PDA

View Full Version : I'm worried anti-depressent meds is thinning my hair



longmane
March 6th, 2018, 06:10 PM
I couldn't find much information about hairloss/shedding side effects. Please If anyone knows about it, it would be helpful.

Sarahlabyrinth
March 6th, 2018, 06:15 PM
I don't know anything about it. Could you discuss it with your doctor, who might know? The most important thing for you is to be well, though. Your hair must come second. And I hope your hair stops thinning! :grouphug:

longmane
March 6th, 2018, 06:32 PM
I don't know anything about it. Could you discuss it with your doctor, who might know? The most important thing for you is to be well, though. Your hair must come second. And I hope your hair stops thinning! :grouphug:

I made sure I asked my doctor before taking it. They said everyone's body reacts different, They can't predict what my side effects (if any) would be.

I was wondering if anyone took similar medications experienced thinning hair.
Thank you, I hope so too.

FennFire911
March 6th, 2018, 06:49 PM
I’ve been taking Welbutrin for about 18-19 years. My fiancé complains about my hair being all over his clothes, even at the fire station, but I have a nice healthy 8-8.5cm ponytail circumference.
Welbutrin is an NDRI, norepinepherine dopamine reuptake inhibitor and does not behave like the typical SSRI antidepressants most people are more familiar with. It has some scary black-box warnings, but for me, it’s been a literal life saver.

Ophidian
March 6th, 2018, 07:00 PM
I’ve been taking Wellbutrin for about 2 years and haven’t had any negative side effects hair related or otherwise. It has been a lifesaver for me too. Responses will vary a lot so yeah there’s no way to tell without trying it out but under Dr. supervision you can monitor any side effects and make a decision on whether it’s a good fit for you. I think the periods in my life that I shed the most have been when I was very stressed and when I was very depressed and generally taking terrible care of myself. So for me, being proactive about my mental health has positive impacts on my overall and therefore hair health.

akurah
March 6th, 2018, 08:34 PM
Wellbutrin made me more aggressive. It didn’t affect my hair.

Keep in mind stress in general can cause hair loss. Depression is a form of stress

lucid
March 6th, 2018, 08:57 PM
Hair loss (telogen effluvium) with anti depressants can happen, but it's typically not very common or drastic, and it's usually not permanent. If you have experienced increased shedding after starting a new medication, it could be the culprit (but not necessarily).


Specifically about wellbutrin:
"According to GlaxoSmithKline, Wellbutrin’s manufacturer, hair loss is an infrequent side effect that affects 1 subject out every 1000 subjects. This represents just 0.1% of Wellbutrin users."

akurah
March 6th, 2018, 11:31 PM
Also keep in mind that ANYTHING that happens during these studies need to be listed as a side effect, if a percentage in a study gets a cold, even that ends up on possible side effect list. So that 0.1% of people might have lost hair either way.

Natashap
March 7th, 2018, 12:17 AM
Stress inclusive of any pills you taking can cause extreme thinness in scalp hair,talk to your doc for switching the med and tell them the reason for it.

Call them ASAP.

lapushka
March 7th, 2018, 02:58 AM
Usually they say that you start shedding 3 months after some stressful event, could be with "change" too, in this case the hair loss you are seeing now might or might not be from the medication, but from your depressed state (delayed reaction). :flower:

In any case, I would get in touch with your doctor, tell them and perhaps they will put you on something else.

If you experience any side-effect from a medication that is not normal, get in touch asap!

browneyedsusan
March 7th, 2018, 06:42 AM
I'm no doctor, but it sounds like it's anxiety induced. Depression and anxiety are partners in crime, and usually act together. Some people are so adverse to taking medication, that their brains conjure up "side effects" to validate the adversity. The side effects are real. You can totally have hair loss, nausea, hives, whatever, but it might not be from the medication, it might be your brain making excuses to get off whatever medication.

I'd give it time, and see how it goes. If this medication doesn't work for you, try another one. Keep after it until you find one that helps.

lapushka
March 7th, 2018, 07:01 AM
I'm no doctor, but it sounds like it's anxiety induced. Depression and anxiety are partners in crime, and usually act together. Some people are so adverse to taking medication, that their brains conjure up "side effects" to validate the adversity. The side effects are real. You can totally have hair loss, nausea, hives, whatever, but it might not be from the medication, it might be your brain making excuses to get off whatever medication.

I'd give it time, and see how it goes. If this medication doesn't work for you, try another one. Keep after it until you find one that helps.

Yeah, but if she didn't do all that and wanted to be on the medication, there goes that theory. :o

I'd just go back to the doctor, just to make sure.

How are you noticing it is thinning? How long a period have you watched this? Is it just one time that you had more shedding? How long have you been on this medication to notice the effects is basically what I'm asking.

