Does everyone experience hair loss?

I am 4 months post op and have not seen any hair loss. I know that it can take up to 6 months to start, so I know I'm not out of the woods yet...but...is it necessarily inevitable? Or do some people dodge that bullet for whatever reason? Do some people go happily on their way with no hair loss at all?

M

Almost 6 months out now and have had a little hair loss. It freaked me out at first since I don't have a ton of hair. But it has been milder than I feared.

At my last support group meeting at the hospital they said the hair loss peaks between 4 to 9 months post-op. After that, it tends to stop.

I'm guessing it doesn't affect every single person because we're all a little different. But, you may not be out of the woods yet.

They also suggested zinc for up to 2 months if you do get hair loss (no more than 2 months because you risk becoming copper deficient, which the dietician said is very bad... though she did not elaborate on why). She also said biotin is OK to use.

Sadly clear conscience sounds superficial when you've to opt for surgery to look for a cure. Tatirod, consult a better dietician
and eat lot of fruits. Other than that, check for some protein supplements. Am sure you can come across a few, if you do your small
research. Vita4life is recommendable, but you may still consult. Hair loss, for a woman is traumatic, I understand. Please take care!

I never lost any. I never took any special potions, used fancy shampoos, took biotin, or anything else either. It's either luck, or the residue of clean living and a clear conscience.

I, unfortunately, am having major hair loss. Beyond my normal loss. Nothing really helps at this moment. My 6 month post op date is coming up so my PCP is doing major labs on me. Hopefully, something will come up.

I'm trying not to imagine the worse case scenario, but it's still there in the back of my mind. When I was born, I got the short end of the genetic stick. Started losing my hair when I was 18 (before that it had been as thick as my mothers) and 28 years later my hair is thin, brittle, and wirery (sp?)

Major suckage! :(

You are not out of the woods yet, but it is very likely that you are going to dodge that bullet.

At any time about 90 percent of your hair is in its normal growing cycle and 10 percent is in a resting phase.

During the resting phase those hairs will fall out and new hair will grow in to replace it. That cycle takes about three months to complete. Surgery, hormone changes and rapid weight loss can put a lot of the hair into its resting phase at once. Then about three months later that resting hair will fall out.

Your body considers hair a decoration. It is going to send its suddenly reduced amounts of food to places that the body considers more important, like the heart and brain, muscles and bones.

It is my belief that giving your body plenty of protein and the right vitamins and minerals allows it to have enough to take care of your vital systems and also allocate resources to the hair. If you were lucky enough not to have disrupted the hairs normal cycle, then there is good chance that it will not fall out.

I did not lose any hair, though my hair is very short so I don't think I would notice. I continue to color my hair and it seems even healthier than it was before surgery. My surgeon suggested that there may be racial differences in the likelyhood of hair loss (Whites more likely than blacks). I must admit that I did not verify his assertion. I figured that if I lost it, I would shave my head bald, or nearly bald. I'm over a year and a half out.

I've never lost hair with any of my surgeries ... it's probably a crap shoot whether you do or not!

Sooooo jealous of you, Kim! I'm at 3-1/2 months post-op from LBL and, as expected, the hair loss is pretty crazy. Not quite as crazy as post-op VSG, but pretty darn close