hair loss and supplements

[RiRi]

Hi Everyone!

I am almost 5 months post - op and I can't believe the amount of hair loss I have. I know that this is one of the side effects from the anesthia (my surgery was in 3 stages all in one week), but I was wondering if there are any vitamins/supplements that I can take. Any info is greatly appreciated.
Also, when will my hair stop falling out?

Thanks
Maria

[suzyjay]

I lost a lot of hair, it started to fall out in handfuls and finally stopped around 5 months post op. It is growing in, but my hair is long so the top of my head the hair is thicker while the hair past my chin in thin. I see a doctor for my acne and asked him about my hair loss. He said anesthia is blamed on hair loss, but it's not, your body goes into shock after a big surgery which makes your hair fall out. He said your hair grows in cycles and the shock of surgery knocks it off it's cycle, so it falls out and there is nothing you can do stop it or slow it down. It has to go through it's growth cycle before it grows again.

Sue

[Linda W]

Maria,

Our surgeries must have been around the same time! My hair has also been falling out at an alarming rate. I even collected it for a couple of weeks, and it just about filled a sandwich baggie! My surgeon's explanation was similar to the one Susyjay received regarding the cyclic nature of hair growth after a major surgery. He also suggested increasing my calcium level with Tums or a calcium supplement. My primary care physicial recommended BIOTIN, a vitamin supplement that "helps to support healthy skin and hair". It is available at stores like CVS. I'm taking the higher dose of 5000 mcg. I've held off with a color touch up and blow it dry less frequently for fear of stressing it out any further.

Good luck,
Linda

[Cina2005]

I had the same problem after my second surgery. Even when i was at home it was falling out like crazy. I had to cut my hair about 2 months ago cos my hair looked really bad. I'm 4 months post-op and my hair's back to what it looked like 2 years ago

[Singer]

Even though my hair has also been falling out, I went and got a bleach job, and for some reason that slowed down the hair loss dramatically. I'm wondering if it's because I lost a lot of hair at the salon!!! -- or if the hair-loss cycle was almost finished anyway. At any rate, what hair I DO have looks a lot better now.