My dermatologist said to take 1,000 mgs of Biotin every day for hair and nails. My hair is thinning like mad due to taking a beta blocker eye drop for my eyes, so I can't tell if that's helping but my nails are growing like wildfire.

About the hair loss....I lost 80 pounds between the end of January and the beginning of August 2011. Around the end of July, I started noticing my hair thinning out. I waited to see if it kept happening and finally got blood work done in September. They told me they didn't know why I was losing my hair, but I did my own research and asked if taking biotin supplements, losing weight slower, and eating more protein would help and the doctor said probably. So maybe it is the very quick weight loss? Good luck--losing hair is very scary to deal with.

I am more like :bomb: today! :D

My multi vitamin has Biotin in it but maybe I should take extra? I will look into it. Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the response heather. I am not overly concerned about the hair loss I had. I am more concerned that it has become so frail, fine and flat. I can not do anything with it and it drives me bat crazy!

I am going to the hairdresser on the 15th and get a cut and color and hopefully the hair issue will be a thing of the past lol

Hi! Yes, first, awesome job on what you have accomplished so far :) As far as your clothes and how big they are, at least they are NOT tight while you're busting at the seems... haha! But, I do have recommendations for your pants that wont stay up. I have some workout pants that are now too big, so (this might be really cheesy and others may have better ideas but..) I just bunched them up on the side and tied a rubber band around it. just like a pony tail but in your pants. hopefully that makes sense. Good luck with your dilemma. Sounds like others have great advice with the nutrients :)

Congrats on the loss, that's awesome!!! :D

Have you looked for lots on ebay? I know they often sell lots by a clothing size for relatively cheap. Also, have you looked there for used scrubs too?

I hear you on the thrift store problem!!! I live in Brazil and buying used clothes is a very strange concept here. Most people wouldn't even consider it. :shrug: They do have a few but for the most part it's either super expensive designer stuff (I could buy non-designer stuff for the same price) or very, very cheap clothes that are about to fall apart. Most of the time it's cheaper and easier for me to watch sales online and order that route.

However, at the moment I really feel frumpy! Well, maybe not frumpy but sick of wearing too big clothes. I only have 1 pair of pants that fit me well and absolutely no shirts at the moment. I do have one dress that's flattering but even that's too big now. :cry: Currently, I'm waiting on a order but because shipping takes SO FREAKING LONG HERE it's been almost a month since I placed the order and I'm going a bit crazy here. :frypan:

Mostly, I just wanted to say I can relate. We can't afford that many clothes but I definitely have had to buy some along the way. Bras are the #1 priority because otherwise I get immediate back pain and then probably pants so they don't fall off. :lol: So my shirts look insanely sloppy at the moment. :lol:

Oh, I HAVE found that belts are great because they extend the life of tops a bit (wear a baggy top with a belt over it) and I've even done some simple alterations (brought in the band of my bras, sewed a tie into the waist of a shirt etc).

Thanks Alisha! Yes that makes perfect sense and I actually never thought of it but it sounds like it would probably work better than a safety pin that is going to pop undone and stick me right in the side! :dizzy:

Thank you runningfromfat!

Ebay doesn't sell scrubs in my size (yet). I am going to break down this weekend and order myself three sets that can be mixed and matched and that will hopefully do me until I drop another size and have to do it all over again.

I hear you on the bras I need to go be measured and buy some new one of those also.

Ok, so if it a simple shape like scrubs.... do you know anyone who sews? Do you go to a church? If so ask around there. Or look up a tailor in your area to take in the whole batch. It can be surprisingly cheap or ridiculously expensive -- but it doesn't hurt to ask in case it turns out on the cheap end. :)

If you want to tackle it yourself -- go for the simple fix of taking in the elastic. Open up the seam with a seam ripper. pull out some elastic, hand sew it tighter, and then close up the seam. That's not dealing with the baggy but it helps it not to fall down better than a safety pin or ponytail and even if you are not a great sewer the top will hide that part. Baby steps.

Or change the elastic out to adjustable and stick on a button. There's lots of tutorials:
http://www.frugalupstate.com/crafts-...-to-any-pants/
A.

Our budget isn't quite as tight as it once was (there were times when our grocery budget for an entire month was $25), but we've learned a lot of creative ways to be frugal (The book The Tightwad Gazette and others like it helped a lot).

