Hair loss question..and a B12 question

I had my surgery 8.30.11...To this day I havent lost any hair yet. How long does it take? And is it true if you lose hair at 2 months out it will take 2 months for it to grow back. Im not scared to lost it cause I have a short do but I have a ton of hair, bit I am worried for how long ill lose it..Thanks for any tips    :-)                    Oh and about the B12, I bought the sublingual today and took it, pretty tasty even under the tongue...lol BUT I want to know if I am also supposed to be taking a B6 or should I wait for my labs? I dont go for my first bloodwork postop until November! Thanks again everyone

I didn't start losing my hair until about 3 months out.  Like you, I had short, very thick hair.  I'm now almost 10 months out and I'm STILL losing my hair, though it has slowed down a lot.  I no longer have very thick hair, but it's not extremely thin either, and I haven't needed to resort to a wig as some have done.  I'm hoping mine stops entirely soon.  I still can't see new growth, though it may be there and I just haven't been able to find it yet.

Good luck.  I'm sure you'll hear from others whose loss stopped much faster than mine.  I don't think mine is typical, from what I've read.  And by the way, I do work very hard to get my protein in, but I can't tolerate the protein drinks, so I get mine from food only.  Consequently, I'm not getting my doctor's recommended 70 g. every day, but I'm close.  Concentrate on your protein and that will help your hair grow back soon, from what I've heard.

It usually starts two or three months out.  And no, when it starts does not indicate how long it will take to grow back. 

The ASMBS says a B complex is optional.  They don't recommend a separate B6 supplement (unless of course your labs indicate you need one).

When I had my lapband done in '06, I was 3 months out when I started to lose my hair. I have and had long hair (wasit length) It was not so much that you could see the thining but my hair brush was full every morning for at least a month and of course after a shower the drain was full. After about 6 weeks the hair brush didn't get as full and neither did the drain. The point is for me it was a little freaky but no one else noticed. I hope this helps to ease your fears. I'm guessing my hair will start falling out around Christmas this time around, so I'll take my vitamins, biotin and hope for the best.

FYI, hair loss begins for most post ops at 3-4 months and lasts until 8-9 months.  Hair falls out quickly, buy hair growth is usually around 1/4 inch per month.  So it won't all grow back in 2 months unless you have really short hair.  B12 needs to be sublingual to absorbed properly. Unless you have a shortage of B6 on your labs, just a B supplement just be fine--multiple B vitamins in it.  Your hair wil likely be thinner when it grows back.  This is the feedback I hear from women post ops who had "thick hair" prior to surgery.  DAVE

As already mentioned, the hair loss normally does not start until the 3rd or 4th month out.

There is no correlation between when your hair starts coming out (or how long the loss period lasts) and how long ti takes you hair to grow back.  Normally, people start to see little tiny new hairs right about the time the hair loss stops (sometimes even a little bit before).

Be warned that your hair MAY grow more slowly post-op than it did pre-op, especially if you aren't getting enough protein (or are barely getting enough). How long it will take before your hair looks normal again obviously depends on how fast your hair grows (mine was slow before surgery and even taking the biotin (B7) supplement did not seem to make it grow any faster (but it DID cause me to grow additional facial hair!!!) and how long your remaining hair is.  Even though I cut my hair to just above shoulder length because I lost so much and ti was so thin, I am 4 years out and the hair that I lost after my RNY is just now getting CLOSE to being as long as the hair that I did not lose (and cut short)... so sometimes it takes a long time to grow back.

Unless your labs determine that you have a deficiency, the amount of B6 that is in your multivitamin should be enough.

Lora

I lost hair from month 4-6. It stopped pretty abrupty and I could already feel the stubbly new growth coming in... came in curly too... crazy. Anyway I was never bald though it did scare the beejeebees out of me while it was happening. I thought everyone could see the thinner areas like a giant light was glowing on them... but everyone was too busy commenting on my body changes to notice my head.

I do B12 sublinguals (Wild Cherry Celebrate's are the bomb diggity LOL did I just use that in a sentence) and I get a B12 shot once a month. Love me some B12. Every Dr has a different protocol... better ask him/her about the vits thing.

Hope you are one of the lucky ones that don't lose hair but no worries it stops... just keep those protein levels up and try not to stress.

~Michelle "Shelly"

When I signed the pre-op papers re: hair loss....I was thinking in the back of my mind "No way" as I had thick hair. The papers stated about 6 months out the loss would occur...at my 6 months check up all was ok. Within the next 2 weeks my hair started to fall out drasticaly.
I purchased Nioxin from my hairdresser and have been taking Biotin. I don't know if these have helped or just the process but, I have 1/2 in new hairs and growth coming in.

I'd still rather be a thin girl with thin hair than a fat girl with fat hair!

The hair part is a tough question for me - I started losing my hair in my 20's long before my WLS and then post op, didnt' lose anymore.  Then last fall, I had major complications involving 4 more surgeries and then  I lost major amounts of hair - had to get a wig. It is finally growing back - have lots of hair on the bottom and top that are about 4 inches long, where the rest of my hair is half way down my back - can't get myself to cut it yet, so I just wear it is a ponytail when not wearing the wig.

As far as the vitamins go - B12, you need a minimum of 1000mcg daily and when you get your labs in November, you can see if that is enough.  You want your B12 level to be around 1500-1800.  Anything below 500 puts you at risk for nerve damage, so beware. Any questions when you get your labs back, feel free to PM me.

You don't want to take any extra B6 without having labs done.  You get enough in a good multi taken 2 times per day.  Many of us actually run high with our multis and B6 can become toxic, so please dont' take any extra B6 unless you need it.