Hi all! I have yet to have the surgery but am definitely considering it. I've already set up my first meeting with the doctor but I have so many concerns about the long term. I've been reading lots of great and wonderful outcomes along side many struggles but have any of you had any problems with hair loss, vitamin deficiencies, or anything else that is less common? Are there any regrets? I'm really concerned that I will have all the wonderful results along side many new health issues brought on by the surgery itself. This is so hard ... everything in me wants this but at the same time, I'm so worried I will lose my hair, I won't be able to take in all the nutrients I need to be healthy, etc. This is so scary to me! Please anyone with advice, knowledge, or experience...help!!!

I am about 2 1/2 months post surgery. I have lost 48 pounds and about the same number of inches. Do I regret the surgery? ABSOLUTELY NOT. When I went to the doctor after six weeks and got the results of the bloodwork she ran - my results were incredibly better than before the surgery. I was anemic - but less anemic than I was prior to the surgery. All the other "nutrients" were in the normal range except B12 - it was too high - I had been taking too much. The Vitamins I take daily are 2 multiple vitamins, 2 Calcium supplements, Vitamin D, Iron and Vitamin C. I also take B12 3 times per week. The crazy thing - this is the vitamin routine I should have been on before surgery - except it would have been 1 multiple vitamin, not two. I am NOT having trouble getting in nutrition - I take in around 60-65 grams of Protein each day - and watch my carbs and fats. I get in the 60 oz of Water most days with no problem. I am eating vegatables now - but am staying away from white carbs (rice, potatoes, bread, etc). It's not that I can't eat them (the two tablespoons of mashed potatoes with Easter dinner were heavenly) - it is my choice. Carbs have been my lifelong problem - so I am avoiding them while I get the weight off. So far - no hair loss. But if 100% hair loss was a given (which it isn't) - I would still do the procedure. I would rather be thin and healthy and BALD than have hair and be morbidly obese. A lady I work with has fought (and beaten) cancer five times. The last round of treatments (for brain cancer) made her permanently lose her hair. She wears a wig at work - and looks great. Alive and healthy beats any other option.

Some people do have trouble - I haven't. Pick your surgeon carefully, and follow his aftercare instructions. Good luck!

Hi all! I have yet to have the surgery but am definitely considering it. I've already set up my first meeting with the doctor but I have so many concerns about the long term. I've been reading lots of great and wonderful outcomes along side many struggles but have any of you had any problems with hair loss, vitamin deficiencies, or anything else that is less common? Are there any regrets? I'm really concerned that I will have all the wonderful results along side many new health issues brought on by the surgery itself. This is so hard ... everything in me wants this but at the same time, I'm so worried I will lose my hair, I won't be able to take in all the nutrients I need to be healthy, etc. This is so scary to me! Please anyone with advice, knowledge, or experience...help!!!

Thank you so much for chiming in here! It sounds like the surgery isn't your last stop either. I never really thought about the fact that every single year I go and have blood work done (what my general doc calls a physical) to test levels of everything. So if something was low, it would be caught before it got out of hand hopefully.

It sounds like your tummy still absorbs everything you need. So if I'm understanding right, you may not be able to take in the volume of food it would take to get the nutrients you need and that is why you supplement. While you are supplementing, your body is actually absorbing most if not too much, right?

I already take Vitamins most days just because they do make me feel a little more alive.

Why do some people lose their hair? I know it has to do with protien but is it their body simply not absorbing accurately or is it that they are not taking in enough?

Also, is the high protien just while you're losing weight so fast or is it for the rest of your life?

You ask good questions.

One book I bought that has helped me is the Complete Idiots Guide to Eating Well after Weight Loss Surgery. It provides a bunch of detailed information on Vitamins, Protein, etc and has helped me understand lots of things I didn't know before. All protein is not created equal - there are Proteins that have a High Biologic Value - meaning all of the amino acids (building blocks of protein) are there for your body to utilize. There are nine indispensable amino acids - three are especially important when your body is under stress because they allow your body to better utilize protein and heal more quickly and efficiently. So you will want to more proteins with a high biologic value than those with a low biologic value. Also - the B vitamins (which you get from eating protein and taking supplements) are very important to your health and healing. One of the B vitamins is call Biotin. A biotin deficiency can lead to alopecia, or hair loss.

I imagine people have greater hair loss when they don't eat the right amounts of the right proteins or their bodies don't absorb it. I imagine people have greater hair loss when they don't get adequate B vitamins after their surgery.

