Update 2 - Anastrozole - Hair

I should have waited with my previous update 😞 Only weeks after I wrote it, the joint pain got much worse. Especially the knees. It was difficult to sleep because of the pain. Tylenol helped, but I do not like taking too much medication. I read that it sometimes helps to take the Anastrozole in the evening instead of the morning, so I started taking it, plus the magnesium/calcium supplement before I go to bed instead of upon waking. I still take other supplements and Claritin in the morning. It seems to help; the pain is less severe. It now only hurts when I walk stairs, especially down, bending my knees to sit down, as well as when I stand up. My arm muscles are getting stronger because I push myself up on them when I stand up from sitting 💪😎 Bonus side effect from taking the Anastrozole in the evening - I sleep better! 💤  I wish I could say my sleep is great every night, but a good night's sleep a couple of times per week is a win for me.

Years ago when I ran, I had what is called Baker's cysts behind my knees. There was pressure, and sometimes it felt like there was liquid running down my calves. I do not have this now, and there is no feeling of running liquid, but the muscles around my knees are sometimes swollen, and when this happens, there is pressure behind the knees like when I had the cysts. It is not painful, but more uncomfortable; it is also more difficult to stretch the legs because of the extra bulk. I am happy to say that Advil (ibuprofen) helps with the swelling. 

My curly hair is going away. I have mixed feelings about this. When the hair came in super curly I was not very happy, but as it grew longer and the curls relaxed I liked it. I was able to use hair combs and clips, where my fine straight hair was slippery and would not hold them in. Fixing curly hair in the morning was faster for me, because I did not need to blow-dry it, but just added product and scrunched it. Now the hair is straight from the roots and wavy from the ears down. I can no longer get it to look curly, and it gets more and more frizzy throughout the day.

Blowdrying your hair here in Lao does not work, it is too humid and the hair gets super frizzy, so I just use a salt spray and let it air-dry to combat the major frizziness. It will be a little more work to take care of the straight hair, but I will not need any product, so I will save money. It seems the color will stay gray. This is okay - I prefer this to the color it was before, and I will not have to highlight it!

My next doctor's appointment is in less than three months. It will hopefully be only good news then.

My hair today, one year after my last Herceptin treatment. I have had several haircuts since it started growing out.