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This was my biggest fear as well. I did lose quite a bit from month 3-7. I was nervous about it. I felt like it was a ton but It stopped and I look completely normal. Don't worry, I have had so much regrowth as well. Nobody noticed the hair loss except me.....it will be so worth it!!! TRUST ME

Hi! Do not worry about the sleep study. As a previous poster said, the worst part is the goop..and getting it out of your hair the next day. It will probably not be the best night of sleep you will ever get, but you will survive. You mentioned that it seems that everyone that gets tested for sleep apnea is diagnosed. I know that it seems that way, but it is not the case. Sleep apnea tends to be weight related (but not always), so you will see alot of overweight people who are diagnosed. Good news is that with weight loss, people can decrease the severity of their apnea or even get rid of it all together. Hope this helps!

Vicki, Hi, and thanks for that long letter. Obviously I can't write short letters either so we are even. I appreciate all the information and absolutely amazed and excited about your success. Like I was telling you that doctor was a bummer. I was originally signed up for Gastro Bypass in 2006, had 30 lbs to lose and was to go home and work on that in order to get a surgery date. We (hubby) and I were just not comfortable with the surgery, I had told him before back when I heard Ann Wilson of Heart got the lap band done like in 2003 or 2004 that is what I wanted but Kaiser didn't offer it nor did they when I signed up this time. I went home and struggled losing (like I always do) then I got pregnant. I was ok for 3 months then had a miscarrage, had a lot of stress in my life at that time. I instantly losed 25 lbs and kept it off, I'm really good at maintaining. They called me asking if I was still interested as 6 months had passed, I said yes but I really wasn't. Then I went to my new personal doctor a few months ago, still trying to get healthy from the miscarrage, caused irregular bleeding, hair loss. She ordered blood work on me and said I need to consider losing weight. I sent her an email when I got home asking if Kaiser does lap bands and she said yes and sent my request back into Fremont. That is where I am now. My thyroid is functioning normal, it has been for 11 years now. The problem is once it needs medication to function, your metabolism just doesn't work like it once did, the doctors say it should but my experience, other people with the same problem and my books say no it does not! So I get tired of the doctors saying there shouldn't be a problem losing, even the nutritionist said she knows its harder to lose after your thyroid. So it is working, I have been stable. Now I know from my best friend having the gastro bypass that she is able to pretty much eat whatever she wants to, my other ex friend doesn't eat enough Protein and has been losing her hair. I am not worried about not having certain things, I know how to portion myself. So that's why I think the band can really work for me. I am going to take your advise with the research, with bringing in my facts, and talking to my doctor about how comfortable. I'm going to see if there is another option there for me if I decide to change doctors. You really made me feel a lot better, I really thought after talking to him that I was just going to be killing myself. Right now I've been following a 1200 calorie diet, not what they gave me, just one from Slim fast using their shakes, I like that one so far. I'm going to continue to ride my exercise bike the 3 miles a day or possibly up it to 5 miles each day 7 days a week. Some weight has to come off!! I am most defintely keeping in contact with you! Thanks for everything, you've helped me a great deal. I will keep in touch! Leisa

I had my sleeve done in 2017 and lost about 50% of my hair from month 3 to month 6 then it stopped shedding. Very slowly, it has grown back to probably 75% of what it was. My problem now is, I have just had another major surgery to have my adrenal gland removed, open surgery, very large "L" shaped cut, not pretty! I am just very worried that this will trigger another bout of hair loss in a couple of months time as I suspect its the actual surgery, rather than the type of surgery, that triggers it.

I have PCOS too. The whole hair thing drives me crazy. UGH. Anyway I saw some news report lately (can't remember which show, sorry!) that PCOS is now sometimes being called Androgen excessive disorder. Apparently since not everyone with PCOS actually HAS the cysts, but all seem to have an excessive amount of the male hormone Androgen-hence the hairiness, weight gain in the stomach area, fertility issues, male pattern baldness etc etc.... they feel it's a more appropriate name for it. Anywhoo that was my biggest worry when I was banded- that because of PCOS I would not lose weight. I have lost over 30 lbs already though. The loss is slowing down now to about 2 lbs a week. The key has been getting that Protein in, and the Water too, I think. No one has really noticed the weight loss yet or at least they haven't mentioned it- but someone last week said my skin looked like it was "glowing" and I attribute that to my water intake....but I've always had such horrible skin issues that they had no idea how much they made my day!

