My mom decided while I was rather little that I wouldn't have long hair...or hair past my ears for that matter. Yeah, I'm serious. She said it was too thick to brush through, I had a sensitive head, and it made me all sweaty and stinky. *shrugs* For whatever reasons, I had short hair.
When I
My hair has never grown fast. It is stupidly thick. And wavy, which tends to pull it up a bit and make it look even shorter. Ah, genetics.
Anyways, blah blah blah. It grew. By the time I got married, my hair was down to my waist. When I had Avalee, I thought (reallll stupidly) "Hey, let me cut my hair off to some utilitarian level...like at my chin!" So I looked like a mushroom again. And wouldn't you know it, I didn't ever lose my baby into my hair (as I had a friend's...that was embarrassing) in fact she loved to grab a lock of my hair and twirl it around and around as she rested. Go figure.
I don't have the energy to scan in any older photos so you all will just have to imagine what all this looked like, it's not hard.
So out sprouted my hair again. Well, sprouted in the way trees do...like live oaks...very slowly.
2005, and played with:
2006, ponytail (f
rom Avalee height):You get the idea. My hair was thick, wavy, contentiously blonde, and...well...rather attached to my head. So a short time after I move to NE Georgia, I start getting these headaches. Not just any headaches...migraines of rolling around on the bed, I can't cry because that's too painful, Oh My God my head's on fire! Bad.
After some time of hemming and hawing, I go to the neurologist. He can't find a problem (both good and bad news) and puts me on Depakote. He told me I could gain weight and that I would have to have my liver checked for problems. What he neglected to tell me was that the medicine also caused hair loss.
So what does hair loss mean when your hair is of a length most people call "rather long" or "butt length"?
It means that the hair can only "fall" so far before it gets tangled with the r
est. It means this:
Severe matting. Oh I cried and cried. Everytime I brushed even a section of my hair I had to empty my frat-paddle sized hairbrush. My bathroom trashcan was half full of hair. I took to wearing my hair in two braids (my hair was so thick, even sections of one braid could be matted by the lightest friction) like this:
You notice I say 'was so thick'? Yeah...
Well, after many tears and some contemplation, I asked Alex to grab his scissors. We took a look at where the hair was getting stuck the most and whacked off the hair to a line just above that.
Before:
After:
Then I noticed that, not only did I sacrifice about a foot in length, I lost at least an inch around. (If I understand correctly, one of the popular ways for measuring long hair is to ponytail it up and measure the circumference. Mine was between 4" and 5", no shit. Now, I'm afraid to check.)
One of the saddest things I think I'm experiencing now (amongst all this other bs) is the people who tell me it "looks so much better now" that I've cut it. Could they not actually believe that someone would not want to cut their hair? I like omg long hair and I enjoyed getting comments from random people who would say "Oh, your hair is so pretty! Don't cut it!" Mind you, I've actually had one older woman pick up my hair and pet it before....and that kinda weirded me out, but it was sweet. I guess it had entered the public domain at that point.
So, where does this put me? Well, I am determined to let my hair grow out again. I'd like to get of the Depakote (now) but must find a replacement in order to deal with the daily migraines. Maybe if I start measuring it monthly, I'll feel some small bit of encouragement. Who knows.
2 comments:
Have you ever tried neurontin? I know it's typically known as an anti-seizure medication, but for off label use it's done wonders for my migraines. I used to have 2-3 migraines a week, and since being on neurontin I get maybe 1 every 3 or 4 months, and not the full blown throwing up wishing someone would shoot my head off ones either! My neurologist had me try keppra, but I saw no difference, so we just stuck with neurontin.
Debra in NC
I have hypothyroid issues, which plays havoc with my hair. I also had severe hair loss after a disasterous pregnancy. It never really got back to where it was. I keep my hair about the length you have now because it just doesn't seem to grow any more. Good luck to you, though.
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