To Everyone Who Takes Medication

[dragonfly90]

I take meds for depression, anxiety, and ADD. I was wondering who else used to/still takes medication for various mental/physical disorders and how it has affected your growth rate (if at all). I'm not sure if my meds have affected my hair growth, but I used to have severe stomach problems and my hair has been thinner ever since.

[Hairitic]

I take meds for depression and mood swings as well as pain meds for a bad back. I can't say if I've noticed a difference in my hair but I started taking most of these types of meds long before TLHC. I probably wasn't all that conscious of what my hair was like, lol. :rolleyes:

[breezefaerie]

I take meds. Topamax is the only med I take that has had a drastic impact on my hair. When I stared taking it years ago I had a huge shed that took years to recover from. I will never have the same thickness as I used to but with careful handling and good habits, my hair thickness has increased some.

[Firefox7275]

I don't think my meds have noticeably affected my skin or hair, but they have affected my oral health (esp. amitriptyline) and I suspect exacerbated issues I have with magnesium deficiency (esp. mirtazepine). It's pretty difficult to separate subtle effects of the medication from the effects of the mental or physical health issues - certain health conditions increase our need for specific micronutrients, often at a time we are not taking the best care of ourselves with consistent balanced nutrition, daily physical activity and good sleep patterns. Digestive problems can reduce absorption of nutrients too.

[alexis917]

I take LoLoestrin Fe (birth control), Solodyn (minocycline extended-release for acne), and GNC Women's Active Green Vitamins, just for my health.
I have not noticed any negative effects on my growth, really.

[aster66]

I took meds for ADHD from september till december of last year. Started with ritalin but stopped after about a month when i noticed my hair started falling out a little more than usual. I switched to dexampethamine but i didnt like that either due to other side effects. I havent used anything for my ADHD since december but my hair shedding never stopped. It actually got much worse about a month ago when i started using the contraceptive ring. Now my hair is falling out like crazy...

[alexis917]

I took meds for ADHD from september till december of last year. Started with ritalin but stopped after about a month when i noticed my hair started falling out a little more than usual. I switched to dexampethamine but i didnt like that either due to other side effects. I havent used anything for my ADHD since december but my hair shedding never stopped. It actually got much worse about a month ago when i started using the contraceptive ring. Now my hair is falling out like crazy...

My aunt used NuvaRing and had a massive shed...I'm sorry that happened to you, too!

[aster66]

I read the same story from so many women on the internet, it's so sad. Some had used it for years before finding out it was the cause of their hair loss and had lost a lot of hair. Thankfully i found out only 3 weeks after i started using it and immediately removed it, so i hope my hair will stop falling out somewhere this year. *fingers crossed*

[alexis917]

I read the same story from so many women on the internet, it's so sad. Some had used it for years before finding out it was the cause of their hair loss and had lost a lot of hair. Thankfully i found out only 3 weeks after i started using it and immediately removed it, so i hope my hair will stop falling out somewhere this year. *fingers crossed*

Good luck! I'm sure it'll stop soon, considering how early you figured it out...

[FrozenBritannia]

I take synthroid and the BC pill, and I can't say either has made much of a difference, compaired to how bad I shed when I seriously ill. Thankfully following a proper diet (I'm celiac, it took them a year to figure it out, and all my hair fell out I was so ill) has allowed my hair to grow back in as thick as before, if slightly wavier.

[lapushka]

I have to take quite a bit of meds, and there's not one that has affected my hair in any way - yet. It's heavy medication as well; not gonna go into details.

[torrilin]

Not everyone who takes medication is medicating for ADD, ADHD, depression or anxiety. And even for the posters who are... well, honestly I'd be fairly shocked if anyone on the boards follows the exact same medication regimen I do :). Even with folks who are really closely related to me, the stuff I'm taking is a very very very odd combo.

My primary ADD med is Strattera, which is a weird SSRI-like but not exactly ADD drug. I take Prozac as well (real SSRI), and bugger if we can accurately describe why. I have occasional (once a year or less) panic attacks, Seasonal Affective Disorder, occasional bouts of major depression that is not seasonal, and a sleep apnea diagnosis. If I'm taking my Prozac and Strattera, all of that gets better. With just one (doesn't matter which) I'll very much smaller improvements. Strattera is probably slightly better if you held me at gunpoint and insisted I could only have one. Meds get take after dinner to minimize appetite side effects.

