Hi,

I'm starting to extremely worry about my hair. I've read a few posts regarding thin hair/hair loss post operation and most of them have said they have gotten their hair back to normal 6-10 months post operation.

It's been almost 2 years since my operation and past month or two my hair has been shredding quite heavily, just by sweeping my hands through my hair, I would get around 10-20 pieces of hair on my palm.

Unfortunately, I've been stupid and neglected my required vitamins in the early stages after my operation until recent, where I've been required to take; B12 injection every 3 months, Fultium-D3 20000U capsules once a week and Calcichew-D3 500 MG chewable tablets twice a day.
I'm currently also not meeting my required daily protein intake, will using protein shakes/bars on top of food that contains protein help with my hair loss?

My worry is, am I losing hair or is my hair just thinning? Is it too late to save it now? Will it ever go back to how it used to be?
I'm only 23 years of age and it just looks horrendous when my hair is in that state...

Please see attached images of my hair.

Edited February 27, 20215 yr by Samteer

I have this too. I've been diligent about my vitamins and religious about getting my protein but I've still lost most of my hair. I'm quite a bit older than you, so I've been assuming that the surgery accelerated age-related hair loss I would have had anyway. But at 23, that doesn't seem likely for you. What does the doctor say?

2 hours ago, Jaelzion said:

I have this too. I've been diligent about my Vitamins and religious about getting my Protein but I've still lost most of my hair. I'm quite a bit older than you, so I've been assuming that the surgery accelerated age-related Hair loss I would have had anyway. But at 23, that doesn't seem likely for you. What does the doctor say?

My doctor hasn't said much about the situation besides try and stick to the prescribed vitamins. They are not of much help now as well, due to Covid-19.

Iron deficiency can cause hair loss and dry brittle hair. Sometimes it will NOT show up as anemia. It is VERY common in bariatric surgery patients, particularly women who menstruate. (or are vegetarian, or give blood regularly)

Make SURE your doctor is testing your Ferritin level and not just your hemoglobin. You can be incredibly low on available iron and not be anemic. Non-anemic iron deficiency could explain your hair loss.

And make sure you're taking your iron supplements separate from your calcium. Also, taking it with vitamin C helps.

get your labs done. This far out it's a lot more likely to be a vitamin/mineral deficiency than a side effect of the surgery.