Hi everyone, I had my first appointment yesterday with the hospital and I will be having my pre op tests around December time, my surgery will be early next year ! Exciting! The only thing that worries me is loosing my hair! I know it grows back but I don't want to loose it full stop ! It terrifies me , my hair is the only thing I truly like about myself, are you more likely to loose hair with the bypass over the sleeve? Is there anyone who has been lucky and hasn't lost any hair ?

It’s like normal shedding at an accelerated rate. No bald patches or anything crazy like that. Thinning but not terribly so, at least for me. I started out with a ticker head of hair so this has been my experience.

This was one of my bigger fears also. I was adamant about hitting my protein and taking my vitamins daily.

My hair is thick and has always shed a lot. I am just over 5 months post op, and it may be shedding a little more than normal but nothing that I can undeniably notice.

Your hair falling out is because of trauma to your body, it can happy with any surgery not just WLS. Everyone's body reacts differently and recovers differently so no one really knows the real outcome. But, I can say that I am a part of 3 different support groups and 2 FB groups and I have only came across 1 woman that had terrible hair loss and she admittedly stated that she does not properly take care of herself since surgery. (ex: not taking vitamins, not eating right etc)

I wouldn't worry that much just take care of yourself.

PS: My hair is very long (my profile is an old pic)

Edited September 2, 20223 yr by kcuster83

I had sleeve and I didn’t lose my hair. I was able to get my protein and vitamins in from the very beginning. Not sure if that has anything to do with it. Most people say it’s just shedding though. A lot of shedding but like lilanicole said it’s not bald spots or anything. My plan if my hair did thin out was to get extensions to fill In until it grew back. Maybe you can try them now to help ease your fear if you haven’t tried them before. They look very natural if you get the human hair. You can ask your hairdresser to cut them to your length or leave them as is to add a little length for fun.

I had the sleeve, and I have PCOS. My hair was down to my butt and was shedding anyways (pcos does that). At about 3 1/2 months post op I started noticing my hair was shedding more than normal and was thinning a little. I went and got it cut to where it just touches my shoulders. That helped a lot with looking fuller, and it's easier to manage and take care of. I always make sure to get the top level amount of protein (80-90mg per day) because your roots and hair need protein to grow but can't produce it. I also take biotin and do hair masks and serums because while it doesn't do anything to prevent hair loss or promote growth, it helps your hair look and feel healthy, shiny, soft, and keeps it from being frizzy. And also, self care is so important. That's why I'm huge into skin and hair care.

it doesn't matter if it's bypass or sleeve. As someone else said, any major surgery can cause hair loss because of trauma to the body. I think we see it more often after WLS than some other surgeries, though, because in addition to the surgery stress, we're also taking in very few calories those first few months.

not everyone loses hair. I lost very little. I barely noticed let alone anyone else. And for most people, you're the only one who'll notice it. Most pre-ops and early post-ops worry about hair loss (and loose skin, too), but I think i can speak for most of us who are a year or more out that in the grand scheme of things, it's really a blip on the screen. I don't know why I wasted even one brain cell worrying about it.

Edited September 3, 20223 yr by catwoman7

I've lost lots of hair. Started shedding about 3 or 4 months after surgery and kept it up for several months. It has now steadied out. It was never patches, just a marked increase in general shedding. Honestly though, if my surgeon had told me last November that I would be completely bald and a normal BMI I would totally have bought into that and sorted a wig. No contest (and I'm as fond of my hair as anyone).

I have noticed more loose hair in the past couple weeks but nothing terrifying. If this is the worst it gets then I'm ok even if it got worse I'd be ok. The benefits of the surgery far outweigh any temporary hair loss. Not just the scale either, I'm moving better, I got strep and I didn't get a sick as I would've 75 pounds ago, I have SO much more energy, I care more about how I look and take better care of myself, I'm more active, I'm off so many meds, the list just goes on.

So hair loss, possibly... but if you follow your plan you'll have so many other victories. You'll see some hair loss is a small thing and doesn't last. Your body will balance out and you'll regrow what you lost.