Hello! My name is Melissa- 28 from Cleveland, Ohio. I Had LB surgery on July 14th, 2009 in Detroit, Mi. I was self pay and Dr. Webber at Harper Hospital was the cheapest with an excellent background I went in at 303 lbs and am now around 185 (depending on the scale, grrr)

My whole entire journey has been excellent! I wouldn't change one thing! There's nothing like being able to play tag with my kids or hide and seek and hide anywhere! =)

I'm looking for new ideas for diet- MY hair (very thin) and my skin (very dry) I'm also interested in hearing opinions and personal experiences of Panniculectomy procedures

(don't hold it against me if I posted wrong! Still trying to figure this site out =)

Hi Melissa,

Congratulations on your amazing success! Regarding thinning hair, I would highly recommend taking Biotin. Someone told me you can get it in liquid form, but I buy the 5,000 mcg capsules. I just open the capsule and put it in pudding. It takes a little while to see a difference (probably at least a few weeks), but after some time you should notice an improvement in your hair... and nails. I first tried it when I was losing hair on Atkins and it worked great.

Hi Melissa,

Congratulations on your amazing success! Regarding thinning hair, I would highly recommend taking Biotin. Someone told me you can get it in liquid form, but I buy the 5,000 mcg capsules. I just open the capsule and put it in pudding. It takes a little while to see a difference (probably at least a few weeks), but after some time you should notice an improvement in your hair... and nails. I first tried it when I was losing hair on Atkins and it worked great.

Ahhh- Thank you Packersfan! At this point I'm willing to try mostly anything My nails are insanely strong and healthy- It's my hair and skin! Arrrg.

Hi Melissa - prior to having LB surgery in October 2009, my hair was thin and brittle. After surgery, I started drinking protein shakes every morning, and my hair is very healthy and a little fuller than what it was before. I mix Jillian Michaels' whey protein mix with Muscle Milk and regular milk, and drink it every morning! It taste good, makes me feel good, and keeps my hair healthy. Hope this helps! Good luck!

If you have thinning hair try Nioxin and definitely the Biotin, they have liquid and pills that dissolve.

2 friends of mine, 1 male 1 female have used Nioxin and swear by it. They weren't having thinning hair troubles due to weight loss but I don't think it really matters, they saw a major improvement. My male friend noticed premature thinning and my female friend suffered from over plucking-eyebrow-itis lol, her brows hadn't grown right in years. But after using it for maybe a few months his hair got thicker and her brows grew in.

it's pricey but they seem to think it was worth it. You can find it online and in salons.

For dry skin, Aveeno in shower oil is amazing, it's not greasy like others can be and has a nice almondy scent to it. I had really bad poison ivy all over my body a few years ago and once it cleared I was left with really bad scaly skin. After about a week of using it I was softer than I ever was before. Now it's a staple in my shower. Their line of lotions are pretty great too, I like their oil lotion, it's moisturizing, not greasy and smells so good. I get very dry in the winter and it makes my skin feel like silk.

I also use Jergens ultra healing lotion, which in my opinion is probably the best lotion I've ever used (and I've used ALOT of products) I usually recommend this to people because there's no scent so it's great if you are sensitive to fragrances. Recently I tried St. Ives soothing oatmeal and Shea butter lotion, I love it, and it smells so yummy.

Hope this helps, good luck!