Hair regrowth symptoms and conditions

I was taking Bupropion (generic Wellbutrin) for about 4 months. I loved it. I have Bipolar and suffer from SEVERE depression. For the first time in YEARS I felt good. I actually felt good and that was amazing. But I was noticing lots and lots of hair loss. A few months before I began the Bupropion I had a really bad hair dye job and that caused me to lose quite a bit of hair but that had slowed down after a while. Then about 2-3 months into the Bupropion I had so much hair falling out of my head. I kept thinking it was from the dye job but after a while I knew it couldn't be. It was driving me crazy that I couldn't figure out why I was losing my hair and I was beginning to get so depressed over going bald. Then one day it clicked that it had to be the Bupropion. I googled it and came to this website. I was glad to finally figure out what the cause was and I stopped the medicine that day. That was around December 15, 2009. I had no idea if my hair would come back or when it would if it did. I was so stressed about it. I decided to see my family doctor. I really recommend anyone who is going through this to go see both your family doctor and the doctor prescribing your Wellbutrin-in my case that was my psychiatrist. My family doctor told me hair loss and hair regrowth goes in three month cycles. About three months on the med to lose your hair then three months completely off for it to stop falling out and it to start to regrow. She also recommended that I help the growing back process to go faster by using Rogain for woman. I have been off the med now for just over two months and on Rogain for about a month and a half. I do believe the Rogain has helped my hair to stop falling out like it was. It took about 3-4 weeks on the Rogain for the rapid hair loss to stop. I don't know if it stopped because of the Rogain or if the med was just out of my system long enough. But the point is that it is not falling out in large amounts like it was. (I have small areas on my head that are bald.) But I think things will start to get better.
Let me also add the other meds I was on at the same time. I was taking Depakote (causes hair loss but I had been taking that for about 10 years and I hadn't lost any hair to depakote for several years. And that hair loss was different. It made my hair go from very thick to very thin. Bupropion made my hair fall out in chunks.) I was also taking Seroquel and Clonazapam.
My psychiatrist told me that most of the anti-depressants have such similar ingredients that any I go on would have a strong chance of hair loss again. So I tried to fight my depression on my own. I even stopped the Depakote because I wanted to get off all meds that have hair loss as a possible side effect. I did not do well on my own. I was so suicidal, so depressed I could hardly function and I have a seven year old that I need to take care of. So my doctor prescribed Prozac and Zyprexa together. My psychiatrist was doing his job. His job is to make me well in the head. He needs to do that even if hair loss was going to happen. I get that. BUT I could not get myself to take the new medicines. I NEED for my hair to grow back. I can be stupidly stubborn. So I began taking an all natural anti-depressant. I didn't have much hope but I had to try. It is called Deprex and I get it at the Vitamin Shoppe. I take five a day and it is pricey but it seems to be working. I am still on the depressed side 70-75% of the time but I am NOT suicidal and I am functioning better. I am doing play dates with my daughter and volunteering at her school and seeing my friends. I wasn't able to do any of that before. I am also currently taking "Maxi hair" by Country Life which has ALL the great ingredients your hair needs- I STRONGLY recommend this vitamin. I also take a double dose of a multivitamin, 2400mg./day of Amino Acids NAC N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (recent study shows taking this helps with bipolar depression), and 3600 mg./day Fish oil (Also for depression). I still take Seroquel and Clonazepam.
So after all that, yes I think my hair will grow back in time. It has stopped falling out but that takes a couple months of being completely Bupropion free. I also suggest you take the best care of your hair you can. I am using Aveda repair shampoo and conditioner-expensive but I don't care, it's good. Also go get the best haircut you can. I refused to go get my hair cut because I was embarrassed but once I did get a healthy hair cut the ends stopped breaking off and my hair looks a lot better. And really do go see your doctor. They are the ones who know and can help with suggestions and help to put your mind at ease. Oh yeah, one more thing that I noticed helped me. I thought that combing my hair in the shower with conditioner in my hair was the best way to get my tangles out and lose the least amount of hair. It took a while for me to figure it out but NO I do not comb my hair in the shower. I lost most of my hair shampooing/conditioning and combing my hair in the shower. Now I comb my hair out at night and in the morning before it gets wet in the shower. Be VERY easy with your hair while shampooing and conditioning your hair! And please please talk to your doctor about what you are doing with any medicine changes. You need to do what's right for you. :)

Hi, about seven years ago I complained to my doctor of noticing a little thinning at the top of my head. They referred me to a dermatologist who thought it was female hair pattern loss. It was minimal and he said that he rarely saw it get much worse in women. He suggested minoxidil. A year later, I relocated and the doctors at the health clinic noticed my blood pressure was slightly elevated. They put me on HCTZ. I am into healthy organic eating and was disturbed by the need to be on medication. They said HCTZ was a mild diuretic and never mentioned that hair loss is associated with it. After five years on HCTZ my hair loss is severe. I have lost half my hair and it is dry and brittle, no matter what styling products I use. I had long beautiful thick glossy natural hair, but the texture of my hair has totally changed. A few days ago, frustrated by the continual hair loss, I began searching for my own answers. In my first web search, I pulled up many connections to HCTZ and hair loss, including this site. As others have said, I am mad at myself for not taking my health care into my own hands sooner. I have stopped HCTZ and my blood pressure is being controlled by diet, exercise, and drinking plenty of water. What I would like to know-- is HCTZ hair loss reversible? Are there any reputable natural solutions to hair regrowth. (And minoxidil has been disappointing.) Thanks for your comments. They have helped immensely. GG.

