Hair Loss After Gallbladder Surgery
Sep 1, 2014
I'm about 4 weeks after gallbladder removal. I am loosing my hair... not patches though enough to have to empty my hair brush several times when brushing!
View 1 RepliesI'm about 4 weeks after gallbladder removal. I am loosing my hair... not patches though enough to have to empty my hair brush several times when brushing!
View 1 RepliesRECENT HISTORY
First, I am diabetic and have had a fairly normal healthy life except in the last two years where I gained 40 pounds, did not control my blood sugars well, and went off the rails. I have had a lot of issues this year, but to focus on my most recent issues, I had a A1c of 10.5 two month ago and went to 9.1 a month ago finally to 7.6 right before my single incision laparoscopic with robotic-assisted single-incision surgery to remove my infected gallbladder (Hida Scan 11% no gallstones). 6 month ago i started experiencing a lot of bloating, indigestion and took charcocaps that helped a lot after meals.
Two weeks ago I went out for a cup of iced coffee (huge coffee drinker 3-4 cups a day for a long time no problems for years), and something hit me, it felt like a sharp pain and instant feeling of bleh no appetite and sick feeling the rest of the day. This continued for a week before I knew something was wrong, I could not have anything acidic or felt like I could eat anything. I had just seen my doctor for a bike accident a month prior to get a referral to a PT and osteopathic doctor. I had a l3/l4 compressed nerve with a twisted sacral (this is much better now with some minor spasms in my right leg from time to time). With all of that pain (took hydrocodone and muscle relaxants to sleep, sleep was poor) and school, I figured I must have given myself an Ulcer. My doctor game me a ppi-omeprazole (i've never had reflux and didn't then) since I had symptoms of some burning sensations and this chronic dyspepsia so this would treat the possible Ulcer for two weeks while I was sent for an ultrasound to check out my gallbladder (family history - Mom, aunt, and uncle had their's out with gallstones). The ppi sort of helped but I just was fatigued, could not eat anything but a bland diet, I had chronic dyspepsia and general nausea that I could never shake. My daily caloric intake decreased with each new day and food just made me generally feel sick, however if I skipped meals it would still be bad, worse with food.
TEST RESULTS
After the Hida scan came back positive with an ejection rate of 11%, I scheduled my new a1c test, ekg (family history of heart disease), I was cleared and scheduled for surgery. I stopped taking the ppi as I believed this to be the cause of all my problems. btw, I was 254 the end of june and lost 25 pounds by the time of surgery (average daily caloric intake ~900-1200 prior to surgery
POST SURGERY
After the surgery 7/21-one week ago, I had my two days of pain and adjustment, and recovered decently with a soft food and liquid diet. I noticed the general sickness was gone! Hazzah!, except on Saturday I was feeling bloated, cramping, and I could not eat a solid one bite without feeling sick. I knew I was constipated. I stopped the pain meds the day before and I knew I had not eaten too much but it was over a week since i went. I took magnesium citrate and nothing after 7 hours, I drank another 1/2--then BOOM it was insane. I was sooo wiped out and tried to replace lost liquids but I believe I was dehydrated. I was sick that night and stomach was not happy.
Sunday was much better but I was wiped out still and felt generally just depleted of all my energy. I ate, walked a bit and then came back home. That night I started feeling very uncomfortable and the symptoms were somewhat similar to prior to surgery of the general dyspepsia and nausea chronically. I could not sleep because of my back problems (had to sleep upright on my back all week). I woke up in the middle of the night turned to my side and then all of a sudden I felt a warm rush of something just above my stomach and the constant burn in my stomach no reflux. I could not sleep until the morning.
NOW,
I have had really bad gas (low fat diet) for the past few days. I was getting and feeling better on day four but now this!
I felt extreme discomfort all day, felt like a low grade fever 98.6 (no fever) incision site is also slightly red, but the doctor said to call if I had a fever. I was worried about an SSI. The pain was like I threw up (I never have even starting out back in at the coffee shop) and that ache afterwards. The burning sensation let up later in the day after I took some antacids and saltines (I must have some acid issues, but I have read a lot of people suspecting many people may actually have low acid).
The thing is a lot of people have episodes after food, but mine is chronic with mild discomfort, burning sensations, upper abdomen and stomach discomfort (with some nausea), and food helps it initially and then it comes back. I feel week, slight low grade fever even though I don't have one. I keep thinking I have an infection of H. Pylori or something. Food takes a while to do much, I walk after I eat everything. I feel like I could eat but I get so much bloating and indigestion that it is uncomfortable. I drink plenty of water, but I wonder if I am low on essential things for the long ongoing low calorie daily diet. I can't eat more then 800 calories even with smaller meals-since Thursday.
Why was my gall bladder inflamed in the first place? I had no stones, and the surgeon said I had a very long a big gallbladder (ready to rupture!) that was really inflamed including a little on the liver. Pathology reports came back negative. I theorize my rapid change in weight and blood sugar levels inflamed the organ or an infection.
Possibilities:
diabetic Gastroparesis
H. Pylori
Peptic Ulcer (was never officially tested)
Gastritis
Anxiety
Low/High Stomach Acid
Low bile leak?
Sphincter of oddi dysfunction
What I feel could help:
HCL Betaine
Digestive Enzyme (Garden of life chewable vegetarian)
ppi (I would hate to take them unless I had to)
something to coat my stomach if I do have an ulcer to heal
ability to eat more so I can have more assimilated minerals, ect.
Anxiety med (first year i've had a lot of anxiety-mainly school related and upcoming wedding planning for next year
more tests!
My burning anxiety questions:
When will I get my appetite back?
(i really suspected my odds were decently good that I would get better after surgery, I had a great surgeon)
Did anyone have any of these chronic symptoms? Is it due to an infection or some issue with surgery?
Have some people eventually been able to eat what they wanted after a period of time?
How many had these excessive bloating, indigestion, nausea and general malaise through the day, worse a little while after food or between meals?
I began seeing bald patches on my head: one rather large one and 2 smaller ones. I also am losing a ton of hair each day. I have been diagnosed with a ferritin level of 8 and an iron level of 28. I am taking 325 mg of iron 3 times a day along with other vitamins. Approximately how long before I see an improvement in hair fallout and regrowth. I am also seeing a dermatologist for corticosteriod injections to help with regrowth in the completely bald spots. I am strongly considering shaving my whole head?
View 4 RepliesI am a 25 year old female and I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's Disease probably around 2012 or so. I take 75MCG every morning and I do blood tests about once or twice a year to make sure my levels are stable. What I need help with are symptoms. My boyfriend has been very supportive, he was the reason I went to get the initial blood test because he said my symptoms reminded him of Graves Disease and it worried him. Well, I went to the doctor and got the tests done and he told me I had Hashimotos. Since then, my boyfriend has told me that he hasn't seen any improvement in my symptoms, in fact he thinks they've gotten worse. I have looked at a lot of different lists of symptoms that people with Hashimoto's Disease can experience and I experience a lot of them. I'll list the ones I experience the most and a little bit of a description to each so maybe someone can help me with what I need to do to feel better because honestly it makes me miserable.
-Hair Loss - Every time I brush or wash my hair there is always tons of hair in the brush or tub. It's everywhere all the time, I shed like the cats.
- Depression - I don't know if it is actually depression, but a lot of the time I feel like I'm just not good enough to be around anyone. I'll find myself crying at ridiculous moments with absolutely no reason for it. I also find myself thinking that people I know (and can acknowledge even when I'm feeling this way) love and care for me, and yet I still think they don't care about me and will abandon me at the drop of the hat, which breaks me down mentally.
- Stress - This is probably one of my worst symptoms. I am always stressed out about something, even ridiculous things that shouldn't be stressing me out. One of the biggest things I stress about is what I mentioned with the depression. I feel like my friends and loved ones are going to abandon me at any minute, which scares me and results in me lashing out at them in ways that if I can't control it soon enough may result in them actually leaving, which terrifies me and just puts me into a never ending loop of stress and depression.
- Anger - I can't seem to rationalize other people's behaviors. Completely normal behaviors that don't normally bother me result in me lashing out and screaming at people and saying things that I don't mean to say.
- Memory Loss - This is a really bad symptom. I forget things very quickly. If I don't actively keep it in my mind, I won't remember it. A perfect example, when I was still in college I was walking through town with some people and when we were going back to the dorms I made a comment about a truck I saw. I used to see it all the time and hadn't seen it in a while so I made the comment. The people I was with looked at me really confused and just flatly stated "You said the exact same thing when we walked by it on the way out" and I honestly don't remember seeing it at any point that day. In fact I didn't remember seeing it for around 5 months, and yet they claimed that I made the exact same comment I just had, earlier that day. It really messes with my head when people tell me that I did or said something and I can't remember doing it to save my life.
- Weight - Before I started taking synthroid I weighed 110 lbs, after I started taking it I gained like 30 lbs and I can't lose it. I'm stuck between 135 and 140 (I'm about 5'6" tall)
- Headaches - I get headaches on a daily basis. Sometimes they're really bad but generally they're just a slight discomfort in my frontal lobe area.
- Sleep - It takes me forever to fall asleep and even when I do I can't stay asleep and then I feel exhausted all day when I wake up, as if I never slept at all.
Another thing I've noticed and that is that sometimes I feel like I can't swallow properly, I always feel like I have to yawn to get a lung full of oxygen, and my nails curl downward along the curve of the tip of my fingers on like 3/5 fingers.
I suffer from the problem of hair loss before marriage at the age of 19, where he was my hair loss, which is a dense tuft and continues to now (24 years old) so my hair has become very small and too short
Use Pantene Shampoo
To know what to make .....
I want advice and guidance and your directions even know the main reason
What are the required medical tests ....
For the past year, I've been losing my eyebrows in patches. Patches will grow back, but then fall out weeks/moths later. I'm a 38-year-old female, healthy and fit. Recent blood work all normal. Thyroids normal. I'm not losing hair anywhere else, and my skin has no redness or dryness. It is just my eyebrows that keep falling out. The only thing I could think of was my birth control--I was on the Mirena IUD. But I removed it and ceased all birth control several months ago and the problem persists. All doctors I've visited have been stumped, thus my online question.
View 2 RepliesI'm 15 years of age and I'm seeing the first signs of baldness, with some hairline recession and the sensitive sensation. My hair loss is hereditary. My mom also had the same issue and she did a hair transplant surgery with the help of an expert surgeon in the Seager medical group, Toronto. I wonder whether I'm able to do the same at this age. I don't want to be bald at this age, it's affecting my confidence. Any thoughts?
View 1 RepliesOnly been diagnosed for a few weeks now and sorry if this question has been asked before but my hair's falling out in clumps now and wondered if this is 'normal' on this drug it is completely heartbreaking for me also I am due to get my hair dyed next weekend worried this will cause more loss ...
View 1 Repliesi am 18 years old and i am using minoxidil 5% for last 3 months it has worsen my situation. i used it to regrow hair in my temple. instead it made me loose hairs in my entire head. i have lost about 40% of my total. Hairs. is it normal.? i am thinking about hair replacement now.so if i stop minoxidil, will the hairs that i lost forr minoxidil will grow back? how months will it take to recover fully from hair shedding caused by minoxidil?
View 2 RepliesI have had these little oily, greasy yellow bumps on my head for about 2 years now and they tend to fall off whenever I scratch them. I have had REALLY thick hair but since this dandruff crisis started on me I only have half of the original amount of my hair now. Please, help!! If you're experiencing this problem then please state below how you control/get rid of it and if you used to have this kind of dandruff and cured it, will my hair grow back and return to normal? I seriously want my old hair back.
View 5 RepliesI went through about a week and a half of depressions (what I believe was). Lack of appetite, trouble sleeping and crying randomly. Immediately my hair began to shed. I understand that hair usually sheds 2-3 months after a stressful period,(telogen effluvium is what it's called) but mine started right when I became depressed. I don't have bald patches anywhere, it's just all over shedding. It's been going on for about a month now, my hair doesn't really feel thinner yet but I know it will if this continues. I can wear my hair down or else it'll be all over. I wear it in loose buns. Brushing it is emotionally difficult because my hair brush will be full in 2 strokes. I'm 19 and female. I feel like I'm slowly getting uglier and uglier. I'm not depressed anymore, I feel back to myself. But it's still shedding. It makes no sense to me. I eat healthy and exercise. How long should I expect this to occur, since it can't be telogen effluvium? What is happening?
