QUESTION

I had surgery in July of 04, a few months after you. I just want to know.......when does the hair loss start slowing down and are any of you starting to see regrowth? At this rate, I'll be bald in a few months!!! Any suggestions welcomed.

i lost hair like crazy, too. i just kept up with my protein and vitamins. it didn't really slow down until i bought some nisim shampoo and conditioner - don't know if it was a coincidence or not. but, it really seemed to help. some salons carry it - i had my salon special order it, but you might be able to find it online - just google "nisim shampoo". good luck. kym

First let me say I have tried absolutely EVERYTHING to keep my hair from falling out. Vitamins, increasing my protein, special shampoos, supplements, not washing it so often, not brushing it so often. Nothing worked!! Once it started to fall out - about 2 months ago - I redoubled my efforts. But alas, absolutely none of the so called "preventatives" or "remedies" has worked. After gretching and moaning for 6 weeks or better about my hair I came across the article I've included in this post. Now I know I can't blame myself for my massive hair loss. Either you're gonna lose your hair or your not. Most of us will/are/have lost some/most of our hair. As the article states, it's a 100 day process and nothing you do will change that, nature has to run it's course. I didn't go bald but it you check my composite picture on my profile, you'll see it get shorter and shorter. Hope this helps! Happy thoughts, Va 232/133/13? -99 pounds ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Excessive shedding occurring after gastric bypass surgery would be a typical example of a telogen effluvium. The name "telogen effluvium" explains the nature of the hair loss very well. All hair follicles in humans run through cycles of activity. During anagen, they produce hair fiber. During telogen, the follicles are dormant and there is no further growth. The hair shaft is shed at the end of the telogen phase. Effluvium is a Latin word that means "letting loose". So the term "telogen effluvium" describes hair follicles entering a dormant stage and shedding (letting loose) the hair shaft. Telogen effluvium forms of hair loss are generalized and diffuse over the scalp. Telogen effluvium is not normally a permanent form of hair loss. Eventually, the hair follicles recover and return to normal hair density usually within one year. In a normal, young, healthy individual up to 90% of hair follicles are in an a growing phase (anagen) and only 10% are in a telogen (resting) phase at any one moment in time. If your body experiences a systemic physiologic upset, such as a gastric bypass surgical procedure, many of the anagen hairs can be shifted into telogen. At the end of that telogen phase, which is typically about 100 days in length, those hairs will all shed. Rarely are more than 50% of the hairs of the scalp ever involved in a telogen effluvium. The severe shedding rarely lasts more than the length of the telogen phase, which is about 100 days. There is no treatment for telogen effluvium. Once the hair follicles entered the telogen phase, the hair shafts were destined to shed in 3 to 4 months and there is no way of preventing it from taking its natural course. However, you will be encouraged to know that the hair follicles have not been damaged and that all of the hair will grow back in. If you would like to read more about the phenomenon of telogen effluvium, please access the article at http://www.minoxidil.com/journal.htm#Telogen Richard Lee, M.D."

The good news is that you're not going to get bald spots, just thin out. You'll just FEEL like you're going bald when it comes out in clumps. Took about 3 months to slow considerably. The majority of the loss was within the first two weeks it started and gradually got better. My hair is healthy and happy now =) -Janine

My daughter had wls and lost a lot of her hair. It has been a slow process but at 2 years and 9 months post op her hair is fianlly returning to normal. It's just a waiting game. Your hair will eventually grow back. As for me I started zinc and biotin 6 weeks preop and lost only a little hair. I don't know if it really helped. Louise 231/130

I thought I could stave off the hair loss with enough protein. When I started losing it, I figured it was from the anesthesia and the shock to my body of having had major surgery on my innards. But the loss period lasted longer than I expected. It started at about 3 months and it lasted past the 6 month mark. I was really nervous about it because, being a fat girl, how my hair looked was really important to me - that at least I could have good hair. The only thing I can tell you is, hang in there, it does stop and it does come back. Now, I'm eleven months out, and everybody tells me that they love my hair. I have 3 inch roots because I was afraid to stress it out by getting highlights, and people rave about my hair anyway. So hang in there, it will be o.k.

Mine started coming out at about the three month mark and kept coming out past the 6 month mark. Luckily, I had tons of hair so I don't think others noticed as much as I did. My hairdresser taught me to use lots of volumizing products and it gave the appearance of more hair. One of the things she recommended was to spray volumizing hair spray on my hair while it was still damp and then blow dry it out. It didn't have a sticky hard feeling and stayed better and looked puffier when I styled it. I also used lighter conditioners so the hair didn't look weighed down. And then there's the shorter haircut. I'm almost 11 months out now and have about 2 inches of new growth. It was only once I could see the new growth that I could really see how much I had lost. Holy cow! Most of us go through this, but it will grow back and when it does, you'll be thinner as well. What could be better? Connie