Hair loss at later stage

Hi everyone! I am almost 4 years out from having surgery, and because of my own doing, not following the rules for over a year (vits protein,etc) I put on weight (which I have taken back off) and have lost alot of hair. I have been back faithfully doing what I am suppose to for 4 months, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this happen later in the game, I know it is common during the first year, even though I didn't have a problem with it, but I don't seem to see any improvement in my hair, it is so fine and my brush is full of it all the time (I used to have thick healthy hair). I would really appreciate any input or suggestions that you guys might have! Thanks, Jen

I am 6 years and losing hair. Darlene

I am almost four years out and still have "spells" of losing hair. Plus, my hair never did come back in at temples like it should have.

My hair thinned out ten years before I had the DS, so it's hard to say if I've really lost any because of WLS. Have you tried some of the things people mention like biotin? --BT

I started showing thinning of my hair over the crown starting at 15 months post-op. I'm currently almost 23 months post-op. I've not found a definitive reason for my hair loss. There is a lot of information on the internet on this topic: telogen effluvium. You can also search for information on ferritin and hair loss. Both hypo and hyper thyroidism can show hair loss. I am hypothyroid, and I had my thyroid retested. My TSH levels were slightly higher than they had been, but still in the low-normal range. So that wasn't felt to be the cause. My endocrinologist said it wasn't endocrine-related as I didn't have hair growing inappropriately any place else on my body. I get in 90-100 g protein daily, so I don't think I have a protein deficiency, but that could be a cause of hair loss. My WLS surgeon repeated all my blood work at my 18 month appointment in June. All levels were normal, although my ferritin level was lower than previously. Iron deficiency is one of the items that can contribute to hair loss. My surgeon said he'd never heard that, so I forwarded a bunch of internet links to him, and started taking my iron supplements every day. I think perhaps that I see new hair starting to come in at some spots of the crown where it has been thin. The quantity of hair that I notice falling out each day seems to be much less than it was a few months ago, I think. Or maybe I'm hallucinating. I see my surgeon again in December. Deficiencies in iron, zinc, B12, folate can contribute to hair loss. I was at a support group meeing today and received a couple of articles that showed recommended supplements for hair loss. One said these supplements: biotin 50 mg tid, Inositol 100 mg bid, vitamin B complex with vitamin B3 50 mg tid, vitamin B5 100 mg tid, vitamin B6 2 mg tid, vitamin C 3000-1000 mg qid, vitamin E 400-1000 IU daily, zinc 50-100 mg daily. The other article recommended these in addition to the usual and customary vitamins that we take: zinc chelate 15 mg daily, copper chelate 1 mg daily, silica 20 mg daily, vitamin C 2000 mg daily, flaxseed oil 15cc daily, vitamin a 5000 IU daily. I have to compare my daily vitamins to these lists. I'e gotten the most constructive help from my hairdresser. She sold me a shaker of brown keratin fibers that stick to the hair and shiny scalp to disguise the thinning hair. The product name is XFusion. Are you still seeing your surgeon or having your bloodwork done? It sounds like that might be of benefit to make sure that you aren't having some measurable deficiencies. Hope some of this helps. I've been searching for the reason behind my loss, but haven't found a definitive answer. Good luck in finding a solution to your hair loss, Sue O.

Loss of hair could be low iron or low protein. Please get a full set of labs. Kathy

Hi Jen, I am 3+ years post op and a few months ago I had a lower body lift. As part of the pre-op for that I had to get full labs. I was found to be extremely anemic, low blood count and low iron. My hair had been falling out and I didn't know why, I thought I wasn't getting enough protein. I started on iron supplements immediately. I am starting to notice regrowth, but its very slow. Just to give you an idea of how low my iron was--it was 4--- my doctor said she had never seen one that low. After a month of iron supplements it went upto 21. I had been really bad about taking my vitamins for the past year also. Now I am much more diligent.

I am almost 5 years out and lose hair everytime I have any kind of anesthesia - even locals for dental work. It is very important that you take your vitamins and calcium - not only for your general health but for healthy hair and nails. My surgeon explained it to us that hair and nails are organs and that they are at the bottom of the food chain, so to speak - in other words, your body is going to take what it needs for other organs. I do know from experience that it takes several months for the lack of protein and vitamins to make the hair loss stop and it takes several months of the proper amounts for it to correct itself. You might try taking a good hair and nail vitamin - they are high in Biotin, one of the B vitamins that helps with hair and nails. Patty