Pretty much all drugs that have ADD effects can also have appetite side effects, generally in the vein of "not hungry now". Some patients are very strongly affected by this (on most ADD drugs, I'll easily drift into anorexic habits where it takes a fair bit of effort to get me eating even 1000 calories a day which is massively unhealthy. Strattera is the only one where I'll eat at all close to reasonably). Other patients are not particularly subject to appetite effects. If you're not eating properly, that can affect your hair, but I wouldn't precisely describe it as a drug side effect. If you're only eating 600-1000 calories a day, you'd have to be a very small and very sedentary person to not wind up malnourished, and hair loss is only one of the many symptoms of being malnourished.

I have a prescription of Xanax as a rescue medication for panic situations, but I am fairly confident that 0.5mg every 3-12 months is unlikely to have a large effect on my hair.

[Ginger Kitteh]

I take lithium and seroquil for BP I. Haven't noticed any difference in my hair. Lithium does make me really thirsty though. I have to make sure I drink lots of water in hopes my hair growth won't halt.

[ChatNoir]

I take anti depressants (SSRI called Cipralex). One of the listed side effects is hairloss, but I haven't noticed anything yet.
I've been on the meds for about half a year so hopefully I dodged that bullet. :)

[DMARTINEZ]

I take anti depressants (SSRI called Cipralex). One of the listed side effects is hairloss, but I haven't noticed anything yet.
I've been on the meds for about half a year so hopefully I dodged that bullet. :)

Im on Lexapro,which is the same ,I think. I have noticed NO extra hairloss,just the usual ...been on it for 1 yr. :)

[Silverbrumby]

I take thyroid meds and my hair has changed. I've lost about 1/3 thickness over the years since taking it and it's also curly now. BUT that might have happened anyway because of the age I am. It's not uncommon for some women to lose thickness as they enter into their mid 40's

[gonzobird]

This October will be 2 years since I stopped taking BC pills. I took them for 12 ish years and never noticed that it killed my sex drive and now after two years, I swear I have as much hair as I did in high school. It just seems like there's way more of it.

[ChatNoir]

I need to take back my previous statement. About 3 weeks after I doubled my dose I've started dropping hairs like crazy. It's come to a point now where I'm actually contemplating a chop...

[grungy haze]

I was on Zoloft for about a year, and one of my main reasons for discontinuing it was its effect on my hair. It got really thin, and just wouldn't grow normally. I've been off of it since December, and it's definitely growing better.

[ravenreed]

I took some medication that caused a huge shed, but it was so long ago I can't remember which one it was. Lithium damaged my thyroid, and that has the potential to cause problems for my hair but it seems to be under control. I know it was the lithium because I tested fine several times prior to taking it and my thyroid reacted within just a couple of months of being on it. One doctor didn't believe me and put me back on that medication years later and my thyroid immediately dropped again, despite having been stable for years.

[cosmic crusader]

I had the same experience with Dopamax.

[mzBANGBANG]

I take adderall for my ADHD. If anything I noticed it effects my skin. Increased acne on face, have to wash several times a day. I haven't been taking it long enough to notice any change in hair growth. I have read on other forums that the lack of appetite contributed to hair loss.

[Isidith]

I take synthroid for hypothyroidism and since I started my hair has been so slow to grow since I started the medication. I remember before I started the meds but found out I was hypo my hair still grew but fell out a lot. Synthroid hasn't stopped my hair from falling out too much. I still have to clear the drains after every shower. I miss my pre-synthroid hair, it was so nice!

[Neneka]

I take meds for bipolar disorder. I haven't noticed if it has affected my hair growth or hair at all. My hair has actually gotten thicker because I am taking better care of it.

[chen bao jun]

Not everyone who takes medication is medicating for ADD, ADHD, depression or anxiety. And even for the posters who are... well, honestly I'd be fairly shocked if anyone on the boards follows the exact same medication regimen I do :). Even with folks who are really closely related to me, the stuff I'm taking is a very very very odd combo.

My primary ADD med is Strattera, which is a weird SSRI-like but not exactly ADD drug. I take Prozac as well (real SSRI), and bugger if we can accurately describe why. I have occasional (once a year or less) panic attacks, Seasonal Affective Disorder, occasional bouts of major depression that is not seasonal, and a sleep apnea diagnosis. If I'm taking my Prozac and Strattera, all of that gets better. With just one (doesn't matter which) I'll very much smaller improvements. Strattera is probably slightly better if you held me at gunpoint and insisted I could only have one. Meds get take after dinner to minimize appetite side effects.

