Vets help. I am losing my hair

[BrownDoesAll 409]

I am in year three of the sleeve. I lost 85 pounds. Never reached goal but have maintained the lost with noo gain beyond the normal 5 pound up and down bounce

I have been on a push to lose more. 5:2 has helped shed an additional 5 pounds. scale is moving in the right direction

I eat protien and veggies very very litte carbs. And most recently I have baked the calories down to 800 - 1000. That seems to work for me.

I see now my hair is thinning. Very upset! I want to lose weight not my hair

I know this is a topic but I am panic'd and haven't searched for the topic yet. I am sure the answer is in vitiams which I must admit I don't take. But I will take them all A to Z to save my hair!

Help!!

[suejersey 263]

Biotin, Biotin, biotin. It seems to help a bit, at least in my case. You must take your Vitamins (from someone who has started to slack off on the vitamins) it is so important.

Seems that at three years out and starting to lose hair, that perhaps you should see your doctor to make sure there isn't something else going on - when did you have your blood work checked last?

Good luck! Losing hair is very upsetting, I totally understand. Try the biotin!

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

So I went back to my post op instructions. Zinc, Iron and Protein deficiencies are "possible" causes of hair loss. Have you had blood work recently? I lost massive hair post op due to the surgery even though my blood work was good but I was told that if you are more than a year from surgery it is more likely to be caused by lack of certain nutrients.

Now in my case, I was lucky I have so dang much hair that it actually improved it to be a bit thinner. I now have layers... the regrowth and old growth...LOL...however it was scary at the time to be removing like a garbage bag full of hair everyday (well, it seemed like that much anyway).

[Oregondaisy 2,019]

It does seem strange to lose hair this far out. I know being anemic causes Hair loss. I was anemic for the longest time. Get your blood work done like everyone says. Anemia is very common for sleevers. We just can't get enough red meat down!

[Escape_Pod 358]

Please please PLEASE take your vitamins! It's not just about feeling the best you can. It's about serious health issues. I take high-dose bariatric Vitamins and still ended up with a thiamine deficiency, which can eventually result in neurological damage if it goes untreated. Take those Vitamins, and if you can, take a GOOD QUALITY Vitamin. We don't absorb well, even as sleevers. A good bariatric-formulated Vitamin provides you with high dose nutrients in their most absorbable form (just like we need to take Calcium citrate instead of Calcium carbonate - many vitamins come in various forms, and the cheaper form isn't always the best quality). And have your blood work done regularly. You had the surgery to get healthy, right?

[Georgia 2,908]

Brown, I'm with you! I am at 3 1/2 years and my hair is so thin you can literally see scalp all the way through the front! I had a full Hysto in 2000 and took HRT for several years now they won't give me any and I seriously think lack of hormones, WLS has doubled up on me. I tried the Vitamins, didn't do anything for me. I do take all the reg vitamins. Just bought some scalp therapy special stuff that is for thinning hair. No idea if it will work. I actually have to use the powder stuff that you "brush on" to camouflage my head!

[2bfit 62]

I take Biotin religiously and was attributing my Hair loss to the weight loss.

I just found out I have Hashimotos (hypothyroid).

Get your levels checked asap if you think this might apply to you. Even if your TSH is normal your TPO may not be. This might be an underlying cause. It took me three years to get an answer. All of my Vitamin levels and labs were normal except for my TPO.

I also started using Keranique and Rogaine for women. Good luck!

Edited March 7, 2014 by 2bfit

[BellaHugz 331]

I take Biotin religiously and was attributing my Hair loss to the weight loss.

I just found out I have Hashimotos (hypothyroid).

Get your levels checked asap if you think this might apply to you. Even if your TSH is normal your TPO may not be. This might be an underlying cause. It took me three years to get an answer. All of my Vitamin levels and labs were normal except for my TPO.

I also started using Keranique and Rogaine for women. Good luck!

Curious, what is TPO?

[2bfit 62]

TPO is the Thyroid peroxidase enzyme that assists the chemical reaction that adds iodine to a Protein called thyroglobulin, a critical step in generating thyroid hormones. It is the lab test that's determines Hashimotos. My TSH was 1.8 which is normal but my TPO was 97 and the range is 0-34. So now I'm on Synthroid.

[deedadumble 1,033]

Hashimotos is an autoimmune disorder, so the TPO test actually test for TPO antibodies. Most docs will only test TSH and it can be normal while TPO antibodies are elevated. Other symptoms are losing the outer portion of your eyebrows, inability to lose weight, fatigue, puffy face, insomnia, cold extremities, and about 100 others. Research is now showing that over 90% of those diagnosed hypothyroid actually have Hashimotos.

[anniemay 150]

I have an appointment to chop my hair off today. I have long hair and have for over 20 years.....I lost a tremendous amount and it is starting to grow back but I am so frustrated I am chopping it off and starting over - it just looks too bad at this point.

I took Biotin and tried various things - but it is just too thin for me to keep it long

[Georgia 2,908]

I have an appointment to chop my hair off today. I have long hair and have for over 20 years.....I lost a tremendous amount and it is starting to grow back but I am so frustrated I am chopping it off and starting over - it just looks too bad at this point. I took Biotin and tried various things - but it is just too thin for me to keep it long

Mine has never recovered. Four years out but age, stress, no hormones etc have all played a part

[alwaysonadiet 47]

Pure liquid zinc for Hair loss.

[seelessofme 63]

Brown, I'm with you! I am at 3 1/2 years and my hair is so thin you can literally see scalp all the way through the front! I had a full Hysto in 2000 and took HRT for several years now they won't give me any and I seriously think lack of hormones, WLS has doubled up on me. I tried the Vitamins, didn't do anything for me. I do take all the reg Vitamins. Just bought some scalp therapy special stuff that is for thinning hair. No idea if it will work. I actually have to use the powder stuff that you "brush on" to camouflage my head! [/quote

Me too

[Georgia 2,908]

I have lost and lost and lost! I can see scalp from the from to the back of the top of my head! Nothing helps. I finally resorted to Joan Rivers powder stuff that you brush in that camouflages somewhat.