My biggest worry is hairloss!!!!!! What can be done to minimize hair loss? I am having surgery 12/9 is there anything that a person should use before surgery to help with hair loss.

Your hair growth cycle can be interrupted just from the shock of surgery, so even if you do everything right you still might see more loss than you're used to. To minimize it, make sure you get at least your minimum amount of Protein in daily from the start. Take your Vitamins every day. I know this sounds like common sense/easy advice to follow, but the first month or so can be difficult! Some people say extra Biotin helps too.

I didn't start feeling like I was losing more hair than usual until about 3-4 months out. I was the only one that noticed.. I had my mom, boyfriend, and best friend look at my scalp multiple times and they couldn't tell anything was different. Now at 6 months, it seems like things have reverted back to normal. That's even after getting my hair colored! I stressed about it at the time after seeing all these extra huge hair balls in the bathtub, but it honestly hasn't been that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

I'm two months out and have been noticing a lot of falling hair...it didn't seem like it was getting thinner, but I heard the loss can last 6 months! I was not going to wait to go bald...my hair was quite long, and very tangly. So today I went short. Very short. Donated my foot long braid...haven't had my hair this short in well over 10 years!

It doesn't happen to everyone, but it does happen to a lot. I've been making fun of my brother for 20 years about his hair loss, so I'm doomed! Stupid karma!

Get in all of your protein. Don't stress about the little stuff. Take your vitamins. Lots of people add extra biotin. These things may help, But in the end, I think if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. It depends on how your body deals with the stress of surgery. (physical and mental) I did the first 3 and never had any hairloss. But I was prepared to shave my head and wear hats if I had to.

Expect it to happen and if it doesn't, then you're just one of the lucky ones. The cause of the loss actually occurs right after surgery and during those first few weeks where many people struggle with fluid intake and protein; it doesn't begin to fall out until months later because of the hair cycle. So what the above poster told you is accurate. Do your very best from the start with water, protein, and vitamins. Wish for the best and prepare for the worst.

Well I am almost 13 weeks post op. I notice a few strands but not all clumped together. I started on protein shakes the end of May with one small meal for dinner and lost 60 pounds pre op. Since surgery I have been able to get in all my protein and water, I take 30000 mcg of biotin a day (probably an overkill) and I use Nioxin shampoo and conditioner. I am not stressed out and was not stressed about the surgery. I may lose one or two strands a day but no clumps of hair.

Edited November 21, 201411 yr by Thinkingthinner1109

Biotin is your friend. I am taking 1250 mcg daily starting Monday. I refuse to lose my beautiful locs.

In this past month my hair is falling crazy!!!!! I'm 3.5 months post surgery and I'm taking my vitamins and protein.

You will lose it around three months and it was the hardest part of this journey. Being fat that was my best feature but now it is thin. I cut it and got a new style and everyone loves it. It's not the end of the world

So far none for me. I've read that if you get in your protein you lessen the chances of having hair loss because your body isn't leeching protein from your hair to feed itself. I don't know if that's true or not, but I also take 5,000 of biotin a day along with my regular vitamins.

I took biotin but I still lost my hair

I'm at 4 months out and just in the past two weeks have noticed that what was noticeable (but normal for me because of medication i'm on) hairloss has ramped upinto actual hanks of hair coming out at time. I try to minimize my handling of the hair as much as possible, hopefully limiting how much will be coming out. I am now going to go get some biotin i hadn't heard of that until I read this post. I Have had a whole WHOLE lot of hair my entire life so i'm hoping that I have the bandwidth for this kind of hairloss for the time being.

I want to try biotin but I know some of my coworkers have use it and hair grew where it wasn't supposed to. I'm afraid of trying it because I'm hairy as it is because of my overweight so I don't need more. Sigh ????????

I've used biotin for over a year with no side effects.

I had no unusual hair loss until this month--11 months after my VSG!! [My VSG was Dec. 4, 2013]. It's coming out by the handful. I am so bummed. My hair has thinned terribly, and its length broken off. You can see 'through' my hair to my scalp. Every time I just comb my hair, there are so many strands of hair. Hmmm.

Fortunately, it's fall/winter; the temp is cold, and I love hats. Maybe I'll don them most of the winter as I hope my hair will grow back.

Does Biotin really work for folks? Some say yes, others say no. Any advice? Thanks in advance; and happy thanksgiving to all.