Hey there everyone, I have a question......
My daughter has been on Cytoxan since the beginning of November. She has three weeks left on the eight week course of this treatment and my husband and I have recently noticed her hair beginning to thin. You can visibly see her scalp alot more than usual. Fortunately she has very thick hair so you can't really tell if you weren't looking for it but as her mom I can really notice it. During baths and when I brush her hair it is falling out quite a bit. Has anyone else experienced this with their children on this med? If so, how much did their hair thin by the end of the treatment? I know it is vain....but I don't want her to go bald!!! Although, if I had to choose between her remaining sick and her losing her hair....I will take the hair loss becuase at least it will grow back!! She had retained remission since the beginning of the treatment and has been weaned off Pred for the first time in 10 months so I should count my blessings and not complain. If anyone can share their experiences with hair thinning and cytoxan it would be great to hear how it has effected other children. Thanks!!!
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Cytoxan and thinning hair
- By kbarber2007
- Posted December 4, 2008 at 10:44 am · 11 replies
- In Children with nephrotic syndrome
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- By LauraG
- Posted December 4, 2008 at 7:52 pm
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Our daughter has been on Cytoxan since mid September and we have one week left (a 3 month treatment). Her hair thinned as well and I noticed it in the tub...but no one else would ever notice it. So hopefully since it sounds like you are doing a two month treatment you should be fine. But maybe the dosage affects it too? I think ours is one blue tablet-50mg perhaps? And I too feel badly about worrying about something like baldness, but the truth is if it is upsetting to your child then how do you not worry about it?
All the best for a long remission!!!!
- By LauraG
- Posted December 4, 2008 at 7:52 pm
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Our daughter has been on Cytoxan since mid September and we have one week left (a 3 month treatment). Her hair thinned as well and I noticed it in the tub...but no one else would ever notice it. So hopefully since it sounds like you are doing a two month treatment you should be fine. But maybe the dosage affects it too? I think ours is one blue tablet-50mg perhaps? And I too feel badly about worrying about something like baldness, but the truth is if it is upsetting to your child then how do you not worry about it?
All the best for a long remission!!!!
- By MacLean
- Posted December 5, 2008 at 12:43 pm
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I would like to assure the mothers that their children's hair will thicken up quite quickly after the cytoxan treatment is stopped. My treatment lasted 3 months and I noticed a lot of hair loss. Like many others I am blessed with a lot of hair so the hair loss was only noticed by me but it was significant and had me worried. I am a full grown adult so I know how worrying it is to lose hair. Hang in Moms, your toddlers hair will return to normal. I hope the remissions will be successful and the little ones will no longer have to suffer the effects of these horrible drugs. Good luck.
- By maaxiim
- Posted December 5, 2008 at 9:13 pm
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I can back up what MacLean says; I was on cytoxan for 6 months and my hair was not affected in the long term at all.
- By kbarber2007
- Posted December 5, 2008 at 9:25 pm
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Thanks to everyone that posted responses! It really sets my mind at ease to know that her hair will come back quickly! You guys are great!
- By Reneaorr
- Posted December 7, 2008 at 11:34 am
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When my daughter was on it, she lost quite a bit of hair (she had patches of baldness). She did not want us to cut or shave it. We stopped after several months of no response to the meds. Her hair grew back, curly and thick. It was thin and straight prior to cytoxan. She also had a line of frizzy lighter colored hair(we called it chemo hair). It grew out and eventually she said to cut it off once that line of frizzy hair reached her shoulders(approx. 1 year). She is the tallest on in the picture, full head of hair that we have to pull back in ponies for school. It is great that you are able to find a med that helps your sweet little girl. We will pray that her remission is life long!!! Renea
- By BridgetL078
- Posted December 8, 2008 at 3:13 am
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I was on Cytoxin for a few months about 8 years ago and it definitely made my hair thin out. I always had very thick hair that was slightly wavy and easily straightened. By the end of the treatment my hair was pretty straight and thin (for me). No one really noticed except for myself. Once I was off the medication my hair grew back as thick and way curlier. When it first started growing back I the only time I would notice would be when it was up in a ponytail and the new growth would stick out. Within a year my hair was back to normal and remained curly. So I wouldn't worry too much about the thinning hair. I hope things turn out great! :)
- By magdelena
- Posted December 9, 2008 at 4:42 pm
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It is good to hear that no one completely lost their hair. My son has been on cytoxan since September. His hair has thinned but it doesn't appear to be getting too bad. He will be on the cytoxan until April so we're keeping our fingers crossed!
- By BABYWITHFSGS
- Posted December 12, 2008 at 2:34 pm
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Hello, my 2 year old son did a course of cytoxin in january of 2008 it took until october before i notice his hair coming back in. Now his hair is thicker than it was before! good luck
- By amanda_gee
- Posted December 23, 2008 at 8:03 pm
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Ok the same thing happened to me right when I entered high school. I too have very thick hair
I didnt brush my hair bc it just made more hair fall out. I washed my hair gently in a shower with conditioner to get rid of knots. I was on a 12 week dose of cytoxan. Right after i was done, hair started to grow. I had long hair though. I cut it a lot shorter so the new hair could catch up with it faster. It was all good, it wasnt too long before my scalp didnt have bald spots on it.
good luck
- By amanda_gee
- Posted December 23, 2008 at 8:03 pm
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and another note, my hair came back more curly than before and my baby fuzz is wild!
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