Head of hair symptoms and conditions

i have been on lisinopril 10 mg hctz for about a year now, bp is good averages now with the med 120/73, i do get the cough sometimes, also tightness in the throat, but the scary part now is i have been losing my hair rapidly in spots, one in the middle of the head and on the back of the head. I am 50, fair head of hair, my barber said i might have alopecia, but i wonder if it is the drug causing this, i see a dermatologist on dec 10th, anyone else losing hair in patches?

ok, i have been on lisinopril 10mg hctz for about a year now. sometimes i feel the cough, sometimes my throat fells tight , but one thing that scared the hell out of me just in the last few weeks was a sudden bald spot on the top of my head, granted i am 50, but i have a reasonable head of hair, i also, to my surprise found a little bald spot usually where a man does not go bald down toward the back of the head. I just walked by my haircut lady to ask her if i had this bald spot two months ago and she said no way and to hurry and see a dermatologist, i am truly thinking its this dam drug, anyone else experience sudden hair loss in strange places on the head? thanks.

I'm on Lamictal for minor bipolar, with Adult ADHD, OCD and anxiety. I went on Lamictal around 2005. It has been 4 years. At first I did not like how it made me feel. It made me feel like euphoric almost like all my emotions were caged up inside, both good and bad. When I say good I mean, the normal emotions of happiness and sadness were gone. I became more or less numb. I no longer cry when it is appropriate to cry, and I am no longer a happy outgoing person. Yet the "bad" emotions is what I mean by it holds in the extreme moodiness, outrages, anxiety and depression. Now my attitude is more like, yeah whatever. I accepted the good with he bad because this medication has helped me enormously and I would rather go without the good normal stuff than to have the extreme back. I am not a zombie, I am not high strung or low strung.....just a even keel which is how supposed to be how Lamictal works. It is the first thing since 1994 which has worked and a wonderful doctor who is top notch knew immediately what I needed. Unfortunately I had to go through years of BS and being a guinea pig to get to this point and finding the right doctor. She is a pharma psychiatrist which is better than a psychiatrist. She is a specialist in psychiatry but also pharmacology (medicine), so unlike most doctors that know how to treat, she is a expert in understanding medications.

Side Effects - If I forget to take it I immediately get agitated and get headaches, and twitching in my eye and lip area. Do not mess with this medicine. It can help with seizures, but if you forget, it can also cause seizures! The major side effect I am having is scalp pain, itching and HAIR LOSS . After 3 years of not knowing why I am losing so much hair (and I had a very full thick head of hair), and going to doctors and dermatologists, my psych dr. told me it is Lamictal! Finally I know the culprit. I very upset about this, and I need to seriously think about if I am going to stop it. I do not want to go bald!

Please note to all of you that are new to this drug also, do not drink grapefruit juice or take NSAIDS medications - eg. things with acetaminophen in it. NSAIDS can cause Stevens Johnsons Syndrome. A deadly side effect. If you make it a few weeks up to the right dosage without signs of Stevens Johnsons syndrome you will be ok. But be aware of the signs......... ulcerating wounds. Look it up on Google and google photos. Educate yourself.

This medications has done wonders for me, but at the same time I really have not had a choice. All the other drugs that work for adhd cause a lot of hypertension - causes more agitation, and the other drugs for bipolar and ocd can have side affects like early diabetes or severe weight gain. I wish there was something else out there, without all the side effects because Lamictal is great, but I am not going to be a 37 year old female walking around bald the rest of my life.

Prednisone is horrific! I went on it 10 months ago for autoimmune hepatitis which now I realize was a major mistake. I was to take 40 a day but only agreed to 20. Now I have very high blood pressure and am on Bystolic and Vasotec. I have gained 30 lbs and am seeing a shrink!. I have tapered the dose down to 5mg much to the docs dislike but I am depressed, anxious and a bit suicidal. Also, my lovely head of hair is at least halved and I look 7 months pregnant. Soon I'll become anorexic cuz I refuse to live any longer like this. Anyone else feel the same?

After being on the generic for Wellbutrin for several months, I started experiencing a lot of hair loss. I've never had a problem with this before; have always had a good, full head of hair. It's very distressing. I'm going to stop taking this drug and see if things improve. Has anyone had an experience with stopping and have had this side effect reverse?

I'm also having a memory problem that is extremely upsetting. At times I've been fairly convinced it's Alzheimer's. A most definite change for me - I've been able to remember phone numbers, zip codes, passwords, etc. for years, but no more. I can forget a password or phone number in a matter of seconds.

I have been on Loestrin 24 FE for a little over a year.I stopped taking it a few days ago because I could not find any other explanation for my hair loss. I used to have a full head of hair and my hair is so thin that I am becoming to be self conscious and wonder if my hair will ever grow back!! I was wondering if those that have experienced hair loss, if your hair ever grew back??

