Question:
Recently had emergency surgery for marginal ulcer- hair now coming out in clumps!

2 weeks ago it was found that I had a hole in my stomach where there was a marginal ulcer. it came on suddenly, and I needed emergency surgery. Before this, i had been losing my hair for 2 months, I guess not enough protein or the usual post-op hairloss. I have a huge thick head of hair, so it wasn't that bad. Since my surgery, however, my hair is coming out in clumps. It's not even just caring about my appearance, considering i'll be recovering from this surgery for a while. But I am very worried, i have now lost about 1/2 of my hair, which is alot for a person with thick long hair. Has this happened to anyone, or do you have any ideas? I was getting about 60-65 grams of protein a day, which isn't that great, my surgeon wanted me to get atleast 70. But i didn't think that was low enough to make hair fallout. I feel like it's not going to come back. I'm in phenomenol pain still, internally and from the incisions, so it's hard to get alot of protein. Now i'm lucky if i make it to 50grams. Any ideas or comments would be appreciated! Thanks    — Lezlie Y. (posted on January 2, 2003)

January 2, 2003
wow, a double whammy has to be hard on the hair. Just keep upwith the vitamins. Add some zinc to the vitamins, and it will all come back in in it's own good time. Unfortunatly, there is no majic pill for this. It is just part of some of our journey's.
   — Vicki L.

January 2, 2003
When I was on a protein-sparing fast (like optifast), my hair started falling out in clumps several months into it. My Dr. suggested I take Fish Oil since my diet was very deficient in fat. It seemed to have helped with my hair and my skin. I did a pretty severe diet for the 4 months prior to WLS and my hair started falling out around 2 months post-op. Now I can no longer take fish oil capsules, BUT I found something called coromega through vitalady.com. I've started taking it for the last couple of weeks and it's helped my dry skin. My hair is falling out a little, but not in huge clumps. It might be worth a try...
   — JoAnn B.

January 2, 2003
It can be very frustrating. Have you considered shakes to boost the protein? From what I've seen here, people sometimes consider cutting their hair so they have a "perky" short haircut - my hair was above shoulder length to begin with but I modified it when I lost some hair. It's easier to manage and I'm less conscious about the loss.
   — Marti R.

January 2, 2003
My hair has been falling out for the last four months, i had my surgery done 7-31-2002. How did they find you had a hole in your stomach? Should I be worried?
   — Andrea M.

August 19, 2004
I take noni juice that has helped me. Its an herbal medicine that you can get at a health store. Best to get 100% noni juice. It also lowers colestrol, highblood pressure and etc. If you want to read more on it go to www.nonijuice4u2000.com Thanks, Loretta
   — Loretta D.