MusicalSpoons
March 7th, 2018, 10:40 AM
I'm no doctor, but it sounds like it's anxiety induced. Depression and anxiety are partners in crime, and usually act together. Some people are so adverse to taking medication, that their brains conjure up "side effects" to validate the adversity. The side effects are real. You can totally have hair loss, nausea, hives, whatever, but it might not be from the medication, it might be your brain making excuses to get off whatever medication.

I'd give it time, and see how it goes. If this medication doesn't work for you, try another one. Keep after it until you find one that helps.


Yeah, but if she didn't do all that and wanted to be on the medication, there goes that theory. :o

I'd just go back to the doctor, just to make sure.

Our brains are wonderful, marvellous, staggeringly complex things. They can do great things that we want them to, buy on the other hand, they can also do things we really don't want them to.

https://hms.harvard.edu/news/placebos-workeven-without-deception-12-22-10
This was an experiment conducted on a group of volunteers who all had unmanaged IBS symptoms. It I remember correctly, the control group had no treatment and another group had a placebo tablet to take regularly - which they knew was a placebo. The results very clearly showed that even though the group taking the tablets knew they were nothing more than sugar pills, their symptoms improved! This trial was mentioned in a BBC documentary which also reported that after the experiment ended, some of the volunteers contacted the researchers asking to continue with the tablets (they couldn't).

Extrapolating from this (very unscientific, I know, but it's all pretty much speculation at this point anyway) it is logical that, if somebody is worried that taking a medication could cause hair loss, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the act of taking the medication could somehow trigger the very side effect they are worried about. Yet it's probably an unlikely cause.

However, longmane your hair loss could instead be caused by any number of other factors, such as previous emotional state or any changes in routine, etc - or it could just be a one-time thing, or even seasonal shedding which seems to be very common. Definitely think about the questions lapushka asked.

Deborah
March 7th, 2018, 11:05 AM
I took Wellbutrin for many years in the past with no side effects at all, including none on my hair. I wouldn't worry about your hair if I were you. Wellbutrin worked very well for me. Just focus on getting well. That is what is important.:flower:

longmane
March 7th, 2018, 12:42 PM
A little TMI I decided to delete

The majority of the comments said "wellbutrin" had no effect on their hair, so I'm guessing it's the same for me then. Btw thank you all for your input :flower:

lapushka
March 7th, 2018, 02:28 PM
You're welcome; and still if you feel at all worried, because you *do* have anxiety & depression, ask your doctor about it. If we can't put your mind at ease (I guess we somehow did), then I'm sure your doctor can. :flower: Do you otherwise get along well with this medication? Because that on the whole is important too!!!

Anxiety is tough. And depression is nothing to snicker at. Hang in there.

Ophidian
March 7th, 2018, 04:15 PM
My hair looks a lot different when it’s been in braids for a long time too, fwiw. It gets really silky but it does look like there’s less of it (it just compacts more than when I’m redoing it every day).

longmane
March 7th, 2018, 04:43 PM
Extrapolating from this (very unscientific, I know, but it's all pretty much speculation at this point anyway) it is logical that, if somebody is worried that taking a medication could cause hair loss, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the act of taking the medication could somehow trigger the very side effect they are worried about. Yet it's probably an unlikely cause.


That does sound logical. I sometimes worry about the worst outcome possible because of anxiety. I think I'm better off trying to not think about my hair too much.

longmane
March 7th, 2018, 05:10 PM
You're welcome; and still if you feel at all worried, because you *do* have anxiety & depression, ask your doctor about it. If we can't put your mind at ease (I guess we somehow did), then I'm sure your doctor can. :flower: Do you otherwise get along well with this medication? Because that on the whole is important too!!!

Anxiety is tough. And depression is nothing to snicker at. Hang in there.

Reading everyone's comment put my mind at ease way more than my doctor did!

Even though it gave me side effects like insomnia and chest tightness, it's been helping somewhat. I'm suppose to keep a dairy, at the end of each day I have to write down all the changes I have noticed both negative or positive. Based on that the doctor will if it's a good fit for me.

lucid
March 7th, 2018, 05:18 PM
I had a period with hairloss 2 years ago, and the shedding was extreme compared to normal as well as visible thinning at my hairline. I'm positive you would have noticed increased shedding, for example in the shower or when undoing the braids, if your hair actually was thinning as a side effect from medication. So if I were you, I would try not to worry about this. It's an extremely uncommon side effect after all, so it's very unlikely you'll actually experience it :)

longmane
March 7th, 2018, 05:21 PM
My hair looks a lot different when it’s been in braids for a long time too, fwiw. It gets really silky but it does look like there’s less of it (it just compacts more than when I’m redoing it every day).

I get that too. It makes my hair form bigger clump than usual.

Dark40
March 8th, 2018, 07:56 PM
I've never heard of that type of anti-depressant but I'm taking 2 of them called, "clonezapam," and "respiradone." I haven't notice any significant hair loss, and I've been taking them for 2 years now. But I have heard that some anti-depressants can make your suffer hair loss or shedding. But the main thing is to be healthy, and hair comes said like Sarah said.