Yes, this is a strange topic, but it's something I've been thinking about for awhile now. I have read pretty much everywhere that no matter how many Vitamins you take, and no matter how hard you wish, hair loss will inevitibly hit around 3-4 months post op for about 95% of us. I have read of ladies sadly sheering their locks in exchange for shorter do's. I have read stories of people trying to hang on to it as long as they can before claiming defeat and cutting the remaining straggling hair off. I have read of powders and sprays to make your hair apear thicker and hide bald spots.

I am 4 days pre-op, and have grown my hair with minimal trimming for the past 2 years. It is over 15 inches from the base of my head to the tips...all of this hair loss sounds terrifying! It sounds sad, and rather like something that I don't want to go through at all.

I have decided to be proactive though. I am going to go an unconventional route with my (inevitable) hair loss, and I'm going to cut it as soon as the loss starts and donate it to Locks of Love. I am actually thinking of *gasp* just shaving my whole head and starting fresh with new growth.

I feel just like with my weight loss journey, I want to be in control as much as I can, and if I'm going to lose my hair, I want it going to a cause that can appreciate and use it in a good way. My septic system won't feel any remorse, I'm sure.

Have any of you thought similarly? What have you done about your hair loss?

Am only two weeks post op, but have been worrying about the hair loss too. I already have thinning hair so I can't afford to loose any. I do take my biotin and I shower with shampoo from chilies and rosemary. But I am actually going on Friday to go shorter. And after a couple of months am going even shorter. The length of my hair is middle of my back.

I LOVE having short hair. Mine is maybe 1 1/2 inches. It dries in no time, super easy to style.

Perhaps when you cut it off you could look at it as a new beginning. Make it into a positive

I'm three months post-op and have just noticed a dime-sized bald spot just above my right ear. I keep my hair really short so it's pretty noticeable. Someone just told me about Nioxin shampoo and vitamins, which is supposed to help.

I am 5 mo post op and yes, I lost hair btwn 3-4 mo. I have relatively thick hair but it was noticeable. To compound my hair loss my scalp was dry (which I'd never ever experienced) so I had breakouts. I stopped coloring as that aggravated my scalp and had my hair cut short. I actually love it.

I'm using a cheap shampoo ( Tresemme for color conserve) which had an article in the newspaper aboutt helping hair growth. I have a head full of peach fuzz under the cut abt 1/2 -1" long so definitely will have hair soon and the scalp has returned to normal.

Now to decide if I will get my hair colored this weekend or if I will "go grey"?

Yes' date=' this is a strange topic, but it's something I've been thinking about for awhile now. I have read pretty much everywhere that no matter how many Vitamins you take, and no matter how hard you wish, hair loss will inevitibly hit around 3-4 months post op for about 95% of us. I have read of ladies sadly sheering their locks in exchange for shorter do's. I have read stories of people trying to hang on to it as long as they can before claiming defeat and cutting the remaining straggling hair off. I have read of powders and sprays to make your hair apear thicker and hide bald spots.

I am 4 days pre-op, and have grown my hair with minimal trimming for the past 2 years. It is over 15 inches from the base of my head to the tips...all of this hair loss sounds terrifying! It sounds sad, and rather like something that I don't want to go through at all.

I have decided to be proactive though. I am going to go an unconventional route with my (inevitable) hair loss, and I'm going to cut it as soon as the loss starts and donate it to Locks of Love. I am actually thinking of *gasp* just shaving my whole head and starting fresh with new growth.

I feel just like with my weight loss journey, I want to be in control as much as I can, and if I'm going to lose my hair, I want it going to a cause that can appreciate and use it in a good way. My septic system won't feel any remorse, I'm sure.

Have any of you thought similarly? What have you done about your hair loss?[/quote']

As a parent of a child who had cancer, I want to thank you. This is such a generous, selfless act. Whatever you choose to do, your kindness will be truly appreciated.

I'm one of those who cut off my hair because of the extreme hair loss due to having this surgery. I cut it about down to about 1 1/2" all over. I've also taken to wearing wigs. I am almost 11 months post-op and I'm still loosing hair, but I think it has slowed down a bit - maybe. I tried everything including all the Nioxin products and all the various Vitamins. I'm taking 10,000 mcg of Biotin along with other hair, skin and nail formula's. I've spent hundreds of dollars trying to help this situation. Including the wigs over $1,000. I think not everyone will experience the hair loss as bad as I have and some probably hardly at all. I actually like the wigs. They look natural and I bought wigs that look the style and length like I usually wore my hair and the same color.

Don't stress over this too much. You may be lucky and not experience much hair loss at all. It's a small price to pay for, in my case, saving my life. My sleep apena is gone, my blood pressure is normal and so is my blood sugar and heart rate. My resting heart rate use to be in the 90's and in the 100's sometimes. Last week at the doctors my BP was 117/76 and my pulse 73. YAY! For me It's worth the hair loss from all the health benefits I've realized from loosing this extra weight that was killing me.