I HAVE BEEN ON LOESTRIN FE 24 FOR 2 YEARS NOW AND HAVE THE SAME ISSUES BUT A LOT OF HAIR LOSS, ALL BLOOD WORK HAS CAME BACK NORMAL AND THE ONLY THING I CAN LINK TO THIS HAIR LOSS PROBLEM IS THIS PILL. AFTER REVIEWING MANY OF THE SAME ISSUES OF HAIR LOSS, NO LIBIDO, BLOAT, WEIGHT GAIN. I'VE COME TO REALIZE I NEED TO BE OFF OF THIS PILL.
I HAD A FULL HEAD OF HAIR AND NOW PRIOR TWO YEARS AGO AND NOW I HAVE THIN HAIR THAT FALLS OUT AND WILL NOT GROW.

I have been on 20mg lisinopril for over a year. Didn't notice anything out of the ordinary for almost whole year. In May, I began getting these bizarre "rashes" and marks over both arms, hands, and legs almost daily. Thought it was from humidity. It is now Feb. in the Northeast and rashes/hives continue! Biggest concern, though, has been the increasing thinning of my once thick, beautiful head of hair. Told by derms, doctors, etc. geneticin had nothing to do with meds. I KNOW this is not genetic and thinning so bad, my hairdresser recently confirmed it, saying worse on right side of crown of head. Thinking of discontinuing lisinopril. Any advise?

My daughter received the vaccination when she was 17. She also had the meningitis and hep vaccinations with the 1st and 3rd doses. (I have since learned that multi-vaccinating is not recommended.) She developed pneumonia between the 1st and 2nd doses (could have been related or not) and then when she started school in the fall of '07, she continued to struggle with colds, etc. This could, obviously, be all college-related and just how it is in college. However, last week she told me that she got her period AGAIN - after only another two weeks. That was the 2nd month of periods every two weeks. She is also sick again (She was sent to the hospital with flu-like symptoms at Christmas-time). I started researching auto-immune disorders and found that her illnesses could be related to Gardasil. She was pretty healthy until she was vaccinated. She also complained last year of her hair falling out, but she has a thick head of hair and I told her to take her vitamins. Now I'm really concerned that the Gardasil could be causing some serious problems after reading all the posts. She has an appt. next week with an OB/GYN. Sounds like so many have had similar problems. I am so upset with myself for having thought the vaccine was a good idea. Please pass the word to your friends that this vaccine has not been fully tested. I don't believe it's safe.

I had my daughter Oct 07 and got the Mirena in Nov 07, and other than light cramping I had no issues but three months in I still had weight I just could not get rid of from my pregnancy, my hair was literally just shedding horribly.
I have always had a nice thick head of hair and it was all over the bathroom floor most of the time. I had no cycle pretty much and I wasn't complaining about that at all. However, my moods were darn near psychotic.

Well Oct 31st 08, I had the Mirena removed and viola, I am down 12 pounds, my hair is still shedding terribly and my cycle is didn't come back until December and it was like I was hemorrhaging and I didn't care as long as I was getting back to normal, well January 09, I had a somewhat normal cycle and after a normal time period, I started back spotting again this week

I thought the Mirena was the best thing of me because I had no intentions of having another child and I just turned 35 so I was using it to bide my time until the doctors will willingly agree for me to get my tubes tied, but I think the Mirena sucks and they should tell the truth on what the issues are with this thing.

I am a healthy 58 yr old woman. On May 20 2008, I went to the dentist to have two small fillings done. At the time of the shot I experienced what felt as though I had received an electrical jolt because the shot hit my nerve. This jolt radiated down to my ovaries. I complained to the dentist instantly. Right after the visit I started noticing that my hair was thinning. On June 17, 2008 at my normal hair appointment I commented to the beautician that my hair was thinning. On June 27, 2008 at the second visit to the dentist I experience the same problem from the shot and again told the dentist of problem. By July 18th I noticed some extreme hair loss in two locations on my scalp. I pointed out my hair loss condition to the Dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic on July 18, 2008 he referred me to a hair loss specialist. On September 2, 2008 I meet the specialist she stated that the hair loss was caused by some extreme stress to my system. I told her about the dental work and my reaction to the injection. She said that could have been the catalyst that started this problem. The doctor said if there is some "shock to the system", as many as 70% of the scalp hairs are then shed in large numbers about 1 to 2 months after the "shock". This sudden increase in hair loss, usually described as the hair coming out in handfuls is called acute telogen effluvium. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Oh my goodness.....my daughter, age 17, had her first injection in June 2008, started losing her hair w/in a month. We thought it was form straightening, some high lightening etc. She had blood work done which showed she was anemic...strange, as 2yrs prior her blood work was stellar, and she had not changed her diet, or physical activity. She increased her iron and protein intake (along w/ supplements).....three months later, and after her second injection, iron was still anemic....worse actually, and her hair loss significant.I found this website last night....and I am floored......I called MERCK today and spoke to a representative wh o was not aware of the hair loss issue, but said that in their case studies, Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia was a side effect.....which leads to hair loss itself.....so I am researching now what to do next.....anyone else have this issue??????