Pretty much all drugs that have ADD effects can also have appetite side effects, generally in the vein of "not hungry now". Some patients are very strongly affected by this (on most ADD drugs, I'll easily drift into anorexic habits where it takes a fair bit of effort to get me eating even 1000 calories a day which is massively unhealthy. Strattera is the only one where I'll eat at all close to reasonably). Other patients are not particularly subject to appetite effects. If you're not eating properly, that can affect your hair, but I wouldn't precisely describe it as a drug side effect. If you're only eating 600-1000 calories a day, you'd have to be a very small and very sedentary person to not wind up malnourished, and hair loss is only one of the many symptoms of being malnourished.

I have a prescription of Xanax as a rescue medication for panic situations, but I am fairly confident that 0.5mg every 3-12 months is unlikely to have a large effect on my hair.
My son was on a similar regimen, plus asthma drugs for quite a few years.
He found that getting lots of exercise, especially in fresh air helped him a lot. Good luck to you.

[chen bao jun]

I'm on Celexa, 10 mg a day. It hasn't affected my hair in any way that I can tell. I have taken it for a little more than 1 year now.

[WilfredAllen]

https://www.rxisk.org/Research/SpecialtyFilter.aspx?SpecialtyFilter=1

Frankly, I would be more surprised to learn that messing around with body chemistry doesn't affect hair growth at all than to learn that it does. Almost all drugs are processed through the liver, and that could affect how your liver processes nutrients and hormones (I don't know if, how, or to what extent this would effect growth but it's very possible, IMO).

[swearnsue]

My hair grows better when I take my Prozac. When I've gone off it in the past the depression and anxiety made me shed a ton.

[gthlvrmx]

dont take them if theyre making your stomach hurt. the pain will last longer later you have to change pills and get help for it and the pills cause damage. im still not fully normal after abilify it started giving me that disorder and i would ahve tremors and i coudlnt move my body right i felt so stiff for months. the symptoms didnt leave until i stoppe dit and i still cant fully feel right.
those chemicals reall efff you up.
i had depression,anxiety, and a wrong diagnosis of schizophrenia. not a single pill worked so i took a different route i went all natural and changed my life :P therapy helps the most if you have depression and anxiety try therapy. i dont believe anxiety pills will ever solve any anxiety issue like curing it, anxiety isnt something genetic as in it appears out of nowhere and you cant control it so you need pills..that sounds so odd. O.o

therapy helps, crystals helped me, meditation, exercising, singing, doing things you like!

my hair fell out. a lot i lost over half my hair. i had a 7 inch circumference before and now i have a 2 inch cirucmference.

its hard but you gotta get out of it. :P id never take any medicine that makes you feel that bad and then it harms you.
natural stuff is usually fine. maybe homeopathic medicine can help or acupuncutre or something else?
i havent been on medications in MOTNHS. and my hair still isnt thicker. some parts wont grow back.
psychiatric medication isnt there to cure your problems. theyre not there to solve your problems, theyre symptom relievers keep that in mind. you have to find something else to cure your problems and do somehtign about it and once your medications harm you more, you have to find somehting else to fix it or stop taking the pills and do some more natural stuff. natural works for me.


if you gotta cry, cry. if you gotta hug you blanket, hug it. sing, put on funny stuff, start small positive stuff but baby steps and feel your emotions all of them even the depressed ones. its ok youll get out of it :)

i was in depression for 10 years and it was awful but im making it through recovery takes time. :)

maybe find some online sources too that has positive stuff on it. read it and do some things like a list of fun happy things to do like go out and touch a plant, roll on the hills like when you were a kid, go on the swings, buy a dog, do the thing you always wanted to do :P
something like that :P

youll be fine just let it all out :)

[tigereye]

I'm currently on BC pills, lymecyline antibiotics and isotretinoin in an effort to get my horrendous acne under control. For once it seems to be working, but I don't know if that's partly the sun helping the redness that my doctor is thinking could be rosacea. I hope it really is working because otherwise I've to start considering roaccutane, to which some people end up with hair loss as a side effect. There's so many other side effects I really don't think I want to go on it. I'd have to sign some disclosure to say I was ok with them, but I'm not sure I would be.

[caren]

I'd like to revive this thread...anyone out there taking meds for arthritis?

