Yesterday I hit the 100 lb. mark, and to Celebrate I want to share my experience with not losing much hair. Let me start by saying that I have no way of knowing if all the things I did to minimize hair loss really are what helped keep it to a minimum, or if I just got lucky. However, I will say that I had a major surgery three years ago following a significant illness, and after that surgery I lost hair by the handful. It got so thin that I felt embarrassed by it. Because of that experience, and the fact that it had just really gotten back to normal when I had my sleeve surgery, I was determined to do whatever I could to minimize hair loss after VSG. Today I am 8 months out from surgery, and have no noticeable difference in the thickness of my hair.

Here's what I did to try to combat hair loss... First and foremost was getting my Protein in like it was my job. I consume a minimum of 60 grams daily, with some days going up to almost 90 grams. I took my Vitamins religiously as well. I added 10,000 units of Biotin to my vitamins as well. I used only Paul Mitchell Scalp Care Shampoo for thinning hair https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Thinning-Stimulate-Conditioner-Strenghten/dp/B01DQ1CUJI/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1513363108&sr=8-3&keywords=paul+mitchell+thinning+hair+products It seems expensive, but a bottle this size lasted me 7 months. Each time I shampooed I also used Rogaine foam on my scalp. I did a lot of research on it, and there are some studies that show it can slow or prevent hair loss, so I figured I'd give it a try. The Rogaine is hard on the existing hair. It dries it out quite a bit, so I also used a deep moisturizing conditioner to offset the effects of the Rogaine. My existing hair became more coarse for a while, but I was glad it was sticking around, so I could live with the drier texture!

From about 3 months to 7 months after surgery I did lose a bit more hair than is typical, but it never came out in clumps or filled my brush like had happened with my previous surgery. Today I can see no visible difference in the thickness of my hair, and I am very relieved and happy with the results. Now I lose only a typical amount of hair each day, so I have stopped using the Rogaine. I am continuing with the biotin and am still using the Paul Mitchell shampoo, and I like the way it makes my hair feel.

I know hair loss is a big concern for lots of us. My experience with doing these things was very good, but again, I have no way to know for sure if my hair loss was minimal because of the things I did or if I just got really lucky. The way I look at it is that I had nothing to lose trying what I did, and I had the approval of my doctor to take the biotin, so it was worth a try. I would encourage you to speak with your doctor before changing anything with your vitamins. I hope this helps some of you with minimizing hair loss as well.

Thank you for sharing!

I've been using rogain as a preventative, too. Put a little foam on before bed around my hairline and crown a couple times a week, and shampoo it out in the morning. Here's hoping!

I take in a bare minimum of 85 grams a day of protein, usually more like 100. I'm also meticulous about my vitamins. I do not seem to have lost hair since my surgery in August.

Thanks for sharing. Mine just started falling out and I have been lacking in protein.

My Dr said I could use up to 20,000 mg of biotin safely. I use Niacin, minoxidil, and the biotin. After heavy hair loss mine has finally stopped. I think the extra 10,000 mg of biotin did the trick.

I've been worried about hair loss. For the last year or so I've been taking a massive amount of biotin every day, but I didn't think about preventative Rogaine. Thank you for sharing!

I can’t tell your genders. Is rogaine also for women? A month ago (4 mo post op) even though I lose only about 6 lbs a month, I started losing tons of hair. I was taking biotin but maybe not enough. I ran out and gave up because I’ve lost 2/3 of my hair it seems. This happened after I gave birth 6 yrs ago too and then it stopped. I will start up with the biotin in larger doses. I hope and pray this loss stops soon. I didn’t think it would happen to me with my slow slow weight loss.

I am female. There is Rogaine specifically for women, but I used the product geared to men because the concentration of active ingredient was higher.

My suspicion is that it has been the adequate levels of protein that have been the biggest help. We WLS patients are basically engaging in medically supervised starvation for a period of time and hair loss is a result. Getting adequate nutrition seems like the obvious solution.

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