HAIR LOSS AND BIOTIN

I am 8 months post op and just recently started loosing a lot of hair. I admit that there have been days I've forgotten to take my multivitamin but now am back on them faithfully. I also started taking biotin today. My question is for those of you that have used biotin, how long did it take to see results? Also, did you continue to take even after your hair started replenishing?

Before you start that are you sure you're getting in enough protein.  I started losing hair and upped my protein and all was well.

There are many reasons why bandsters do not absorb the usual poor quality vitamins like Centrums, victiv, costco, GNc, etc. They are a very poor quality, not  USP approved, and do not contain the amounts of folic acid and other things bandsters need.

Most of us get plenty of protein, so that is raely the cause, in my experience, but we ARE often  deficient in the omega 3 oils and zinc and vit D that are so important. we think we should be on a  low-fat diet, but do not get the essential omega oils for heart, cholesterol, HAIR, skin , joint, and organ health. The GOOD fats and oils should be about 20% of the diet.

Biotin never hurts, but there are NO studies to show extra helps. There is already the biotin needed in good vits. Nioxin also is proven worthless to help re-grow hair , in medical studies. but it does seem to help the appearance of hair, so you might want that for now. But a much cheaper shampoo called "Thicker Hair" or something, in a dark green bottle, plumos up hair too, and for much less.

But to FIX the problem, I'd urge you to start the special 'Bariatric Advantage" VITA-BAND vitamins that a great many docs like Curry, rosen, cirangle, ortiz, rumbaut and a host of others want used. they ARE formulated for bandsters, very well researched and proven, with the amts of things we need and the high quality we easily absorb. . they are also recommended here on OH in the "store," but at full retail. I have an online gal I use with  a good discount, with cheaper shipping too.

I also recomend an extra B-50 and and omega 3 oils. I've seen excellent results myself, and a great many of my own patients have as well. Lots of people here use them and love them.

Those that start them 1-2 months before surgery have seen little if ANY hair loss. And, yes, we need to continue them if we want ongoing healthy hair and the other things.

I've written about this before - in this thread, about WHY we need special vitamins and the other supplements. Vitamin thread;

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/LapBand/a,messageboard/action,replies/board_id,5359/cat_id,4959/topic_id,3702708/

Feel free to email me for more info. The chewable lemon or watermelon Vita-Band vitamin is very good, and the omega oils are a pudding with NO fishy taste at all.

sandy r, BSN, MN
patient educator
at goal 4.95 yrs

My surgeon has no issues with Centrum vitamins.  Furthermore, when I was losing hair I was on Bariatric Advantage vitamins. 

I went to a dermatologist about my hair loss and the good news is that its temporary! She also said that no amount of protein or supplement could have stopped it.  Here's a blurb about it:

Telogen effluvium

Under normal conditions, scalp hairs live for about three years (the anagen, or growing, phase); they then enter the telogen, or resting, phase. During this three-month period, the hair root shrivels up into a small white "club," then the hair falls out. It is therefore normal to lose about 100 hairs every day, more of them on days when shampooing loosens the hairs that are ready to fall out. The hairs are then replaced by the body.

Sometimes people worried about losing their hair start noticing hairs on their pillow or in the sink, not realizing that they've always been there. A close look at these will usually reveal the white "club" at the end, showing that these hairs were already dead. Normally, about 10% of scalp hairs are in the telogen phase.

There are several cir****tances that produce a "shock to the system" that alters the hair growth rhythm. As a result, as much as 30-40% of the hairs can cycle into telogen. Three months later hairs come out in a massive shedding (effluvium), especially near the front of the scalp. These include:

• childbirth
• high fever
• sudden weight loss (crash dieting)
• surgery

None of these has to be life-threatening, nor does hair loss always follow them. (It can happen after one pregnancy but not the next.) But when the hair falls out, it's all over the place--covering the pillow, clogging the drain, and so forth. Paradoxically, the more dramatic the hair loss, the better the prognosis, because when the body gets back into normal rhythm, most if not all of that hair comes back. No special treatment is needed. Normal shampooing can continue, because this only loosens hairs that were going to come out anyway.