I plan on going to a dietician when I get close to goal, and work with her to develop a long term eating plan for me. It will depend on my weight at goal, where my metabolism has ended up, and how much exercise I do on a regular basis. I will know how much protein and carbs I can eat routinely to maintain my goal weight.

I will never be able to unconsciously eat carbs in mass quantities like I did before surgery. But, I will not stay away from carbs altogether either during my weight loss period or after goal.

I am definatly glad to be on supplements in addition to what I am eating. I am not good with which foods have which vitamins and minerals - so to eat a balanced diet from that standpoint when I am eating around 500 calories per day would be tough. As I get farther from surgery, and my calories per day increases, it will be easier to eat a variety of foods to get all the different vitamins and minerals in.

Thank you so much for chiming in here! It sounds like the surgery isn't your last stop either. I never really thought about the fact that every single year I go and have blood work done (what my general doc calls a physical) to test levels of everything. So if something was low, it would be caught before it got out of hand hopefully.

It sounds like your tummy still absorbs everything you need. So if I'm understanding right, you may not be able to take in the volume of food it would take to get the nutrients you need and that is why you supplement. While you are supplementing, your body is actually absorbing most if not too much, right?

I already take vitamins most days just because they do make me feel a little more alive.

Why do some people lose their hair? I know it has to do with protien but is it their body simply not absorbing accurately or is it that they are not taking in enough?

Also, is the high protien just while you're losing weight so fast or is it for the rest of your life?

Also, I had blood work done at 6 weeks post surgery. I am having it again 3 months after surgery and again at 6 months after surgery, then 1 year. This is not my surgeon telling me this - this is my internist. She is watching me like a hawk! I am her first sleeved patient - so I think she is doing it for my benefit and for her own knowledge.

Wow! Thank you again! What great information. I'm definitely going to get that book. My sister in law has a good friend that had the VS done last June and had a problem with hair loss. My sil says she went by the book on everything and still lost some hair. Now I'm wondering if it was the lack of the right type of protien. I'm going to run this past my her.

Just out of curiosity, who was your surgeon and is he/she in Texas? I think I've found a really good one but I like to stay informed and make sure I'm choosing the right person. It's not easy placing my life changing procedure in someone's hands. I want to make sure it's the right hands.

hair loss doesn't always have to do with the Protein and Vitamins. Having adequate amounts of those could help but drastic weight loss with any diet can cause weight loss. It takes a bit for your body to reset itself with your new weight. Hormone changes is probably the big one for major weight loss. Here is a link of what can cause hair loss.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-loss/DS00278/DSECTION=causes

Also,

Most people on this forum say their hair loss started at around 3 months after surgery then started to grow back 3 months after that. So that goes with what the article says. But I've also seen some say it took anywhere from 6 months to a year to start growing back. It depends on the person.

It will grow back so don't let that idea be a major part of your decision.

Dr. Nicholson was my surgeon. I am very pleased with him. He is located in Plano Texas.

And, as another person posted, hair loss (to some degree) happens with rapid weight loss from any cause.

Good luck.

Wow! Thank you again! What great information. I'm definitely going to get that book. My sister in law has a good friend that had the VS done last June and had a problem with hair loss. My sil says she went by the book on everything and still lost some hair. Now I'm wondering if it was the lack of the right type of protien. I'm going to run this past my her.

Just out of curiosity, who was your surgeon and is he/she in Texas? I think I've found a really good one but I like to stay informed and make sure I'm choosing the right person. It's not easy placing my life changing procedure in someone's hands. I want to make sure it's the right hands.

Amber,

Thank you for the info and the link. I went to there and read through it. That makes perfect sense and it feels good to know that if that were the reason for hair loss that it would eventually grow back.

Hair loss doesn't always have to do with the Protein and Vitamins. Having adequate amounts of those could help but drastic weight loss with any diet can cause weight loss. It takes a bit for your body to reset itself with your new weight. Hormone changes is probably the big one for major weight loss. Here is a link of what can cause hair loss.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hair-loss/DS00278/DSECTION=causes

Also,

Most people on this forum say their hair loss started at around 3 months after surgery then started to grow back 3 months after that. So that goes with what the article says. But I've also seen some say it took anywhere from 6 months to a year to start growing back. It depends on the person.

It will grow back so don't let that idea be a major part of your decision.

Dr. Nick! Yes, I've heard of him and was even interested in him but I'm not sure my insurance will cover him.

Dr. Nicholson was my surgeon. I am very pleased with him. He is located in Plano Texas.

And, as another person posted, hair loss (to some degree) happens with rapid weight loss from any cause.

Good luck.