When I first started dialysis, which coincidentally is almost exactly a year ago, I found myself scrolling through the dialysis groups I had joined on Facebook. I was startled by the number of posts relating to hair loss. It seemed that many dialysis warriors were trying to find ways to combat this scourge. Apparently, it is due to the stress dialysis puts on the human body.
At first I admit I found the posts somewhat amusing. Until I began to notice the same thing happening to me.
Moment of vulnerability here. I’ve never considered myself to be particularly vain when it comes to my appearance. But somehow, beginning to lose my hair had a huge impact on my sense of myself. And I struggled to shrug it off.
So I went back to those posts and started frantically looking at the advice others had been given.
My first attempt to overturn what was happening was to take Biotin, a Vitamin B supplement that many patients swore by. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference to the number of strands of hair caught in my comb each day. Still, I’ve stuck with it because so many people have told me it will help.
Last week I finally decided it was time to take drastic action. I made an appointment with my hairdresser and asked her advice.
Bianca found my hair much more brittle than previously. It appeared that the hair was not breaking at the roots but that the follicles were snapping as I combed them. She felt that a shorter style would be a better solution for me. For one thing, my hair wouldn’t be as heavy, which would limit the breakage. For another, my hair would have more volume. Finally, she suggested that I start taking pre—natal supplements along with the Biotin.
That’s why I’m now sporting a new look, with my hair brushing my cheekbones as it frames my face, with the back cut extremely short. It’s the first time in years that my hair hasn’t been long enough to tie back, which I’m still getting used to.
Obviously, I have no way of knowing how it looks. But that doesn’t bug me too much. At least I’m no longer pulling my hair out as a result of dialysis. And yes, I definitely did mean to make that pun.
