Erin18

I haven't lightened my hair since August due to the fact that I ended up damaging it and I don't want to use lightened anymore until my hair is healthy again. I only use a semi permanent color which won't damage because there's no developer in it.
I dont go to the salon. I have my license so I do my own hair. I know our hair is made up of Protein (keratin).
I know my problem is not getting that protein in. Why do I struggle with it so much?
The collagen I take has Biotin in it. I just wanted to know if there was something along with protein that would help.

I take my vitamins.every day. Nothing came up in blood work saying I was lacking anything. I had blood work done in february and last month. Both came back good.
I did cut off a good amount of my hair back in April I think it was. It was about 2 and a half to 3 inches.
I also keep my hair up in a bun cause I don't like the way it looks down lol. I like it out of my face too tho

I haven't lightened my hair since August due to the fact that I ended up damaging it and I don't want to use lightened anymore until my hair is healthy again. I only use a semi permanent color which won't damage because there's no developer in it.
I dont go to the salon. I have my license so I do my own hair. I know our hair is made up of Protein (keratin).
I know my problem is not getting that protein in. Why do I struggle with it so much?
The collagen I take has Biotin in it. I just wanted to know if there was something along with protein that would help.

I take my vitamins.every day. Nothing came up in blood work saying I was lacking anything. I had blood work done in february and last month. Both came back good.
I did cut off a good amount of my hair back in April I think it was. It was about 2 and a half to 3 inches.
I also keep my hair up in a bun cause I don't like the way it looks down lol. I like it out of my face too tho

I had my surgery about 10 months ago and started losing my hair 6 months post-op. My hair was thick and curly and now its thin and the curl is not like it used to be. I started taking Biotin, I'm using the OGX biotin and collagen Shampoo and conditioner and now my husband got me the Spoiled Child biotin hair boost spray. I have baby hairs that have definitely grown in the last month, so maybe something is helping! I couldn't believe the amount of hair that came out in the beginning!! Thank god that only lasted about a month because I was scared I was going to have bald patches! For now I wear my hair up in a bun because I hate the way it looks when it is down.

I've heard / read that the dead parts died during the trauma of surgery, and it was only a matter of time for them to fall out. All we can really do is take care of the new growth --- aka protein-protein-protein, fluids, taking the post-op supplements & Vitamins, being gentle on your hair, etc. My hairdresser suggested moisturizing shampoo/conditioner, said to stay away from most volumizing treatments as most of them work by drying out your hair which could make it more brittle.
(She also said that most hairstyling products -- gels, hair sprays, mousse -- are going to do the same thing and if I could just bear with it while my hair is looking thin and limp, it'll be much healthier for the new growth to avoid those products until my body has re-regulated itself. That said, I'm early into my Hair loss / thinning and it sounds like timing-wise you're coming out of it -- so maybe not a problem for you.)

I can suggest Biotin, and maybe try Nutrafol, but honestly, the best thing is Protein, PROTEIN, PROTEIN. Your hair needs it to grow but can't produce it. Also, try doing what I did. I know for some people this is an emotional thing, but honestly, get your hair cut. My hair was long, brittle, split ends galore, dry. It was down to by breasts. I got it cut to where it just touches the tops of my shoulders and not only did my natural waves come back, but my hair looks fuller, healthier, and no more split ends. Here's a before and after, for reference:

Get your Protein up to your recommended intake. That should always be your focus. Then ensure you reach those fluid goals.
Are you having regular blood work taken? Is that indicating you are lacking in anything?
Actually there aren’t any rigorous scientific research into the benefits of collagen on Hair growth or strength. The studies that exist are funded by companies that produce collagen supplements. Best to get all your protein in so you’re getting all the complete amino acids your body needs not the few in collagen. hair is made of keratin, not collagen, and you need the complete range of amino acids (protein) for your body to produce the necessary keratin.
The different lengths of your new growth hair could just be from the different times it starts coming in (it doesn’t all grow in at the same time). But maybe give the bleach a rest for a while until things settle.
Have a chat with your doctor &/or maybe a dermatologist to check your scalp & hair health. Has your hairdresser said anything?

Hey all, does anyone have any tips on the regrowth? I had my surgery 16 months again and it feels like it's taking forever to be healthy again and to grow. It looks brittle and thin with some breakage. I know I need to up my Protein and Water, has anyone taken anything to help it? I'm taking collagen, but I don't think it's helping anymore. I have different lengths closest to my hairline. Part of it I believe is from the surgery and the other part I know it's from Lightening my fringe in August.

