Hair Loss

Ok...I need some advise on the hair loss. Been going thru it a little over a month and its driving me crazy!! Its also very brittle and breaks of easily! I hear this will pass..but when???? What has everyone else done about it and how long does it last??

It normally last anywhere from 3-6 months from what I have been told. I am for the most part not having much problem now. There is not a whole lot you can do but keep your protein up and drink your water. I will be 5 months on the 2nd and the loss has slowed down tremendouly. Don't fret it will pass and you will be glad that it is over with! Becky 390 first weigh in 377 pre-op 353 one month 305 three months 290 now Next appointment on the 10th of August WOOHOOOOOOOOO

I feel your pain! I am a fellow Marcher and losing TONS of hair. It started slowly and began to increase over the past few weeks. When I read about this happening in post ops, I have to admit I didn't worry much about it because #1, I have very thick hair and #2, I'm a hair stylist and figured that anything that happened, I could use my "expertise" and cope with it. I honestly never thought it would be like this. I was terrified to see how much could actually come out at one time. I literally have to stop washing my hair four or five times in one cleansing to pull the hair off my hands and lay it off to the side to dispose of when I'm done. I have always lost a handful in the shower but this is unreal. I use professional products, as I've come to know which ones work well and are worth the extra money, so I don't have the brittleness problems. I also know that the hair replaces itself and causes a bit of "texturizing" at the roots that gives lifts. I was reading a post about this subject on the Main Message Board and someone swears by this vitamin supplement found on the net and she said it really worked for her. I, myself, have not tried it yet, but I have it bookmarked in my favs and will include the link at the end of my post. I decided I would wait to see if it slowed down as was promised around the 6 month mark, otherwise I swear, I will buy ANYTHING!

I also have the hair loss and brittleness. I am keeping up on my water and protein and I splurged a bit and bought Pantene "full and thick" shampoo and conditioner. Of course it isn't growing any hair back but the conditioner is doing wonders for the texture. If you want to feel a little better at someone elses expense (haha), just be happy that you are not 37 years old and COMPLETELY GRAY. Dying my hair caused it to fall out, so I stopped dying it before my surgery-thinking I should not do anything to encourage hair loss. So here I am at 16 weeks with 4 inches of white roots, and thinning, brittle hair. (LOVELY!!!) My hair loss has been going on for about 3 weeks and I am consoling myself that when I stops...I am going BLONDE!!! Good luck! I will keep my fingers crossed for ya! Rebecca R 3/30/05 RNY 254/178/145 only 33 pounds to go!!!

My hair has also been gray since my 30's. Gray and dry. But it seems much worse now and I'm also having some hair loss. This happened to me some years ago during a really trying time, and I took a supplement I bought at WalMart called "HAIR". Believe it or not it worked! I saw it on the shelves at Walmart today, but haven't decided to buy it just yet. Things are different with my body now, so I'd like to really investigate the vitamins in it, and how they'd interact with the other supplements I'm taking first. Myra

Update on this ... Talked with Dietitian on Tuesday night and she nixed the HAIR supplement I bought at Walmart ... said instead to take an additional BIOTIN supplement (500 mcg daily) along with my complete Vitamin regimen. I bought "Nature's Bounty" Biotin, 300 mcg daily ... a really tiny little tablet. Says on the label it promotes skin and hair health, so I'm giving it a try. Myra

I have gray in mine too and have been thinking about coloring it. That will make it fall out more? I dont need that!! Maybe I will splurge and try a good conditioner to at least help with the brittleness! I guess I can deal with the hair loss as long as I keep getting the weight loss!! I just dont want to lose all of it!!

actually, dyeing your hair to a darker shade thickens the hair shaft slightly, making it appear fuller. however, dyeing it (or bleaching it) lighter strips the hair of color, making it thinner. i dye mine a slightly darker, burgundy tinted brown, and it defininitely thickens my hair--i've been looking at the strands i've shed and you can actually see the difference between the thickness of the natural roots and the thicker dyed parts. i've also heard that pantene coats your hair with a polymer (their "pro-v" complex, which is actually more like a plastic than a vitamin, lol) and it also builds up a coating on the hair shaft with repeated use. if it didn't break out my scalp, i'd definitely be using it now. instead i use garnier fructis long-and-strong shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in conditioner. it's formulated for long hair and helps a lot with the breakage. it's still falling out like crazy, but at least what i still have on my head looks pretty good, so it's not too noticeable. michelle

According to everything I've read and talking to my hairdresser, once you're past the 6 month mark, it should start getting back to normal. And believe it or not, you probably have new growth starting already. It will get better.

As promised, the link for the supplements...sorry, my post was cut in half when I submitted. I won't be so long winded next time! www.puritan.com