November 28, 2009

HAIR, HAIR, EVERYWHERE!

i asked graham what he thought were some of the most pertinent symptoms i should discuss with DR H during my phone appointment last week.



"YOUR HAIRBALLS!!" came his immediate response
all 3 kids unanimously and loudly echoed his request.

oh, really, the hair loss is that bad,eh?
yeah. it is.
it is true. i am a hairball machine.
i am routinely 'producing' 6-8 hairballs a day.
my hair is EVERYWHERE... but on my head.

it is really gross and it is freaking me out
and



grossing out my family!

(and i suppose, grossing out all of you now)

i have had problems with hair loss ever since getting sick. i can't remember why, but for some reason, i have always attributed my hair loss to my babesia infection. it has been a pain to deal with but i have never discussed it with DR H. considering the plethora of symptoms i experience, my hair loss has fallen to the bottom of the list of pertinent concerns. somehow when one is experiencing difficulty with seeing, breathing or mobility, the fear of going bald doesn't register as that overly crucial.

i've just learned to live with it and have dealt with it - by giving myself more and more bangs. and taking comfort in the knowledge that, according to past hairdressers, i have enough hair for 10 people. however, in the past 3 months, it has gotten significantly worse. handfuls of hair fall out everyday, all day long. my hair for 10 people has lived 9 lives and can be found in the form of hairballs that frolick across our floor like tumbleweeds blowing through the desert. i fear i may end up with one big fringe, if i cut any more bangs to hide my bald spots.

so yes. i put hairballs at the top of my list of things to discuss with DR H.

he did not attribute it to my babesia infection.
he actually said that he suspected that i am iodine deficient.
wow.
the simplest way to test for iodine deficiency is by swabbing iodine on a small area on the arm. remember good old fashioned iodine? that nasty smelling disinfectant that stains the skin orange? if the orange stain fades in under 8 hours, you are iodine deficient.

i swabbed.



within 20 minutes the stain was already fading



it was completely gone in under 90 minutes.

guess, i'm just a tad deficient.
the solution?
MORE PILLS.
of course.


3 comments:

Renee said...

Wow! That was a very strong answer wasn't it. When I first went on Doxycycline I lost a lot of hair and then it got thicker.....and now after being off of doxy again it is thinner again, BUT not falling out. Joel is also iron deficient so maybe it is a symptoms connected to Lyme, huh?
It will be great for your family to be able to not trip over your hairballs anymore, let alone what it will do for you!
You amaze me with your attitude over all of the stuff in your lives....
From my corner of the world to yours....

Anonymous said...

it must be so hard fighting lyme disease!
PS: I just loved your blog!

Sonya Fights Lyme said...

WOW!! My friend Nani posted a comment on my blog I had about my hair falling out due to Lyme. She told me to check out your blog & what you had to say about losing your hair. I didn't have enough hair for one person to start out with let alone 10, so even though it is at the bottom of my list also . . . I will check out the iodine deficiency. Is there a specific type of iodine I need? I have heard of this test before through some Lyme forum, but didn't relate it to the hair loss. Has it helped your hair loss yet? I'm excted to try. Hope this helps!!