[aster66]

I took meds for ADHD from september till december of last year. Started with ritalin but stopped after about a month when i noticed my hair started falling out a little more than usual. I switched to dexampethamine but i didnt like that either due to other side effects. I havent used anything for my ADHD since december but my hair shedding never stopped. It actually got much worse about a month ago when i started using the contraceptive ring. Now my hair is falling out like crazy...

Old thread but I thought I'd give an update, because(!):

My hair finally stopped shedding :D!!!

It took about 10 months to stop after quitting the contraceptive ring/nuvaring (after using it for about 3 weeks) which i think contributed the most to my hair loss. I hope this information helps anyone who's wondering how long it'll take for their hair to stop falling out after quitting the nuvaring.

[MadeiraD]

I take adderall for ADD hasnt seemed to change anything

[MandyBeth]

My autoimmune nightmares cause slow growth and increased shedding. My medication causes slow growth, increased shedding and various damage. I don't really care what part does what.

[tigereye]

Old thread but I thought I'd give an update, because(!):

My hair finally stopped shedding :D!!!

It took about 10 months to stop after quitting the contraceptive ring/nuvaring (after using it for about 3 weeks) which i think contributed the most to my hair loss. I hope this information helps anyone who's wondering how long it'll take for their hair to stop falling out after quitting the nuvaring.
I do know my hair shed like crazy for about 5 months after starting the mini-pill. It's only just stopped, and I lost about an inch off my ponytail circumference, or about 25% (in terms of area, though, it's closer to 40% loss). Thankfully, it's starting to grow back in the form of hundreds of annoying, yet comforting-to-see-reappearing baby hairs. Contraception really messes with you, doesn't it? My doc wants to change me onto injections or the implant so my derm will let me go on accutane, so I'll probably have another mega-shed if they decide to go down this route.

In other news, I'm going to ask my doc to check for vitamin D deficiency. With my EDS, it's probably not a good deficiency to have, even though I've seen major improvements with that the last year and a half. It's SAD symptoms that made me wonder (I live at a pretty high latitude, and today was the first proper day of bright sun we've had since September or so. Though we are the sunniest city in Scotland, the latitude means very little UV rays reach us with the sun so low in the horizon and up for so little time in the day) along with persistent fatigue (though that may be related to my other issues), and my lecturer mentioned a possible link to acne today, and I know my skin used to improve majorly in summer for as long as I made sure to avoid sunburn. I figure it can't hurt to check, though if I turn out to be deficient, it'll probably mean supplements, since my current acne meds mean I can't go out in the sun without sunscreen in case I burn (I have very pale, easily burnable skin, and isotretinoin gel makes that worse).

My brother is still on his box-full of meds for his cerebral venous thrombosis, and now neutropenia. The combo means the docs are currently doing blood tests to test for antiphospholipid antibodies, now he is stable. The lupus one came back negative (thank goodness), but the others haven't come back yet (anti-cardiolipin & anti-B-glycoprotein). Some issue at the lab apparently. They tested him again for EDS (vascular type was the biggest focus) because he's with a new specialist who didn't know about me, but no such issues apparently (lucky guy must have missed that gene that I acquired).

My mum (who developed polymyalgia rheumatica at 47, and couldn't get a diagnosis until she was almost 50, and got a new doc, since the old doctor hadn't even looked at polymyalgia because it was relatively unheard of to develop it so young) is down to only 5mg of corticosteroids a day, 9 years after diagnosis. Only one tablet, and no sign of relapse. I'm kind of proud :cheer:

And to think we all view ourselves as a healthy family with no major medical issues. I think our view of normal may be warped... :p

[nakima]

I used to take ambien for sleep and it caused my hair to fall out. I stopped takeing it for a long time and thought I would give it another try (insomniac) and within 3 days my hair was falling again. Now I just stay up lol no more drugs for me. I also had other side effects as well but for me loseing my hair was the worst!

[Nadine <3]

I'm on several medications for severe anxiety and depression. I don't notice an effect on my hair. It's always bee very thin.

[Leslieslsa]

Well I am bipolar 1, borderline personality, schizoid personality, and I have anxiety. I am supposed to be taking six different medications for these conditions. But I quit the Lithium. I few days into it again I experienced a shed, and that was enough for me, I stopped taking it. I just don't believe that any medication is worth losing my hair over. I'm sure others would disagree with my decision because I just got released from the hospital for the 43rd time and I am 25. but I just didn't like it.