Someone please help. I have had MAJOR hair loss for about 6 weeks now- I mean MAJOR hair loss. It just won't stop. I am lucky that I HAD a very thick head of hair- but I am less than 1/3 of what I had. I'm getting worried. I was banded in July and have lost 64 pounds. Please advise if anyone knows what I should do. :help:

Hi. I'm trying to do as much research before surgery as I can. I'm prepared for the hair loss/waiting for it to grow back. My question is what did your hair look like when it grew back? Was it the same type/texture as before? I have curly hair (different types of curls on different parts of my head) and am very slowly going grey. So, I really just have a little grey now, and every now and again I notice more (and some are coming in wildly curly - I have one grey hair that looks like a spring in a ball point pen!). No big deal, going grey doesn't bother me. Just wondering if I should expect my curl pattern to change or expect my new growth to be more grey. I think if its more grey, I'll need to do some research on how to take care of grey curls, because they're often a different texture. Again, I'm not worried about it - no matter what happens - just want to think about what I need to start researching. Thank you!

It will last for about 2 to 3 months until you can get the necessary protein in. But I found that prenatal vitamins and biotin are a great help in slowing down and stopping hair loss. Don't worry it will definitely grow back for me it grew back much thicker than before

I have locs (22 yrs now) and I did A LOT of low manipulation and semi free forming when I originally had surgery in the end of 2017. I was so worried about hair loss I did a ton of research in med journals on treatments for Telogen Effluvium (the type of hair loss most WLS patients experience) you can find a compilation of the journals I found most promising here: I had mild thinning along my temples and didn’t lose any locs. Pics included❤️

I was "interviewing" a friend of a friend via email about her experiences with RNY (she and her husband both had it) because I only know one person who's had it who is alive and well (and I hadn't yet discovered these forums). This lady was a very matter-of-fact 50-ish woman who basically said "why on earth are you worried about THAT?" to every question I asked about possible side effects. She and hubby had no side effects. She has very thick hair, and when I said I was worried about hair loss she asked why! I told her it was a common side effect, and she says nope, neither one lost their hair. She didn't even know it could happen. Her guess was it was because they were very adherent to the nutritional requirements. After reading endless accounts of winning and losing the hair loss games, my guess is that they won some genetic lottery.

A lot of things can cause your hair to fall out. And not just loosing weight from wls. If you loose large amounts of weight, it can happen, hence why its common in wls patients. I was shedding tons of hair, and was really freaking out about 8 months ago. I wasn't loosing weight, but I did discover I had a thyroid promblem. Get your blood work done and make sure everything is on par. If it is, your hair probally just has it "cycles" messed up. You see normally we shed hair, but not alot at one time, because our hair folicules are on cycles. When the cycles get messed up you might have 2 or 3 groups on the same cycle...hence lots of hair loss at one time. The good news is...shedding hair this way is not a permanant side effect, and it will grow back. I know how scarey thinking you are going bald is...try not to worry to much. Make sure you are getting enough protien (min 45 grams a day) and are taking your viatamins. My hair thickened back up...I'm sure yours will too. Melissa

So, I take my bariatric multi. I read lots of posts about getting in Iron, how it can help you with energy (which I am still lacking at about 6 weeks) and hair loss which I am worried about, should I be taking much more? How much is too much? I know there are a lot of people that swear by the iron so any advice can help!

