week 3 is that it is messy. I have not yet solved how to do this neatly. I use a glove to cover my head in the cream, but now I find I can't easily remove the glove and save it, so I have been tossing it. Then I need to wipe it all after 15 minutes with papertowel or something. Kleenex won't do it!! Except I am out of papertowel so I am using TOILET PAPER. It is just a very unattractive procedure.

Then I need to wash it off, but I haven't removed as much as I like with my TP solution, so it is so messy in the shower. And this showering is a two-glove one for sure! So that is 3 latex gloves per day for treatment. I need to go to Costco for a better deal. Anyway, Anthralin is everywhere. I found it all over my shower curtain liner, which has me kicking myself for just hanging up a new one! It has also stained my white hand towels...I guess I will just keep using them for next 3 months instead of dirtying new ones. But Anthralin stains brown...so ya...not a good look in a bathroom. hahahaha. It also somehow got on my one white towel. This stuff LOVES white.

Also, this stuff makes your head itchy, and now my nails are stained brown from scratching!! So I have to keep these puppies polished or risk looking like a bum.

So onto my head. It is still way too early to SEE anything (this can take 5 weeks- 3 months to show anything). Now, I should point out that I have had small white hairs on my head for months now, and I recently found a small patch of hair in the back. These are unrelated to my treatment and very normal with Alopecia and have come and gone over the years. I WILL point out if I see any growth. Don't bother looking in my photos!!

One day after full head treatment, I am definitely feeling it. My whole scalp is sensitive to the touch and itchy. Bad combo! It kind of feels like a bad burn. Or if you have ever had a tattoo, it feels like one right after it is done. So wearing my wig is starting to become uncomfortable. A lot of people have a misconception that wigs are heavy, itchy, and uncomfortable in and of themselves. But mine is very well made and I usually can't even feel it, and it holds up to most levels of wind. However now I breathe a sigh of relief when I get home and take it off.

Really, I just long to have normal skin up there again. It is stupid, because I clearly want to grow hair again, but I dread putting my cream on. My poor head just wants a break from this onslaught. When I am sitting at home I just long to rub soothing creams on it, but I don't think I am supposed to.  I always do it just before bed so that I can sleep right after, because my scalp throbs a bit after and it is slightly uncomfortable. It is just so odd after all these years to be putting myself through this discomfort with no promises of a cure. But I maintain my motto of "you miss every shot you don't take". So I am sucking it up. And by sucking it up, I mean complaining to everyone who will listen. hahaha. It really ISN'T that bad, but it is like having the sniffles- it is just annoying and always there.

I also find my skin is breaking out. I think it is because the medicine gets all over my pillow and therefore onto my face. I am not sure if there is a connection. Could be the the 1.5kg of chocolate covered almonds I have eaten at work this week.

Funny thing: only the top of my head stained. The rest of my scalp is just slightly pink from the allergic reaction. Kinda looks like a heart in this photo :)

I love you too, you crazy, itchy head.

Oh, and in case you think I was exaggerating about the chocolate covered almonds: