Hair Loss and Brittle Nails After Back Surgery

I had a hip procedure in Oct then Back surgery in Dec. Since then, my beautiful THICK LONG hair has gone.Also, my finger nails are really brittle. Nothing in my diet or my life has changed except that I am taking vicodin. My PCP and pT have told that vicodin is causing this. Is there anyway to fix this. I can’t come off the meds because the PT is terrible.

It is not unusual to develop hair loss after a traumatic event like what you went through. This is called telogen effluvium and it usually passes, unless you are male and have invoked the genetic balding process.

A telogen effluvium usually reverses in time, and a doctor can make this diagnosis with a simple pull test.