I want to know if EVERYONE experiences hair loss. And if so what percentage of people have major/minor hair loss.

I'm glad that I havent had any hair lose

I have lost about 50% of my hair over the last year, but I don't know if any was from the LB surgery since I have just come off radiaiton a few months ago and just over a year of chemo before that. And it is depressing at times at times because people say the most awful things to you. I had a close friend when I first starting losing my hair during the first chemo, who remarked that chemo was a treatment for AIDs! (needless to say, he is not a close friend anymore). So the hair will probably come back for you. Mine has, a little thinner, a little more prone to breaking off, but at least there's "some" there. Though if I didn't have such an ugly scalp I would probably shave my head, it is soooo cool. Hang in there, it will come back. :)Laura

hatmama--I too lost mine due to chemo---I lost it all....hair, eyelashes, all of it. It happened suddenly, and there was little need to shave it, within a couple of days it was mostly gone---the remainder we used duct tape and pulled! Sounds painful...I don't remember it being, but honestly I was in such a state of shock...it is hard to say for sure. Now when I lost it, I lost lighter blonde, stick straight hair. It grew back in darker, and curly!!! And I am not nearly as hairy as I was before. My arms, etc....pubic hair....most of that did not grow back!

My hair thinned drastically with banding. Not sure if it was because I was predisposed to losing it or what? It began about 4 months out---and lasted til about 11 months out, when it quit falling out and began regrowing!

I tried all the biotin, and nioxin shampoo, Folicure shampoo....all kinds of diet issues, my protein stayed high, I added special fats....not sure what the issue is???

I recently had to have my thyroid mostly removed----in November, and I am now dealing with hair loss again! So it is surgically related for me.

Hoping for a TT in the next month, get all this damn surgery over, and let my hair be for awhile!!!!

I can't explain it---I can say it will stop---and it will grow back!

Kat

This may be a long shot, but does anyone here suffer from Trichotillomania? Pulling out their hair...? I've been pulling out my hair for over ten years now, so I have obvious bald spots and extremely thin hair. I figure my hairloss/growth will be way different than most of you because this, & I was just wondering if anyone else may know what I'm talking about.

I've always had thin hair - my whole life. I tried Rogaine a few years ago to delay any more loss, but quit after a few months. I am now four months post surgery and I am dropping hairs everywhere. It's probably not a lot by the standards of people who have thick hair, but it has never happened to me before (just picked another one off the keyboard). My friend with really thick curly hair says she cleans more out of the shower drain each week than I have on my head. Anyway, I think it's just the body recovering from the surgery and weight loss. It seems like the more experienced bandsters mostly all report that it comes back. So, I am staying calm. It wouldn't do any good to worry anyway....

Edited March 28, 200818 yr by Foofy

I'm 4 months post op. I had been doing fine until about a week ago. Now I'm getting some coming out in the shower. Nothing major. But it's also spring time, and I usually shed in the spring anyway. So this may just be coincidence.

katiebug,

I have heard of Trichotillomania and know someone who suffers from it, but I have not experienced it myself nor do I know someone who has it who is banded.

I just started to really notice the hair loss at 6 months post-op. I think I took the survey originally at 4 months po and said I had no hair loss. Oh well...it's just hair and I did have quite a bit to begin with...

I have been lucky - no hair loss thankfully - cuz I have fine hair to begin with..

I have not been banded yet (4-10) but I am a nurse and am aware that protein deficiency frequently causes hair loss and everyone's level of how deficient they are varies. The person who stated they did not lose their hair while on the Adkins diet was right in her suspicison as to why most likely. the good news it is usually transient especially if you improve your protein intake.

some people don't lose that much hair but it just gets very brittle for some and very fine for others. You can also get odd lines in your fingernails.

Hope this helps - Take care!

:thumbup:

I on the other hand, lost just as severely on Atkins as I did post band----I think it is my personal experience that when I drastically change my diet in any manner I lose it!

Now that being said, I did start Atkins about 5 months post op from a major surgery....so it is still possible that it is a combination of dietary changes along with surgical issues such as the anesthesia.

My protein level remained high--through this as well as Atkins of course and I easily lost over half my hair. Around 11 months out, it just stopped, and the hair regrew, and all is fine again!!

Mine fell out....follicle and all.........but, I may be VERY wierd----wouldn't be the first time!!!!

I have also lost all my hair before as I said to chemo, so I may be predisposed to it, not sure if it makes a difference or not. I know it made a difference, in the fact, I knew there were more important things than hair!

Kat

katiebug,

I have heard of Trichotillomania and know someone who suffers from it, but I have not experienced it myself nor do I know someone who has it who is banded.

I just started to really notice the hair loss at 6 months post-op. I think I took the survey originally at 4 months po and said I had no hair loss. Oh well...it's just hair and I did have quite a bit to begin with...

Thank you for the feedback. I haven't been "pullfree" in several months now, but it has been dramatically reduced. My hair has been growing very slowly and thin which isn't normal. It normally grows super fast & very thick. But I am extremely grateful that is coming back as well as it is. Ugh! I worry about my hair almost more than my weight.

I am almost at 18 months and last month my hair stopped falling out. It seemed like it took forever. I would go several days where I thought I was losing less, and then all of a sudden, bam! -loosing handfuls again in the shower. I had to stop trying to predict when it would stop. It drove me nuts.

I have lost half my hair. I am lucky I had plenty to begin with. Now I have little hairs growing in all over the place.

1000 mcg equals 1 mg. There is no recommended daily dosage for biotin, but please don't overdo it. I blame it for triggering my psoriasis and have others say the same thing. A standard amount found in a multi should be fine. 1000 mcg/1 mg is plenty! I hate to say this, but some of us are losing hair because of our age.

Hey I have psoriasis. I would have never related the two together. My bottle says 5000mcg. Maybe I should stop taking it. It's not like I don't have enough pills to try to get down already.

you need zinc....