Reddit reviews Hypothermia Cap

Hey.. was just browsing reddit and saw your post. I am a recent cold cap user and success story. Hodgkins lymphoma stage 4B. 12 treatments.
I am busy at the moment, but will be back to update my post. Feel free to PM me questions in the meantime .
Btw.. I'm a 24 year old female.

Update: Some background info.. I was diagnosed with HL stage 4B in April 2014. I got 12 treatments of ABVD starting April 21st and finished my last treatment September 25. I used cold caps for every treatment except for my first one. (I didn't find out about them in time).

Like you, I didn't want to lose my hair either. So I turned to the Internet to see if there was any way to save it. After I discovered cold caps, I asked my doctor about them. He had heard of them before but wasn't really too familiar. But he said they would be fine to use if I wanted. He was skeptical about whether they would be successful though.

I am sitting here, almost one month post chemo, with a full head of hair. I will note that during chemo, I never fully lost my eyebrows, eyelashes, or body hair. Everything definitely thinned, but I still had to shave my legs and armpits. So I do believe that my personal reaction to the chemo helped with keeping my hair, but I still think the cold caps definitely contributed as well. Also, I had very little side effects from the chemo at all. Just a little more tired than usual. I consider myself very fortunate.

So regarding the cold caps and supplies I used (I'll link everything below - so you can see prices and how I did everything).
Let me just say that this is a very very big commitment. Here is a brief overview on wearing the caps.
You pretty much need at least 2 people to come to every treatment with you. Or at least have someone strong enough to wheel the cap cooler in and out (it's pretty heavy). Caps need to be worn and changed every 30 minutes for 9 hours on treatment day. Start wearing caps one hour before, during, and 6 hours after the infusion process is over. I basically started wearing the caps at 10:15am, chemo infusion started at 11:15am, chemo infusion finshed at about 1:15pm, and i finished wearing caps at 7:15pm. It's pretty much a cold miserable process in my opinion. Not many people can take it. But if it's worth it to you to save your hair, you get used to it. I did anyway.
I had my mom and stepdad helping me with the cap process.
The night before treatment, my stepdad would go to our local grocery store and buy 60 to 70 lbs. of dry ice. It's not cheap. About $1/lb.
Then him and my mom would break up the ice so it can properly fit in the 110 quart cooler we bought.
The 6 caps need to be carefully placed in the cooler with the ice to maintain the dome shape of the cap so they fit on your head nicely on chemo day. There is a video on YouTube that shows how to do this. I can try and find it if you're interested.

Here is a list of everything I used. We picked up a few tricks along the way.

Supplies Needed:

-6 caps
http://www.amazon.com/Elasto-Gel-Hypothermia-Cap/dp/B000YC9LOU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405016864&sr=8-1&keywords=cold+caps

-110 quart cooler (the larger size makes it easier to fit ice and not crush caps bc it is important for them to keep a dome shape for your head)
http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/igloo-maxcold-174-glide-153-110-qt-wheeled-cooler/pid-255753?color=Blue&N=933739034+933739035+933739033+349792019+4294965825

-Velcro straps to tighten caps to head (purchase at Walmart in the craft section)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Velcro-Stretch-Strap-Black-2pk/17190454

-About 70 lbs of dry ice each time. It is usually sold in 10 lb increments (some local grocery stores carry it or sometimes Walmart) A portion of it will need to be chopped up and placed into 6 doubled up grocery bags to be placed inside each cap inside the cooler. The remaining slabs are placed in thin boxes along the walls of the cooler.

-Gloves to handle the dry ice.

-Spray water bottle to wet hair before putting into pigtails.

-Plastic shower cap to be worn under caps to protect hair from pulling when switching caps.

Also, here is some additional advice I have have to help with the process.

I used and still use Nioxin Hair Care products in system 4. This stuff is pretty gentle and promotes hair growth. http://www.amazon.com/Nioxin-System-Cleanser-Therapy-Treated/dp/B002O0D8P8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405019104&sr=8-1&keywords=nioxin+system+4

I didnt use a hair dryer and rarely used heat products. I washed my hair with cool water, usually about twice a week. Im used to washing my greasy hair every day, but the chemo pretty much stops a lot of the oil production in your body, thus a dryer scalp.
I also tried to brush gently as possible as to not tug on hair. On the days you wash your hair are the days you will notice the most hair falling out. At first first it freaked me out and I thought the caps weren't working, but it's normal to shed. At the end of the whole process, no one can tell a difference in my hair anyway.
One last tip is to make sure not to make the caps too cold. We didn't buy a thermometer to monitor the temperature, but probably should have. Just be careful with the crown of your head because this is where the caps give the most pressure and you can possibly get frostbite in that area.
There should be directions that come with the caps to advise you on this point.
This is all I can think of for now. Feel free PM me with any questions.

Edit: I thought of a couple more things after reading your other posts. Unfortunately, I did gain 20 lbs. I was 125 pounds, 5'6 and am now a little above 140. So that sucks. I'm working on losing it now. Only reason I gained it was because was eating A LOT! You don't just gain for no reason. Oh and I also wanted to mention my port placement. I know a lot of people get it in their upper chest, which seems to be the most common. I didn't exactly like the idea of having a scar above my boob though, so I asked the doctor for another option. He said I could also get it in my upper, inner arm. Which is what I did. There is a small bulge and scar there. The port is about the size and shape of a Dove Chocolate Promise. But it's pretty well hidden and most people can't see it.