Hi,

I am 50, had my lap band surgery on April 15, 2009, and have lost 40 lbs. All of a sudden I am starting to lose a lot of hair. I normally don't lose any hair but now I am leaving hair every where. Has anyone else experienced this after the lap band surgery?

I have an appointment this week for blood work and I am hoping that I will find out what the problem is. If anyone can share their experience with hair loss after surgery I would appreciate it.

Vagabond:frown:

Hi,

I am 50, had my lap band surgery on April 15, 2009, and have lost 40 lbs. All of a sudden I am starting to lose a lot of hair. I normally don't lose any hair but now I am leaving hair every where. Has anyone else experienced this after the lap band surgery?

I have an appointment this week for blood work and I am hoping that I will find out what the problem is. If anyone can share their experience with hair loss after surgery I would appreciate it.

Vagabond:frown:

Hello, ah yes, the old heir loss. I am going through my second bout of hair loss. I just had my lab work today. They gave me Iron to take and b complex or folic. It seems like when ever I have stress or surgery, my hair goes through a cycle of three month where it starts coming out in my comb

I read about it and they said the follicles die and regrow in three months. We are not alone. good luck oh, I am 54

Thanks for responding, I have heard all kinds of possible reasons like Iron, Protein, or hormone imbalances. I hope to find out before I am bald.

Did your hair grow back?

I've always lost a lot of hair and thought it was just not eating enough protein. A nurse friend of mine told me to try Bioten. It's a b supplement for hair and I've noticed SIGNIFICANTLY less hair falling out. Worth a try!

Hi,

I'm new to this forum. My surgery is 9/14.

My hair was starting to "thin" as 50 drew closer. My beautician recommended Nioxin shampoo and conditioner. She notices a difference more than I do visually, but I do realize hair isn't coming out in my hand when I wash it now.

The reason I mention it here is because I bought a book about weight loss surgery, written by some guy on TV that I'd never heard of, but he's on the Discovery Channel.

Anyhow...he mentions hair loss in his book and says a number of his patients found some success using Nioxin. I really like the deep therapy masque. I haven't been successful finding it on line, but I recently saw it in the window of someplace like SuperCuts or one of those inexpensive chain cutterys. The product, at least at my beautician's isn't inexpensive. But considering the alternative...:thumbup:

I have been a big time shedder before surgery but now it's double time. So I appretiate these suggestions.

I was banded 2/18/08. A couple months later my hair began falling out. My pony tail was only half as thick as previously. Had all the suggestions of special shampoos, b12 vitamins, etc. Didn't really follow through with most of it except the vitamins and making sure what I ate was quality nutrition. Don't know if any of this made a difference or if it was just time but my hair is growing back in nice and thick again. I have talked to a few others with the same phenomenon. All of them said that it was a temporary problem. Hope you find that to be true as well.:thumbup:

May I paraphrase what my doc told us during the seminar? He said

Almost ALL patients, whether bypass or band, male or female, will start to lose hair at around 3 months out and it will continue until about 6 months out. According to studies we've done, taking supplements like Biotin, extra Protein, extra Vitamins, doesn't help. I've only had ONE patient in over 1500 need a hair piece and she owned a wig shop. No kidding. It grows back. So be ready for it, don't freak out, and just be patient. It's apparently related to the trauma of surgery and is a natural reaction.

It happened to me exactly as he said. I was really worried because I had TWO surgeries just under 3 weeks apart but I never went bald and in fact my long time hairdresser never could even tell the difference. It's all back to normal now and quit falling out at about 5 months post op.

SO take supplements if you want, and of course take them if you have a proven deficiency, but otherwise just hang in there. It'll grow back.

I did follow up with blood work, I got the resutls back and all is normal. I was hoping for low Iron or something that is a little more visual. The Doc says it is due to the surgerey and the initial rapid weight loss. I have been taking the Biotin for about ten days now and have not noticed a difference. At this point all I can do is be patient and believe those before me that say it will come back.

