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11.22.2010

a journey (on my head): days 3 & 4

Sorry I didn't get to posting day 3 yesterday.  We have had a busy weekend with work on the house.

So here is day 3 and 4 all in one post!

Day 3:
I can tell it's really starting to break up and the scabs are breaking loose from my scalp.  I was able to comb quite a bit out of it however there is still quite a bit to go.

I've been wearing hats a lot lately because the meds are so oily so it looks as if I haven't washed my hair in weeks.. Kinda gross actually.
So here are the pics.

You can see all the little bits that are breaking up.


Still looks nasty and my hair is still mostly plastered to my scalp.  Because it is breaking up and not quite so attached to my scalp it has been harder to put a comb through it.  The pick/comb will end up under one of the scabs which is quite painful.  Still been loosing quite a bit of hair but I still have high hopes!


Below are the scabs that seem to be the hardest to break up.  I have large ones on each side of my head close to my temples.


Tonight we are going to make sure we soak them good with the overnight oil and hope that it helps break them up!


Day 4:
I let the overnight meds sit on my head a little bit longer than normal.  Mostly because I'm lazy and I stayed in bed really late because I was tired and sore from working on the house on Saturday.
I finally got up around 11am and took a shower using the T/Sal shampoo and after put the other oil on my head.  Gosh I hate that stuff..  again oily hair = gross.   I miss being able to do my hair and not feel like I need to wear a hat to cover it up!

But later in the day I was feeling around and i could tell that those scabs by my temples had loosened up and were no longer attached to my scalp!  Sweet!!

So early in the evening I took a fine tooth comb and starting removing the scabs that it would let me.
And you know what?....

I got almost every scab off my head!!  Holy Cow!  Check these pictures out!



You can still see flaking but that is just loose stuff in my hair that will wash out in the morning.  I got all but maybe a few tiny bits off my scalp!  I can comb my hair without it hurting or catching on something, and my hair is no longer plastered to my scalp from all the buildup!  I can see where I had lost hair early on and new hair had tried to grow in but I just couldn't see it under the scaling!  it's short but at least it there!

I'm super excited!

We will do another really light treatment of the oil tonight and I'll wash my hair with the medicated shampoo again in the morning.  I will assess then if I'm going to put the other oil in my hair as I hate to use it and I have to go to work.. and it would be nice not to have to have gross oily hair.

I am super happy I finally got this taken care of!  My Husband has been wonderful in helping me put all the meds on my scalp!  Many mucho thanks!

Now it's all about prevention and growing my dang hair back!

More updates later!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

it's looking much better...the doctor said by Wednesday....yay!!
Frankie

michelle said...

so glad it's working out!

Sarah Beth said...

Hello! I was googleing around for itchy scalp when I came across your blog. I also have a terrible itchy scalp that is starting to scab and build up on the back of my head and am afraid it might get worse. Did you have to go to the doctor to get a diagnosis. And from what I read that T Sal shampoo really seemed to help you out. Where did you buy it? Any words of advice would be great help!! Thanks!

Dahnks said...

Hey Sarah.. The T/Sal shampoo does help when the scaling isn't real bad. The shampoo is by Neutrogena and you can usually find it at a local CVS or Walgreens. I go to the dermatologist quite a few years ago when this started up and was diagnosed with psoriasis. I had to go back when my scalp got real bad again in order to get the other oils (Derma-Smoothe/FS & Fluocinolone). If it's not real bad you might try the T/Sal there are a few different types so read them as see what might be best for you.. but if it persists i do suggest going to see a dr. before it gets as bad as mine was in those pictures. Best of luck to you!

Anonymous said...

I know this is old but I was wondering how your scalp is doing now? I have thought about this treatment but am nervous of side effects. I have a lot of scaling on my scalp that when I lift up it will just return shortly again. Have you had any regrowth??

Dahnks said...

Well.. a lot has changed since 2010 when I posted this. That treatment did help and i did not have any adverse side effects. I lost a lot of hair but that is due to the psoriasis not due to the treatment. I did have the scaling come back however not as bad and truly there really is no real cure. It's a matter of treating with what works best for you and treating as soon as it starts and not letting it get as bad as I did. I did end up back at my dermatologist and was given another treatment to try. At the moment I cannot think of the name. I used it only a few times as it was something that had to be done multiple times a day and it made my hair look greasy/dirty. I much preferred night treatment as I could wash it out in the morning. We only had to do the night treatment a few times. I did end up cutting my hair extremely short after all this since I lost so much hair and when it started growing back again it was all different lengths.

While healing I did start to notice that there were certain styling products that caused my scalp to flare up and would make my skin burn. I naturally have curly hair and used a curl cream which i had to stop using. I have since stopped using any heavy products and keep hair products to the very minimum... including hair spray as they can have a tendency to not let enough air to the skin.

It has now been over a year since my psoriasis has flared up! I can't say what did it or why... i just noticed one day it had been many months since i had to use any medications on my scalp. I no longer need to use medicated shampoo as well. I do keep my hair styling products to a minimum however.

I now use shampoo and conditioner by Phyto. Their products are formulated to create a healthy scalp vs. just hair. Good hair comes from a healthy scalp. I then use Bumble and Bumble Tonic lotion spray which has tea tree oil which is also very good for your scalp. I might throw on some Bumble and Bumble surf spray as well but that is it as far as what I now use on my hair. I feel that using these lighter products help my scalp breathe. Thankfully all my hair has grown in and is doing very well.

All this is not to say I'm 'cured' but it is what is working for now. I just hope that working to keep a healthy scalp with the products i use will help prevent future flareups.

Sorry for the long reply.. figured i'd tell you as much as i could. I wish you luck finding what works best for you and hope you find some relief soon.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for the long post. Wow, I'm so happy for you that your hair grew back in!!!!!! I would be flying on top of the world if I could get my old hair back. I have a question for you....did you move before or after all this? I didn't get these problems till I moved into this house and recently learned there is a mold issue. Could be something different too. Idk I bought a microscope camera and would like to show you pics of my scalp to see if you think it looked like yours but understand if that's not possible. I also have very curly hair and right now, only using mouse. I am going to try those products. I have tried many oils on my scalp and shampoos from the derm which seem to make it worse. We're you applying the hair products on your scalp for them to irratate it? I just applly it to my hair. I recently started using bottled water in the shower too now for a final rinse but right now my scalp,is the worse it's been and really depressing me. It's been really hit and humid here too, not sure if that's making it worse.