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Back on Lovenox

I started the new blood thinner 3 weeks ago. Within the last week, I noticed that I was losing copious amounts of hair. It is distressing to see a huge pile of hair come out after showering and combing my hair. I have extremely thick hair, so much so that hair stylists occasionally thin it. It probably looks normal to everyone else, but I feel like I've probably lost at least 10% of my hair--much more than when I've gotten it thinned. 😭

It turns out hair loss is a common side effect of some blood thinners. I didn't have this problem with Lovenox or Eliquis, so I had no idea to be on the lookout for it. After consulting with my hematologist, I am back on two shots a day of Lovenox. He thought it was too risky to try Eliquis again (I took this pill last year, and a month later I was back in the hospital with recurring blood clots). 

It is very disappointing to go back on Lovenox, but I can handle the 2 shots a day. I'm more distressed about how much longer I'm going to be losing hair. One of my Tagrisso side effects is that my hair grows very slowly, so it will be ages before I get my full head of hair back. 😞 

The big picture is that my lung function has improved, and I'm tremendously grateful for that. But this latest problem just feels like One. More. Thing.

~~~~

In happier news, my undergrad class met for the last time on Friday. (This was the first undergrad class I've taught at PSU.) During our reflection time, a student who's a junior said it was the most useful class he's ever taken, and a bunch of other students chimed in with agreement. It was my first time teaching this course (writing, public speaking, study skills, learning about university resources), so that was very gratifying.


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