Aloe vera juice?
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From: Eva on 2 Oct 2005 10:20 (Previously posted to alt.support.cancer.breast but didn't get any responses.) Almost a year after finishing chemo, my hair still hasn't grown back properly. It's extremely thin with bald spots on top. I suspect Arimidex, the estrogen blocker I take, may be contributing to this problem, but maybe I would have it anyhow. Asked oncologist if I could take minoxidil and she laughed and said no, it probably wouldn't help me. Anyhow, another patient, a Korean-American woman, told me that in her culture they drink aloe vera juice to make hair thicker. One glass a day. She said it worked for her after chemo, and she certainly had a terrific head of hair. She said I could get it at the Korean supermarket (there are a few of them around here). Well, I'm pretty desperate, but the thought of drinking aloe vera juice kind of grosses me out. Anyone here ever heard of this remedy? If it really works, I'll hold my nose and do it. Thanx Eva
From: madiba on 2 Oct 2005 12:59 Eva <EvaDStructionNO(a)NOverizon.net> wrote: > (Previously posted to alt.support.cancer.breast but didn't get any > responses.) > > Almost a year after finishing chemo, my hair still hasn't grown back > properly. It's extremely thin with bald > spots on top. I suspect Arimidex, the estrogen blocker I take, may be > contributing to this problem, but maybe I would have it anyhow. Asked > oncologist if I could take minoxidil and she laughed and said no, it > probably wouldn't help me. > > Anyhow, another patient, a Korean-American woman, told me that in her > culture they drink aloe vera juice to make hair thicker. One glass a day. > She said it worked for her after chemo, and she certainly had a terrific > head of hair. > > She said I could get it at the Korean supermarket (there are a few of them > around here). > > Well, I'm pretty desperate, but the thought of drinking aloe vera juice > kind of grosses me out. Anyone here ever heard of this remedy? If it > really works, I'll hold my nose and do it. Saw your post in a.s.c. but couldnt think of much in the way of constructive advice. Lets face it, aloe vera is being used for everything "alt." Shouldn't do any harm, maybe they've added something to give it a better taste.. I also think your balding could be connected to Arimidex as hair often grows back thicker (and greyer) than before chemo. But you say its patchy.. be sure to exclude any sort of skin infection (fungus?) as the cause. Minoxidil's an idea too, don't know why your onc laughed. May be contraindicated if you have low BP though. -- madiba
From: clifto on 2 Oct 2005 14:22 Eva wrote: > Well, I'm pretty desperate, but the thought of drinking aloe vera juice > kind of grosses me out. Anyone here ever heard of this remedy? If it > really works, I'll hold my nose and do it. I've been drinking it for a while now. A friend pointed out that one of the quack cancer cures involves some sugar from the aloe plant, and I have been willing to try anything that didn't interfere with my real treatment. It's not awful, but I'd rather have a Coke. Since chemo ended in mid August, my hair has been coming out in clumps too. So much for the aloe juice cure for falling hair. It's a bit pricey. GNC has discounts for its "gold club" (?) members the first six days of every month, I believe, so this would be a good time to buy if you get it there. I haven't found it anywhere else; I don't know where there are any Korean grocery stores. -- If John McCain gets the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination, my vote for President will be a write-in for Jiang Zemin.
