Blue Door

I am female. There is Rogaine specifically for women, but I used the product geared to men because the concentration of active ingredient was higher.

Yesterday I hit the 100 lb. mark, and to Celebrate I want to share my experience with not losing much hair. Let me start by saying that I have no way of knowing if all the things I did to minimize hair loss really are what helped keep it to a minimum, or if I just got lucky. However, I will say that I had a major surgery three years ago following a significant illness, and after that surgery I lost hair by the handful. It got so thin that I felt embarrassed by it. Because of that experience, and the fact that it had just really gotten back to normal when I had my sleeve surgery, I was determined to do whatever I could to minimize Hair loss after VSG. Today I am 8 months out from surgery, and have no noticeable difference in the thickness of my hair.

Here's what I did to try to combat hair loss... First and foremost was getting my Protein in like it was my job. I consume a minimum of 60 grams daily, with some days going up to almost 90 grams. I took my Vitamins religiously as well. I added 10,000 units of Biotin to my Vitamins as well. I used only Paul Mitchell Scalp Care Shampoo for thinning hair https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Thinning-Stimulate-Conditioner-Strenghten/dp/B01DQ1CUJI/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1513363108&sr=8-3&keywords=paul+mitchell+thinning+hair+products It seems expensive, but a bottle this size lasted me 7 months. Each time I shampooed I also used Rogaine foam on my scalp. I did a lot of research on it, and there are some studies that show it can slow or prevent hair loss, so I figured I'd give it a try. The Rogaine is hard on the existing hair. It dries it out quite a bit, so I also used a deep moisturizing conditioner to offset the effects of the Rogaine. My existing hair became more coarse for a while, but I was glad it was sticking around, so I could live with the drier texture!

From about 3 months to 7 months after surgery I did lose a bit more hair than is typical, but it never came out in clumps or filled my brush like had happened with my previous surgery. Today I can see no visible difference in the thickness of my hair, and I am very relieved and happy with the results. Now I lose only a typical amount of hair each day, so I have stopped using the Rogaine. I am continuing with the Biotin and am still using the Paul Mitchell shampoo, and I like the way it makes my hair feel.

I know hair loss is a big concern for lots of us. My experience with doing these things was very good, but again, I have no way to know for sure if my hair loss was minimal because of the things I did or if I just got really lucky. The way I look at it is that I had nothing to lose trying what I did, and I had the approval of my doctor to take the biotin, so it was worth a try. I would encourage you to speak with your doctor before changing anything with your vitamins. I hope this helps some of you with minimizing hair loss as well.

You look AMAZING!!!! You are also really smart to have done it while you are young. Your skin looks great! Congratulations!!!

Congratulations! You look beautiful.

I experienced weakness and lightheadedness for a few weeks after surgery. I had blood work done and found out my potassium was low. A week after starting potassium supplements I felt 100% better. Might be worth getting blood work to check.

Thanks for the kind words. It's nice to share with people who get it!

You look wonderful, and your ski looks amazing. Thanks for sharing this it's a great inspiration!

congratulstions to you!

I have been stalled at 200 for two weeks with fluctuations of up to 1.4 pounds up despite being meticulous about my calories, Protein, carbs, and Water. Every day I would wake up and tell myself "today is the day. You're going to get out of the 200's" only to be sorely disappointed. Then today it finally happened!

Joann455 I just passed my 3 month anniversary of my surgery. Since starting the preop diet I have lost 56 lbs. I still feel quite a bit of restriction and can only take in about 3 ounces of meat before approaching feeling full.

I was the same way right after surgery. I, too was very worried about it. I was afraid that somehow the surgery hadn't worked for me. I learned quickly after resuming solids that it did indeed work. Eating solids is a very different experience. You will definitely feel restriction once you start on dense Proteins. For me having an easy time with liquids also led to having an easier time with solids as well. I can eat anything without feeling sick. I just feel full very quickly. I have been very fortunate to have not experienced any nausea, vomiting, or foaming either. Hopefully it will be the same for you.

My surgery was three months ago, and I experienced extreme fatigue as well along with feeling very light headed when standing for more than a few minutes. I finally got my doctor to do blood work, and found out that my potassium was low. After about a week on a potassium supplement I felt dramatically better. It makes a lot of sense that with a high Protein diet with very little fruit or vegetables we are not taking in the required amounts of potassium our bodies need.

Might be worth getting a blood test just to see. Best wishes to you. Hope you start feeling better quickly.

It started for me during the pre-op liquid diet and lasted for about a month. I'm 7 weeks out from surgery and the breakouts seem to be starting up again.

