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!

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!

Hey Loobylou. I'm actually 2/4 Irish, 1/4 Scottish and the remaining 1/4 - I'm a English mutt. But yes, I have the pale (prone to stretch marks) skin and fine, can't do anything with it hair! I may well give consideration to a wig if the sides of my head disappear any more quickly than they already are. I fancy a bright red bob... Hmm.. that's an idea actually!

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!!!

]

[

Roo - you're right, your wig is absolutely fantastic! I wouldn't know it was a wig at all! Is it real hair?

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.

LOL It is really interesting you said that, PdxMan. Although being dark and having a bit of a tache - its my legs which are starting to look like they belong to a baby gorilla! Weird. I didn't think it could have been the Biotin that caused me to go this way. Did the excess hair stop for you once Biotin had left your system? I'm thinking it might be worth continuing on with the Biotin and suffering the ape-legs so that it promotes the growth on my head...

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!

I think blondes do have more fun. Just need to look at my sister to confirm that. She's flaxen blonde and I am dark! Genetics are weird!

Holy cow. Scared face.

Be afraid - be very afraid! lol Not really.. Everyone suffers it in different ways and at different levels. You may be one of the lucky few. I hope you are

So, here is my train of thought...I'm going to take Biotin, methylfolate, SIBU, and zinc. If it starts to fall out...minoxidil. If that doesn't work I will let it fall, buy a pretty jon renau wig, and wait it out. I haven't heard of too many people saying it never grew back! Jon renau also makes a nice topper that can be matched to your shade and blends right into your natural hair. Don't get discouraged. We are lucky we have all the cosmetic junk to cope with just about anything, except my face getting wrinkly and saggy...but then hey, that can be fixed too! I'll be happy to be rid of the weight that is holding me back. The rest is just peripheral and can be fixed.

Mine looked about the same as yours. Big clumps every day from 3 months to 7 months. I gave up in month 5 and cut my hair off and lightened it. In month 7 I started researching wigs because I was starting to get desperate, but then I noticed a few baby hairs coming in. Now at 1 year+, my hair is finally back to the thickness it was before surgery.

LOL It is really interesting you said that, PdxMan. Although being dark and having a bit of a tache - its my legs which are starting to look like they belong to a baby gorilla! Weird. I didn't think it could have been the Biotin that caused me to go this way. Did the excess hair stop for you once Biotin had left your system? I'm thinking it might be worth continuing on with the Biotin and suffering the ape-legs so that it promotes the growth on my head...

I stopped taking biotin almost 2 years ago and I am calling my esthetician for an appointment today ... so no. It didn't get better. It has stayed the same since I stopped taking biotin. I gotta say it is a little annoying, actually.

ugh, I feel your pain. I had terrible hair loss before surgery (thanks, bad genetics!) and had to use Toppik and similar fibers to cover up my bare scalp. Then I had surgery and most of the few remaining hairs I had left were falling out . . . I went and got a bonded topper and I love it! I've already decided I'm keeping it even if all my surgery-related hair loss fixes itself. I feel so much more confident and happy with it. It's all natural hair and custom made to match my own hair.

And yeah, I tried biotin and the only thing it did for me was make the hair on my chin grow thicker and faster. Not the result I was looking for to say the least!

lol well, aren't we all an attractive bunch?!

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!

Hey Loobylou. I'm actually 2/4 Irish, 1/4 Scottish and the remaining 1/4 - I'm a English mutt. But yes, I have the pale (prone to stretch marks) skin and fine, can't do anything with it hair! I may well give consideration to a wig if the sides of my head disappear any more quickly than they already are. I fancy a bright red bob... Hmm.. that's an idea actually!

>>

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!!!

]

[

Roo - you're right, your wig is absolutely fantastic! I wouldn't know it was a wig at all! Is it real hair?

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.

LOL It is really interesting you said that, PdxMan. Although being dark and having a bit of a tache - its my legs which are starting to look like they belong to a baby gorilla! Weird. I didn't think it could have been the Biotin that caused me to go this way. Did the excess hair stop for you once Biotin had left your system? I'm thinking it might be worth continuing on with the Biotin and suffering the ape-legs so that it promotes the growth on my head...

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!

I think blondes do have more fun. Just need to look at my sister to confirm that. She's flaxen blonde and I am dark! Genetics are weird!

Holy cow. Scared face.

Be afraid - be very afraid! lol Not really.. Everyone suffers it in different ways and at different levels. You may be one of the lucky few. I hope you are

I have very thick hair, so in a way I am kinda looking forward to losing 50% of my hair - that's how much hair I have. My sleeve was Dec 3 2013 and still no hair loss.

