Vain, I Know, but... HELP! :-)

Hello amazing and brave people! Today was my first appointment with the surgeon, letting me know the surgery type, the risks, etc. The program takes about 2-3 months to get through and I'm patient. I have some vain concerns... Nothing that would prevent me from having the surgery, but I'd just like to get your take on it.

I'm a 27 year old woman who is about 295 lbs. The goal is to be at 145, so that means I'd literally lose half of myself. I'm worried about excess skin, specifically in my arms and my breasts and I'm also worried about hair loss. I have long thick hair and I've heard that due to protein loss, hair thins rapidly...if that happens, does it come back??

Thank you for being patient with my vanity. :-)

Yes, you will have loose skin.  Yes, you will lose hair.  The hair loss is happens from about 3 to 6 months.  It comes back.  Some people's skin bounces back better than others -- you're young, so you have a better chance of having less excess skin.  

No offense, but I much prefer my excess skin to the 122 pounds I was carrying before.  

Thank you for the response. I know I'll prefer it too! Just definitely something I worry about it... The more education I have the better emotionally prepared I will be. 

Your concerns are very common and what most people think about before they have surgery (they are the two things people ask me about constantly in real life). Hair grows back for the overwhelming majority of us. Genetics plays the biggest part in the loose skin issue. After losing the weight, most people are happy trading fat for skin. In all my years here, I have only read a handful of people who say they would rather have the fat. Most of us who have it learn to live with it or have plastic surgery (I have had some plastic surgery and have learned to accept the other parts of me that still need "fixing").

Good luck on your journey. It is a wild ride!! 

BEST advice I recieved from my nutritionist, was to start taking BIOTIN for "hair skin and nails". My hair was super short in Feb, and I have decided to "let it grow".. within the last 3 months, my hair has gotten SO thick and LONG!! My nails grow like crazy too!! I never had this much luck with either!! NO hair loss for this chick! The ladies at work always ask me what I am taking, so I share the secret often!! I am eating MAINLY protein, very few carbs.. I live on vitamins and water basically.. But NOT one strand have I lost due to protein or malnutrition issues.

I am glad that biotin has made a difference for you but I do want to add my experience here:

I started taking high amounts of biotin 3 months prior to surgery and have continued since.  I was determined to not lose hair after surgery and I had read that biotin could help with this.  After surgery, I was determined to get my protein requirements as soon as humanly possible.  I had also read that protein could help prevent hair loss.  I got 80 grams or more within 3 days of surgery --- EVERY DAY.

For the first three months after surgery I glowed in the glory of my thick long hair!  I smugly assumed that I had managed to beat the dreaded hair loss monster. In fact, my hair was shiny and super healthy.  Then, as if on a schedule, it began in the shower at 3 months, 2 days.  There was a lot of hair in the drain.  

At first, my husband insisted it was just my imagination.  He swore he didn't think that I was losing hair.  Within weeks he was astounded that I still had any hair left on my head.  Yeah, I was losing a lot of hair.  WTF??  I was taking biotin!  I got my protein!  I had this whole thing figured out!!

Truth is, after WLS (or really any major surgery) or during rapid weight loss (so we've a double whammy) the great majority of people suffer from telogen effluvium.  It isn't something that you can prevent with supplements or magic incantations.  If you don't get it, you are rare and just lucky.  Can bad nutrition make it worse?  Sure.  Can a biotin deficiency make it worse?  Sure.  But neither thing is going to prevent telogen effluvium and more than rubbing cream on loose skin is going to make it tight. Those of us who aren't the rare lucky ones just have to ride it out.  

Anyhow, I am happy to say that at 6 months out my hair is regrowing.  

OMG I never heard of that!!! Glad your doing well.

I also took Biotin.... and I started losing my hair at 4 months post op -- you are only 3 months out. I am just telling you this because at 3 months I hadn't lost a strand either.  The good news is it stopped at 7.5 months and it is growing back every day!

I also have loose skin and am having it removed on August 28th.  Well, part of it. If you are so inclined, save for plastics!!  Loose skin is better than tight fat any day!

I was a little smaller than you but quite a bit older and I had very little excess skin (despite having a baby less than a year before surgery!), the amount you will have depends on your genes, where you carry your weight, and obviously your age.

I also have never lost a lot of hair with any surgery or anaesthesia - again, it's a crapshoot and NOTHING will stop that loss if it's going to happen - google Telogen Effluvium.

Those were things I worried about too prior to surgery,but as the weight began coming off and I had more energy and less pain,I realized the end result is worth it! I knew I would have excess skin because I had been overweight or obese my whole life and was 53 years old too. And I do have excess skin on my arms,thighs and stomach. Last summer I was self conscious about it and wore 3/4 sleeves and jeans all summer. This summer I have realized that I look better than most people even with my saggy skin. I wear short sleeves and Bermuda shorts proudly! My skin reminds me of how much I have accomplished and if anyone were to comment I would tell them about my surgery and weight loss. I have lost 140 pounds and no longer have high blood sugars,high blood pressure or high cholesterol. It is all worth it! I had some hair loss but only my hairdresser and I could really tell. Overall I am so thankful I had my surgery and I am pretty certain you will be too.