Everything went well. Here's an update: Day 1 - got to hospital at 7:30 and got registered and changed. Was provided a hanging garment bag for my fancy clothes (hoodie and jeans lol). Then was walked over to talk to the anesthesiologist who asked some questions. After about 10 minutes I said goodbye to my husband and I went into surgery. About 5 minutes before it was about to happen I was told I would be intubated. I didn't realize I had to be so yeah... I woke up, went to recovery and was there for a couple of hours. When my room was assigned hubby was there setting up my iPhone and tablet chargers. He was upset with them for not letting me come back from recovery sooner but they didn't have rooms. It was cool to see him standing up for me while I was so out of it. I needed to use the restroom immediately so I did and they had this "hat" thing that is in the toilet to measure your output. I guess it's really important because apparently my neighbor wasn't going at all so they had to insert a catheter in the middle of the night for her. Anyways, I couldn't talk for real because when I was intubated my throat was scraped really bad so I just wanted my meds and wanted to sleep. Hubby left and the nurses took really good care of me. I had pain meds consistently. No tablets - they were all shot through my IV. The one tablet they did give me was Levsin which is for spasms in the abdomen and it dissolves under your tongue. It really helps so ask for it! Day 2 Doc came in early with his assistant Julie and he asked if I wanted to stay a day longer and I said yeah. He said good because his patients who stay two nights at least never wind up in the ER. I was on IV the entire time except for when I wanted to walk; I had them disconnect it. He ordered a throat lozenge for my throat and had them up my pain meds. He also clarified that I was having a little discomfort swallowing because he had to put two stitches in my diaphragm because he had found a hiatal hernia. He said it would be better once it wasn't swollen anymore. He left. The nurses were great. They had ordered my clear bariatric Breakfast tray and gave me shot cups for the Protein shake. The Protein drinks used were by health wise and had 15g of protein in one. They were so fruity and good - not chalky at all so my hubby ordered some for me for home. (Since they're not going to get here till Tuesday he went to a local medical weight loss clinic and got me 8 of them to tide me over). Anyway, I had to sip the protein and Water and that's all I did for the most part. I slept and walked. Hubby came back by and brought my house shoes, my Fitbit and two comfy pillows off my bed. He hung around for a while. I passed out a couple of times. Dr. Jossart came back and gave me the script for my meds (Ativan and Percocet) and told me not to worry if i was 15lbs heavier when I got home because I had been on the IV the whole time and with that I might gain water weight staying another night. He left, after a while hubby left and then it was just me. As soon as I got my second shake down I was ready to go to bed. That's 30g of protein. Maybe 20 ounces of water. Thank God for the IV. Day 3 Woke up. Feeling the best I ever have. Was actually awake when they brought my tray and the broth was still hot so I ate half of that - went down faster than water had been. Also drank half a cup of black orange pekoe tea. That went down well too! So now I know hot things go down well for me! Julie came in and discharged me. Hubby texted he was on his way. I cleaned up, did my hair and packed up all my stuff. I had requested a fan bc my room was a little hot so when I left I had it sent over to my neighbor Mary. She was really happy to get it bc she had been warm too. I sat in the wheelchair and asked for the last pain meds for the road - they shot Toradol, meds to settle my stomach and the last of my Vitamins in my IV. I mixed up an orange pineapple shake for the road and then we left. Made it home. Immediately weighed myself for a baseline. I was 1 lb less than when I left the house. So much for gaining 15 lbs lol! Hubby helped me get in bed, he brought me water and was ready with shakes and Popsicles but I was good. I did drink a 30g protein premier chocolate shake that evening though. So I had a total of 45g and about 35 or so oz of Fluid. Almost at goal. Best I could do. Went to bed and slept like an angel. Day 4 Woke up. Feeling fine. No more bad soreness. Throat is still sore though. Got on the scale. Down another 3.6lbs! I had acquired one of those fruity shakes from the hospital so I immediately had it for breakfast. lunch - 4oz chicken broth and a sf Popsicle. dinner - premier Protein Shake. Water. Right now I'm at 16oz of water for a total of 44oz of fluid. Trying to drink maybe 4 more. Overall, I feel fine. No pain at all in my incisions. Haven't tried lifting anything and won't be trying to until I'm cleared. Hernia repair is there - can feel when I drink like its funneling things through but it lasts for like 2 seconds. The Levsin helps reduce those spasms though. All is well! Tomorrow I will try harder to actually hit my protein and liquid goals.

