Just in case any of you were wondering what hair loss looks like post surgery and wanted to evaluate the level of loss for yourselves?

(Obviously this is with the caveat that everyone is different; people have different hair types, nutrient intake, etc.)

Here is a picture of what came out of my head after washing my hair this evening.

This does not include what additionally came out after combing it, either.

I wash my hair every other day and obviously, brush it in between. My hair is fine, but there is (or should I say, 'was') a lot of it.

My hair loss started at 3.5 months and started falling at a pace at 4 months. I am now 5 months and 19 days out and this is average loss every time I wash my hair.

What a joy!

Fear not! I have been textbook with the timing of my "stalls", hair loss, etc. I started losing hair at month three and stopped at month six, almost on the dot.

My clumps lost were huge and my temples were thin but the regrowth is like gang busters now. I have lots of new layers of about three inches in length. With the curly nature of my hair, these charming pieces stick straight up and/or out giving me volume in all the wrong places like unruly cowlicks.

My big hair used to balance out my big a$$, now I fear I am starting to resemble a serving of cotton candy.

Couldn't have said it better, Madam Rev. Mine started two weeks ago..right at three months..I'm hanging on for the ride, and not doubting my efforts to prevent the hair loss. Like you, I'm on target with nutrition and products! but it is what it is. You look great, by the way.

Thank you, darling xx xx

Fear not! I have been textbook with the timing of my "stalls", hair loss, etc. I started losing hair at month three and stopped at month six, almost on the dot.

My clumps lost were huge and my temples were thin but the regrowth is like gang busters now. I have lots of new layers of about three inches in length. With the curly nature of my hair, these charming pieces stick straight up and/or out giving me volume in all the wrong places like unruly cowlicks.

My big hair used to balance out my big a$$, now I fear I am starting to resemble a serving of cotton candy.

I'll take 'cotton-candy'!! No, I will, seriously! That's what GDH were created for!!!!!

Or is that GHD... D'oh...

I agree wholeheartedly with you Madame R! Nothing is helping no matter what I do.

Madam R, I believe you are a fellow Scot like me? It is all in the genes. Fine, thin hair. Pale skin. It's all those midges and haggis that have done it! Hang in there and why not buy a wig?

I already had alopecia(spelling?) before my gastric sleeve op in September last year. I started off just like you. My fringe disappeared, followed by most of my crown.

It has definitely worsened since my surgery. The sides have disappeared completely. I really don't like looking at myself in the mirror. When I go swimming I wear a wide headband to disguise most of my baldness.

I get four wigs per year on the NHS (free thank God) and some of them are absolutely stunning. If I get a compliment on my hair I will always tell the person that I am wearing a wig. Go get yourself a wig in a totally different style and colour to what you usually are and pretend you've just been to the hairdresser and fancied a change.

At work, I've been known to wear a different wig each day and nobody has batted an eyelash. They all think I'm crazy!

Eh, it sucks. I am shedding wherever I go. I have not seen clumps like yours, but every time I shower or wash it I lose 20-50 strands. Then I pick another 50 off my shirt and person throughout the day. But I also have long, fine hair. I see it in the ends; before this started I had a lovely blunt cut with fairly even ends; now the ends range from 1-2 inches in varied length. My hair is breaking like a mofo too. So far I have resisted the urge to chop several inches off, because the way things are going I don't think that would really solve it just yet.

It's not really about Protein or supplements. It's the luck of the draw I think.

I have hit this topic before, but let me say I totally get what you are saying and how it feels. When I was young I had a head FULL of hair. Now it was curly/frizzy/kinky and I hated it at the time, but boy do I wish I had it back now! In my mid twenties I had a significant thinning due to PCOS. It was thinner, but I could still live with it. I had a baby at age 39. During pregnancy my hair was AWESOME thick. Then, about three months after giving birth it fell out again. (thanks to hormones rebalancing) It was now thinner than it had ever been previously. I started using the hair fibers at that time to help hide the thinning. Trust me, they work. ( just be sure to spray in well and careful when laying on white pillows in exam rooms!) This camoflauge worked until last year when I went on blood thinners. I noticed the longer I took the warfarin the thinner my hair was getting. Then I had surgery on 10/21. By Thanksgiving I started wearing a wig and have been ever since. I didn't even make it to the 3 month fall...Of course now I have reached that point and let's just say it is a good darn thing the wig was already in play. I could very easily pass for a person receiving chemo at this point. Think "the Crypt Keeper". Yeah, it is bad.. It has caused me more mental anguish than anything else. It is hard to see myself without the wig because I get very emotional. But I try to look at it this way...The wig is very attractive. I get TONS of compliments on it, from people who know me and strangers. ( one lady asked if I colored my hair because she loved the color, another commented about loving the cut) And the wig makes getting ready to leave the house MUCH simpler! Just brush it out, out it on and a quick style then I am done. Would I rather have my own hair as it was? Yes, for many reasons. But it has not been the end of the world wearing my "hair hat". Because this weekend me and my fake hair had an amazing time going to parks and playing with my 5 year old, something my hairy fat self never could have done!!!

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Like you Madam, I tried and did everything suggested. I actually thought I had it beat until the 6 month mark when I started losing. One of the benefits of being a boy in this process is I basically said, "Screw it!" and shaved my head using a #1 (1/8th inch) guide comb. I figured I would beat it to the punch. 3 months later, I noticed it started growing back again.

One thing I will caution, though. I was religiously taking my Biotin. Now mind you, whilst I am a guy, no one would have ever described me as hairy. The number of hairs on my chest numbered in the low hundreds my entire life. The pathway to paradise was barely recognizable. Fast forward 15 months post sleeve and egads! I have hair growing in places I never knew I could grow hair. It has been crazy. This is still true now at over 2 and half years post op. I do some manscaping to keep things in check now which is an expense I never thought I would have.

So, my advice is, if you are throwing in the towel, stop taking the biotin. Your mustache may thank you.

Oh rev I am so sorry! I will have a breakdown if/ more than likely when that happens. I love my thick hair, have been complemented my entire life. It's all worth it in the end, but still heartbreaking.

My heart goes out to you girl. But just remember you are not your hair!

Edited March 10, 201412 yr by Ariella

i was having terrible problems with hair loss becasue of menopause and my hairdresser recomended NIOXON shampoo and scalp treatment. OMG does that stuff work!! WOW it made me go from about the hair loss you showed to literally 5-10 hairs lost ( normal is 100 hairs lost a day) the first use i saw no difference the 2nd ,y hairloss was sut in half 3rd use almost no hair loss at all.

im using it now and at my 2 month mark so i wont know if it's working for another few months but for now i'm loosing almost no hair.

im sorry I must have skipped a few pages somehow...... SORRY

I'm losing the exact same amount and it started around 3 1/2 months. I have a ton of thick hair so I don't think (maybe I'm in fantasy land) it is that noticable. I bought a shampoo w/ Biotin; however, I haven't noticed it helping. Your not alone.

There is a gal in my support group that shaved her head as she was losing in clumps. Her wigs are absolutely fabulous!!! I am losing close to what you are but I have very thick hair and curly. I'm hoping it will slow down and for now am trying to be blissfully oblivious to it but I agree if it is going to happen there isn't a whole heck of a lot you can do. Hang in there girl and if it is wigs we have to wear I'm getting myself a platinmu blond one!!! See if blondes really do have more fun!

Holy cow. Scared face.