From: J on 2 Oct 2005 14:36
Eva wrote: > (Previously posted to alt.support.cancer.breast but didn't get any > responses.) > > Almost a year after finishing chemo, my hair still hasn't grown back > properly. It's extremely thin with bald > spots on top. I suspect Arimidex, the estrogen blocker I take, may be > contributing to this problem, but maybe I would have it anyhow. Asked > oncologist if I could take minoxidil and she laughed and said no, it > probably wouldn't help me. > > Anyhow, another patient, a Korean-American woman, told me that in her > culture they drink aloe vera juice to make hair thicker. One glass a day. > She said it worked for her after chemo, and she certainly had a terrific > head of hair. > > She said I could get it at the Korean supermarket (there are a few of them > around here). > > Well, I'm pretty desperate, but the thought of drinking aloe vera juice > kind of grosses me out. Anyone here ever heard of this remedy? If it > really works, I'll hold my nose and do it. Hi Eva, I just checked a newsgroup where hairloss (from the disease or the treatments) happens and there's very little discussion of aloe. One lady tried it on her scalp and it made "a disgusting mess and awful smell", so she abandoned it. Some of them had same missing spots as you do, more on that later. Your Asian lady may have drank that for nothing. Hair loss at mid-life (androgenic alopecia) is more strongly linked to genes than diet or lifestyle. Those of European origins are far more likely to experience it than Asians, Native Americans, Africans, or African-Americans. Hair loss starts earlier and becomes more extreme on men's heads, but just as many women deal with receding hairlines and balding pates. Roughly half of all women experience some hair loss during their menopausal years. Two-thirds of post-menopausal women deal with thinning hair or bald spots. from: http://www.menopause-metamorphosis.com/An_Excerpt-108-hairy_problems.htm I think that website also mentions exercise, but I just saw a fit lady (about our age) running and she had thin spots in the same areas of you mention, so I think we're back to genetics. minoxidil doesn't sound worth the risk nor cost. http://www.hairdoc.com/rogaine-minoxidil.html Results Vary: For some people minoxidil seems to have no effect at all. For others there is reduced rate of hair loss, but no visible new hair growth. Some men and women experience minimal new hair growth, but not enough to cover thin hair areas. Those who have a moderate response to minoxidil treatment have new hair growth partially covering their thin areas, but those areas are still easily seen as being less dense than other area without hair loss. The people who respond best to minioxidil enjoy dense new hair growth, with areas that had previously been thin now having hair density similar to areas that were not affected by hair loss.[end quote] But I think the stimulation idea might be worth a try; Gently massaging those areas; maybe even brushing the hair in different directions, in that area (as long as the brush has soft tips, so as to not harm your hair). That first website has other things to add (to diet, or tonics, or herbs, or oils). I'm not advocating any of them because I don't know if they work or are harmful. I'll post what one of the laddes from the newsgroup said worked for her, but same disclaimer and we don't know the genetics of the person with whom these "worked". She mentions aloe as a preventative (below) <start copy/paste> "In the meantime, here are some things to try: * Nioxin -- shampoo/conditioner/treatment for thinning hair, has worked for some friends * Phytologie -- ditto * Yerba de la Negrita -- shampoo/treatment from an aloe-like plant, available through Taos Herb Company online, this works better for me than anything else. Before the <chemo type medicine deleted>, it stopped my hair from falling out ENTIRELY. I mean NOTHING in the drain -- yippee! * Supplements -- make sure you're taking a good B complex, that's the best for hair and skin. Colostrum helps hair and nails grow and improves skin too, plus I haven't had a single cold/sniffle/flu since starting to take it a couple of years ago. I also take Zinc and Selenium, but that's mostly to stop hair loss due to the <chemo type medicine deleted>. " <end copy/paste> Most of the others said they solved it by working with a hair style, that suited them and their lifestyle. When I say "working", I mean getting a good cut, where the stylist notes which areas have loss, which way the hair parts or curls and "works" with that for a nice cut that you can maybe use a bit of hairgel on your fingers to run through those areas to flufff up the "balding areas". I had some collisions at the supermarket today, because I was too busy looking at how other women were dealing with that so I could report my findings back to you. Most seemed to fit what I just described and looked very nice, hardly noticeable "spots". One had longish hair, with a loose braiding (too tight breaks off the hair) and then loosely fingered through the "balding area. (if your hair's long - that's an idea). I haven't tried any of the above oral or shampoos, so please note my disclaimer. Wouldn't want to cause you harm or cost for nothing. J |