Hair loss, How bad does it really get?

So how bad will it be? I mean seriously will I be next to bald? or just excess shedding. Also hhow long does it tale for hair to return normal.. Thank You

No, you will NOT be bald, but it varies WIDELY how much hair people lose.  A few have very minimal loss, a few lose enough that they opt to wear wigs while it is growing back, many lose a moderate amount (I lost half my hair volume), and the rest are somewhere in between those.  I cut my hair short (a little above the shoulder) to make it look fuller because it got so thin, but even so, my hair was so thin that when I stood in front of a window, you could easily see light through the hair where it hung down between my ears and shoulders.

How long it takes for hair to return to normal also varies widely since how quickly the hair grows is also very individual, but usually you will see little tiny hairs regrouping at about the same time the hair loss stops (and the duration can be longer for some people than others).  My hair always grew slowly and grows even more slowly now.  Other people have fairly quick regrowth.  Someone here once posted that her hair grew an inch a month.  I am lucky if mine grows at half that rate. It also depends on how long your hair is.  If it is about shoulder length (say 10 inches from crown to tip), and it grows at an in ha month, it will take 10 months from the time it starts growing back.  If it grows at half that rate, it will take 20 months.  For whatever reason, it took me three + years to get my regrowth back to my shoulders.

Also, be aware that MOST people get all of their hair back, but some do not.

So, unfortunately, no one can really tell you what your experience will be like... You will just have to wait and see.

Lora

I have very thick hair.  I started losing it at about 3 months post-op.  It felt like I had lost about half my hair volume...but I was the only one who could see a difference in my hair.  I wear my hair short and it grows very quickly.  My hair was almost back to "normal" at about one year post-op.  There is nothing you can do to stop the hair loss, but it is very important to keep your protein levels up so that your hair grows back properly.  All in all... it was just my own vanity that bothered me.  It really wasn't a big deal when you look at the whole scheme of things.

I have read about hair, I am  almost two months out and my hair is just growing back from chemotherapy and now this but it is fine. I would rather be healthy and bald any day!

I am so glad you asked this.  I have been wondering this myself.  I am 17 or 18 weeks out of surgery and my hair is falling out in clumps.  I am causing drain problems it is so bad.   I am so worried I am going to be bald at the rate it is falling out. 

I've been out for 1 1/2 years and it hasn't grown back yet.  I try to not stand under a light and I  wear hats when we go out.  I hope your's isn't this bad and it will probably be fine in time..  

I lost very little, but I had been taking biotin and other vitamins for hair, nails and skin about 2 years before I had surgery...........not sure if that's the reason why.

I am almost 6 months post op.  I have lost about half my hair.  I started out with very thick, long, curly hair so I don't look bad.....yet.  It is still coming out.  I had about 4 inches cut off the length a few days ago, it was looking scraggly.   That helped lots to clean up the ends.

i lost probably half of my very thick hair. it's a lot more manageable but sometimes looks a little limp/sparse (to me, because it's not what i'm used to, when i meet someone new it's not like they think i'm missing any hair). i'll be 2 1/2 years out next month and it still hasn't regrown. my hair grows slow, but not that slow, so i'm guessing that it's not going to be coming back, just hoping i don't lose anymore when i have my plastics this summer.

I have thick hair and any surgery makes it fall, I had three surgeries in 4 years, my hair was everywhere and annoying.  It took awhile to grow out and I recently got sick of growing it out and chopped it off.  I don't know if it will get so thin its noticeable but if it does get cute wigs, I did, most of my early pics on my profile were wigs.