Question:
5 Months Post Op- How long will I continue to lose hair?

I'm almost 5 months post op. My hair loss started about 4 weeks ago. What is the typical span of time that people loose their hair after surgery? How many weeks or months? I've always had thick hair, and it was the one thing I could count on to look good. Thank you!    — Stacy L. (posted on March 6, 2003)

March 6, 2003
I lost hair from about month 4 post-op to month 7. I'm 10 months post-op now and I can see it growing back again nicely. I take 800mg. of Biotin every day, and have since about month 3 post-op. Don't worry, even if falls out, it DOES grow back. Also the texture of the new hair is so lustrous, too. A good thing! I guess my body likes that I'm feeding it well now. Hugs, Joy
   — [Deactivated Member]

March 6, 2003
My hair also started to fall out around 4 mos. I am now 9 mos. out and it's just now starting to really slow down. I too started with thick hair so I was lucky but it did thin out quite a bit (I'm probibly the only one who really notices) But alas, it is growing in, I did resort to cutting it shorter and layering it (went blond too....he..he..he) It is growing back in, I have new growth all over. I've never been real good about getting all my Vits. and protien and I do blame this on my prolonged hair loss! So get your Protien in daily and the hair loss can't last forever! GOOD LUCK!!
   — Tambi B.

March 6, 2003
I was a slow weight loser, and I didn't start to also lose hair until almost 10 months out when I hit the -100 pounds mark. I'm now in my third month of hair loss, and it doesn't look like it's ending any time soon. I also started with really thick curly hair. It's now substantially thinner, but no one notices other than me.
   — Kathy J.

March 6, 2003
My hair started falling out at exactly 3 months post-op. The hair loss peaked at 4.5 months, and started slowing down soon after that. By 6 months post-op, it had all but stopped, and I could see new growth coming in at the crown. I'm 8.5 months out now, and it's growing back in everywhere now (it's kind of nice... the little sprouts aren't noticeable, but they give me a lot of volume on top). I started out with very thick hair too, and that helped a lot. Even though my hair stylist and I estimate that I lost over 50% of my hair, most people said they couldn't tell.
   — Tally

March 6, 2003
I'm 10 months post-op and my hair started to fall out a 2 1/2 months and stoped at 7 months. It's thinner but no one notices other than me. It,s growing back now.
   — charanewme

March 6, 2003
I'm just like you, have very thick hair. Now I have normal hair! I started losing at 6 months, and I'm now 9 months, and I still get some hair faling out, a little more than normal, but not the clumps I was getting. I say the worst of it lasted about 2 months. But now I have short baby hairs all over my head, so it started to regrow immediately, which I am happy about! So your hair will probably stop falling out soon and then regrow. But thankgod for thick hair- I was lucky!
   — Lezlie Y.

March 6, 2003
I thought I was home-free when I hadn't lost any hair by 6 months, but all of a sudden - it started falling out and now I'm exactly 1-year post op and STILL losing hair at a pretty significant rate. I've done all the things recommended - up'd my protein, took biotin, zinc, used hair thickening shampoos, etc. and nothing has helped. I just hope it ends soon. It's been very hard to deal with, although I still wouldn't trade surgery results for a full head of hair!
   — Mary W.

March 6, 2003
Stacy, I started losing hair at 3.5 months too. I lost steadily until about 6 months and then it stopped. I am now 7 months post op and most of what I lost is growning back in nicely now. As I couldn't afford to buy any extra supplements or viatmins I didn't take anything different from my normal routine of vitamins, calcium, and protein. Nor did I use any special shampoos etc. Hope this helps!
   — Tami D.