[vanillabones]

I have been heavily medicated for a year now for my mental and anxiety diagnoses and have never noticed ANY difference in my hair whatsoever. I was also put on some medications for depression in my teens but they did not work to the point I considered them to be placebo. I was also on accutane twice and that out of all of my meds I think would have had an effect and it didn't on my hair... it could have possibly made it more dry than usual but with all my other side effects I didn't pay attention. Oh and I was on birth control since I started my period for those lovely womanly issues only a few times did I try different brands of the pill and I never had any hair or weight side effects but it did contribute to helping my acne.

[midbackorbust]

I take Prozac and it hasn't had any effect that I've noticed, but I am on a very low dose (20 mcg)

[BlueMajorelle]

I take spironolactone for hormonal control-- and it makes my hair and skin extremely dry, and caused my hair to thin quite a bit. It took a while to figure out how to counteract the effects, but I discovered adding 1/4tsp of avocado oil to my conditioner each wash keeps it moisturized. The thinner hair I'm still learning to live with. >_<

[Verdandi]

I'm on birth control, Atarax and Zoloft (setraline) and I never noticed anything affecting my hair with the later two. I was a mess the first months when I got them though, and my hair wasn't a concern for me then (five years ago).

I did however shed more than usual when I changed birh control this summer, but I was also working a lot and was in the last phase of a two-year long project so it might just have been a case of good old stress and nothing to blame the poor pill for :)

[morrigan*]

I was on birth control pills and my hair became a bit thinner during that time, but i suspect there was mostly excessive stress and vitamin deficiency to blame. I discovered after i stopped with pills that i should be taking at least B-complex supplements whole time because when you take BC pill body doesn't absorbs vitamins so efficiently.

[heidi w.]

None of the 3 meds mentioned should cause a slow in growth rate.
heidi w.

[naturalambition]

I am taking concerta (methylphenidate) for ADD, and my hair has thinned out a lot since starting the medication. It might Just be that my apetite is gone when I take the pills, I think I am a bit malnourished because of it, sadly. Taking vitamins and orker supplements to counteract it...

[eadwine]

I have been on and off medication over the years, it hasn't made a difference in my hair growth or loss thank goodness :)

[Tosca]

I take a monophasic BC pill, fluoxetine (prozac) and ziprasidone (geodon). I used to take risperidone (risperidal) but we switched to ziprasidone after a year because of the side effects. A few months after stopping risperidone I noticed that my hair was noticeably thicker. It's still thinner than it was, but I think last year being very stressful caused me to shed a lot too. I am planning to talk to my psychiatrist in the next few months to plan me stopping taking the ziprasidone, due to a few other side effects, as well as my hair being 2.5 inch circumference instead of the 3.5/4 inch circumference it used to be.

[Jadestorm]

I'm on a lot of medications for severe physical problems and I do have issues with my hair (breakage, hair loss,...). But I think that might have more to do with the being sick itself and my body just not being healthy at all, more so than the medications. I don't know. I guess it's possible the medications are making it worse. It sucks, but there's not a lot I can do about it unfortunately. :( Considering how bad my medical problems are, I count myself lucky my hair at least still looks good and it's not apparent to others I'm having issues with it. I do take multivitamins every day and when I don't forget (but I almost always forget) I do take something to increase my protein intake, as my protein levels are almost always way too low and that itself already has a very significant bad effect on my hair I've noticed.

[ElvenEngineer]

I take Adderall, Prozac and Synthroid. I had a big shed when I first started the synthroid. The other two affect my appetite (reduce it -- even the Prozac), so I don't take the Adderall everyday and make sure to eat a lot of high-nutrient foods that usually sound good -- like rich green smoothies with greek yogurt and coconut (coconut fats also have a positive effect on appetite). Or spinach and lamb curries. I haven't noticed any negative effects besides that. In fact, my hair is generally better than before I started the meds, for other concurrent reasons (less stress, taking better care of myself, etc).

[littlelivething]

I am on lamictal and have a Nexplanon birth control implant. I'm not sure if the birth control implant had much of an effect, but lamictal definitely changed the texture of my hair and made it thinner. I used to have thick, curly hair; now my hair is hinder/sheds more and the curls are Much looser, more like waves. I also have greasy scalp now, which I think is new. The hair loss from lamictal though is nothing as bad as lithium, depo provera, extreme dieting/anorexia/malnutrition.