Thanks from the positive encouragement from all that have posted. I wish all well with this issue. I don't normally get bent out of shape over things, but this hair loss deal has really gotten my attention to the point where I was obsessed:-) I am a little more relaxed now with all the posts and encouragement that it will grow back.

I'm two years out from surgery next month. Age 50. I had my first bout of hair loss 5 - 6 monts out from surgery. It fell out for about 3 or 4 months but came back. I had a little halo of tiny hairs, but never did get the same fullness I had originally. I am now going through round two. My hair started falling out again about 5 months ago, and has fallen out steadily since then. clumps in the shower.... I am taking biotin, have been for over a year. I take vitamins, and I use some kind of Chi shampoo, conditioner and scalp treatment to encourage new hair growth. NONE of this is working. I had blood work done and I'm not deficient in anything. Doc said to maybe add more zinc to my diet, but other than that didn't seem concerned. My hairdresser is appalled. She told me at my last hair cut that if I keep up at the same rate, I'll be bald by next summer. I'm completely paniked!!! 3/4 of my normally thick hair is gone. I just have thin wisps of hair. Can't even put it back in a clip anymore. It just falls out. I'm having it all cut off tomorrow. It's looking BAD. I'm scared to death and don't know what to do. I've tried EVERYTHING.

I am a hair stylist and I have been for 40 years. My opinion is that the most effective treatment is Nioxin Shampoo, and Nioxin Scalp Therapy. It takes 30 days of use for the hair to stop falling out and then it is a good idea to use it for the rest of your life. There are no drugs in it so it is safe for continued use. I use it now, I am only 6 wks out but I believe it will prevent this hair loss or at least lessen it.

The other aspect that a lot of people forget is that as soon as we see any hairs, coming out, we panic. We start inspecting our brush every day and count the hairs left in the shower. This is never a good idea. There is an old German joke about worry, that says we can worry so much about losing our hair that we cause our hair to fall out. That is a joke, but I have been talking to people about this subject for 40 years now.

It is normal to lose 100 hairs a day! This is important because most people are actually only losing this much. They get freaked out and spend hours staring at every square inch of their head in the mirror. I believe this actually makes it worse. When I finally talk them out of doing this, the usually report back to me that they are not losing as much as they initially thought.

The surgery thing is a common cause of this as well as having a baby. Both of these are often followed by a period of increased hair fall out in about three or four months. Nioxin is also good for this, so I hope you all just go get some and I hope you stop staring in the mirror too. Best wishes and prayers to all.

I'm currently doing supervised weight loss through Feb. prior to my LAP-BAND® surgery. In my WLS meeting last week we were talking about hair loss. The dietician said to always make sure you are getting the recommended Protein, especially immediately after surgery. Not eating enough protein can show up 6 months later down the road as hair loss. Nioxin was also recommended as an excellent idea prior to surgery and afterwards to prevent hair loss.

Cathy

Hi,

I am 50, had my lap band surgery on April 15, 2009, and have lost 40 lbs. All of a sudden I am starting to lose a lot of hair. I normally don't lose any hair but now I am leaving hair every where. Has anyone else experienced this after the lap band surgery?

I have an appointment this week for blood work and I am hoping that I will find out what the problem is. If anyone can share their experience with hair loss after surgery I would appreciate it.

Vagabond:frown:

Yes I have lost most of my hair as well, my hair use to be so thick now its thin, I haven't had blood work for this yet, but I will know.

Yes I hve the same problems, but hopeful.

I guess the guys have it a little easier. I was lucky to have some hair much longer that most in my family on my dads side, so I started shaving my head a few years back. I wonder if I could just the old joke of, since I was banded I can't play the piano...

Yes I have lost most of my hair as well' date=' my hair use to be so thick now its thin, I haven't had blood work for this yet, but I will know.[/quote']

I had to increase my Protein intake. Good luck