Hair Loss

I too am having hair loss ...enough to freak me out..so while researching I found this from a bariatric doctor... www.lapsf.com/dr-cirangle-chat-transcript-10-february-2005.php In your opinion, is there any way to slow down or prevent hair loss after RNY surgery? Yes. Make sure you get your protein each day (80-100 grams). In addition certain vitamins also seem to help. Biotin 300 mcgs, zinc 50mg, coEnzyme Q10 100-200mg, primrose oil 500mg and finally flax seed or fish oil (omega fatty acids). The good news is that the hair loss is temporary - when you hit your goal weight it should all come back.

I am STILL having horrible hair loss. I had tons of hair, four feet of it, now I had to cut it all off and whats there is really thin. It is really upsetting me. I started washing with Nioxin products and taking fish oil and Biotin. I wish I knew when it would stop, it is literally a handful everyday!!!!

This hair loss is driving me nuts. Bald spot up front and the other day I saw one in back. Not happy with this. But it is a small price to pay to get my health back, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. LOL

Still losing hair at a pace!! I wanted to go back and upate on something that I'd said previously in this thread about hair. I had stated that I wasn't washing my hair but every 3 days or so 'cause I felt like it caused more hair to abandon ship every time I shampoo and condition. BUT I read an article from a dematologist (maybe in OH mag?) that said that more frequent shampoos (massaging the scalp) stimulates more growth. Just thought I'd throw that out there for all you non-washers Susan

Hi Susan! Yep, you are right! When the scalp is manipulated it creates more blood flow to the scalp, therefore causing more healthy things to happen on top of our heads. Hair growth is better when the blood flow to the scalp is better. I'm not sure it will speed up the process much, but it will definitely help long-term. I do know it can't hurt!

i started using nioxin shampoo&cond. right before surgery and have not had much more hair loss than before the surgery. so i guess i am one of the few lucky ones. or it just hasn't gotten bad yet.

YUPE me too...I posted a while back, asking if anyone actually went bald. I'm losing hair at a very fast pace. I aksed & my doc said nothing you can really do about it. Just get in protien as directed and that it will evetually slow down. I also started taking pre-natal vitamins, and using Rusk thinken shampoo. Seems to have helped slow down the loss (I attribute that to vitamins) , but not stop it completely. And the rusk products for thickening make what hair is left on my head look fuller (all three strands-lol)

One thing my NUT did say is that during the hair loss phase I could take prenatal vitamins, she also had RNY and said those seemed to help slow the hair loss down. I'm going to try them.

asked: "I had a gastric bypass 4 months ago, and last month I began to experience an exceptional amount of hair loss. My doctors told me that some hair loss was normal, and if I ate enough protiens i would be able to control it. Well, at the rate my hair is falling out, I will be bald with-in a couple months. I asked my doctor how long this hair loss will go on. (I was told 9 months) I asked if there was any special things I could do or take to help. The only 2 things that was recommended to me Iam already doing. Iam eating at least 50 grams of protien a day, and I have inquired and begun using an over-the-counter product, a shampoo and conditioner named Nioxin. My hair is still falling out at an alarming rate. If there is anything that you can reccomend, or advice. It will be greatly needed and apprciated Thank you Dr R L, MD answered: "Excessive shedding occurring 4 months 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.

AWESOME information, Tara! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Happy New Year everyone!