Few Questions - Hair Loss, Vitamins, Pain in the azz???

Hey Guys Let me know what you any of you know about these questions? 1. I am 7 months post op, in the past few weeks I noticed my hair is falling out  a little.  I notice it in the sink in the morning.  What suppliment /vitamin do I need to be taking ?  Will this stop and will it grow back? 2. When do you take your vitamins, morning, eveneing, afternoon, on an empty pouch or with food??  When is the most affective time to get the max absorbtion? 3. I have seen a few posts of the past months about azz pain - my tailbone is killing me when sitting.  Airplane and car seats are the worst for me, I think becasue you can't move all that much to get fixed.  My WLS told me it was normal - ok, but when can I expect some relief? Thanks for your help. Chris  326/195/175

Geeeesh Chris,...if you had got so thin so fast,...your butt wouldn't hurt!!! I alternate crossing my legs, that switches the weight from cheek to cheek.  I also use an extra pillow at home or a blanket in the seat when needed.  I have an adjustable seat in my car so I am using that toy to adjust some days up and some days down for comfort. The hair thing I have avoided significantly by keeping my protein intake up.  While I was do 60-80, since Jan 07 I have been taking in 160 -200 and also added Biotin at the advice odf someone out here on the Boards,..I think it was CardsFan.  My hair was getting weird,...wirery and sticking out.  It seemed thinner on top but I had been seeing hair loss when showering, shaving, or drying my hair.  After two weeks on the biotin, it does seem to be settling back down some and maybe getting thicker.  I'd give it a try with the protein if you aren't already doing that.  My sister had a major hair loss problem with her RNY 12 years ago and it recovered with increase natural protein (chicken, beans, eggs, and fish type) but she wasn't very good at protein supplements and they weren't as avaiable as they are now.  Her hair all grew back in nicely.  Pills.  I take all of my vitamins and stuff except calcium in the morining first thing, followed by some breakfast within 15 to 30 minutes.  I have also started taking them with OJ as my CNP told me that it would help the iron in the multi-vitamin to absorb into the blood stream better.  Durng the afternoon, I take and additional dosage of multi-vitamin with ioron ( as I needed t up my iron intake to get above bearly acceptable levels and use a pre-natal with 28 mg instead of the standard 18). In the evening, I take my calcium with my blood pressure medicine before bed or within a couple of hours of bed. Joe  8 months out 408/246/180 Congrad on the weightloss,  the ball cap hat thing is a good cover till the topside recovers.

1. My doc/nut list 1000mg biotin per day to reduce hair loss.  I found 5000mg (horse pill size) capsules cheap, so I pull them open empty half into my mouth about 2 out of 3 days (the stuff is flavorless).  Protein and zinc are mentioned by other doctors as being important, so get your protein and maybe add zinc tablets too.  Hair loss is usually 10% of hair, rarely as much as half, is temporary, and comes back when your caloric needs and intake stabalize for a month or two (which for you, shouldn't be too long). 2. I have about 8 vitamin pills total right now.  It appears that most of it ends up in my urine, and I'm trying to maximize my chances of absorbing (and not to tax my already-busy kidneys). So I take them spread throughout the day (and those that are multi-pill, like my multi and my calcium, I split throughout the day as well).  Most people say with food because fat-soluble vitamins are best absorbed with fat (that is, with food).  Empty stomach is marginally better for absorption of iron and perhaps other minerals, but some may cause stomach irritation, so if you notice irritation switch to with food (zinc comes to mind).  Some vitamins interefere with absorption of others, another reason to spread them out.  For example, don't do iron with calcium, don't do any vitamins with fiber.  Vitamin C actually helps iron.  It's all very complicated.  Dx may have more detailed info to offer. 3. No idea on this one, I've seen no evidence yet that I have a tailbone.