I started having hair loss at about 3 weeks post op I'm 4 months post op now and the loss has been massive I had extremely thick naturally curly hair that grew like a weed the 13 th I went to get my hair done cut and color didn't need a cut more than half my hair has fallen out I wake up to hair all over the bed brushing hair ends up with wads of hair in brush same in shower I can barely make a puny ponytail used to be I could barely get the elastic tie around the hair I'd stretch them out after a couple weeks and have to use new ones constantly it's getting scary I'm eating everything I'm allowed can only manage a few bites per meal drinking fluids like crazy taking all vitamins I was told to take and to add insult to injury my weight loss has slowed a lot last three weeks is about three lbs a week before was at least 6 lbs a week I'm down about 90 lbs since surgery in late February having an appt at bariatric July 10 my first since my post op appt I'm worried I'm going to get told I'm not losing enough which is just going to bring me major anxiety which I don't need on top of the hair loss the one thing I didn't hate about myself when I was fat uhh ok still fat but now losing the one nice feature I had so depressing.....

Hi pjn2005 I had my surgery Jan.22 2007, In Mexico . I would do it over again if I had to. Try not to worry, or be too nervous; You should do fine. I never had any hair loss.....well yet. I think the hair loss you are talking about happens from the anisteia from surgery. Not every one loses their hair, only a few. I'll be thinking of you on your surgery day. Best of luck, Terry

Ahoy matey....Ok, not funny. I too have PCOS and worry a great deal about the hair loss. ( already have lost a large amount over the years) But I will deal with it. I will also remember this post and make sure to get in at least a little fruit. Crazy how this all works! Good luck and good health!..

This is common and nothing to get to worried about. Your body has gone through a shock both with surgery then sudden weight loss. Continue what you are doing with the biotin and make sure you are getting enough protein then just give it time. The cycle is 3 months. Typically loss starts within 3 months and ends after around 3 months. Your loss sounds like it is peaking, your surgery was in January so it should slowly end soon then start growing back by July. Your hair will probably thin a bit but you will not go bald, something my surgeon said he has to assure just about all of his patients of. As long as you take your supplements and eat right it will grow back.

You know, I think hair loss and loose skin is probably one of my top three concerns about the surgery! But hey, we're entitled to worry about that. In my case, I've already spent years dealing with thinning hair after having to have part of my thyroid removed. I compensated with a cute, short haircut that makes my hair look waaaay thicker than it is. So there's something to consider. I was just telling my husband, I feel like, around two or three months out from surgery, I'll look like one of those latex balloons that's been hanging around a couple of days - still round, but not as big as before and kinda wrinkly.

This worries me sooooo much... I have longggggg THICK wavy hair. I have been told that I have enough hair for 10 people. Even though I could use some hair loss, I don't want too. My hair is my everything. I am sooo sad how some say they lost about 60% of their hair. I will gooooo crazy if that happens to me. I hate the fact that I can't do nothing about it

hair loss can follow any bodily changes, and I experienced it after both of my children were born. I shed like CRAZY for months starting at about the 4th month post-delivery both times. I couldn't believe I wasn't bald, but all that happened was that my hairline receded a tiny bit--I was the only one who noticed. It also happened after I did Optifast back in 1990. It stopped by itself after a while. I think it always looks a lot worse in the bathtub and hairbrush than it really is, and by the time you really start to worry the shedding is ending. I don't have any suggestions about stopping it--nothing really seems to work--but if it's getting to you a sassy new haircut can go a long way toward making you feel better about it.

You make several great points. Truth is, I would NEVER want to hold her back from trying to better her health. In fact, for months, I have been a proponent of this route when it became clear it was our best option to get the issues managed to improve her quality of life and as I said in my OP- enjoy growing old together and hopefully having a great back 9 in life with one another even though we are still both 39. So that’s completely off the table. Same thing with change- we never go out to the same restaurant twice on a date (before COVID) or somewhere on vacation for that matter. I was completely open to relocating outside New England for her medical residency and fellowship even though we both have lived here our whole lives (we ended up staying put). I love when she changes up her hair to something new to keep things interesting- I ask her to actually when she wants to know what I think. And frankly, despite this being solely about health and quality of life (otherwise this procedure would have never crossed either of our minds) of course I’m excited to see how she’ll look and dress and all that after the weight loss, she’s my wife- I’m mad for her! When it comes to personality change, I guess that does worry me a bit. She’s already very assertive and strong willed, so from what I read in articles- that doesn’t really bother me, it’s one of the reasons I love her. We are both just really down to earth and humble people, I would hope THAT doesn’t change about her. We put our family and our marriage first- THAT I hope doesn’t change. It’s one of the reasons we got married in the first place- we share basic core beliefs. That said, I know people change. She changed quite a bit during and after all her medical training. I changed a lot after my younger sibling who I was close with got ill and passed away swiftly. But we loved each other through it all. I just hope that’s the same here. Am i a little threatened or intimidated? Well, I know she’s a catch, I’m not too shabby myself, but I know she is someone really special. So yes, I’m quite protective of her and our relationship. I guess the one thing that makes me feel better is the extra lengths she has been going to to be affectionate and reassuring right now knowing my concern. She’s incredibly nurturing and sweet. So like I said, when hormones and self image and such shift. I just pray that she is still my wife at the end of it all with all the qualities I’ve been listing.

