Anti-depressants and hair?

[BritishBraider]

I have a chum whose been on anti-depressants for about 6 months now, and she claims her hair isn't growing anymore, or if it is, very slowly (she's just past BSL, virgin colour) has anyone noticed anything like this before?

[halo_tightens]

It doesn't seem to be too big a problem for me... My hair doesn't grow freakishly fast or anything, but it's definitely growing at a relatively normal pace. I've been taking antidepressants my entire adult life, aside from a few breaks here and there when switching meds. (or foolishly attempting once again to go without... not a pretty sight!)

There are several different classes of antidepressant meds, though, so it may be something different altogether. I take SSRIs, but there are also SNRIs, tricyclics, MAOIs, and so on. Add in the fact that everyone responds so differently to the same medications... It's hard to say.

[jackiesjottings]

I am on Prozac, and haven't had any side effects involving my hair at all. I had a long spell on Prozac from 2001-2007 and didn't notice anything then either. It does say on the info that it can cause hair loss but touch wood... all has been well, and in fact I am having a growth spurt at the moment!

[meph]

I took Zoloft for almost a year and I didn't notice any hair related changes. I didn't have more shedding and my growth rate was about the same.

I think, as halo_tightens said, that it has a lot to do with how your body reacts to anti-depressants and what kind of anti-depressant you're taking. No one's the same so it's kind of hard to say whether or not it will affect your hair based on the experiences of others.

[Tabitha]

I took Zoloft for almost a year and I didn't notice any hair related changes. I didn't have more shedding and my growth rate was about the same.

I think, as halo_tightens said, that it has a lot to do with how your body reacts to anti-depressants and what kind of anti-depressant you're taking. No one's the same so it's kind of hard to say whether or not it will affect your hair based on the experiences of others.

Quoted for truth - I took Zoloft for six weeks about 4 years ago, and noticed markedly increased shedding throughout that period from which I am still recovering. There were other more important side-effects which led me to stop taking it and in general, I don't react well to such drugs. My reactions tend to be severe but also anomalous, to the extent that the psychiatrist and my GP agreed that they were doing me more harm than good and they (and I) were unwilling to try any more (this is after trying many different types of psychiatric drugs over a number of years under consultant supervision).

ETA Zoloft is called Lustral in the UK; generic name sertraline.

[JenniferNoel]

Several years ago I took zoloft for about a year, my hair grew like a weed at the time. It still grows pretty fast, but I don't know if there's a difference because I never measured back then.
I think the less-stress feeling from the medication helps hair growth alone. I never had any negative side effects, but things went downhill towards the end of that year.

[cobblersmaid]

I have been on both Lexapro and Effexor. I didn't notice any hair changes.

[jenjen10]

I have been on Zoloft for 10+ years and my hair seems to grow at slightly above average rate. I do shed a lot but I think that is normal for me.

[feralnature]

I take every kind of crazy pill they make and my hair grows fast. Or maybe it just "seems" that way :/

[clichepithet]

I took Lithium for quite some time and it stunted my hair growth. Significantly. It was easy to see the lack of growth, as my head was shaved. Even now "off" the Lithium, it does not grow as fast as it used to.

It could be her Meds, or it could be your standard BSL-Stall.

[jane53]

My hair grew fast when I wasn't on SSRIs and it grows fast now that I am on SSRIs.

[BelleBot]

I've been on a lot of different psychotropic meds (anti depressants, anti psychotics, tranquilisers, hypnotics etc) over the years and they had a huge impact on my hair and skin, it was horrible. I guess it depends on what medication you're on, what dose and how you react as everyone reacts differently. But yes they can definitely make a difference to your hair.

[Anje]

I think I've seen it listed as a side effect to some meds, though I never noticed it personally. (Though I've gotten some weird ones, like cystic acne from Zoloft.) Rxlist.com is a good resource for looking up the specifics of what she's on, if you care to wade through some more technical information.

It's possible that her hair growth has simply stalled for a while. Mine has simply decided to stop growing for no discernible reason for about 5 months in the past. It was also just past BSL, which seems to be a strangely common place for growth stalls. (And yes, I wore it in a bun the entire time, so chairs weren't to blame.)

A third possibility is that her hair is breaking at the length it is, which is also really common around BSL. At about this point, if you wear your hair loose or in a ponytail, it's likely to rub on chairs a lot more than it did before. Luckily, the solution is easy: wear hair in a bun, or pull ponytails, braids, and loose hair over the shoulder so they don't get eaten by chairs. Developing a hair-over-the-shoulder habit is generally a good idea for long hair, except maybe when you're eating.

[KittyLost]

Does anyone know if a low doasge of fluoxetine affects hair? It says a side effect can be hair loss and I know it is different for every individual but I'm curious all the same.

I was looking for the new thread that was started which was a long list of medicines that can affect hair but I can't find it anymore.

[jfeg116]

I've been on Cymbalta, Pristiq, and now Lexapro and I've never had any hair-related side effects. Many, many side effects from the Cymbalta and Pristiq, and none from the Lexapro, but no, nothing hair related.

Does she have any recent injuries? Injuries can affect hair/nail growth as they're low on your body's priority list as far as blood flow is concerned- extra blood goes to the injured site to feed the healing process so sometimes other systems get a little neglected. When I broke my leg I didn't have to cut my nails- finger or toe- for a month. I was also a serious cutter and, at my worst, it too caused my nail and hair growth to slow.

[vanity_acefake]

I have been on antidepressants since January 2000. Luckily I have not seen any difference in my hair growth.

[MidnightStar]

I was on Paxil for awhile, and decided to go off of it because it wasn't doing me any good. One of the many, many side effects I experienced was hugely increased shedding. Thankfully that seems to be a thing of the past, but now I'm super, super paranoid about losing my hair.

[archel]

I've been on Celexa for 10 years for neuropathic pain (fibromyalgia) and my hair grows like a weed and so do my nails - I think it depends on the med and the individual.

[Intransigentia]

I have taken:
- MAOIs (old skool!)
- every tricyclic and/or SSRI that went to market before 2001 or so
- SNRIs Effexor (venlafaxine) and Cymbalta (duloxetine)
- atypical antidepressant Wellbutrin (bupropion)
- Depakote/valproic acid (anticonvulsant used as mood stabilizer)

I have only paid attention to my hair growth on my current regimen, and it seems to be maybe slightly above 1/2"/month. I don't feel like it's any different than at any other time of my life, but again, I haven't paid serious attention except that last few months or so.

[dmarie16]

Oh my, I have been on Celexa and Buspar for 9 months now and my hair grows like crazy (but so has my waistline :o) because I EAT everything I come close to!!! No other side effect to my hair that I have noticed

[Mesmerise]

When I was on Prozac (well the generic version of it), it didn't seem to affect my hair at all. That being said, I never measured at the time! However, I don't recall any major, freaky hair loss!!