Now the hormonal acne. Wow, that started in January. I've never had this bad of acne before and it's pretty painful. It'll come, stay like a week one or two will go away and come back and repeat the process. Annoying. I know the hormones change after surgery, but I wasn't expecting hormonal acne 😄

Hey all, does anyone have any tips on the regrowth? I had my surgery 16 months again and it feels like it's taking forever to be healthy again and to grow. It looks brittle and thin with some breakage. I know I need to up my Protein and Water, has anyone taken anything to help it? I'm taking collagen, but I don't think it's helping anymore. I have different lengths closest to my hairline. Part of it I believe is from the surgery and the other part I know it's from Lightening my fringe in August.

Now the hormonal acne. Wow, that started in January. I've never had this bad of acne before and it's pretty painful. It'll come, stay like a week one or two will go away and come back and repeat the process. Annoying. I know the hormones change after surgery, but I wasn't expecting hormonal acne 😄

Hey all, does anyone have any tips on the regrowth? I had my surgery 16 months again and it feels like it's taking forever to be healthy again and to grow. It looks brittle and thin with some breakage. I know I need to up my Protein and Water, has anyone taken anything to help it? I'm taking collagen, but I don't think it's helping anymore. I have different lengths closest to my hairline. Part of it I believe is from the surgery and the other part I know it's from Lightening my fringe in August.

Now the hormonal acne. Wow, that started in January. I've never had this bad of acne before and it's pretty painful. It'll come, stay like a week one or two will go away and come back and repeat the process. Annoying. I know the hormones change after surgery, but I wasn't expecting hormonal acne 😄

Hey all, does anyone have any tips on the regrowth? I had my surgery 16 months again and it feels like it's taking forever to be healthy again and to grow. It looks brittle and thin with some breakage. I know I need to up my Protein and Water, has anyone taken anything to help it? I'm taking collagen, but I don't think it's helping anymore. I have different lengths closest to my hairline. Part of it I believe is from the surgery and the other part I know it's from Lightening my fringe in August.

Now the hormonal acne. Wow, that started in January. I've never had this bad of acne before and it's pretty painful. It'll come, stay like a week one or two will go away and come back and repeat the process. Annoying. I know the hormones change after surgery, but I wasn't expecting hormonal acne 😄

I think mine is from being bored. It's hard when you don't have a car currently or else I'd go to the gym or somewhere to walk (my road is a busy one and have no sidewalks). I give into the noise most of the time and I feel really bad about it. I know im not really hungry, I know I don't need it, I just want it to want it. I need to stop or ill be back where I started and I fear that extremely! I'm going to try to listen more closely and ask myself those questions..."am I actually hungry?" "Am I bored?" "Why do you need it?"

Give myself the 30 minutes to go do something.
Allow myself to only have 3 meals a day and at least 2 Snacks

I think mine is from being bored. It's hard when you don't have a car currently or else I'd go to the gym or somewhere to walk (my road is a busy one and have no sidewalks). I give into the noise most of the time and I feel really bad about it. I know im not really hungry, I know I don't need it, I just want it to want it. I need to stop or ill be back where I started and I fear that extremely! I'm going to try to listen more closely and ask myself those questions..."am I actually hungry?" "Am I bored?" "Why do you need it?"

Give myself the 30 minutes to go do something.
Allow myself to only have 3 meals a day and at least 2 Snacks

Simply put head hunger (& food noise) is not real hunger. It just often is more powerful & what we listen to.
They often have an emotional cause - sad, angry, anxious, stressed, frustrated, etc. & you use food to comfort or sooth yourself. They can have a hormonal cause like craving carbs in the lead up to your period. They can get louder when you’re bored or because of habit & what you’re doing like watching tv. After surgery they can be particularly strong. You can be on a emotional roller coaster after surgery, your hormones can be all over the place, everything is strange & you can worry about doing the right thing or making a mistake - information overload, you may have some pain or discomfort for a little while after, and so on.
Generally, if you’re craving a specific food, flavour or texture it’s head hunger. Your tummy rumbling (hunger pains/pangs) aren’t usually a sign of real hunger either - just your digestive system working.
Real hunger feels different. Because we tended to listen to the food noise & head hunger cues we forget what real hunger feels like. I get restless like something is wrong. Don’t crave anything. And there is always a logical & legitimate reason to be hungry - I haven’t eaten (missed a meal) or didn’t eat much of my previous meal or it’s around or after my usual meal time.
Distraction is the easiest & most commonly used technique to help. Read, check social media & this forum, phone a family me, ring friend, harder, craft, go for a walk, undertake a household task (clean out a cupboard or drawer), sip a warm drink. Delay satisfying the head hunger or food voice - often it will lessen in intensity & can pass after 30+/- minutes. I used to ask myself do I need this food or need the next bite or do I just want it. If I want it why? Actually I still do this a lot. Makes you really think about what’s driving you to eat, why the food voice or head hunger is shouting & it works towards understanding your relationship with food,
Have a chat with your therapist too. If you didn’t meet with one as part of your pre surgery process, it may be helpful to ask for a referral to help you work your way through this. Many find them extremely helpful.

