I am 7 months out...my hair loss didn't begin until about 4 1/2 months out...it is getting really bad (and I fear- noticeable to others & no one knows I had wls surgery)...I would like to hear from those 7 months out and beyond...how long will it the shedding and loss truly last? Yes, I am taking biotin, prenatal, collagen & all other vitamins for hair. Yes, I am not styling/using styling products like I used to. Yes, I am not shampooing like I used to. Yes, I have tried various shampoos/conditioners. Yes, I am getting in my protein. So, I know the hair is inevitable for most wls people...I just want to know how much longer can I expect to keep up this amount of shedding and hair loss???? 1 year? over a year out? how long? Please veterans respond! Thanks!!

It was about four months for me. The worst is finding hair in the food. I started wearing a plastic shower cap when I was cooking.

This is happening to me right now. It is so alarming to lose so much hair every morning in the shower. And all through the day whenever I touch my head! I am 4 1/2 months out, and it started about 4-5 weeks ago. I hope this doesn't go on too long, I won't have anything left! Kinda freaked out by all this!

OMG this sounds so scary, why with wls does this happen. I've been on plenty of diets and hair loss has never happen.

Is it based on the amount of weight you lose or how fast you lose????

My hair fell out for a full 4.5 months. It had finally stopped and is growing back in. It sucks!

Hi, I am ten months out and can totally feel your pain!! my hair loss started at about 5 months and lasted for 4 months......I also used special shampoos, vitamins, extra protein, and no styling and my hair still came out. When I took a shower and shampooed my hair....clumps used to come out! I had resolved that I would just need to wear a wig, when all the sudden it stopped. all of the sudden I noticed that I had stopped shedding. My primary doc told me that this was pretty normal....but scary. My hair has now rebounded nicely, its silky and much fuller and fluffier. Hope this helps!

Thank you for your replies. I am hoping my Christmas present will be - no more shedding & no more losing so much hair after about 4/5 months of it!

I'm a year out, and it think (hope!) that my hair loss has calmed down, but the regrowth is so short that it will be months and months before I get the benefit of fullness from it.

I am 2 years and 7 months after surgery. I started taking Biotin as soon as I had surgery and was able to swallow the pills. My hair did thin, but it is now back to pre-surgery levels if not actually thicker than before. I think I eat better now, which is reflected in the health of my hair. It seems to grow more quickly, too. I continue to take Biotin.

Hope this helps.

OMG this sounds so scary' date=' why with wls does this happen. I've been on plenty of diets and hair loss has never happen.

Is it based on the amount of weight you lose or how fast you lose????[/quote']

Hair loss is common with ANY surgery. The stress of surgery and the subsequent recovery causes the hair follicles to go into emergency panic mode and turn off. Your old hair continues to shed naturally as it would but there's no new hair growing in to replace it. Eventually your body realizes its not in danger and gives your follicles permission to grow hair again.

Time frame is anyone's guess though.

hair loss is common with ANY surgery. The stress of surgery and the subsequent recovery causes the hair follicles to go into emergency panic mode and turn off. Your old hair continues to shed naturally as it would but there's no new hair growing in to replace it. Eventually your body realizes its not in danger and gives your follicles permission to grow hair again.

Time frame is anyone's guess though.

I have read this numerous times on all of the many support sites I belong to and from personal experience I do not necessarily agree.....I had breast reduction 5 years ago which is a pretty major surgery and suffered no hair loss from it. Seems more like the drastic reduction in calories. Just my own guess because of my own experience. 3 months out now from VSG and starting to see a lot of shedding in the shower.

Edited October 25, 201312 yr by Michele H.

I have read this numerous times on all of the many support sites I belong to and from personal experience I do not necessarily agree.....I had breast reduction 5 years ago which is a pretty major surgery and suffered no hair loss from it. Seems more like the drastic reduction in calories. Just my own guess because of my own experience. 3 months out now from VSG and starting to see a lot of shedding in the shower.

I'm glad you didn't experience it with your breast reduction, but I know people who have unfortunately. It's not to say it can't bypass some lucky people, and some surgeries are more likely than others to cause it, but it can happen with any major stress put on the body. Hair is a non-essential function for our bodies so its one of the easiest to go hahaha

I have read this numerous times on all of the many support sites I belong to and from personal experience I do not necessarily agree.....I had breast reduction 5 years ago which is a pretty major surgery and suffered no hair loss from it. Seems more like the drastic reduction in calories. Just my own guess because of my own experience. 3 months out now from VSG and starting to see a lot of shedding in the shower.

I agree. I had bilateral knee replacement in 2009, and that was one stressful, painful recovery. My hair didn't show the strain at all. My surgeon says hair loss occurs during the most active weight loss phase postoperatively.

Google Telogen Effluvium for more information on the hair loss.

Clinically, sleeve surgery is regarded as major as it involves cutting and removing most of a significant organ. Breast reduction surgery may be extensive but it doesn't traumatise the body to the same extent so isn't regarded as major. So says the cosmetic surgeon doing my boobs, in response to my concerns about not being able to afford any more hair loss!

Sleeve hair loss is as a result of trauma of surgery and a sharp sudden drop in Protein... but that knowledge doesn't really help as u watch ur hair fall out....It does pass, just try not to stress :-)