I have seen scrubs of all sizes (even up to 6X and higher) on ebay and in second-hand shops as well. These are second-hand items, and so they're not available every day, but if you check daily (on ebay), you'll be surprised what turns up. It comes down to being at the right place at the right time, and that's difficult unless you check (online) sourced daily and IRL sources as frequently as possible. Persistence pays off though, because the more times you look, the better your odds of eventually finding what you're looking for (and if you put the word out to family and friends, if an of them are bargain-hunters they can be on the lookout for what you need too).

BCOutlet.com is another site I check daily (because some of the deals are crazy cheap, like $3 tops and $7 slacks, but they sell out fast because a lot of people must also stalk the site). They do often have scrubs, but they sell out quickly. If you register, you also get some amazing coupons in your email (such as 30% of an entire order or 50% of your highest price item).

In thrift stores and consignment shops, I almost never find my size, and yet I still manage to buy most of my clothing at thrift stores (it's getting a little better, but I still end up empty handed more often than not). My secret, again is persistence. I shop five different stores in town, and I visit all five at least twice a month (on my way to other errands, so there's no wasted gas). That's 10 trips, and most of the time I come away with nothing, but I get lucky about one time in 10. But that's still finding something once a month, and often the persistence has paid off big (once getting a $200 sweater for $4).

It's hard to be in the right place at the right time, so it pays to be friendly and chatty with the thrift and consignment shop owners, because you can often leave your phone number and a "wish list" so that when items come in, they'll give you a call (don't ask the first time you shop, because they'll usually tell you that they don't do that sort of thing, but once you get known as a regular customer, not only will they call you, they may even set aside stuff they think you might like).


I also sell my too-big clothes at consignment shops. This pays off really well, because plus size clothing is rare and in high demand, so it sells well. So well, that I often make a profit. For example, I try to buy my clothes at the cheapest thrift stores, and then sell them at the most expensive consignment shop. So I've bought tops for $2 to $4 and then the next year sold them in consignment shops and gotten $6 to $8 back (the shop selling the items for $12 to $16 and I get half of that). I've been tempted to buy items in order to sell them, but I'm always afraid that I won't make my money back.


I also have had clothes altered at insanely low prices. The best way to find cheap alterations is ask around. The best deals are "friend of a friend" situations where a person is working from their own home.

Freecycle (through yahoo groups and probably facebook) is another awesome option. Everthing offered on freecycle has to be free, and people can offer and request things (Clothing offers and requests are super common, but you'll even see people asking for, and sometimes even offering big items like cars and computers).



As for hair issues, a few years ago, when I first started dieting, I had a lot of hair breakage problems, so I went to a beauty school to get a perm (some beauty schools are incredibly cheap, some are nearly as expensive as a normal salon. Our local school isn't as cheap as others I've been too, but the free community newspaper often has a coupon).

As it turned out my hair was too thin and damaged to perm, so the salon sold me a product called a "restructurizer" (the one they sold me was Wella Liquid Hair. I've seen similar products at Walgreens and Sally Beauty Supply). It's a leave-in keratin product (spray) that you spray on after you've washed and towel dried your hair. Then with a blow-dryer set on low you gently dry your hair for a few minutes (not until it's entirely dry, just to warm the keratin so it bonds to your hair).

It was pricey (to me, I believe I paid $11), but the product has lasted me several years (although if I ever need a new bottle, I'll buy the generic equivalent).

I also take a fish oil and a vitamin D supplement (for other issues, but they did both seem to help with my hair), and I eat quite a bit of gelatin (such as from sugar free jello - well the store brand anyway), which is supposed to help with hair growth (does it really, I'm not sure, but I like sugar free jello).

Thanks astrophe! I always enjoy reading your posts you are such an inspiration to me and many others I am sure! Again I had never thought of opening the waist band and pulling the elastic tighter and sewing it. I can't sew but I think even I could do that!!

Thanks for taking time to reply kaplods! I also live in a very tight budget. One paycheck is entirely toward rent and with the other we have to pay all our bills and figure out groceries for a month for three adults. It can be very TRICKY at times! LOL!

That's for sure, although even as our budget has loosened a bit, I still won't pay full price for anything unless I've at least tried to get it second-hand, on clearance or at least discounted in some way.

Yeah, I've noticed that too. :(