I remember the first time I realized I have food noise. I was given Saxenda and several weeks into it as I increased the dose, I noticed that the mental pressure to eat was gone... It was like that voice that often brought up food throughout the day was suddenly silenced. I never even realized it was there before, it was such a familiar thing in my mental landscape it didn't occur to me that not everyone has that! GLP-1 medications in general are known for this side effect. Meds for ADHD like Vyvanse and anti-depressants like Wellbutrin are also known to help with this.
When I went off my Ozempic before surgery, the voice came back with a vengeance!! I didn't have much of a appetite pre-op, but man did it come back post-op... For the first month I was sooo hungry. And the voice was SO loud. Thankfully I have a lot of techniques to manage inner voices, due to a decade of somatic based trauma therapy. I think without that, the process would have been so much harder for me.
One thing that helps me the most is distinguishing that part as a PART of me, not ALL of me. So instead of "I'm hungry!" it is "I'm noticing a part of me feels hungry." This may seem like a weird distinction, but research has shown when we do this with emotions "A part of me is angry." vs "I'm angry!") it helps us create a little space between us and the feeling and helps us remember that there are other parts of us present and not all of them are caught up in the emotion of the moment. Remembering there are parts of ourselves that are like Switzerland helps us navigate internally when voices get loud. So I apply this to head hunger too. I identify the part of me that is hungry. I ask it what it needs. I validate its experience. And then I offer to just sit with it for a while and be present with the feeling of hunger. Then I let it know when we are next going to eat and orient that part to thinking of what we might want to eat at the coming meal.
I'm sure this approach won't work for everyone, it is just what I tend to do. I notice when I hear the parts of me that feel things and give them some presence, they often start to soften, or have something important to tell me about what we are experiencing in that moment. For instance, I have severe ADHD. I get easily distracted and forget to eat. Post op it has been a struggle. That voice is there to remind me to tend my body. It may be louder than most people have it, but it still serves a purpose and when I can give it a job it tends to fight with me less. I eat every 3 hours. Without exception. If I go past 3 hours the voices get really loud and I feel sick, probably my blood sugar dropping... So I eat every 3 hours. But I eat within a 30 minute window, then I'm done. I don't snack in between. If my body tells me we need more food before the 3 hour mark I stop to reflect why this might be. If it is because I am bored, I find something to redirect the energy to and wait. If it is due to a workout or being sick and burning through energy faster. I may add in an earlier meal.
Seeing my body as something to partner with, as something I have a relationship with that I want to be a GOOD relationship, seems to help me remember to treat my inner voices with kindness and compassion instead of judgment and irritation. If someone you were closely connected to constantly ignored you or snapped at you, over time you'd either get louder or go away. That is what I did to my body. So now when I hear the voice it is a reminder that this is something I'm working to relate to in a healthier way, so I choose a reaction to it like I'd choose a reaction to a friend reminding me to eat or drink Water. Sorry for the long ramble, it just happens to be something I've been reflecting deeply on over the past 6 months!!
ETA: I do take Wellbutrin for depression. I have never noticed it affecting that internal voice, but some notice an impact. If you are struggling deeply with this voice, you might consider a medication that can support you in this. I have a good friend who has ADHD and noticed when she started Vyvanse it significantly helped with the food noise and binging behavior. It isn't a good solution for everyone, but it is a good solution for some. ❤️

Does that mean eating when you're not really hungry? I do it all the time. I could use some advice too!

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Hey people!
4 months and 3 days post RNY.
What meal and snack ideas can you give me that are high in Protein? I'm still not hitting my goals and currently thinking about drinking protein, turns my stomach. This happened in the beginning aftrr surgery as well. Any good recipes? I know there are recipes on here somewhere, but what are your top high protein foods? I need to start planning my foods ahead again.

