Okay I wasn't adequately prepared for this....

Hello-
Well I am almost 5 months out and now the hair loss is beginning to freak me out....

I mean my dresser is covered in hair after I do it in the morning...when I bru**** --the hair just comes out...not like in clumps but enough to make me go "AHHHHHH!!!"

Tell me this stops and I won't be bald!!?? Egads....I mean I am pretty good about getting in my protein and all my supplements each day..should I be doing something more??

AHHH! Hair loss...I was so not prepared for this part...I mean I knew about it but it really is emotionally tolling...

Thanks for letting me ramble...

Laura

Laura -

I have lost a lot of hair too. ALthough I think it is tons of hair it is unoticeable to all other people and now that I am about 6 months out it is dying down now. I even got it cut while I thought it was falling out drastically and the stylist said it was anymore than normal. I didn't do anything extra as far as supplements go, but it is a little better now. I hope this helps. Talk to you soon.   - Katie

I think everyone goes through the hair loss trauma.  I started at about 5 months also.  I started taking 5000 units of Biotin, but hair was growing everywhere....not just my head, so I stopped taking.  I didn't think it was making much of a difference anyway.  I stopped losing at around 7 months.  It was traumatic while it was happening, but it stopped just as quickly as it started.  You'll be fine.  Just hang in there.

its normal, dont worry about it. Everyone goes thru it, it grows back.. Your body responds to the stress in this manner

This happens to everyone and it will get better. Just remember that if it gets to bad you can buy a wig to get you past it.

I would rather go bald then weigh 300 pounds again. I am sure there are others who would back me up on this one.

Remember it is just another bump in the road, and you will get past it.

Jen

 Laura,

Many of us have gone through what you are experiencing...As the other posters have said....this will pass even though it is so traumatic now.  Biotin may help...you can try that.  For me, I just rode it out an all is well now--AND 130 lbs gone to boot!!!

Laura,
As everyone said - it is normal. Not fun - but normal.
I made sure I was getting all of my protein.
I started taking Biotin everyday.
My hairdresser suggested taking some omega 3
fatty acid supplements. I alternate between that one
day and flax oil the next day. We cut most fats out of
our diet and hair needs some oil.
It seems to have helped - or maybe it is just in my head - lol.
Tammy

I have to tell all of you, it is very encouraging to know I am not the only one.  I clog my bathroom drain with every shower, every single time I brush my hair my hairbrush looks like it has more hair than I do. Sometimes I am not even sure how I have any hair left to fall out!  I had bypass on May 2nd, so hearing that it usually stops around 8 months or so is very encouraging!

Laura
It DOES stop!    My loss started like clockwork around 3 months postop, and by 8 months, had stopped coming out.  It wasn't until about 20 months postop, that I noticed a dramatic change in my hair - coming back fuller, with more texture, and I have a head full of curls!  My hair was poker straight all my life - I used to get perms!  If I let it dry naturally, it's all curls!  Now I have to use a straightener to iron out the frizz... and if it's humid out, forget about it!

The hair loss was the single worst side effect, for me, of the surgery.  It was very depressing for me.  My hairdresser was very helpful in creating styles for me to get through.  I just wanted my hair to grow long, but she had advised me to keep it shorter, on the top, where the loss was so dramatic.  She was right. 

Best of luck to you.  You'll get through it.   If you need anything else, please feel free to contact me!

Michelle

Laura,

Other than Biotin supplements and getting your protein in, there is nothing to do but accept it as part of the process.  The hair does come back, I've seen it in family members who've had this surgery before, in the meantime, get your hairdresser to work with what you got.  I lost probably half my hair and am still losing a bit, but I think for me, it has to do with age and hereditary too.

Hugs, Laureen