Question:
How many are really losing significant amounts of hair?

What did you do if you have very long hair? Does taking any kind of extra vitamins help, if so which ones?    — [Deactivated Member] (posted on January 7, 2001)

January 7, 2001
I am 9 months post op and during the period of 3-6 months I was losing what I though was a good amount of hair each day. My hair stylist said that you lose between 75 - 100 hairs normally every day anyway. I have short fine blonde hair and my real problem was my hair shaft were getting very thin. She recommended nioxin hair shampoo, it seemed to help some, but at the same time I started taking zinc and beta carotene that my doctor recommended. It all seem to help at about 5 1/2 to 6 months which is when most say the falling hair stops, mine did. My stylist cut my hair real short the other day and she said that I had a lot of new growth and that my hair was beginning to thicken up some. I only wished that I had started the Zinc and beta carotene prior to surgery to help my hair get propared for the trauma it was fixing to go through. Good luck
   — ann A.

January 7, 2001
I am just short of nine months post op, too. I had very thick, albeit fine hair to the middle of my back when I had surgery. I figure I have now lost about half of my hair. I guess I was lucky it was very thick to start with, or maybe that just means I had more to lose! I had about 6 to 8 inches cut off a few months ago to cut down on the weight of the hair. I think that helped some. My hair is still several inches longer than my shoulders, that was as short as I was willing to go! Yes, it has been hard losing so much hair. I have always been proud of my hair. For years I felt that was really my only good physical characteristic. Still, people don't point at me & say "look at the lady with no hair!" I know it's most noticeable to me, most others don't even notice. And, it IS growing back, just like everyone said it would. I now have a little "mini-mohawk" of 2 to 3 inch long hairs growing back in. It looks pretty funny right now, but I'm sure glad to see it coming back. I don't want to minimize the importance of so much hair loss, but, on the other hand, don't want to make it seem like too BIG of a deal. It has been tough to deal with, but I wouldn't change it for all the hair in the world. For the hair I have lost, I have gained so much...health, flexibility, lack of pain, vitality, I could go on & on & on! It has been worth it 100 fold. I am almost to 150# lost & I feel fantastic! I am so much healthier, more confident, able to do so much more than I could 9 months ago. AND, my hair is coming back, too. So, believe me, temporary hair loss is a price I am more than willing to pay. I know some say taking certain vitamins helps the loss & I don't really know about that. I have taken my vitamins regularly & have added special ones, like some hair & nails vitamins, the biotin & Bs, & zinc. I didn't really see any difference, but maybe I didn't start early enough. I know my labs showed no deficiencies in those areas. Maybe the extra vitamins help or maybe it's just individual, like whether you will dump after surgery or not (I do not). Seems to me as long as your Dr approves, it can't hurt to take the extra vitamins & hope for the best. I just wanted to say that if the worst happens & you do lose a lot of hair, #1, it DOES come back, #2, they say no one loses it ALL, & #3, it really is worth it 100%.
   — Kathy W.

January 7, 2001
I'm a little over a year out and never lost any hair, other than what was shaved for surgery, but even that grew back. Some people recommend get enough protein, or certain vites. Just make sure sure you get enough fats in your post-op diet. They're not a dirty word and are necessary for normal cell functioning.
   — blank first name B.