How long did everyone's Hair loss last? When I had lapband in 2009, my hair loss wasn't as bad as it is this time. My hair gets SO tangled! Probably because this time my hair is lightened and colored with fashion colors. But, when did the hair loss start to ease up for you?
I feel like im overeating. I feel like I could have lost a lot more weight by now. If it's not overeating then it's high calorie foods. For example, I can eat almost a who bagel with a serving of cream cheese and a 1/2 to a cup of cherries for Breakfast. A lot of the times I skip lunch because I eat whatever I have at breakfast at that time. Then if I have a snack yes I'll eat a junk food item like a serving of chips or a cheesestick and then at dinner I'd have the 3 ounce of chicken, with 1/2 cup veggies and spoonful (the ones you cook with) of rice. Of course I'd have regular BBQ Sauce or chic fil a sauce (a serving) and a serving of butter on my rice. Then awhile later before I get in the shower I'll have one or two of the following; a popsicle, another serving of chips, popcorn, yogurt, ice cream sandwich (yep I shouldn't be eating this. No, it hasn't made me sick and no I don't have it often), a cheesestick, etc. Or sometimes I'd eat some Cereal if I know it doesn't make me feel sick. When I write it out, it doesn't look like I'm overeating, but when I track it, it comes out to be around 1200 calories. I shouldn't stress, but I need to make better choices and maybe make schedule for Water intake and food intake.
PLEASE, no rude/mean replies. Please be helpful. I want to succeed, and right now I feel like I'm not gonna succeed eventhough I'm not gaining, I'm still slowly losing.
Thanks for your time!

So unrelated but I love your make up!!

Hey everyone,
How are you doing one year post op?!
What are your current stats. Do you have before and now photos? How much did you lose? How is your eating, Fluid intake and Protein intake going?

I'm doing great.
I lost 109 pounds. I'll attach my photo of when I decided to start this journey.
My eating isn't the best. Neither is my fluid and protein intake. It's still a learning process and hopefully I'll eventually get there. I still want to lose another 30 to 50 pounds and then maintain.

Hey everyone,
How are you doing one year post op?!
What are your current stats. Do you have before and now photos? How much did you lose? How is your eating, Fluid intake and Protein intake going?

I'm doing great.
I lost 109 pounds. I'll attach my photo of when I decided to start this journey.
My eating isn't the best. Neither is my fluid and protein intake. It's still a learning process and hopefully I'll eventually get there. I still want to lose another 30 to 50 pounds and then maintain.

I've heard good things about Spring Valley collagen and Biotin, but results can vary from person to person. I totally get your Quest for the perfect collagen supplement. So, two weeks might be a bit early to see major changes, so don't lose hope just yet! Sometimes these things take a bit of time to work their magic. Patience is key.And you know what's really cool? Making sure your supplements are fresh and at their best. You can use the Batch Code checker at https://batchdecoder.com to double-check the quality of your products. It's a handy tool to have in your beauty arsenal.

I really like Creamer in my oatmeal, so I feel like vanilla protein powder would work! I'd mix half a scoop of powder with 1/4 cup of cold Water, then stir it into the oatmeal once it has been cooked. You don't want to heat protein powder very much or it'll denature the protein and it'll clump and be gross. But stirred in after the oatmeal cooks should be fine...

Hey all,
Yes I have a thyroid problem and the doctors already know. I've been on thyroid medication since 2016. The team did blood work and said it was a little high but not enough to change my dosage. She saw my hair and she recommended taking a collagen supplement. I like the taste of the Spring Valley collagen + Biotin sugar free liquid supplement (sorry I didn't mention it was a liquid or that it was together). I'm also 7 months post op. The hair shedding has slowed down a lot at this point.
I really do feel a difference in my hair. It feels softer. I've always had fine hair. It's just since I had surgery, it looks super thin on the top of my head on the left side of my part and only really can be seen if I put my hair up in a bun or pony. Makes me feel a little self conscious. But I do know it'll go back to normal eventually or at least I hope lol.
I want to start using the vital Proteins collagen powder. And get a new Protein Powder. Have one of each per day. I definitely lack Protein and I know that's a huge factor. For the past few months it's been difficult deciding on what to eat with protein that isn't eggs. I have found a pancake mix with 15g of protein in it and it's actually the best protein pancake mix I've found, but I don't want pancakes every day. I get sick of things quick now since I've had the surgery.

I see you consume most of your calories from processed and ultra processed foods. They tend to flow straight through us and don’t help with feeling full. I am also very tempted when my spouse brings junk food into our home, and sometimes I give in but I always try to eat only non processed foods. chicken nuggets ultra processed, ramen ultra processed, Cookies ultra processed, soda ultra processed and empty calories. It was really hard to start but it’s been over a year now and has become second nature now. Best of luck, don’t feel guilty about slipping once in awhile we all do every once and awhile, we just don’t do it every day.