1. Has anyone had, or know of someone who has had, a SCT and not lost their hair?
2. I have been reading Pat"s book about his SCT experience and he reports significant and extended nausea. I am wondering what has worked for others to counter this, both the medications used and how they are deployed?
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Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
I'll address number 2 from my experience. My nausea while in the hospital wasn't really bad, but my appetite was all but nil. I did drink Boost a couple of times a day, Ensure would have worked also, in vanilla to keep my energy up and it didn't effect me.
After my release I had bouts of nausea at times, but about 4-6 weeks after my SCT I seemed to have nausea constantly and it did have an effect on my recovery.
It seems that there is no constant when it comes to the nausea and I suspect everyone reacts differently to the chemo they are given.
After my release I had bouts of nausea at times, but about 4-6 weeks after my SCT I seemed to have nausea constantly and it did have an effect on my recovery.
It seems that there is no constant when it comes to the nausea and I suspect everyone reacts differently to the chemo they are given.
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Wayne K - Name: Wayne
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself, my sister who passed in '95
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 03/09
- Age at diagnosis: 70
Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
64 years old had 2 SCT last was 12/10/10 Ativan is drug u need it will help u sleep and helps
Nausea I lost all hair from Melphelan chemo no big deal comes back darker thicker
Stay hydrated,keep moving and Stay Strong!
Nausea I lost all hair from Melphelan chemo no big deal comes back darker thicker
Stay hydrated,keep moving and Stay Strong!
Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
Hi, here's my experience with my auto-SCT:
I was sick from IV Cytoxan (high dose, one time) sick within hours, then ok in 24hrs. My hair started thinning from that, but still had a lot of fine blonde hair going into SCT. High dose IV Melphalan had a slow effect on me. Hair continued to thin through out the month I was isolated in the hospital, but I went home with quite a bit of hair. Medical staff couldn't believe how much hair I retained. Slowly thinned over 2 more months, so I had my son buzz me. Was actually "fun" for me, as a woman, I hadn't ever had a buzz cut!
Next question- Nausea: I was terrified about being sick, so I ate only super bland food like cream of wheat, plain oatmeal, plain baked potatoes, bananas, apple sauce, etc. Only drank small sips of liquid in small intervals (water, herb tea, cran juice diluted, etc) . Everything was plain and bland, but it worked! Never got sick! Nauseated, but not sick. Heard others in the rooms on the other sides of me so sick... so I took even more precautions! About 10 days in, my Hickman catheter became highly infected when my immune system bottomed out, and had to have it removed with in-room, bedside surgery. I wound up on 6-7 bags hanging from my IV stand, but I never got sick.
So my advice is "less is more" regarding food, and don't sweat the hair loss. New hair comes in different and super healthy! Best of luck to you!
I was sick from IV Cytoxan (high dose, one time) sick within hours, then ok in 24hrs. My hair started thinning from that, but still had a lot of fine blonde hair going into SCT. High dose IV Melphalan had a slow effect on me. Hair continued to thin through out the month I was isolated in the hospital, but I went home with quite a bit of hair. Medical staff couldn't believe how much hair I retained. Slowly thinned over 2 more months, so I had my son buzz me. Was actually "fun" for me, as a woman, I hadn't ever had a buzz cut!
Next question- Nausea: I was terrified about being sick, so I ate only super bland food like cream of wheat, plain oatmeal, plain baked potatoes, bananas, apple sauce, etc. Only drank small sips of liquid in small intervals (water, herb tea, cran juice diluted, etc) . Everything was plain and bland, but it worked! Never got sick! Nauseated, but not sick. Heard others in the rooms on the other sides of me so sick... so I took even more precautions! About 10 days in, my Hickman catheter became highly infected when my immune system bottomed out, and had to have it removed with in-room, bedside surgery. I wound up on 6-7 bags hanging from my IV stand, but I never got sick.
So my advice is "less is more" regarding food, and don't sweat the hair loss. New hair comes in different and super healthy! Best of luck to you!
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Julie MM - Name: Julie
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Dec 30, 2009
- Age at diagnosis: 50
Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
I did my SCT outpatient at Duke. Never lost a meal, and never skipped a meal. Did have some minor nausea but nothing considered debilitating. The nurses told us to stay on top of the nausea by alternating compazine and Ativan. To actually overlap them and it worked.
As far as hair, yes I lost it about a week after the melphalan. I did buy my wig beforehand and it looked like my real hair and I received lots of compliments on my hair from folks who didn't know it was a wig!
Joyce Wells
Pinehurst NC
As far as hair, yes I lost it about a week after the melphalan. I did buy my wig beforehand and it looked like my real hair and I received lots of compliments on my hair from folks who didn't know it was a wig!
