Ughhhhhhhhh .... LOSING HAIR!

I can't believe how much hair I'm losing. It began really falling out a few weeks ago. I been diligent about taking my vitamins and I get between 80 and 120 grams of protein each day. Thankfully I had a lot of hair to begin with so maybe I won't go totally bald LOL! Janice 277/201/145

Janice, I am sooo right there with ya! I have to be very careful about clogging up our drains-I already lost hair but now it's terrible. Like you I have lot's of hair so thank God for that... Hopefully this too shall pass Huggs, Sharon

I am done (hopefully) with my hair loss - for me, it started about 2 months ago (around month 4 postop) and it has basically stopped. I have done nothing different, nor do I use Biotin or take any extra vitamins or supplements to help the problem. I came to my own personal conclusion that the majority of folks who have WLS will go through some sort of hair loss event a few months post op, and nothing I have seen anyone do to try to prevent the loss or minimize it seems to make much of a difference. I just got my hair cut and colored back to my natural shade and thanked the maker that I did not lose too much - my hair still looks good and I expect the next visit to find new growth poking out Kia 284/196/155

OMG...my hair loss scared me SOOO bad! I knew before surgery to expect the hair loss, but around 4.5 months post-op when it started falling out by the handfuls, I freaked out a little! I did start taking Biotin, and I skipped days washing it (it was worse after shampooing). Luckily, the worse is over. It's now just about stopped falling out. Thankfully I had thick hair to start with so not too much damage was done! Take heart in knowing it will pass. Sheila

Janice, I know exactly how you feel! I am getting scared at the amount I have lost to this point. My lose started at about 3 months post-op and continues. It seems to have picked up recently and comes out by the fist fulls. I once had a good amount of hair on my head but now it is thin and not as healthy as it once was. My physician states that it usually slows down to stopping by 6 months post-op. .....Waiting........ I have found that I don't wash my hair as often either. Good Luck to us all and here's hoping that it stops soon! Diana

Last year my hair was down to my waist. I cut it to prepare for the surgery and stopped coloring it. I have lost more than 1/2 of my hair and it is much greyer than in the past. I think the loss has slowed down now and hope that it will come back. I guess I will grow it out again - it will just be grey. I embrace my grey hair today. It means that I am an elder in my community and SHOULD have some sort of wisdom (RIGHT). My grandmother always said "If the elders will speak the children will listen." I find that true in my life. For those of you who can not guess I am American Indian. Have a great day. Sarah

I am having the same problem. I took my girls to the hair salon yesterday as I always do before school begins, but this time I wasn't getting my hair done with them. I am afraid to. However, while I was there I remembered that a website about WLS had information from a doctor about hair loss. He stated that to use NIOXIN shampoo or some other and I can't remember the name. I asked about the NIOXIN while I was at the salon with my daughters and lucky for me the salon at JC Penny's in the mall in Wichita Falls Texas had it on sale. The girl told me that her boyfriend used it for his thinning hair and it slowed his down. The funny thing is that this set came with shampoo, conditioner, and a spray. It was normally 38 dollars and it was marked to 9 dollars and something. When she gave me my bill it was only 6 dollars and some change. I was glad I asked and that it was on sale. You can buy the 30 ounce bottles of shampoo and conditioner together for 30 dollars. I only bought the small 3 pack because I figured I shouldn't need it that long. I also started taking the Biotin. However it is too early right now to tell the difference. My hair falls out by the hand fulls as well. I had thick hair as well but now it is about a third of its past thickness. I hope too that this will soon pass. I loved my hair and I knew before the surgery that this happened to some people. However, the weight loss is way more beneficial to me. Take care and as soon as I know if this will work I will let you know. Tamela Pittman

I have been losing hair for the last 2 1/2 months so I started pretty early... I wanted to ask you for a sample of your day's meals? How are you getting 80-120 grams of protein? I usually get 60. Any suggestions would be helpful. I have been posting on my state's message board and today saw this one for the first time (guess I had blinders on) and am happy I have found it! Who better to know what I am going through than those of you who have had it done in the same month (mine was 2/22/05) Thank you, Meryl

I start each morning off with a protein shake. I use IDS which has 23g of protein. For lunch I make sure I eat some protein first like chicken or tuna or chili. In the afternoon I have an AchivOne coffee drink that has 20g of protein. Dinners the same as lunch, protein first. Then depending on how many calories I've consumed for the day I may treat myself to a Power Crunch bar for desert. That's another 14g of protein. So I get 57g of protein from just the IDS shake, AchivOne drink, and the Power Crunch bar plus the protein from the regular foods I eat. I'm also getting about 411 calories from those three items so I have to be very careful abou****ching my calories. My surgeon wants me to have between 1000 and 1100 calories per day. I usually am able to stay in that range. My weight loss seems to be a little slower than others. I've been losing between 8.5 and 7 lbs for the past few months. I'm also working out hard 5 to 6 days a week and building a lot of muscle mass. So even though I feel like I have not lost a much weight lately I'm getting many comments about how much thinner I look. I'll take it but I've been trying to get to ONE-derland for the past 5 days but the scale won't move. Each morning I hold my breath step on the scales and .....200.0. I want to scream! Oh by the way I'm also a revision from a vertical banded gastroplasty (1982) to the RNY (2/2005) and supposedly we lose slower than new RNYs. I've given you much more info than you ask for so I'll shut up now. Hugs 277/200/150

Oh I forgot to say.... welcomed to the Feb 2005er!