I have heard stories of hair loss, but I never thought I would start to lose mine. Im 4 months out, and just started losing my hair! I mean by the handfuls! My hair has always been long and thick, but not anymore...

this scares the hell outta me!

I am seriously praying I don't lose mine! I am taking biotin and trying to make sure I get all my protein in. I just started using biotin shampoo and conditioner by Jason.

Yeah, I've started the shedding...it sucks.

My doc approved Folate and Biotin. There some some that believe those won't help, but the doc said it was OK. I'm also concentrating on getting the Protein in. My doc says that the body thinks hair is optional (I beg to differ) and it will take care of the vital stuff first, then if anything is leftover, take care of the optional stuff like hair. I'm also using Nioxin shampoo. I'm throwing lots against the wall to get it to slow down!

My doc says that anything you lose because of the surgery will grow back. My hairstylist says she can see new growth, even though I'm still shedding.

I try to get in all my water, protein, vitamins & biotin & my hair is still falling out & becoming very noticeable. It has made me a lil sad but I know it will grow back eventually. I am 6 mths out & starting losing my hair @ approx 3 mths po & am still losing quite a bit & have actual bald spots if I don't brush my hair just right & pull it up. Praying it slows down soon or even better just stops all together. I wish everyone the best!

Edited January 30, 201412 yr by cherbear33

Omg this scares me so much! I have thin hair already and this will not be a good thing for me. I know this sounds terrible but since I'm not telling anyone about my WLS I don't want anyone to suspect my health is failing as a result of the hair loss. Does anyone have an experience they want to share?

I have always had long, insanely-thick hair, and at 8 weeks post-op and starting to lose my hair as well. welcome any advice people have!

Mine started coming out at about week 10-11. It got pretty thin and was coming out so fast that I jsut chopped mine all off. I had hair past my shoulders but now it's super short.

My doctor says time is the only thing that works. If biotin, nioxin, special shampoos, protein, or iron worked, people would have figured it out by now and no one would lose their hair.

I had severe hair loss prior to surgery (thanks, bad genetics!) -- like much worse than most people experience WITH surgery. Really, the only thing you can do is work on covering it up. My advice -- cut your hair shorter, preferably in a layered cut with a side part. This helps hide the hair loss a lot. If your scalp is showing through, use a shake in powder such as Toppik or Nanogen to cover it up and make your hair look thicker. I used these a lot prior to surgery and they really do work. And take it from me, someone who will have horribly thin hair (if any) the rest of her life -- it may not feel like it, but you are really lucky this is a temporary thing and you'll get your hair back in some months. Consider it a short visit to my world. Not that I mean to make light of it -- trust me, I know the emotional pain that hair loss brings!

I also had thinning hair before surgery - bad genetics for me, too. I lost a lot beginning around month 4 or 5. It continued to fall out for months. It's mostly slowed down now, and I did get some regrowth, but it's still not back to the way it was before surgery. I still hope that it could get there, but I don't know. I think for the average person, it will. I HATE it, but I'll still take thin body with too thin hair over fat body with thin hair.

I never missed a day of getting my Protein in, have been taking Biotin 5000 mcg daily since before surgery, and use all the special shampoos. I've been to the dermatologist, got shots in my head and topical solutions (which I think did help some) but I still had plenty of hair loss. I agree with Bufflehead, if they knew how to avoid/treat this, it would not be a consistent topic of conversation. We can't predict how our bodies will respond to WLS, but it doesn't hurt to plan for the possibilities. I would suggest trying not to stress or focus on it - it is what it is.

Mine started coming out at about week 10-11. It got pretty thin and was coming out so fast that I jsut chopped mine all off. I had hair past my shoulders but now it's super short.

My hair started coming out about a month ago, and I will be seeing my hairstylist next week to chop mine all off as well. The split ends are awful as well Im hoping within a year and a half to have my hair long enough I can pull it back comfortably. Oh well, it's a price Im willing to pay I suppose lol

My hair also started falling out in clumps about 2 weeks ago almost exactly 3 months post op. I take daily multi vitamin and 10,000 biotin since day 3 of surgery. Not helping! Guess I'll go with the flow and hope I'm not bald by the time it's done.

I did purchase Toppik and I love it. It will hide the thinning spots. If you go to their website and watch the videos, it works exactly like that - I was skeptical at first, but it really does work and I feel more comfortable. Even my hairdresser couldn't tell I had used it! I also went for a shorter, layered cut.

I've been using the Bosley fibers. I like them better than the Toppik because I think they match better and stick better. They really do work to hide a shiny scalp!

I have hair loss due to genetics also and really lost a lot more after having several surgeries in a row about 5 years ago. I did what was already mentioned here, and had a short, layered cut, lightened the color...and for a while, even spiked it! But when I got tired of that and trying to hide the worse spots every morning, I bought some fun wigs and wore them. It was a blast! Had a red one, blonde, brunette and very curly...whatever my mood was. The people at work just got used to it and I enjoyed it until my hair started growing back as much as it's going to.

I got a couple of them at wigs.com, one on eBay and one from a hair salon. People who rarely saw me didn't even know they were wigs (or so they said). My hairdresser said, it is what it is; you can't change it right now and you might as well have some fun with it! Loved his philosophy.