I don't think this problem has been addressed in this forum as of yet, so I will start the topic of hair loss following surgery.
I had my first TKR in 2012, and noticed shortly after surgery that I was losing a large amount of hair each time I showered and blew it dry. I would gather up a large ball of hair from the sink after blowing it dry. After a couple of months, I was concerned enough to make an appointment with my Endocronologist that I see because I have had thyroid problems in the past. When I went to my appointment, she showed me that my bloodwork was normal. I told her that I felt there was something wrong because I seemed to be losing a great amount of hair. She said 'you had surgery on your knee recently haven't you? That's why you're losing a lot of hair'. I was stunned. She explained that anesthesia, some drugs and the stress of surgery put the hair folicles into a state of sleep. Anesthesia blocks the rapid cell division of hair folicles, and hair folicles are the most rapidly dividing cells in a human body. The hair folicles actually shut down and enter a 'telogen' resting state. The resting state results in the loss of hair. She added 'don't worry, it will start growing back in 3 to 4 months. Sure enough, she was right on the money. In a little over 3 weeks I noticed the hair stopped falling out and new hair was growing. I could actually see the 'baby hairs' sticking up in the part of my hair.
So if anyone that has recently had surgery and has noticed an increase in hair loss, take heart. It will return.
De plus, mon coiffeur m'a dit que je devais attendre quatre à six mois après la chirurgie pour faire une permanente, car les effets de l'anesthésie affectent les cheveux pendant cette période !
Les médicaments provoquent des changements dans les cheveux et dans la peau également.
C'est formidable d'entendre que vos cheveux sont en voie de retrouver leur état d'avant la chirurgie !
Ce site est merveilleux car nous pouvons obtenir des connaissances directes de personnes qui ont réellement vécu ces expériences et peuvent partager ces connaissances.
Le stress en lui-même peut provoquer cela. Il y a plus de 20 ans, ma mère et mon frère étaient tous deux en phase terminale du cancer. J'étais seul responsable des prises de décision à leur place et j'étais à 2h30 de distance. Mes cheveux commençaient à tomber comme vous l'avez décrit, et deux médecins différents m'ont donné la même réponse : combien d'heures avez-vous ?
Stress is a major factor in hair loss and major knee surgery certainly qualifies. Lack of sleep also causes problems. I had hair loss problems when my 3 children were very young. I went to the Dr and all of my bloodwork was normal. Her response was to get 8 hours of sleep any way I could for 2 weeks. Leave the dishes, laundry etc and have my husband get up with the kids. Extremely difficult but in 2 weeks my hair had stopped falling out. My choice then was to find a way to balance life with health. It was never perfect but I still have my hair!
So the answer? Rest, rest, rest, eat healthy and be kind to yourself as you heal from a major surgery. A tylenol pm doesn't hurt once in a while either (and yes OFG I know to watch the total of acetaminophin when taking pain meds too)
yes i did notice that after my bi lateral ., i have very thick hair so i didnt worry about it because i figured it wouldnt be noticeable ,but if i had thin hair i probably would have freaked out ,!!. its one of these things that happen when your immune system is under attack .
Hi Jemma yu are right i havent seen any posts about this i am 5 months post tkr my hair started to fall out after my op it has slowely got better as my health has improved
That's really interesting, Gemma, because I've thought that in the last year (since my second TKR) that my hair has got thinner! I've always lost a lot of hair when washing and brushing it, but when I get up in the morning, one side of my hair now sticks up all over the place. As you say, there's always a lot of new fine hairs. Thanks for sharing that info.
Récemment, mon médecin de soins primaires m’a demandé d’ajouter 10 mg de mélatonine avant de me coucher à ma liste de médicaments. La mélatonine est censée fournir un minéral qui est épuisé lorsque vous êtes sous stress et fatigue. Je pense qu’elle m’a aidé un peu et elle ne vous laisse pas avec une gueule de bois comme certains somnifères. Je l’ai prise environ une semaine avant de remarquer un soulagement. C’est un produit très doux et il est en vente libre, donc vous n’avez pas besoin de vous occuper de prescriptions. Il est disponible en 3, 5 et 10 mg. Sur sa suggestion, j’utilise la dose de 10 mg. Je vais probablement continuer avec cette dose.