Joyce Wells
Pinehurst NC
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Joyjoyful - Name: Joyce Wells
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 12/2002
- Age at diagnosis: 55
Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
I had auto SCT in May. During the actual transplant, I spent the entire time with my head in a bucket from the preservative used in the stem cells. I continued to struggle with nausea for about 6 weeks, for which I was given Ativan in the hospital and Zofran after coming home. I had no appetite, and when I did eat, food either had no flavor or tasted bitter or metallic. I lost 20 pounds. It took about 6 weeks for the nausea to stop, and another 3-4 months to regain my appetite and sense of taste.
The only things that I found to help were:
1) I needed to keep my fluid intake up, but water tasted unbearably bitter. I found putting a few tablespoons of pomegranate juice in a glass of water helped to mask the bitter taste. I also found that Perrier or even club soda tasted better than water.
2) I would sometimes wake in the middle of the night with nausea, and I found that keeping dry crackers to nibble on as soon as I woke sometimes helped.
As for hair loss, a few days after coming home from the hospital, my hair started coming out in huge clumps, so I shaved my head. It's now been seven months and still I only have about 1/2" of very sparse growth, not enough to cover my scalp.
The only preventative for chemo hair loss I've heard of are special caps to keep your scalp cold during chemo, so that the blood circulation slows down, keeping the chemo drugs away from the hair follicles. They are sometimes used with breast cancer patients in Canada and Europe, but they have not been approved by the FDA yet and may not work with other types/doses of chemo or other cancers.
The only things that I found to help were:
1) I needed to keep my fluid intake up, but water tasted unbearably bitter. I found putting a few tablespoons of pomegranate juice in a glass of water helped to mask the bitter taste. I also found that Perrier or even club soda tasted better than water.
2) I would sometimes wake in the middle of the night with nausea, and I found that keeping dry crackers to nibble on as soon as I woke sometimes helped.
As for hair loss, a few days after coming home from the hospital, my hair started coming out in huge clumps, so I shaved my head. It's now been seven months and still I only have about 1/2" of very sparse growth, not enough to cover my scalp.
The only preventative for chemo hair loss I've heard of are special caps to keep your scalp cold during chemo, so that the blood circulation slows down, keeping the chemo drugs away from the hair follicles. They are sometimes used with breast cancer patients in Canada and Europe, but they have not been approved by the FDA yet and may not work with other types/doses of chemo or other cancers.
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Stitcher88 - Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2012
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
My husbands transplant was planned to be out-patient, but he ended up admitted for 10 days for severe nausea. We know another guy in town who said he had no problems with nausea after his. I don't really think there is anything you can do to prevent the nausea - that some people unfortunately get it, and some don't. I hope you will be one of those that doesn't.
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rumnting - Who do you know with myeloma?: husband
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 4/9/11
- Age at diagnosis: 54
Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
I had limited nausea which surprised me since I have been affected by nausea more than some other people in my life. I think I was lucky to have medical people that handled it well. I was given zofran, compazine and ativan as prevention right away (there's a way to stagger them). Also, at any sign of potential nausea, I was told to ask for more anti-nausea drugs. I was told that zofran only works for a couple of days or so after a transplant or surgery because it binds to something that your body produces after a trauma and when the body stops producing that, it has no way of working. So, all three drugs at first, and then the compazine and ativan continued. When I got home, I just took an occasional ativan. I was not nauseated after ten days at home and during the first ten days, it wasn't that bad. I did lose about 15 pounds because my appetite and digestive ability were not great. Diarrhea lasted two or three weeks after I got home.
The medical people told me that my hair loss was from the cytoxan I received pre-harvest but that it takes two or three weeks for your hair to come out. This is what happened to me. They said that the melphalan just inhibits hair regrowth for awhile, but doesn't cause the hair loss. I think some other people on this site have experienced the melphalan causing hair loss though.
The medical people told me that my hair loss was from the cytoxan I received pre-harvest but that it takes two or three weeks for your hair to come out. This is what happened to me. They said that the melphalan just inhibits hair regrowth for awhile, but doesn't cause the hair loss. I think some other people on this site have experienced the melphalan causing hair loss though.
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Joy - Name: Joy
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: May 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 52
Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
My husband had his transplant on December 30. He had a little nausea on Day 5, but never vomited. He had a couple of days of diarrhea. It is only Day 9 (about 13 days since Melphalan) and he has not lost any hair yet, but they say it is coming. They told him that if he can endure these couple of days of low counts, the worst would be over. We are praying that this is the case. Overall, he is doing well as can be with this process.
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LadyLib - Name: LadyLib
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Spouse
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 42
Re: Stem cell transplant - hair loss + nausea questions
Lady,
Interesting about the hair. Many have suggested shaving it off before it comes out on its own and I have been contemplating whether to do it before the transplant. Not sure whether to do so in light of your husband's experience. Prefer to hold onto it and the mustache as long as possbile. It's cold outside!!
Interesting about the hair. Many have suggested shaving it off before it comes out on its own and I have been contemplating whether to do it before the transplant. Not sure whether to do so in light of your husband's experience. Prefer to hold onto it and the mustache as long as possbile. It's cold outside!!
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goldmine848 - Name: Andrew
- When were you/they diagnosed?: June 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 60
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