gonna make this short and sweet. Thank god i am not crazy... I am having all of these side effects. my main concern is my hair loss. please if there is anyone out there that has gotten this thing out that has seen improvement and hair regrowth please let me know.. It will give me hope.. i am calling my dr. tomorrow!!! thanks so much for everyones imput. it has really helped

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, age 53. I had excellent medical care at NW Cancer Specialists, Dr. D. G., Portland, Oregon. I endured Chemo (8 treatments) I had a lumpectomy and 36 radiation treatments. I also took Arimidex from 2004 - 2009. My doctor suggested exercise would lessen the side-effects and he was right. I followed everything my doctor told me to do, it was very difficult at times, but we are talking about my life and the quality of my days, his suggestions worked. I began a regime of walking, up to 3+ miles a day, water aerobics 3 times a week and I joined Curves. I also took vitamins: Costco multiple vitamin, vitamin E & C, Calcium + D(Viactive), Melatonin (natural sleep aid), probiotics, and fish oil. I also drank up to 6 glasses of water a day. I am now "cancer free" and not taking any RX.

Hi all,
I have spent the last 2 days on the Internet reading about Mirena; as a matter of fact, I had mine removed 2 days ago. For the last 10 months, my life has been horrible. I had the Mirena inserted in November of 2007, I was also coming out of a divorce, so I (and my doctor) was attributing my extreme depression, anxiety attacks to it. I started noticing that my hair was falling out and it just kept getting worse and worse. I went to see my doctor again and she said I had anemia (I was having very heavy periods and bleeding through my periods). Doctor said anemia causes hair loss. I went through different tests, saw a dermatologist, I always mentioned I had the Mirena, but no one seem to relate that to anything. I actually went on the Mirena site a couple of times, but the side effects listed there were very mild so I discarded the thought that the Mirena was causing my depression and my hair loss. There is no mention whatsoever about hair loss. Months went by, I kept seeing different doctors since my hair loss was getting worse and worse, my once beautiful, thick hair had become extremely thin, I have two holes on my scalp. I continued to bleed heavy and my ob/gyn said to give it some more time. My life was a complete mess, going to work was a struggle, dealing with my kids was a struggle, some days I would just lay in bed and cried for hours, I started to believe that my life had no purpose or reason. I was truly in agony, I am sure those of you who have gone through this know exactly what I mean. Anyway, I can't believe in all this months it never occurred to me to google mirena and hair loss....or mirena and suicidal thoughts, etc., etc. I thank you all for sharing your stories and I hope we can figure out a way to let all of those mirena users out there suffering that the answer to their agony is simply to have the Mirena removed. I look forward to my new life, new hair. It has been 2 days and I don't know if it is a state of mind, but I feel so much better already.
Thx
Jessica M.

I have been on Loestrin 24 for 2 years!! And I am finally getting off... and so happy to find this site! I have had to be put on Topamax because my migraines became so bad, which helped my weight gain (that I attributed to my own depression that I thought was my own fault!) I didn't even realize bc could cause depression but it all makes sense! I came on here to find out if Loestrin has been the cause of my SEVERE HAIR LOSS over the past year and a half! When I started taking it, I was also going through a stressful situation and thought that was the cause, but have now realized that my life is back to normal that something else must be causing it. I tried to get my Dr. to take me off of Loestrin about a year ago due to the EXTREME nausea, dizziness, headaches and fatigue that it was causing and he decided that I should just be put on Topamax because I was just a Migraine sufferer! What a nightmare. I can't wait to switch tomorrow!!

I've been taking Yasmin for a year and a half now and have been suffering so many side effects I thought I might be imagining them. But now I know I'm NOT! 2 months after taking Yasmin my hair started to fall out in clumps, and has been falling out for over a year now. As if that wasn't bad enough, I've been moody, weepy, anxious, feeling ringing in my ears and vertigo, tiredness and so many other side effects described by other women on this forum.

I felt not myself for so long now and put it all down to the stress of a moving to a new country. But I know better now and only wish I made the connection sooner. I am going to stop taking Yamin immediately, but am worried about losing even more hair. Have any of you had similar experience, and most importantly - will it grow back?

I suffered from alopecia areata (patchy to complete hair loss) since I was 13. From time to time I would go to a dermatologist to see if there was any new treatments for me. Finally a derm. began giving me pin-prick type injections of Kenalog in the scalp on a weekly basis. After a month. I had 100% hair regrowth. Boy, was I happy. Then he told me I couldn't have the injections more often than monthly, as he was afraid of overuse. The hair began falling out again. The monthly treatments weren't enough. I have the problem to this day. I wonder if I could start again on a weekly basis?