I just have a question. My hair is super long and it's the one thing that I love most about my appearance. I keep reading about people loosing their hair with gastric bypass Is this a common side effect? Does it happen to everyone who has gastric bypass?

I posted a question about hair loss a few days ago and only received one response. Hair loss is very common, I've only talked to one person it didn't happen to. I have the same concern, my hair is the only thing I liked about myself and then I developed scarring alopecia which is permanent hair loss so i am VERY concerned about it. I already have large bald spots on my head!

You need to make sure you are doing EVERYTHING as you should; getting in all of your Protein, taking your Vitamins, etc. Even if you do everything you should doesn't mean you won't lose it, everyone is different. Talking with others made me realize you wont die from having beautiful hair but you might with medical weight related conditions.

So..I completely and fully understand your concerns. Hopefully this won't happen with you!

Sometimes when you post, it will disappear after the first person responds. This happened a few days ago when someone asked about connecting with anyone from New Hampshire. I live in Chicago now, I did spend a few years in the area she was talking about, so I responded. Within an hour the entire post was buried somewhere and I never did find it again.

To answer your question, I was sleeved 12/23/2013 and did not have any hair loss at all.

I have been worried about this as well and so I asked a friend of mine who's a professional stylist and she said that nioxin shampoo and conditioner will help and if it gets bad the rogain will also work.

Thank you Miss Mac. I'm new to this so I didn't know this could happen. So glad you didn't lose any hair!

Did someone say hair loss?? Unfortunately, it does happen to most, but certainly not everyone. I started at 5 months, stopped at around 8 months, and for some reason am starting again at 11 months. Luckily, my hair used to be pretty thick, so it's not too noticeable to an outsider. I'm glad the poster above mentioned Nioxin, because that's what I bought today after I got my hair done and saw what's in the picture below. This is after she colored and combed through it

I posted a question about hair loss a few days ago and only received one response. Hair loss is very common, I've only talked to one person it didn't happen to. I have the same concern, my hair is the only thing I liked about myself and then I developed scarring alopecia which is permanent hair loss so i am VERY concerned about it. I already have large bald spots on my head!

You need to make sure you are doing EVERYTHING as you should; getting in all of your Protein, taking your Vitamins, etc. Even if you do everything you should doesn't mean you won't lose it, everyone is different. Talking with others made me realize you wont die from having beautiful hair but you might with medical weight related conditions.

So..I completely and fully understand your concerns. Hopefully this won't happen with you!

Are you taking medication for the alopecia? My dermatologist says there is a med that will stop the spread of it. I see her next month. I can get the name of it if you like.

@beccaconaty87 - Just like sagging skin, hair loss varies from person to person and there is no way to predict or guarantee who will or won't be effected.

I posted a question about hair loss a few days ago and only received one response. Hair loss is very common, I've only talked to one person it didn't happen to. I have the same concern, my hair is the only thing I liked about myself and then I developed scarring alopecia which is permanent hair loss so i am VERY concerned about it. I already have large bald spots on my head!

You need to make sure you are doing EVERYTHING as you should; getting in all of your Protein, taking your Vitamins, etc. Even if you do everything you should doesn't mean you won't lose it, everyone is different. Talking with others made me realize you wont die from having beautiful hair but you might with medical weight related conditions.

So..I completely and fully understand your concerns. Hopefully this won't happen with you!

I too have scalp scarring alopecia... I've lost 70% of my hair. Sometimes the hair loss threads aggravate me so I don't bother to respond.

I've embraced my hair loss though, totally comfortable in our out of a wig... I think my hair loss overshadows my weight loss though. You should see the looks I get... Oh and I "LOVE" the unsolicited, have you tried this product advice. Nope... Never would have crossed my mind to try something to avoid this! Quick let me get a pen and write that down!!

From what I gather scarring alopecia is a different sort of beast. Diet/vitamins/OTC topical solutions will not change it. So far I have a spot on the top of my head about the size of a quarter. Not horrible, but if I can stop it, I will. I have bra strap length dredlocs and I would rather not have to cut them off.

I posted a question about hair loss a few days ago and only received one response. Hair loss is very common, I've only talked to one person it didn't happen to. I have the same concern, my hair is the only thing I liked about myself and then I developed scarring alopecia which is permanent hair loss so i am VERY concerned about it. I already have large bald spots on my head!

