Hair Regrowth Friday & Nausea: That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles

Hair Loss Thursday is over - thank heaven. Today, I no longer have that one last eyelash on my right eye. My remaining eyebrows are barely discernible. But - today is a new day and it's Hair Regrowth Friday!!!

Have you ever tried to watch grass grow, flowers bloom, or wait for a customer service person to take your call when you're in the queue? If you have done any of those things, you can understand my impatience with Hair Regrowth Friday. I know it's happening. I knew I wouldn't actually see any difference. I really want to see a difference. I just have to remind myself that hair is more than skin deep. I can take consolation from the idea that the hair is growing...it just has to start out of sight under my skin. So...I will have this genderless look for awhile longer.

Well, this is a less-than-productive topic, but I don't want to let Hair Regrowth Friday pass by without recognition.

On to Nausea.

My first chemo treatment was highly educational. The chemo nurse suggested that I bring lunch to my chemo treatment because of the length of the treatment. I did some research and learned that foods eaten during chemo treatments can later cause the patient to become nauseous. For this reason, it is suggested that patients should never eat a favorite food during treatment. I chose to bring a turkey sandwich because I didn't care if I developed an aversion to turkey. I was about as ready as I could be.

Anxiety. Stress. Terror. The feeling of being trapped in my own body. These are feelings I experienced after being diagnosed. They became much more intense after I found out I would be undergoing chemotherapy. Did I mention that I'm a needle phobic? Yeah, that really added to the anxiety factor. My anxiety level was so high I was nauseous nearly all the time.

The day before chemo, I was nearly of my mind. It was pretty rough. My friend, Mary, showed up at my door with a care package that contained gluten free oatmeal peanut butter cookies. Though I appreciated the gesture, I was so nervous I couldn't even think about eating them. I put a few in my lunch container for the following day.

Chemo day. It dawned bright and sunny. I was dark and gloomy. I had all the prescribed meds. I was supposed to take one of three Emend pills prescribed for each day of treatment. We were on our way. I was so nervous I considered asking my husband to pull over so I could throw up. I took the Emend. Within ten minutes the nausea abated. Amazing. I felt very anxious but not nauseous. The pill must be magic!

I did eat my lunch during the treatment. I won't bore you with the chemo details and I'll skip right to the drive home. I was nauseous. I took a Phenergan pill. I was still nauseous. I tried to think of something else...anything else. Still nauseous. I found one of my oatmeal peanut butter cookies and nervously munched on it. I was less nauseous. Weird....a cookie that could be considered an anti-nausea cookie? I ate more of the cookie. Less nausea. A miracle!

I kept those cookies by my bed. I stashed some near my recliner. I carried them from room to room. My friend had provided the perfect anti-nausea solution! It was also a great excuse to eat cookies.

My friend made cookies for me prior to every chemo treatment. I started sharing my cookies with the other ladies in the chemo room. Those cookies eased nausea for everyone who tried them. I began to be known as the cookie lady. I was asked for the recipe. The cookies were a total hit.

Oh, and how did my chemo lunch go? I can still eat turkey without a problem. I can't eat bread anymore. That's right - it was the bread that got me. I can't even picture bread in my mind without feeling nauseous! Who would have guessed? I stopped bringing lunch to chemo beginning with the second day of the treatment. I loaded up on the cookies and kept my nausea at bay. Today, I don't eat bread and I hold a resentment toward turkey for coming out of this unscathed.

For those of you who want a pleasant anti-nausea solution, try the recipe below. My friend was generous enough to share her recipe.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies - Great Anti-Nausea Aide

Ingredients:
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 t baking soda
1 egg
1/4 C butter
1/2 C peanut butter
2 C Oats

Mix sugars, baking soda, butter, egg and peanut butter. Fold in Oats. Put on parchment paper on baking pan by rounded teaspoons."X" with wet fork. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350.

---not gluten free unless you use GF oats and can eat GF oats--

So, here you have it - cookie consumption validated for it's medicinal qualities!

One Eyelash

So, I've been off my blog for months. I started blogging about my 50th birthday, which was not something that I was looking forward to. I was derailed in my irreverent meanderings by a cancer diagnosis. My last blog was April 2, 2009 and my diagnosis was on April 3, 2009. I've had a lot of experiences since then.

What about my 50th birthday party? It was awesome. The party was held in the Clubroom on the top floor of the Viridian in Nashville. What a party. Turning 50 was actually fun. To get an idea of the atmosphere, here's a short video:

Now on to eyelashes...or should I say the lack thereof???

I have one eyelash. It's on my right eye. I can see it if I use a magnifying mirror. It's not like I have one special eyelash among the many on my eyes - I have only one eyelash in existence. To be blunt, I have Bald Eye Syndrome. (I have no eyelashes of my own in the video above)

Bald Eye Syndrome is caused by chemotherapy treatments. Not all chemo drugs cause Bald Eye Syndrome. Taxol does cause hair loss. Taxol was one of the drugs I received in my chemo treatments and since eyelashes are hair, I lost all of them but one. Not everyone loses their eyelashes. I was hoping to get through it with only the thinning of my eyelashes. No such luck...I lost the last of my eyelashes on Hair Loss Thursday after my 4th chemo treatment. (I'll talk more about Hair Loss Thursday in a future blog)

Losing eyelashes is a strange experience. The first thing that happens is that I started to notice that my mascara just didn't seem to be doing a good job anymore. I noticed that after the 3rd Hair Loss Thursday. At first I didn't understand...but it didn't take long to realize that chemo was taking my eyelashes from me.

I didn't know how bad the Bald Eye Syndrome would get for me, so I got some false eyelashes and made an appointment at a day spa to learn how to put on false eyelashes. I ordered top and bottom eyelashes from headcovers.com. Headcovers was the only place I could find false bottom lashes. That was important to me at the time. At A Better You day spa in Chattanooga, TN (http://www.abetteryouspasalon.com/), Lori taught me how to apply false eyelashes - both top and bottom. Let me tell you, that was not easy!

If I were to do it over again, I wouldn't have been as concerned about the lower lashes. I have never used the lower lashes during the time I have had Bald Eye Syndrome. As long as I have eyeliner on, the missing lower lashes aren't noticeable. I have a few tips for those that are facing Bald Eye Syndrome:

Learn how to put on eyeliner, if you don't already know how. Use liquid eyeliner that is waterproof (your eyes may water a lot). Eyeliner alone helps camouflage the fact that the eyelashes are gone. Use eyeliner on both upper and lower lids.

If you have never used false eyelashes, go to a day spa and let someone there teach you how to do it.

Use false eyelashes on special occasions, it will make you feel more like a normal person. I have found that Fashion Lashes (109 or 110) work great. You can find these at Target for $3.99.

Put on eyeshadow and eyeliner prior to applying eyelashes. The eyeliner will provide a guide when putting on the eyelashes.

When your eyelashes are gone, you will notice that the part of your lid that used to produce eyelashes is now very obvious. Applying eyeliner to the bottom inner part of your upper eye lid will make this less noticeable.

Use a magnifying mirror to apply liner and the eyelashes. It's very easy to run the eyeliner brush off your lid and into your eye now that there are no eyelashes to act as a barrier.

Be dramatic. Use make-up to let your eyes shine!

If you are facing chemo and the possibility of losing your eyelashes, remember - it's only temporary and there's no guarantee that you will experience Bald Eye Syndrome. Everyone is different.