Yes, this is a strange topic, but it's something I've been thinking about for awhile now. I have read pretty much everywhere that no matter how many Vitamins you take, and no matter how hard you wish, hair loss will inevitibly hit around 3-4 months post op for about 95% of us. I have read of ladies sadly sheering their locks in exchange for shorter do's. I have read stories of people trying to hang on to it as long as they can before claiming defeat and cutting the remaining straggling hair off. I have read of powders and sprays to make your hair apear thicker and hide bald spots.

I am 4 days pre-op, and have grown my hair with minimal trimming for the past 2 years. It is over 15 inches from the base of my head to the tips...all of this hair loss sounds terrifying! It sounds sad, and rather like something that I don't want to go through at all.

I have decided to be proactive though. I am going to go an unconventional route with my (inevitable) hair loss, and I'm going to cut it as soon as the loss starts and donate it to Locks of Love. I am actually thinking of *gasp* just shaving my whole head and starting fresh with new growth.

I feel just like with my weight loss journey, I want to be in control as much as I can, and if I'm going to lose my hair, I want it going to a cause that can appreciate and use it in a good way. My septic system won't feel any remorse, I'm sure.

Have any of you thought similarly? What have you done about your hair loss?

Here's the thing...it will thin, then grow in some, then thin some more, then grow in again...it cycles. I'm nine months out, and it's still doing it. My hair is below my shoulders, so I've taken to putting it up in a pony tail, then flipping it through and curling it and kinda ratting up the top to make it all look poofier. It's working well, because I refuse to cut my hair. I'm just going to hang out and wait for the new growth to come again. When the weight loss is over I'll still have my hair. Just a thought.

I'm at 5 months and have noticed my hair coming out, a lot of hair. I won't cut it it's very long. I had very thick hair before and no one has noticed it's thinner. Hoping it stops soon.

I'm four months post-op and (knock on wood) have not noticed much, if any, hair loss yet. My nails have been a mess so I was assuming my hair would thin out too but so far, so good. And I can't say I've done anything extra special to conserve it. I'm probably jinxing myself right now.

Anyway, I had hair almost to the middle of my back and two days before surgery I chopped it off... well, to about shoulder length. It was the change and new beginning thing, not the concern of hair loss. I needed to feel different in as many ways as possible. I've had it short since and over the weekend I went even shorter, a chin-length bob. Again, not because of hair loss fears. I'm such a different person compared to a year or even six months ago, in so many ways. I want as many reminders as possible.

I have been loosing hair by the handfull and its freaking me out!!! I get all my protien and vitamins its just something i was told we have to deal with. But my hair was thin to begin with and i can see my scalp in places

I have lost SO much hair since my surgery in April. About a month ago (6 months post op) I started researching wigs. I now own 3 of them and I love them! My hair is starting to come back now, actually this weekend I will be getting a pixie cut to even it out. In the mean time I will be rocking the wigs. I am attaching 2 of the wig pics. Good luck!!!

That's a wig?? Awesome! How does one decide on the best wigs? I'll gladly go that route if need be, but I have no idea where to start! Thanks!

Doxieville. You didn't ask me but I'll tell you my experience with wigs. I love my wigs. I've bought a couple wigs from www.beautytrends.com and www.wilshirewigs.com and then the first one I bought at a wig store in Sacramento. Wig stores can be expensive but a good place to go to try them on to see what style and color you like. On line is much cheaper and you can return them if you don't like them. Order color swatches before you order on line as the color you see on the computer monitor isn't exactly the color it is. On the acrylic wigs you can't change the color or use heat on them. Trying to match your hair color to the wig can be difficult especially if your a red head like me.

BTW the dog in your profile pic is beautiful!!!! I've never seen one that color.

Oh, at 11 months out I have never stopped losing my hair. It started around 5-6 months out I think and it just keeps coming out! Wondering when or if it will stop?

Doxieville. You didn't ask me but I'll tell you my experience with wigs. I love my wigs. I've bought a couple wigs from www.beautytrends.com and www.wilshirewigs.com and then the first one I bought at a wig store in Sacramento. Wig stores can be expensive but a good place to go to try them on to see what style and color you like. On line is much cheaper and you can return them if you don't like them. Order color swatches before you order on line as the color you see on the computer monitor isn't exactly the color it is. On the acrylic wigs you can't change the color or use heat on them. Trying to match your hair color to the wig can be difficult especially if your a red head like me.

BTW the dog in your profile pic is beautiful!!!! I've never seen one that color.

Great info! And what a good program on the color swatches! I think I may do that. Need to find a local wig store first to see what styles look good. I'm 11 weeks out and my hair is falling out. It doesn't upset me, and wearing wigs might be fun!!

The dachshund in my profile is an English Cream. Isn't he gorgeous? He was a puppy mill dog. Totally feral. Now he's a mamma's boy. I take it by your name you have 5 dogs? Same here! I rehabilitate them from puppy mills and some just stayed.... :-) They all have helped me. From making me get up to take them out in the early postop days, to cuddling w me on my bad days, to strongly encouraging me to walk them even when I'm feeling lazy. :-)