View 1 RepliesI’m female, 52 and due to my high cholesterol levels and family history of coronary disease, my physician had me start taking Zocor (simvastatin). I’ve been on this medication for almost six months now and from the last month I’ve been starting to lose more and more hair. When I asked my doctor is Zocor causing this, he completely denied that was possible and instead sent me to various hormonal tests. They all were in normal ranges.
After this I decided to take the matter into my own hands and continue with healthy diet, exercise and no Zocor (but I do use red rice supplement instead) and finally my hair is not falling off any more.
More than a little will affect your BMs!
View 1 RepliesHas anyone suffer or has suffered from bad chest pain with heartburn after gallbladder removal? I Am eating a very low fat diet, in fact no fat at all, and I still get most times pain in chest with burning. I would like to hear from anybody that has the same and if anything helped to treat it beside PPIs.they don't work for me. I am really worried because it might be damaging my esophagus and throat is sore from the reflux.
has anyone was told by doctors that it might be just a symptom until the body adjusts to not having gallbladder and that's why medication doesn't work? Please share your thoughts and experiences. I am worried and confused why my body started having reflux issues after this surgery.
I had gallbladder surgery last Tuesday. I just cooked me some boneless/skinless chicken (half a chicken breast) and green beans. No fat. Why am I all of a sudden really hot. I get this way if I eat anything besides hardboiled eggs or almond nuts. I am only drinking water. Right now I am so hot it's unbearable and the temp in my apt. is under 70° F right now. Why do I have or get hot flashes? This not normal heat I get when I am in my period (I'm on my second period this month right now). I also suffer from PCOS and was told I have a fatty liver with some liver damage. I don't cook with any oil, butter, fat, etc. I just hate to be overheated and uncomfortable. Please help and let me know if this is normal Or should I be worried/seek medical help.
View 1 RepliesI am 4 days from ending 6 month treatment with Sol. and Riba. 3A. No one on this forum has mentioned hair loss. I've lost a ton and being male, it's a real drag. I am wondering how long it will take to grow back, if at all. Solvaldi is so much better than interferon, but the riba is still a real drag. I tried twice to make it thru the old chemo treatment. Longest I could last was 5 months. At least this time I have made it to the end.
View 3 RepliesAfter my miscarriage in November I started losing hair like crazy which I assume is the equivalent of postpartum hair loss. But I am pregnant again and I'm still losing so much hair. Could this still just be hair loss from my miscarriage or is there another reason for this amount of shedding?
View 1 RepliesI've noticed that I've been losing eyebrow hair as well as eyelash hairs recently. It became apparent after the first couple of weeks of college. It might be due to poor diet. I used to pull on them several months ago but I stopped that habit long ago. I've also noticed that the hair on my upper leg is "breaking". I noticed that a lot my hair was "cut" or gone. I can see new hairs growing on my leg but I'm worried about whether or not I might have a health condition.
View 1 RepliesI was recently diagnosed with Hemochromatosis. I am waiting for the genetic testing result before they do treatment. One of the issues I have been having is hair loss, which led to me getting my iron tested. Have others of you experienced hair loss? Once you started getting treatment (blood drawn) did your hair grow back? Did you have to do other treatment for the hair loss?
I should probably be more concerned about other aspects of this disease, but as a woman in her 40's, losing half your hair is very disconcerting. I also feel like my scalp is burning or tingling quit a bit. That and the hair loss started about 6 months ago.
i have been on sertraline for about 10 weeks ..started at 25mg now at 75mg..i have noticed that with the higher dose i am getting thinning of hair..dont feel it is stress because i am feeling much calmer at this dose..anyone experience this?
View 1 RepliesI stopped my pill and within 3 weeks I noticed a lot of hair loss, mainly when I wash my hair I notice a lot in the plug hole and in my hair brush.
But also a few Days ago ,I put a leave in conditioner in my hair when it was dry and my hands were full of hair?
I'm not sure what is going on I have had my first natural period so thought after that things would settle down but Its still happening ,and I've been off the pill (yasmin) for about 6 weeks now, it's so distressing.
I take multivitamins every day I just don't know what else to do, I feel fine in myself.