[fr1endly2]

I know of this side effect of surgery.
GOING thru it myself plenty over the
last months but finally found the real
explanation why, its not the surgery
nor lack of protein and i always doubted
hearing this for one reason ATKINS dieters
experience the hair thinning just like weight
loss surgery patients. FOR THAT reason
i believe this to be the correct reason for it:

the hair loss is from ketosis. The "waste" from your body burning off so much fat so quickly are something called ketones. These are toxic to the body. The only way to avoid a large build-up is to pee them out. The only way to pee them out is to drink lots of water. haven't come across a pateint ever that has not experienced some form of hair loss - whether it is mild or great... but to prevent a great loss I would suggest to get all of your protein in and lots of water... I was losing so quickly in the beginning that I also cut off 7" of my hair so it wasn't so heavy... hope this helps, and good luck!


FOLLOWING high protein diets puts us in this fat burning mode!
HOPE THIS HELPS many
lisa

[RobinZ]

Thanks Lisa, that's the best explanation I've heard so far. I knew about the hair loss going in, but I hate that it's happening. I'm hoping my hair will grow back even better than it was prior to surgery!

[Pillows]

Lisa thanks for that information. That makes a lot more sense to me than what I had heard before. Do you take Biotin to help? My mom was mentioning hair loss to me, and I suggested she try Biotin, since someone had suggested it earlier in a post. I just don't remember for sure if that was you. I will have to be sure to drink plenty.
Janae

[DocSanae]

Whoaaa....
Ketones are a result of fat metabolism, and not "waste" products. They are often misconstrued as waste, and since they are culprits of a life-theatening condition in diabetes mellitus known as keto-acidosis, they are thought to be bad guys, but in truth, they are not.
When your body lacks nutritions from the outside --which it what is happening to you post-WLS-- your body starts using what you have stocked up in the past to sustain you. Ketones are metabolised from fat in your liver, and are used as an alternate of glucose for energy. (To put it simply...the whole process is more complicated, of course.)

When you are going through weight loss after WLS, cells in your body will go through disruption of what we term as "turn over"s. Even though all our organs keep operating, the individuall cells are born and dying continuously. The regular "rhythm" for this will be going all haywire, due to the rapid loss, and your body scrambling to get energy to survive using reserves and reserve routes that were dormant before, to put it, again, simply.
Hair loss is part of this. Hair growth is disrupted because the regular cycle of growth is disrupted by the shock of the surgery, and the rapid weight loss that follows. Once your body weight becomes stable, and all your body functions are aligned to the new you, among other things, your hair will grow back to normal.

Hair is important for looks, of course, so it is no wonder it bothers many of you, but remember, your hair will come back once you're down to goal, or even before, once your body catches up with the weight loss, and gets its balance back at your new weight.
Of course, taking care of your diet the way you should is important to keep the "damage" at minimum, and for a rapid recovery, so keep the good work up!

[fr1endly2]

I am no medical expert. I truly believe for me the surgery is not what causes the weight loss. I have had other major surgeries in life and never had hair loss. BUT, when i went on another diet that put the BODY in the KETOSIS i lost exactly as i am now. SO for me this makes alot of sense. I did atkins lost 45 lbs and my hair went thru this exact same thing and others who follow atkins to the tee and obtain the ketosis lost as well.

I was on biotin from well before my surgery, ITS not doing much but maybe makeing it grow in faster, but i cant swear on that. I actaully wonder how much im really absorbing of it post op. BUT i take if for what ever
its worth.
AGAIN these are my views from past experience!
and i am no medical expert to back it up any but
only cause this same exact hair loss, and time frame
occurred when i lost on ATKINS i feel its nothing to do
with surgery and its a myth. BUT who knows

lisa

[DocSanae]

Sorry I did not make it clear. Ketosis is not the result of surgery, it is the result of weight loss. Or, to be precise, the result of fasting/starvation in any form/method, where carbohydrates are unavailable. In place of the carbs, fat stored in your body is metabolized to produce ketones, resulting in ketosis. I only said surgery, and by this, I specifically mean WLS surgery, not other surgeries, because for most of you, it is this surgery that aids you in losing your weight. The body cells have to get their energy from ketones as a substitute for glucose, but for many cells, the ketones are not as efficient a source of energy as glucose is. Of course, too much ketones mean your body fluid is balanced towards acidosis, because ketones are acids, and too much acid is dangerous. One of the reasons you are instructed to take a lot of fluids, especially water, is to dilute the ketones and keep the acidity level low. This acid environment will affect various organs and cells.
Added to that is the shock your body has to endure in the rearrangement of your innards, which, as a surgery is the exception rather that the rule. Most surgeries are for repairs/removals of something that is causing your illness. WLS is exceptional in the fact that your intact and normally functioning organs are taken and rearranged so that their original functions are redefined. It's the combination of the two that results in the internal environment that causes hair loss.

So, of course you can lose hair with any form of diet that results in rapid weight loss. But also, with WLS, it is likely to happen to more people, and may take longer before it ends and your hair comes back to normal. No wonder this problem bugs you all. And of course, making sure that you get all the necessary nutrients, vitamins, iron, calcium, protein and all to keep the balance as close to normal as possible, helps in balancing your internal environment, so it all helps.

[RobinZ]

Thanks, Doc. I appreciate the full explanation. It makes the loss a little easier to take. Of course, I'm stupid and fairly vain about my hair (one of the only things I prided myself in over the years!) and so, while I know it's temporary, it still hard to take. But, I'd rather have the weight loss than the hair!

[Pillows]

I'm with you on that one Robin. I have the same attitude about the whole excess skin issue. I already have excess skin, it is just supported by all the excess fat right now. Besides they are making lots of great wigs or hairpieces or weaves now if worse came to worse. Weaves not just for African American women anymore.
Janae

[RobinZ]

I'm finally taking the plunge! Getting a haircut (ouch!). It has always been kind of traumatic for me to get a haircut. I LIKE my hair, vain though it may be, I have always gotten compliments on my nice hair, the color, texture, curl/wave, body/fullness, length. It has been my experience that most salons do not know how to cut my hair properly and I have gotten some bad cuts in the past.

It is currently about half way down my back and it is limp, dry, brittle, cracking and falling out like crazy. It has no body, very thin and just yuck! And it is falling out in clumps and it is everywhere. So, I have an appointment for this evening - YIKES - I called Mel to tell him - he likes my hair too, but he has noticed how bad it looks and how upset I am about it, so he said it was okay to get it cut.

I'm praying I'll get a decent cut. I know it will not stop the loss, but perhaps being shorter and lighter it will look a little better, fresher and maybe easier to contrtol. I'm not sure what length, maybe shoulder length will work, hopefully not much shorter than that.

Wish me luck all!

[RobinZ]

Well, I did it! Wow, she cut off more than 12 inches in the back, average about 8 inches every where else. It's short (for me at least!), a little shorter than shoulder length. It looks so much healthier now. I know I'm still shedding, but maybe it won't look so bad anymore.

Mel was NOT happy, but he admitted that it looked better and was a nice cut, IF you like short hair! LOL.

It will be interesting to see what the folks at work have to say tomorrow.