Edited March 11, 201412 yr by Mommysonadiet

I used to have very thick hair. So much in fact that when I went to the Hairdresser....they would run. I always got so many compliments on my thick dark full head of hair but then 4 years ago I was put on medication for depression and my hair started falling out and now my hair is very thin. I now have about 1/4 of what I used to have. I am 1 month post op and I sit here reading about the upcoming hair loss and I'm getting pretty nervous. I suppose I should be looking at wigs now but have no idea where to start that process and what I should be looking for. I am so happy I had the WLS but gee, I'm not in to this hair loss thing. If anyone has any suggestions or advice on where and how to get the wigs, please let me know.

Me, too, Revs. I feel your pain. Ugghh. Ready for it to stop falling out anytime now. The little hair that's left looks like cr@p, too.

Edited March 11, 201412 yr by NMJG

The hair loss sucks. That sums it up. Sucks sucks sucks. I'm a stylist and salon owner so it's my job to have great hair. I have no words for how devastating this is other than, sucks! My only condolence is that I know it's temporary. But for now it just really sucks.

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.

PDX, you utterly crack me up......

I've lost so much, pony tails are just not viable. I look bald to the temples... It sucks... and no lotions or potions are helping. Before anyone else messages me with the 'are you taking' question? Yes, I'm taking the works. It HASN'T worked. On that basis, no more suggestions please. I know you mean well - but I'm an intelligent (sometimes) girl and I have done significant research of which, NOTHING has worked. It is, what it is. My hair is still falling. It is genetics and my physical reaction to the surgery. There ain't nothing that can be done about it. Any questions in this regard are getting on my mammories. I really don't need any 'helpful' reminders that the hair, 'potentially', could not have fallen so much if I'd been taking x, y, z...shoving my head up a camels backside, or given **** to a horse! Know what I'm saying? I have tried it all. I'm bright enough to know that each individual has a different fall rate. No one knows until they spin the barrel for themselves. Come talk to me when you're bald and you've been doing xyz in endless quantities and its still not worked. 50, 60, 70, 150 grm of protein? It's all balderdash! You fall at the rate that the surgery impacts upon you. Everything you ingest/apply just helps with the re-growth. I'm losing hair like nothing anyone has seen and frankly; I'm tired of it. I'm trying my best to minimise it. Its not working. I'm doing my best to disguise it in the meantime. Best I can do. Now.. Please, a little less of the shoulda, woulda, coulda? I have, I did, and it DIDN'T work! I'm still going bald with another (at least) 3 months to go. 'Nuff said? <sanitised appropriately>

Have you tried eating? I am 16 months out and have lost about 90 lbs. Whenever I thought I was losing hair I would eat. Not enough to put on weight but enough to stabilise for a week or two. It worked great. I never lost a significant amount of hair that I noticed.

I've lost so much, pony tails are just not viable. I look bald to the temples... It sucks... and no lotions or potions are helping. Before anyone else messages me with the 'are you taking' question? Yes, I'm taking the works. It HASN'T worked. On that basis, no more suggestions please. I know you mean well - but I'm an intelligent (sometimes) girl and I have done significant research of which, NOTHING has worked. It is, what it is. My hair is still falling. It is genetics and my physical reaction to the surgery. There ain't nothing that can be done about it. Any questions in this regard are getting on my mammories. I really don't need any 'helpful' reminders that the hair, 'potentially', could not have fallen so much if I'd been taking x, y, z...shoving my head up a camels backside, or given **** to a horse! Know what I'm saying? I have tried it all. I'm bright enough to know that each individual has a different fall rate. No one knows until they spin the barrel for themselves. Come talk to me when you're bald and you've been doing xyz in endless quantities and its still not worked. 50, 60, 70, 150 grm of Protein? It's all balderdash! You fall at the rate that the surgery impacts upon you. Everything you ingest/apply just helps with the re-growth. I'm losing hair like nothing anyone has seen and frankly; I'm tired of it. I'm trying my best to minimise it. Its not working. I'm doing my best to disguise it in the meantime. Best I can do. Now.. Please, a little less of the shoulda, woulda, coulda? I have, I did, and it DIDN'T work! I'm still going bald with another (at least) 3 months to go. 'Nuff said? <sanitised appropriately>

Have you tried eating? I am 16 months out and have lost about 90 lbs. Whenever I thought I was losing hair I would eat. Not enough to put on weight but enough to stabilise for a week or two. It worked great. I never lost a significant amount of hair that I noticed.

My apologies if I'm being, well, a bit stupid here.. But is that a genuine suggestion?

That picture looks familiar to me! Every other day when I wash my hair for 2 months now! Can't wait til it stops.

Holy moly....Im so sorry....and Now I am scared lol

I am almost at the 3 month mark....I have always had wonderful hair....I love my hair....praying I dont loose too much..unfortunently I also have hypothyroid so I now will have 2 strikes against me.

Thank you for posting the picture....at least now if I have any chunks fall out I wont be as freaked out and will know its pretty normal.

I hope this stops for you soon.