Hello everyone!
I am trying to update this blog at least monthly. I barely made it for February! Let's talk hair. Or the lack of. At the beginning of February, I noticed that my hair was shedding A LOT more than normal. I had heard about hair loss happening for bariatric patients. But my doctor told me that as long as I kept my protein up, I would be fine. Well, that is not true. The one thing I make sure that I am getting in is my protein. And yet, my hair is falling out. I really notice it when I am showering. I brush my hair before I shower, handful of hair. Wash my hair, handful of hair. Comb my hair after getting out of shower, another handful of hair. It is very concerning. I reached out to my hairstylist, she told me to take some Biotin. So I immediately bought some gummy vitamins. Because vitamins in pill form are pretty harsh on my stomach. So I feel 5 because my Bariatric vitamin is a chewable one also. But I digress. Back to the subject. I have never been someone who was vain. I am low maintainence when it comes to myself because I am not a girly girl. But me losing my hair is really affecting me. I have always had really thick hair. So if you look at me, you can't tell I am struggling with hair loss.
I saw my surgeon on this past Monday. The nurse said that anesthesia can do that to hair. The surgeon said it could be the low carbs but also just the basic stress that my body is going through. Nurse and doctor both said to take Biotin. 😐 Which I had already starting taking. But wanted to see what they would say. A few days later, I noticed my already small eyebrows were suddenly smaller. *Sigh* I wonder if that has to do with what is going with my hair as well. I bought an eyebrow pencil. I have no idea how to use it. Again, low maintenance here. I am also afraid that I may forget that I have brow stuff on and smear it. Lol. Maybe I should get my eyebrows micro-bladed. 🤔 Back to my hair, I saw my hairstylist a few days ago, she assured me that this I was okay. She told me to also take collagen and Folic Acid. Great, more stuff to take. *Sigh* And that she has dealt with bariatric patients in the past and their hair always "evened out" eventually. I sure hope that is the case for me. I am trying to not let it bother me, but it is.
Change of subject. I had something scary happen to me on Friday. At my appt on Monday with Dr, they did a lap band adjustment on me. I have a port that saline is inserted in to help with hunger in between meals. I have to do a liquid diet for 24 hrs, then soft food, etc. Thursday night I was able to eat normal. Friday my co-manager and I went to lunch. A few bites into my meal, my food was stuck in my esophagus. I follow a lap band group on Facebook. So I knew what was going on with me. But it was the 1st time I had experienced it. It was a horrible feeling. It was like I was having a heart attack. But I could feel the food in my esophagus. From my understanding, this happens when you eat too fast or don't chew your food thoroughly. This feeling lasted about 10 minutes. I finally felt the food go down. But by that time, I had to get a to go container as our lunch was almost over. Three hours later, I decided to have some more of my lunch. I thought I was chewing slow and paying attention. But the food got stuck again. This time the pain was worse. Obviously I shouldn't be vomiting at all, but for lap band patients, vomiting can mess up my band. I kept trying to swallow, nothing. I vomited a small amt in the bathroom. I thought I was okay. So I went back to my office, but the pain came back even worse. I went outside for some fresh air. The feeling of food being stuck in your esophagus is HORRIBLE. I wasn't choking. I could still breathe. But I could feel the stuck food. I am not one to induce vomiting. So I just kept swallowing and praying the food would go down. It didn't. Instead it came up. As soon as I was done, instant relief. But I never want to experience that again. EVER!
Hopefully the vitamins work for me. And that I remember to slow down and chew thoroughly!
