Bowel Obstruction and Hair Loss after Weight Loss Surgery
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Bowel obstruction describes a condition in which the normal flow of gastrointestinal content is either completely or partiality blocked. This could be caused by medical conditions or medications, otherwise known as an ilius. A common example of this is seen in patients that are taking pain medications or narcotics. Another common condition is post surgical scar tissue, or adhesions.
These will cause a point around
which a twist of the bowel will
cause a compromise of the
blood flow to it and eventually
result in "dead bowel". Just
imagine what would happen if
you were to place a tight rubber
band around a finger? In a very
short period of time the blood
supply to the finger is
compromised and if it is not
quickly restored then it will
result in the loss of a finger.
One of the problems with the
diagnosis of the bowel
obstruction is that there are no
absolute set of studies, such as
X-ray, Cat-Scan, Blood works
that will be diagnostic in all
cases. This is even more so in
patients that have had weight
loss surgical procedures. The
anatomy is modified after all
weight loss surgical procedures.
This varied anatomy means that
there are instances that the
exepcted findings of a bowel
obstruction are not present, or
there are findings that are highly
suspicious for bowel obstruction
if the treating physician is
acutely aware of the altered
anatomy.
The most critical issue regarding treatment of bowel obstruction is early diagnosis and treatment.
The treatment options are also
different when treating a patient
with bowel obstruction if they
have had weight loss surgery.
There are non surgical
treatments that may be
attempted for partial bowel
obstruction (such as the nasogastric
tube) that will be useless
in post gastric bypass or
duodenal switch patients. This is
because in duodenal switch and
the gastric bypass operation, the
anatomy is altered so that a
partial segment of the
gastrointestinal track has only
limited access to outside. This
means that the only way to
decompress that segment is by
surgery and not the naso-gastric
tube.
Tips for Hair Loss:
Temporary hair loss is a very real side effect of surgery and it can be a disheartening problem. Hair loss happens due to the way hair follicles grow in cycles and because it takes several months for a hair follicle to grow. The shock of surgery, lower calorie & protein intake, and anesthesia cause the hair follicle to stop growing. Because this may happen any where in the growth cycle you often don't see the hair loss right after surgery but a few months after surgery.
- Protein intake is extremely important for healing, hair growth and to prevent muscle wasting. After surgery you need 80 gm or more of protein every day. Again while you are going through the weight loss period your body does not care if it loses fat mass or muscle mass. The best way to enhance hair growth, fat mass loss and prevent muscle loss is to get 80 gm or more of protein daily and to exercise daily.
- Multivitamins with minerals every day are also an important supplement because if you are defiant in vitamins and minerals then your body takes the essential vitamins for the general running of your body and doesn't give the unessential things like hair and nails what they need to grow.
- Nioxin shampoo has been traditionally used by cancer and chemo patients but some GRDS patients have had good luck with it also.
- Biotin tablets or powder are great for healthy hair, skin, and nails. 600-1000 mcg daily and can be found at most health food, vitamin or beauty supply store. Also assist the body in turning fat mass into usable energy.
- Folicure tablets and shampoo can also help. They can be found at Sally's Beauty Supply.
- Zinc 50mg tablets every other day for no more than a month. Zinc blood levels can get too high after this period of time. Zinc can interfere with iron absorption at higher levels. Zinc helps with protein synthesis and collagen formation (both ingredients for hair growth). Inactivity can lower the body's levels of zinc another reason why exercise is important.