Jeff, I popped open a document on my hard drive labeled – WLS Hair-Loss (an old post of mine) It was over 5 pages in a word doc…. Wow, I had some time on my hands in those days!! Cut to the chase? It’s common, it’s mostly lower protein levels, System shock at the reduced caloric intake, and it will grow back. (excerpt…) I was very lucky, probably genetics, but I didn’t lose any hair even through all of my complications. Some people swear by keeping vitamin B Complex supplements, Essential Fatty Acids, and Biotin. Others claim that using Nioxin products help a lot. I did use a shampoo called- "Billy Jealousy's Fuzzy Logic" that my wife had given me for Christmas. https://www.billyjealousy.com/itemdetail.cfm?id=97 It supposedly helps block DHT and reduce hair loss in Men. I also had the conditioner called- "Cashmere Coat Hair Strengthening Conditioner." https://www.billyjealousy.com/itemdetail.cfm?id=98 The have a peppermint smell and make your scalp tingle. I have no idea if the claims made by the products are true, BUT I had no hair loss.:shrug: Some say the same thing about Fructis Strengthening ‘leave-in’ Conditioner, and Nioxin Products. The Pantine "Daily Strengthening ‘Leave-in’ Spray" is one my wife swears by. Since a lot of the loss associated with WLS is breakage as well as the "Catagen/Teogen phases" of dead roots. Using a product that adds strength to the existing hair shaft seems to make sense. A lot of those products do make outlandish claims such as "10 times stronger…" but in reality do just a tiny bit toward improving strength. Most often it’s a case of getting protein levels high enough, but it’s not all about keeping Protein Levels high. There’s also the " keeping Calories above 1000" as well. Any "starvation" results in the body shutting down systems that are non-essential and focusing on maintaining internal organs. Hair growth is one of the first "luxuries" the body gives up in order to spend it’s diminished resources on keeping the essentials alive. Anorexic patients show huge hair loss, with big patches coming out by the hands full. This is called Telogen Effluvium. ……. (and it just got worse and more detailed from there…) Get your protein levels up. 100gms a day or higher is what my doc had me on. I was 385lbs dropping through 250lbs on down to 180lbs, and still on that amount of protein. The Vitamins? I take my multi-Vitamin, a folic acid, and a B-1 in the morning with coffee and an Iron supplement-prescription. I take my Citracal w/ added Vit-D at lunch. I take a handful of amino acids with my Coumadin prescription before bed. My B-12 is an injection once every month. (19^th) For Max absorption, I’m not sure of Time-O’-day, but do take your vitamin C (mine’s in my multi) along with any Iron. And don’t take Iron and Calcium at the same time as they compete for the same receptor sites. I chew my Multi and my Calcium. (they are ‘horse-pill’ sized) So no issue of them not dissolving in time to hit max receptor sites in the intestines. So far, at 1 month short of 4 years? Perfect Labs the whole time. Tailbone? Oouch!! Yep, common. It goes away but REALLY Slowly!! Tiny, incremental changes…. Noticeably relieved about 3 months at stable weight. I used to find it hard to sit on any amount of cushion for Any time. Now? I can hop my azz up on a wooden bench and painlessly sit through a 4 hour game. Hope this helps! Best Wishes- Dx

If the hair loss is modest I suspect it will resolve itself in a few weeks or months with or without any action on your part. I have in the past used the http://www.tushcush.com/ with good results.

Yep - the biotin for the hair loss is what I use and recommended....I buy the Extreme Biotin from Rexall at Wal-Mart.  Along with the biotin since day one I've supplemented with Zinc (chelated for maximum absorption).  The zinc is also supposed to be good for the libido and sexual function.    I also used a biotin shampoo from Nexxus as well - it was expensive but using it combined with the biotin supplement, zinc (and protein of course) I did not lose any hair.  If you're unable to find biotin shampoo, nioxin shampoo or topical is as effective.  A couple of gents on the board have used Rogaine with good results too. Nothing fancy as to when I take my vitamins...take them in the morning and follow-up in the evening with a second dose of multi-vitamin and calcium citrate.  I don't take additional iron so I don't concern myself with taking stuff separately or with vitamin-c. As for a sore ass...being a straight man, that's a subject I don't care to get into a discussion about ("Not that there's anything wrong with that!" - Jerry Seinfeld).       Cards Fan "NO EXCUSES - THERE IS NO TOMORROW - THE TIME IS NOW!"