I have myasthenia graves (MG). My neuro wasn't thrilled with the idea of surgery, but relented because I was having my paraesophageal hiatal hernia repaired at the same time as the VSG, and the hiatal hernia was severe enough to be life threatening if any torsion happened with it. I was very careful about what drugs I was given. I spoke with the anesthesiologist for a long time before the surgery, and he was very excited because he had a new protocol to use for waking people back up that is supposed to be especially helpful for patients with MG. It worked well and I didn't have any bad after effects from the anesthesia. In the hospital the nurse tried to hang an IV of magnesium, but when I told her it was on the list of drugs people with MG should avoid she very graciously said "you know best what works for your body. I won't hang it if you don't want it." I was very vigilant about questioning every oral medication and IV med they brought in, and I have had a pretty smooth recovery MG wise.

MG does make it very difficult to exercise with any regularity. I take advantage of my good days and try to get in some kind of movement even if its minimal. I figure a little is better than none!

I just hit the twenty pound loss mark today, and I am 6 weeks out. It's hard when you see people with huge losses in the first few weeks and it is coming off slowly for you. Hang in there. I stalled at -16 pounds for several days, then in the last three days I've dropped over 3.5 lbs. there just doesn't seem to be any predicting how it will come off. My food, Water, and exercise was very similar the whole time from 2-6 weeks.

I just got back from the doctor's office. She said my symptoms are most likely caused by my low potassium and prescribed supplementation for one month. I'm really hoping this will help.

No issues with dehydration thankfully. I am lucky in that I don't have a problem with drinking liquids. I generally get beteeen 65-80 ounces a day.

Sleeved3-39-17 I hope you can get some answers soon. It is very disconcerting to have those kinds of symptoms.

I have the same thing when I stand for a few minutes. I had blood work done and my potassium is low. Going in to see the doctor tomorrow to see what we can do about it. I've had all the BP checks, and it's not orthostatic hypotension. Hoping potassium supplementation will help.

You look amazing, and the happiness you radiate makes you even more beautiful. Your photos are an inspiration!

You look amazing!!! Congratulations, and thanks for sharing this. It is really inspiring!

Would love to see your photos, but they aren't showing up.

You look amazing! Congratulations, and I hope you can savor every minute of slipping on a new size. Seeing your photos is really inspiring. I am so anxious to get out of plus sizes. For years I have walked past the regular sizes and looked wistfully at the beautiful clothes that I have longed to wear. I have promised myself I'm not buying anything new until I can fit in regular sizes. Hoping that day comes soon!

On 5/3/2017 at 10:00 AM, samiam67 said:

I haven't told anyone about my VSG surgery. I told my work that I would be out for 2 weeks for a hiatal hernia. I had been doing my Protein Shakes prior and had lost some weight, so when people asked what I was doing I told them Atkins (everyone knows Atkins), so when I came back to work 25 lbs lighter after 2 weeks off, they just think it's from surgery and my Atkins. Which is not a lie at all, I did have hernia repair. I just don't tell them about the other surgery I had. So I just tell people I'm on Atkins and walking a lot. They just say that is awesome keep up the great work!

This is my experience as well. I also had been eating healthier prior to the surgery, and people were aware that I had been making changes in my eating habits, so no one has questioned me at all so far. I did skip a luncheon at a restsurant when I was first back because I thought it would be too difficult to explain my lack of digging in to the huge meal. I just scheduled an appointment at the same time and let people know I wasn't available at that time.

I use the My Net Diary app. It has a bsasic version that's free, but to get it to track Protein and carbs you need to upgrade to the premium edition for 8.99 a month. It's worth it to me to pay for that. I find my net diary much more intuitive to use, and I can find and enter foods much more quickly than when I tried my fitness pal. It has a feature that makes it really easy to upload a photo of the nutrition info from a packaged food, and then it adds the protein and carbs along with sodium, Fiber, etc.

My surgery was 3/28. I started at 257, was down to 238 from the pre op diet, and am at 222 today. I can't seem to get in enough Protein without drinking one shake a day. The rest of eating is going pretty well. There really hasn't been anything that has disagreed with me, I just can't get in enough volume to meet the protein requirements without the shake.

I haven't had any issues getting liquids in, and I'm trying to get more than the 64 oz. my doctor recommends because I keep reading people's posts talking about how much it helps to move the scale when you take in more Water. I've been stuck at 222 for a few days now, and I'd really like to see it go down!

Thanks so much. That's reassuring.

How many carbs do you limit to each day? When I met with my NUT last week I forgot to ask about what a good number of carbs is each day. I've been keeping it under 25 each day, with many days less than that, but I'm wondering if that's too high. I'm 4 weeks out and doing minimum of 60 grams of protien. NUT says up to 800 calories a day. Many days it's hard to meet that unless I do a Protein Shake.