Losing Hair, Dry Hair and Skin - Any Suggestions??

Hi All,

I am a little over two months post-op from RNY. I am noticing a lot more hair loss. My hair and skin are also very dry. I am wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to help prevent this.

I'm taking Biotin as the nutritionist at Duke recommended. I've heard that you should take Zinc along with Biotin so it is absorbed. Do you get enough Zinc in the multi-vitamin, or do you need to take more? If so, can anyone let me know how much I need to take and how often?

Any recommendations/suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

I have also heard that you need to take Zinc to allow your body to effectively absorb Biotin. My MIL took both 30 days on and 30 days off because Zinc is a heavy metal and you have to be careful to not take too much Zinc. I do not know what constitutes an 'effective' dose of Zinc to enable Biotin to work properly and I would suggest that you call and leave a message for the Nutritionist to get their recommendation. 

Also, here is a blog article that I recently posted that addresses post op hair loss. It has links to more information about post op hair loss, but to be honest, they think that while it can be related to deficiencies, it is also and often related to the stresses that your body has undergone from just having had major surgery and experiencing significant weight loss. The article that I linked to in my blog provides some suggestions as to what you can do and look for as you try to manage hair loss.

Please take heart and know that it is generally temporary and most noticeable to you and rarely to others.