Hair Loss

Hi everyone
I had Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy on January 25, 2010. Since then I have lost about 90lbs. The problem I am having is hair loss.
Suddenly last month my hair started coming out in chunks.
I am a little concerned about it... I have looked at all before/after pics and see no bald women, so I know this will pass and stabilize, but how long does this take?
Anyone out there experienced what I am going thru?
Looking forward to hearing from you...
Stef

Hey Stef,
I had a revision surgery from VBG to RNY in Dec. 09.
Congrats on the 90 lbs, that awesome.
At about 3 months postop I started losing hair, it has gotten worse, way worse...I am scared im gonna be bald.

I havent had my hair cut in almost a year, I go Tuesday to get a style...I have no bangs left.

I take 5000 mcg of Biotin, it is available over the counter at Walmart, im sure its everywhere,  it doesnt stop the hair loss, but I have tons of little sprigs of hair coming in.

During my shower, I hafta clean the drain or the water collects around my ankles because of the amount of hair in the drain.

alot of ppl tell us to eat lots protein to reduce the amount of hair loss, well i found out a couple of days ago that the protein I was eating isnt good for WLS patients...

Did you know not to purchase Hydrolyzed collegen or protein? I didnt till this week...I have 3 boxes of Atkins bars that are all hydrolyzed...ugh !!!

Good luck to you !!!

Hi Tara

no I did not know about bad protein! I also have about 2 boxes of Atkins bars....

Last week I went to the health food store and was told to drink Whey Protein, take Biotin and Silica (also found in Jell-0).

I cut my hair and dyed it lighter so it would sort of blend w/my scalp. It is still falling, but not in chunks like in the beginning.
I am really not a vain person, but the hair thing was a complete surprise and it sucks big time.
It seems to be the one little surprise about WLS that no one talks about. After I started whining about it in my support group, suddenly it was common experience. The good news is that no one has gone completely bald and that hair will regrow.

Let's keep in touch
Stef
 

Unless you're relying on atkins bars as your protein mainstay they are fine.  Hydrolized proteins and incomplete proteins will not harm you nutritionally as long as you're getting good quality protein as your main protein sources.  Hopefully from food. 

My hair grew back just fine despite the atkins bars and occaisional protein bullet.  What caused my labs and hair to drop was getting under 100g in protein daily.  Coincidentally I had stopped having atkins bars to avoid snacking.  The 100g counts more than 10g of hydrolized protein from an atkins bar.  At least it does for me. 

Biotin saved my hair.  Fallout started about four months out.  I increased the protein to 100g minimum and overload on the biotin (Water soluable, no danger there).   

If I slack on the protein or give up the biotin the hair thinning starts again.  Its never been as bad as the initial fallout.  Improvement is pretty quick once I get the protein and biotin going again.   

Thank you.. I have included Biotin in my diet and hair loss has slowed down. I will up my protein to 100g per day. Right now I take in about 60g, and have decided to go back to the protein shakes in the mornings for a quick boost.
I have purchased the 5000mcg Biotin and have noticed that I do not have the massive hair loss I had a couple of months ago.

Once again thank you for the advice.

I have not had surgery yet, however I have experienced hairloss due to illness. Taking biotin is a good idea. Also remember to be gentle with your hair and scalp, try to cut down on the number of washings, be sure and use a good quality shampoo and conditioner, avoid pulling hair up in ponytails or barettes, cut back on the styling tools if you can, these can damage what hair you have and it will also break off.

I have found that when my hair is thinning, I start shampooing every other day rather than every day, I use Nexxis shampoo and conditioner. Gently massaging the scalp for several minutes and rinsing in cool water, it seems to help my hair feel and look better.

My name is Sheila & I am almost 8 mos post  op ( I had Roux-en-Y) and have lost 84Lbs.  So far every thing is going really well but I too have been dealing with issues with hair thinning.  I started to use a hair cleansing system called Nioxin.  It has a cleanser, conditioner and a leave in treatment.  There are alot of products in the Nioxin line & you can buy it at any salon or beauty supply store.  The starter kit  cost's about $40.00 but it is so worth it.  I've only been using it for maybe 4-5 wks but I am starting to notice a slight improvement already.  Everyone I have talked to raves about how wonderful the Nioxin products are.  I also started taking Biotin hair & nail supplement figured every little bit will help.  I have been told that in time our hair will get better.  Hope this was helpful to you.  Best of luck.

Sheila

Hi..I am 8 months out 107 lbs down!  I also lost chunks of hair in month 3.  It took about the next 2 months for it to stop.  Now it is in the process of growing back in.  I have LOTS of little baby hairs that all stick up.  I found a good hair cut helped.  My hair also got very dry and brittle looking.  My stylist put a glaze on it.  It helped put some shine back in it.  Increase that protein and it should help.
Maria

Hi Maria
I am going for a haircut today....
The falling of hair has stopped, but I have chunks of scalp still visible. This is the only thing about weightloss that has depressed me.
Thank you for the feedback and congrats about the weight loss. Keep in touch and let me know how you are doing.
Stef