Hair Lose Please Help

[elicia 0]

so I'm extreamly frustrated im 3 1/2 months out from my vertical sleeve surgery and my hair is falling out. im not talking a few strands hear and there im talking clumps when i wash it then when i brush it the next batch of clumps start and my tears are endless. its been almost 2 wks of it and i can feel the difference in the thickness of my hair, I'm seeing thinning spots and i feel like total crap about it! when i signed up to get the surgery done that was one of my worst fears, losing my hair. the doctors had told my that with the sleeve it very rear, less of a chance then with the gastric so i was very happy about that. now 3 1/2 months later and I'm worried sick about it! I've bumped my Protein up to about 80 grams from my shakes and i do eat a little through out the day. i was taking my Vitamins once a day now starting today twice a day, taking the Vitamin B12 sub-lingual and the Biotin. the nurse keeps assuring me that I WILL NOT GO BALD but in all reality how can all this hair fall out and i not? it so scary my hair is my everything, I've always had long beautiful hair lol so I've been told. on Friday I'm going to go get it cut i figure less weight pulling at it the less it will fall out? i wish i would have taken a picture to attach to this of what I'm talking about if I'm able to go back and do so after my next shower I'm going to. if there is anyone out there that can help me out i would greatly appreciate it!!

[Supersweetums 1,164]

I really do understand how tough it is. hair loss usually doesn't even start until the 3rd month. I lost a lot of hair, handfuls in the shower. I ended up cutting my hair because it was thinning so bad. I noticed the most, my husband said he could sort of tell, but not bad. I think it looks worse to us then anyone else. I continued to lose hair until about 8 or 9 months post op. It did slow down, but kept falling out. I can attest that you will not go bald. I am now 20 months post op and all my hair is back and even thicker I think because of all the supplements I take.

The only thing that I found helpful was BIOSIL...it is NOT the same as Biotin. It is a silicon supplement that helps your body produce collagen. That is the only thing that I can suggest. I have talked to many people that have tried everything and nothing works. I think it just depends on the individual.

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4022428

Here is a link to GNC Canada with some information about it.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

Short layered haircuts with a side part are your friend if you are a woman with thinning hair.< /p>

Also your friend: "hair make up" products such as Nanogen or Xfusion. They thicken your hair and help conceal if you have scalp showing through or anything like that. I have really thinning hair (without even having surgery yet) and these products are what made me feel confident about the way my hair looks. You can Google them to see videos of how they work/where to buy etc.

One more supplement you might try is zinc. The standard dose is 50 mg every third day (do NOT take more without consulting a doctor -- too much zinc is dangerous). There has been a study showing that zinc can help with Hair loss after bariatric surgery:

Neve H, Bhatti W, Soulsby C, et al. Reversal of hair loss following vertical gastroplasty when treated with zinc sulphate. Obes Surg. 199;6(1):63–65.

That said, many people do not tolerate zinc supplements well at all -- they can make you sick/vomit etc. And it really is important to not overdo it because it is truly dangerous to take too much zinc.

[Queen of Crop 1,103]

The good news is that you are right on target! I was told at 4-5 months my hair would start falling out and I swear it was 5 months to the day! (I am writing a blog for one year about my experience and this topic was at Week 24!). For about 2 weeks I washed my hair only every 4 days and barely brushed it; I pulled it back in a loose ponytail and stuck a hair piece on the back. I had started taking hair supplements at 2 months out and continue to take them now. The bad Hair loss lasted 4-6 weeks and like the people above say, you notice it more than any one else.

Everyone advised not to get extensions, but my hair is fine anyway, so I ended up getting only 20 extensions (cut in half so I have 40 of them). This is a very low amount but it was enough to make me feel like my hair wasn't see through.

I am now 9 months post op and my hair is coming back just fine and yours will too. All part of the process so your body is doing what it's supposed to do. It really won't last forever.

For those of you who are pre-op and reading this and color your hair, my recommendation is to color your hair a month before surgery and get as close to your natural color as possible; because you really don't want to color your hair for at least 6 months post op. This is the time to baby your hair as much as you can and I do thing the supplements help.

You'll be fine in a few weeks. Honest.

[jenn298 36]

Short layered haircuts with a side part are your friend if you are a woman with thinning hair.< p>Also your friend: "hair make up" products such as Nanogen or Xfusion. They thicken your hair and help conceal if you have scalp showing through or anything like that. I have really thinning hair (without even having surgery yet) and these products are what made me feel confident about the way my hair looks. You can Google them to see videos of how they work/where to buy etc.

