Having Hair Loss after 70lbs lost-- freaking out!

arwFTW
arwFTW Posts: 83 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
As the title says. I'm experiencing some pretty noticeable hair loss after losing 70 lbs. I'm really freaking out, especially because I'm getting married in less than 3 weeks. Does anyone else have any experience with this? If so, does it come back? Did you do anything to slow or stop the loss??

ADVICE NEEDED!!!

Replies

  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,360 Member
    Are you eating sufficient calories? Were you eating sufficient calories while losing weight?

    Are you experiencing any other stress other than your wedding?

    If its a significant hair loss perhaps you should visit your doctor...
  • jos05
    jos05 Posts: 263 Member
    OMG! Please be reassured that it does come back. I have had this experience; my condition was brought on by lack of vitamin absorption. You can start taking a multi-vitamin and an iron pill...those helped me. But I also went into the doctor and had a complete blood test done; I was given potassium pills, iron pills, told to take a multi vitamin, and I got a full month of B-12 shots to boost my system. It helped. After about 30 days my levels were better and my hair stopped falling out. I would make an appt to see your doctor...just to make sure. But I am sure you'll be ok! It happens when you lose a lot of weight.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Eat more variety, more protein, and more fats and oils.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
    edited June 2015
    arwFTW wrote: »
    As the title says. I'm experiencing some pretty noticeable hair loss after losing 70 lbs. I'm really freaking out, especially because I'm getting married in less than 3 weeks. Does anyone else have any experience with this? If so, does it come back? Did you do anything to slow or stop the loss??

    ADVICE NEEDED!!!

    Nope sorry but it's called malnutrition....from lack of calories and lack of proper nutrition.

    I make sure I get in enough calories and don't get malnourished...

    ETA: get your butt to your doctor...seriously.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
    I would see a doctor ASAP.
  • LavenderLeaves
    LavenderLeaves Posts: 195 Member
    You probably want to see a doctor about this. How many calories have you been eating?
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    OP can you open up your diary? What do you have your daily calorie goal set at, and how many calories are you eating.

    If you are indeed under eating, then yes, hair loss is a sign of malnutrition.

    I'd be getting my butt to the doctor if my hair started falling out :sick:
  • xX_PhoenixRising_Xx
    xX_PhoenixRising_Xx Posts: 622 Member
    As others said, see a doctor. I've lost 150lbs without a problem, but my understanding is also that hair loss can be related to lack of protein, vitamins and minerals in the diet.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    edited June 2015
    How about you tell us your;
    • Stats
    • Calorie consumption / exercise calories eaten back?

    And open your diary..

    And see a doctor asap.
  • MoiAussi93
    MoiAussi93 Posts: 1,948 Member
    It's not necessarily malnutrition. I had the same thing happen when I had lost a lot of weight...it probably started when I had lost 60 or 70 pounds. I was not on a very low calorie diet, got plenty of protein and fat, etc. I was losing on average 1.6 pounds a week for several months...hardly drastic or extreme! I went to the doctor. She ran blood work to check for thyroid issues, anemia, hormones, and some other standard things. That was all fine.

    She said often when you lose a lot of weight, even if you do it in a healthy way (meaning slowly and not a crash diet), it can be a bit of a shock to the system. She said it would come back once I stabilized for a while. She was right. It is now starting to grow back in. It still looks a little thin because the new hairs are much shorter than the others, but I can clearly see the new growth.

    Btw, the same thing happened to a friend of mine who lost a lot of weight several years back. Hers also came back. It doesn't happen to everyone, but for some of us even if we do it the right way we have to deal with this.

    That being said, you SHOULD see your doctor. He/she should run some tests just to make sure it isn't something more serious.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    I had a similar thing happen when I was very ill for a while just a few years ago. My doctor attrributed it to lack of vitamin D and nutrition as I was eating very little at the time. I would definately talk to your doctor so they can run a blood panel. Also start taking a One A Day multivitamin and make sure as you are continuing your diet that you do pay attention to the nutritious value of the foods your are eating. I'm on a 1200 calorie diet and I find it extremely difficult to meet all the nutritional requirements that a body needs and I'm going out of my way to make sure that those are met each day. If someone doesnt pay attention to the nutrition report on MFP they could be under nurishing themselves for a long period of time.
  • gadgetsalwaysfit
    gadgetsalwaysfit Posts: 5 Member
    A complete blood panel is pretty easy for them to do. I have to get them every year for medical reasons so they can check my vitamin and mineral levels along with all the standard stuff. Go get it done so you can check that off the list and relax about it. Maybe it's stress. If it's a vitamin or mineral deficiency, that's easily addressed. Might be a combo of stress and vitamins needed.
  • fastforlife1
    fastforlife1 Posts: 459 Member
    Hair loss is usually caused by a LACK OF PROTEIN.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,881 Member
    When my anemia is untreated I shed significantly. Not all forms of iron are created equal. I get my levels tested yearly and know several types of supplements did not work for me. I'm taking Iron Bisglycinate now.

    I did some additional shedding during a high stress time and BioSil helped. Within a week or so I was seeing less hair in the drain after a shower.
  • arwFTW
    arwFTW Posts: 83 Member
    Thanks everyone! I sort of forgot about this post, sorry I didn't reply to each of you. I am planning to see a doctor soon, but i severely doubt it is malnutrition. I eat about 1200-1500 calories a day and as @MoiAussi93 said, i've been losing pretty consisently for about about a year at 1.5 pounds a week. I am 5'8" 205 pounds currently, I started at 275 lbs. I have started taking vitamins and will get checked out by a doctor as well.

    Thank you again for your feedback! I appreciate it all.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Thanks for checking back. Hair loss after significant loss is common among the Bariatric community but I was lucky to have missed that.

    Nails and hair will stop growing if stressed as others have mentioned. Whatever triggered this happened weeks ago and what you are seeing is the dead hair shedding. New hair growth will be baby fuzz for a while but it will come back.

    Instead of using the word "malnutrition" does "deficiency" work better? I'd look at protein first.
  • ogmomma2012
    ogmomma2012 Posts: 1,520 Member
    I had thinning hair too. I increased my calories by 200 and take a multivitamin/multimineral. It's really helped.
  • walkdmc
    walkdmc Posts: 529 Member
    I had hair loss about 6 months into my weight loss (50 pounds down at that point). If it's Telogen Effluvium, you won't lose all your hair. You'll probably be the only one who'll notice it. You only lose hair that's in certain stages of growth and since there are multiple stages of growth going on simultaneously, you don't lose everything. It's self limiting. Mine lasted about 6 months. No vitamins, proteins or other supplement will help it.
    Of course, that's all assuming it's TE. Check with your doc.

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