Menopause

Has anyone else experienced what seems to be changes in hormone levels?  Someone told me that fat cells store estrogen.  So by losing lots of weight we are making changes to the hormonal levels in our bodies.

Last month I missed and seemed to get a series of hot flashes instead!  Is it just likely that my age (49) is finally catching up with me, or has anyone else found that losing weight triggered hormonal changes?

I am also losing a lot of hair - - is that normal?

 

 

My hormones have been totally out if whack this last year . Way more pms, periods heavier or lighter . I was even three weeks late on one period a couple months after my surgery. I had been regular every 28 days for the last 20 years ! Then after I was Late I had the period from hell. I figure it is all the fluctuations in hormone . Weight loss and gain change all sorts of hormones .

I lost about 50% of my hair . For me it lasted about 4 months . From about 6 months to ten months out , I have little fuzzies that are the regrowth . Luckily I had a ton of hair in the first place . But my pony tail is way smaller now ! I never took biotin. I figured it didn't help with the hair loss but rather helped with regrowth and I would be fine. I didn't want to deal with all the other body hair growing like crazy lol

Hair loss is normal and most of us have it.  Mine started at about 4 months and was getting so bad that I had to cut my hair, ponytails were stressing it out too much with the tension.  Like Rainyone, I am lucky to have started out with lots of hair and I am confident that it will come back.  I have noticed a bit of a pattern with a high weight loss week giving me noticeably more hair loss..... go figure, it could just be me.  I have also read several times that estrogen is something stored in our fat stores and the sudden weight loss results in surges of hormones that generally don't play out very well lol .  I have also read that the hormone rush contributes to the hair loss.  Every time I had a baby I would experience significant hair loss about 3 weeks post partum, so I think there is a correlation there for sure.  I also have no interest in Biotin, as much as I want my head hair back, the prospect of "increased hair growth" everywhere does not appeal to me either, although if this winter nonsense keeps up it might be a good source of warmth........ hmmmm 

and now that I think of it, I coulda used a second coating of hair this winter as I was "cold all the time" which seems to be another common thing post op. .... things that make you go hmmmmm...

I'm sure the hair loss is hormone related - when I was on fertility drugs I lost alot of hair....

Okay - -well it is good to know that I am experiencing normal weight loss symptoms.  Thanks for the confirmation.  And yes I have noticed that I am cold more often than I used to be.  I can almost tell which days/weeks I am going to be down the most pounds by how cold I am.  Our home office has three computers in it and so is often the warmest room in the house, but this winter I have had to put on socks, slippers and wear a sweater most of the time, which is totally unusual for me because I was always the warm one in the house before - -used to joke about having lots of "natural insulation"  

I was very lucky - no hair loss at all, although I have lots. I suspect because I lost weight much more slowly it wasn't such a shock to my system. 

I was 53 1/2 when I had my VSG and was still having periods intermittently. Since my surgery (Feb 2012) I have never had another one  . Yes, fat stores estrogen, so if you are losing fat, then in theory your hormones will be wacky. I was EXTREMELY happy with that side effect!! However in the last 3 or 4 months I've started having hot flashes.  For the first year I was always cold. I'd prefer being cold. 

 

Hair loss is also a side effect of low ferritin, iron.  I have just started weekly iron injections 2ml in the ass for the next 6 weeks in addition to the 6 pills of Ferrous Fumerate I swallow daily.  They will re-test my levels in the middle of May again.  The dr said that I would require 21 injections total. 

Just hope that everyone here is getting their blood tests done as they are required too!. I thought that I was just tired from not eating enough calories.