vagabond

Hi, I am 50, had my lap band surgery on April 15, 2009, and have lost 40 lbs. All of a sudden I am starting to lose a lot of hair. I normally don't lose any hair but now I am leaving hair every where. Has anyone else experienced this after the lap band surgery? I have an appointment this week for blood work and I am hoping that I will find out what the problem is. If anyone can share their experience with hair loss after surgery I would appreciate it. Vagabond:frown:

When I first had the surgery I also had real low energy. I found out that my low energy was caused by low blood pressure. I had to be taken off some of my medications much sooner than the Dr. anticipated. This just goes to show you that we are not all the same and what is good for one may not be good for all which may be your case. It still sounds like you are not eating much. I was fortunate to have a Dr. who did not go by the same book for each patient. He had a guideline but trusted his patients to move through the stages quicker if the patient felt ready. Good luck and hope you feel better soon. I am sure you will feel better when you make the adjustments in your food intake and medications as necessary.

Thanks for the tip, I started weight training 6 weeks after my surgery and also believe in this theory. I do 3 days of intensive weight training and 5-6 days of cardio which I think is a good balance. Looks like I might want to reduce the cardio and increase the weight training.

I have short hair and have experienced hair loss also. I do color my hair every three weeks with no problem. I asked my hairdresser and she assured me it would be OK. The first time I colored it I was really nervous that I would lose more hair, but I did not notice any difference in the amount of hair I was losing. In fact, the first week after the color my hair looks much fuller and thicker because the hair shaft swells from the color. Good luck.

My hair also started thinning at about 3 months post op. Like the other post say, Biotin, maybe some blood work to get the latest on your Iron, B, Protein and other important nutrient levels to reassure you that it is not a deficiency. I am noticing now that I am starting to get some spikes which I am hoping is the re-growth. I am going with the majority that say it will grow back in 3-6 months after you start to lose it. Good luck.

I fly 4 hours each Sunday and Thursday and have had no problems. I wasn't aware that there might be an issue. My Dr. knows I fly each week and he never mentioned that it might cause problems so I am a little surprised that there are people that do have issues.

I hope you start to feel better soon. I had issues in the first 3 weeks after surgery. I went to my PCP and found out that I needed to get off my blood pressure medicine much sooner than they expected. Because my BP was too low I had no energy, all I wanted to do was sleeeeeep, nap, and rest. You may want to check with your primary care physician to see if you might be having similar issues. Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

I also had the pain in my shoulder, it hurt so bad I didn't even notice the incisions or any of the other things that I would have thought would hurt. If the pain continues beyond 3 weeks you may want to see your PCP if you still have your galbladder. Surgery can sometimes trigger this to be an issue and the pain for galbaldder issues also shows up as shoulder blade pain. Good luck, it will get better.

I also am losing hair and have been for the past two months. My hair loss started right at three months after surgery. I have talked to my PCP. He said that the stress of surgery and rapid weight loss is most likely the cause since I lost 20 pounds in the first three weeks. I had test and everything was normal; thyroid, B-12, Iron, etc. There are other posts out here and they all say the same thing, after three months your hair will start to grow back and it will be a thick as it was before unless there really is a deficency so you might want to have the blood work just to make sure all is good. I am taking Biotin and using Nioxin shampoo. It seems to have slowed down the hair loss a little and I am at the two month point since the loss has started. I wish you luck, but I am confident that my hair, and yours too, will start to come back in.

At 250 I did not need an extender but I may carry my weight differently than you do. I think you will be OK though, it will probably be tight, but I think you will be good.

I got banded on 4/15 and have had three fills. With the last fill I seem to have more sticking with certain foods but I can still eat as much as I want to. I plan to have my next fill in October and I am hoping that it will really make a difference. I have the Realize band and I think in general that you can eat more types and quantity of food anyways.

I have also heard that it is your starting weight so I don't think you should have any problems. You might want to gather any information you can that proves you have lost before but re-gained just in case they ask.

I fly every week and have not had any problems. I don't feel any tightness or discomfort at all. I started flying 3 weeks after my surgery and fly each week. My Dr. is conservative on my fills so that I don't have issues because he knows I am out of town for work every week.

Every week between Detroit and Phoenix. That is 8 hours on a plane each week.

I am about 4 months out and I am also losing my hair. I have been for about a month. I had blood work done and it is not due to Iron, Protein, B12, or thyroids. There are other posts out here that recommned Biotin Vitamin supplements and Nioxin shampoo. Others mentioned that low fat in the diet may be an issue. All the posts say that it will grow back though. Good luck, I know how you feel to lose your hair, it is not a good feeling.

Go to the local mall. Most malls have walking programs in the morning, otherwise you can use the side to side movement getting aroung the crowds to build your hips and core during mall hours.

My port site was irritating for the first three months. Now I don't even notice it at all. It is probably good to ask the DR. but my guess is that the irritation or minor pain will go away in time.

I did follow up with blood work, I got the resutls back and all is normal. I was hoping for low Iron or something that is a little more visual. The Doc says it is due to the surgerey and the initial rapid weight loss. I have been taking the Biotin for about ten days now and have not noticed a difference. At this point all I can do is be patient and believe those before me that say it will come back. Thanks from the positive encouragement from all that have posted. I wish all well with this issue. I don't normally get bent out of shape over things, but this hair loss deal has really gotten my attention to the point where I was obsessed:-) I am a little more relaxed now with all the posts and encouragement that it will grow back.

I visited my PCP the first time and then 3 times following. On my first visit he set me up with visits with the nutritionist for three visits. The nutritionist and the PCP both noted that I was following a diet and exercise plan. After the 4th PCP visit my Dr. sent the inforamtion to the surgeon who then forwarded it to Aetna. I was approved in 3 days. The big question for me was what if I didn't lose any weight (I did not lose any weight) if I would still get approved, I did. I had high blood pressure, diabetes and BMI of 42 so I obviously needed the surgery. Good luck, it was not as hard to get approved as I though it would be!

I am at 3.5 months post op and started losing my hair about 3 weeks ago. I have heard several possible reasons such as Protein, Vitamin B, Iron, thyroid, and stress. I am hoping that one of these is my issue and it will grow back. I plan to go for blood work this week to make sure all functions are normal. Thanks for the insight into Biotin. I think I will get some today. Vagabond

I travel every week and I am normally 2-4 hours from home by plane. I asked my Dr. to give me a name of a Dr. in the area where I travel to in case I have any problems. Also, my Dr. is cautious about my fills since he knows I travel every week for work.

Thanks for responding, I have heard all kinds of possible reasons like Iron, Protein, or hormone imbalances. I hope to find out before I am bald. Did your hair grow back?

My first fill is May 18, surgery was April 15. Looking forward to the first fill.

Same for me, I called Aetna 2 days after the information was sent in. They told me over the phone that I had been approved. I actually knew before the Dr.

I decided to call Aetna today! I am so happy I did, they approved me on Wednesday, two days ago. That means it took three days to approve me!! Now all I need to do is call the surgeon office and set the date. I am so excited!