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I'm waiting on my approval and hopefully am not too far out from my surgery!! I'm so excited but I keep hearing about hair loss. Is this like a thinning or more than that? How long does it last? I know it shouldn't matter but I'm nervous about it. Can't wait to hear from you all :)

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My hair is not real thick to begin with so it's a concern of mine. I have several friends who had the surgery and they thinned a little, but not dramatic. One friend started taking Biotin two months before surgery and her hair is so thick now, a year after surgery. Some people will tell you Biotin doesn't work, but it won't hurt either. I'm going to massage my scalp daily to promote circulation. None of my friends had bald spots or anything. God Bless!!!

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You just shed a little more hair when u wash ur hair or brush/comb it. No bald spots.

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My surgery was November, 2013, so I'm 5 months out.

My hair loss started at 2 months and continues today. Some days the amount of loss I get in the shower is horrifiic (I'm not saying this to scare you, I'm being honest). Other days, it's not so bad, but still get a handful of hair. It has become noticeable on the top from my bangs to the crown - that's where most of my loss is; you can see my scalp, so it's noticeable. I knew this was going to happen and there's nothing I can do about it to stop it.

I take my Vitamins every day and concentrate on getting my Protein in daily. My doctor approved Folic Acid and Biotin which I take every day. I use Nioxin Shampoo a few days a week - this dries out my scalp, so I use a moisturizing shampoo as well. I also use a product called Toppik - this helps fill in those spots where you can see my scalp.

I can see new growth, so while I'm losing, new stuff is coming back. It makes styling challenging. I had to go with a shorter hairstyle to try to mask the loss. My doc said, "Whatever you lose due to surgery, will grow back."

One thing I can say - I'd rather be dealing with my Hair loss than the 65 pounds I was carrying before I had surgery.

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I used to have extremely thick wavy hair and people use to comment on it all of the time. It was my favorite thing about me. Then I was taking some medications for depression and it caused my hair to start falling out in huge clumps. When I washed my hair handfuls would come out in my hands. Talk about stressful.... I was in a panic. I stopped taking the depression meds and my hair quit falling out but it I never regained the volume or thickness I once had. Now I have what an average person might have at my age (I'm in my 50s). I'm 2 months post op and have not had any post surgery Hair loss yet. I don't want to lose any but I know it is inevitable. I too am taking Biotin and zinc so maybe it will be a minimum loss. I hope it will grow back this time and I agree with the other poster... I prefer to have the weight loss.

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Hair... loss...sucks! I absolutely hate it. I just want it to stop. I get depressed every time I wash my hair. I don't think I'll feel truly successful until it stops and I see regrowth.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
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    • Doughgurl

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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