One more supplement you might try is zinc. The standard dose is 50 mg every third day (do NOT take more without consulting a doctor -- too much zinc is dangerous). There has been a study showing that zinc can help with Hair loss after bariatric surgery:

Neve H' date=' Bhatti W, Soulsby C, et al. Reversal of hair loss following vertical gastroplasty when treated with zinc sulphate. Obes Surg. 199;6(1):63–65.

That said, many people do not tolerate zinc supplements well at all -- they can make you sick/vomit etc. And it really is important to not overdo it because it is truly dangerous to take too much zinc.[/quote']

Thank you so must for posting this. I am 4 months out and am having the same issue. Mine has always been long and thick and wavy. I have been contemplating cutting it as well but I find that I've always had it long to draw attention away from my round face. At four months my face is still rounder than I like so I'm not sure how i feel about cutting it. You are definately not alone!

[butterbean 30]

I'm so scared of this. Is there anything you can do ahead of time to lessen it? I'm getting my Protein (60 g minimum), taking Biotin (5000 mg a day) and just started using Ovation hair therapy. I'm looking at the link supersweetums posted right now...but is there anything else?

[Queen of Crop 1,103]

I don't think so; you're doing all the right things. Don't be nervous; from everything I have read (and believe me I totally freaked out when it started happening and read everything I could!) this is just a natural TEMPORARY process. It won't last long and when it does start happening, just be very gentle with your hair; don't brush or wash it as much. It will pass and before you know it, you'll be on the other side of it. It's not a fun part of this but it really is a small price to pay for what you get; and your body knows what it's doing!

BTW, congratulations on your fabulous weight loss! Keep up the good work.

[fluffylibra30 323]

It does suck, but it does slow Down. Mine started at 3 months. I would sit crying in the shower over my 2 handfuls of hair that i washed out. I am 7 months now and it has pretty much stopped. I have a lot of thin spots, but luckily no big bald spots. I got side bangs, and collegen spray. In a turn of irony. All my new baby hairs are WHITE and SILVER! :-/ oh well hair color is cheaper than wigs.

[elicia 0]

Thank you so must for posting this. I am 4 months out and am having the same issue. Mine has always been long and thick and wavy. I have been contemplating cutting it as well but I find that I've always had it long to draw attention away from my round face. At four months my face is still rounder than I like so I'm not sure how i feel about cutting it. You are definately not alone!

i also have a round face as you can see in my picture so i know the feeling but change is what is happening with us so why not go full speed ahead?! lol on sat. i'll be getting my hair cut i made my decision. when done i am hoping i feel much better and my hair will not fall out so much!

[flourgirl 3]

I am going through the exact same thing right now. I had surgery about 5 months ago and my hair started falling out about six weeks ago. For me the solution has been to cut it short. That was a little easier for me because I had been thinking about doing it anyway but hadn't because my face was too fat! So I am trying to look at the upside -- my face is thin enough for short hair now. I am probably going to cut it even shorter next time and get a pixie cut. I figure the less time I have to spend fixing my hair the less I will think about the thinning. Look at the bright side -- no one is concentrating on your hair. They are too amazed at how good the rest of you looks to notice your hair.

[Darlene 1]

I am day 6 post-opt. So i am not there yet. But My friend is 18 months she experienced no Hair loss. She made sure she got all her Protein in. I ask my doc that question Friday. He said if that begins to happen increase protein.

[Supersweetums 1,164]

I am day 6 post-opt. So i am not there yet. But My friend is 18 months she experienced no hair loss. She made sure she got all her Protein in. I ask my doc that question Friday. He said if that begins to happen increase Protein.< /p>

Some people are very lucky and never have Hair loss. I know other people that have eaten lots of protein, taken every supplement under the sun, and still lost their hair. I think it really depends on the person and how their bodies react to stress.

[elicia 0]

Some people are very lucky and never have Hair loss. I know other people that have eaten lots of Protein, taken every supplement under the sun, and still lost their hair. I think it really depends on the person and how their bodies react to stress.

yes mam your so right im doing all the above an kicking myself in the pants like yyyy am i still losing my hair its just very depressing! but from all the comments it comes back and thats the most important!