It’s been a few days, so I thought I’d do a quick update.  My hands are killing me, so I’ll make this short.

So far I’ve given myself 5 Egrifta injections, and it’s all gone pretty swimmingly.  I think I’ve gotten the hang of it, but I’m still super paranoid about getting air in the syringe.  Haha.

As far as side effects, I haven’t really experienced any that are especially remarkable.  For the first couple of days I was extremely thirsty and very tired, but that seems to have tapered off.  I have noticed that about 30 minutes to an hour after giving myself the shot I get super duper nauseated, but it goes away within an hour after that.  I am nearly constantly nauseated though, so a few minutes of extra potent pukey-feeling is bearable.

The injection itself is only slightly painful.  Not the poking, but the medication itself.  I have noticed though that it is more burny feeling when done in the fattier parts of my abdomen.  If I do it on my sides it only hurts for maybe 5 minutes tops, but if I do it more towards the front it lasts considerably longer.  Again, it’s not unbearable though, and after that initial burning I don’t even know I’ve had a shot.  I haven’t had any bruising or swelling of the injection areas, so yay!

Oh!  It is probably completely and totally coincidental because you’re not supposed to start seeing results for 2-3 months, but I’ve already lost 2lbs. since starting.  I’m only mentioning it here because since developing lipodystrophy I haven’t been able to lose even one pound.  I’m hoping this is more than a coincidence, and that it means it will work quickly for me.

In other news, I decided to comb out my five year old, 20+ inch dreadlocks.  I know in my post The Chop? (read if you’re wondering why I’ve made this decision) I said that I would wait one month before committing to getting rid of them, but I realized that I didn’t need another month to make the decision because I’ve been thinking about it for a great deal longer than I voiced to anyone.

So far, I’ve combed out ten of them (I have 50+), and while I’m very sad about it, I’m content that I’m doing the right thing.  When it’s time, it’s time.  

The process of combing out is extremely daunting and frankly, it sucks.  It doesn’t hurt my head until I get to the last inch or so, near my roots, but it is absolute hell on my hands.  I started off soaking in conditioner, using a crochet hook to loosen the knots, and then combing out with various sized combs, but now I’m using a detangling spray instead of the conditioner.  It seems to make it a lot easier because I can just spray the area I’m working on, and it doesn’t get gummy like the conditioner method.

Here’s a crappy Instagram photo of the amount of hair pulled from five dreads:

 I’ve come to the conclusion that the first 3-4 inches of the dread are only going to be combed completely out anyway, so it saves me a lot of time and pain to just cut that much off first.  The photo above is the amount of hair before I started trimming.  Keep in mind, that’s not hair that’s being ripped out of my head.  We lose on average 10-20 hairs a day, and when you’re dreadlocked you don’t lose any.  Instead, it accumulates inside the dreadlocks, so what I’m combing out is all the hair I would have lost over the last five years.

I’m trying to keep as much length as possible, which so far seems to be just a bit past my shoulders. The hair left is in surprisingly good condition.  It’s a bit frazzled immediately after combing out, but once I shampoo and condition it looks silky and is very soft.  I have very fine hair, but I had forgotten exactly how fine, so it shocked me a bit at first.  I mean, c’mon, I was used to carrying a super heavy head of hair!  :)

At this rate, it’s going to take me probably at least another week to get them all combed out.  I’m doing it all by myself and can only manage 2-3 a day, but it’ll get done eventually.  For now, everything has been put on hold, including the novel, so I can devote hours on end to combing out every day.

I’m really excited!  I feel like this new chapter of my life is getting off to a very good start, and I hope it only continues to go so well!

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