You need to make sure you are doing EVERYTHING as you should; getting in all of your Protein, taking your Vitamins, etc. Even if you do everything you should doesn't mean you won't lose it, everyone is different. Talking with others made me realize you wont die from having beautiful hair but you might with medical weight related conditions.

So..I completely and fully understand your concerns. Hopefully this won't happen with you!

I too have scalp scarring alopecia... I've lost 70% of my hair. Sometimes the hair loss threads aggravate me so I don't bother to respond.

I've embraced my hair loss though, totally comfortable in our out of a wig... I think my hair loss overshadows my weight loss though. You should see the looks I get... Oh and I "LOVE" the unsolicited, have you tried this product advice. Nope... Never would have crossed my mind to try something to avoid this! Quick let me get a pen and write that down!!

You are the first person I have known of having scarring alopecia! Please tell me how you have come to the point where you embrace it because i am no where near it! I read it is common in African Americans but I am Caucasian. Did you lose 70% of your hair BEFORE the surgery or did the surgery make it worse? Did you have hair lose from the surgery and it grew back? Thanks.

From what I gather scarring alopecia is a different sort of beast. Diet/vitamins/OTC topical solutions will not change it. So far I have a spot on the top of my head about the size of a quarter. Not horrible, but if I can stop it, I will. I have bra strap length dredlocs and I would rather not have to cut them off.

Yes, I would advise you to do everything you can to prevent it from spreading. Mine stated out that small too and now it is a large spot on the right side of my head and then it started on the left side and it getting worse. They are clean bald spots! Good Luck!

I lost my hair pre op. Honestly I came to embrace it by being a bitch lol. Rude, well intended, whatever you want to call it people constantly solicited advice, encouraged me, blah blah. The more people did the more I wanted to go against the grain of thier thinking. I just decided to own the hand I was dealt, so I wouldn't have to feel 'victimized' with every pitiful look and stare. Now I pity them, cause I know they couldn't muster half the confidence I have if they were in my shoes.

I haven't noticed shedding since surgery, it does seem thin, but I just started trimming my hair closer than I normally would... So it could be that.

I had no hair loss at all. I did start taking the "hair, skin, and nail" gummies around the 3 month post-op mark. I also started to wash my hair a little less often too. Now that I am 7 month post-op I have noticed that my hair is getting thicker so I am very happy about that!

Oh I hate the hair loss! Every time I wash my hair I say to myself this is the day I'll notice fewer hairs coating my palms.........not yet. My dietician said it typically lasts about three months from start to finish, so I am hoping that in the next two weeks it should slow down. Oh I live in hope. Babbs is losing hair again at 11 mos., please God, no! As disappointing as the hair loss is I am thrilled with the weight loss, so it's not a perfect world.

I am 10 months post op and have been shedding significant hair almost since the beginning,

It happens with massive weight loss for many people. It can effect anyone who has had WLS and is not only a result of gastric bypass alone.

Biotin definately helps with regrowth as does cutting your hair shorter. It is less noticeable. I have tons of short hairs popping up all over. Unfortunately the longer ones are still coming out 10 months post op.

There is no set time limit on when it will stop. I have had multiple experts (doctors, nurses, nutritionists from bariatric team) tell me that it will likely continue until the weight loss slows way down or stops completely. Some people have experienced this stopping after a few months but it can go on for the duration of your loss.

By the way, my Protein levels and Iron levels have been excellent from the very beginning so it is not that, it is the rapid massive weight loss.

The good news is, you shed all over. No bald spots with this.

At the end of the day, for me, the trade is well worth it. I have my health back! Even if all my hair fell out. I would then just go get some really cute wigs.

Oh, and I would rock those wigs! LOL!

I started losing hair at around two months post-op. My hair is fine, but there's lots of it, and it's generally quite curly (in my profile photo, it's been treated with hair-smoothing shampoo and conditioner, and I generally let it grow a tad wild so the weight pulls out the curl a bit). Anyhoo, I had quite a lot of hair loss, which was probably aggravated by the heart failure (according to my cardiologist), so it was a bit of a double whammy. I ended up getting it dyed purple and cut a bit shorter, and when the moulting didn't slow down, I bit the bullet, had it chopped back very short and got green and blue streaks added. I figured if it was going to bug me so much I might as well make it interesting to look at!

Oh, and the hair lost finally stopped just a few months ago.

Edited July 27, 201511 yr by dbfn