For those of you who understand whey Protein vs. other protein.....please help me. I'm not as worried about continuing to loose weight...but continuing to loose hair. Basic question - is the protein in "protein shots" good for you at all? I know it's not whey protein and thus not good for continued weight loss but will it help my body with the excessive hair loss?

Throwing up is NOT normal and you should not be doing it. It could make your band slip and ruin the whole thing. I was banded 3 months ago and haven't thrown up once (maybe i'm just lucky?) had some anti nausea meds from my doc, the kind you just put under your tongue, also I purchased some anti nausea liquid from Wal Mart, it tastes a little like liquid Jello and works great! Definitely call your doctor and have him give you some anti nausea meds though...and I don't know who wrote the post up there about suppositories, but that's just disgusting. Why would you put yourself though more uncomfortable and/or embarassing situations? Just get some anti nausea pills and you will be fine. Also, try warm chicken broth with a little cumin and lime, cumin really helps soothe the tummy. The gas can cause nausea as well, so get yourself some gas meds, Maalox worked best for me, it's great for gas, reflux, and nausea. Keep it in the fridge and it tastes a little less icky. sorry this is such a long post, but this is really important. Make sure you get what you need from your doc. I was on pain meds for about a week, anti nausea for as long as I needed ( I quit at about 2 weeks, I think) and anti reflux for three full weeks. Make sure your doctor is doing his/her job! Also, do not do sugar free anything. It makes nausea worse. I was on clear liquids for one week (no Protein Shakes, just broths and watered down juices) and then creamy liquids for two weeks. No chewing for three full weeks. I made a lot of homemade broth (mostly chicken) with garlic, basil, cumin, ginger, lime, etc, whatever I was in the mood for. Cumin, ginger, and garlic really help with nausea as well. I also ate tons of popsicles, I loved the jolly rancher ones. Some other soups I did, which made me feel like I was getting a little Protein, was bean with bacon (just the broth) and split pea, I watered them down and ate just the broth. Good luck! I hope you feel better! I'm down 45 lbs since surgery 3 months ago, haven't had a fill yet, and have never worried about sugar free anything..the chemicals will just make you sick. Also make sure you are taking a good Vitamin with Biotin in it to prevent hair loss. I take an apple cinnamon flavored one from Vitamin World, it has a ton of veggie and fruit extracts in it, then I also take an extra Vitamin C and Calcium every day. Stay healthy and take care of yourself!

Not sure if this is in the correct spot but I have a new problem. I was banded April 12 2007 and I have lost 35 lbs. I am starting to notice that I am losing hair. I notice hair everplace now. I have alot of hair so I really don't notice it on my head but it is coming out and I am getting worried about it this has gone on for a month or more now. I read that this can be a problem in rapid weigh loss but I don't think 35 lbs in 4 month is too rapid. I take my vitamins and have protien at all meals and have a shake everyday. Does anyone have this problem and if so what has it been like for you? How much protien should I get to keep this from happing? I asked my Doctor about Protien but he was not real clear and that was before I noticed the hair loss. Thanks :help:

Thanks again! I went to a siminar last night and found the truth about the hair loss. Doctor said if you don't eat the protein advised by the doctor then that happens. If you do as told, no problem with that. Does anyone worry about care after age 65 up? From what I understand the doctors don't like to treat or operate on persons over age 65. Anyone have news about this subjuect?