I am a 22 year old, healthy female and received my fist two shots last September. By November, I began to notice my hair falling out, which became more excessive in December, prompting me to receive blood tests for thyroid problems, nutritional imbalances, etc. Everything came back negative and I self diagnosed the problem to be a hormonal imbalance caused by my birth control (which was hard to believe being that I had been on it for two years with no hair loss). I stopped the pill the end of January and my hair loss coincidentally stopped as well. I received my third shot in April, and sure enough the same devastating hair loss began two months later, which is classic with drug induced alopecia (hair loss). I am CONVINCED that Guardasil has caused this devastating reaction that has caused me to loose half my head of hair. It is October and I am still experiencing significant hair loss. This vaccine has caused me nearly a year of emotional turmoil over my thinning hair.

I am a 34 year old female and have been on wellbutrin for 3 yrs. taking 300mg a day. I have lost a bunch of hair. Half of my hair is gone and that is no exaggeration!!!!!! But the worst part of it is that I had no clue that my medication could be causing it. My mom is a hairdresser and she has been really concerned about my hair loss. We thought maybe we were just frying it with all of the chemicals we put on it---BUT after talking about it we ruled that out because we have ALWAYS done it. It wasn't until after LUCK of stumbling across this info on the net that we put 2 and 2 together. UUHHGG!!! I am sooo mad at my Dr. I even discussed my hair loss with her a YEAR AGO. She had bloodwork done for my thyroid and it came back normal. I have a check-up today concerning my meds. I'm going off it ASAP. Dont want to just stop completely because i heard it can be dangerous. But i recommend to anyone taking wellbutrin that likes having a full head of hair to stop taking it!!! The Dr.'s will tell you that it is not a side effect but believe me---IT IS!!! I can only hope now that mine will grow back.!!!!!

I am a female and was diagnosed with Hashimoto's three years ago (looking at old childhood photos I've probably had this all my life) and have taken Levoxyl and Synthroid in escalating doses over time. Initially 25mcg for about a year and that was the endo plan until bloodwork indicated a need for more. I quit taking it after a year as it seemed I was gaining weight. After a few months went to a different endo and he started the treatment again with 25 (I weighed 160 at the time) and now has worked it to 100mcg (I now weigh 178!!!). I thought that with the higher dose I would have more of a weight loss effect (definitely not weight gain) and thought I'd have more energy, better brain function and happier outlook. I am experiencing the complete opposite. The last time I visited the endo and he looked at my weight gain he just said to "stop it". I work out almost every day for 45 minutes to 2 hours, have a job that at times requires arduous work, I eat a very healthy diet full of fiber, low in fat, low in carbs. I'm always hungry and feel like eating to make up for a lack of energy. I come home from work exhausted. This isn't living. I've had it with the Synthroid and any form of T-4 alone. I'm going to see a natural healthcare professional to try Armour because none of the medical doctors I've seen will prescribe it or synthetic T-3.

After having the third shot I noticed my hair began falling out (July 2007). It is now over a year later and after having numerous blood tests, visiting a dermatologist and doing tons of research, I have concluded that gardasil must be causing this. My hair continues to fall out, I have bald areas around the crown of my head and my mood is very depressed by this. I also experienced soreness in my legs and joints but these are not constant. My periods also are out of whack. They can be between 28-50 days apart. I would not recommend anyone getting this vaccine. I wish my OBGYN had not sold me on it. I was 31 when I got it but she said age didn't matter, she said one day insurance companies would cover this vaccine for all women no matter what age they are. I paid $190.00 a shot and now I have a thin head of hair that may one day soon be bald if it doesn’t stop falling out. I think they should take this vaccine off the market. If anyone else has had severe hair loss, has it stopped falling out after a certain point?

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'm still trying to find out if my symptoms are associated with Yasmin, but I STRONGLY believe they are. I can't believe I didn't pu the pieces together sooner. I've been on Yasmin close to 4 years... it was pretty new when I started taking it for my PCOS. For the last two years (yes, two years!) I've been experiencing extreme nausea and upset stomach and my resistance to illness/allergies has been non-existent. I've noticed that I feel depressed and lack a lot of energy. My sex drive wanes... sometimes it's nill and other times I can't get enough. I've had endoscopies, colonoscopies, blood work, etc... but nothing ever came back conclusive on anything particular. After my last cycle, it took me about a week to get my new pack and guess what? I felt somewhat normal! My sex drive came back and my gastrointestinal issues subsided. I'm going to stop taking it completely and see if it solves my "mystery illnesses".

I have been on Wellbutrin for a couple of years & it has been a life saver. But it is very possible my hair loss is due to it. I have always had a full head of hair & no hair loss in my family at all. I'm also experiencing hearing loss but don't know if this is due to the Wellbutrin as my Father & sister have had hearing loss. My doctor intends to lower my dosage next month & I am going to ask him if air loss is a side effect.

I received my first shot of Gardasil in January 2007. It could have started sooner, but about a month later my hairdresser noticed a bald spot in the back of my head. I rushed back to my ObGyn and asked her if the Gardasil could be the cause as nothing else had recently changed. She said that she had not heard of this, but she referred me to a dermatologist. I asked him if my hair loss had anything to do with the Gardasil. He replied that I had Alopecia areata and one thing had nothing to do with the other. He advised that I continue with the Gardasil and that he would start treating me for the alopecia. I wish that I would not have listened. I don't know what would have happened if I had stopped then, but I didn't I proceeded with the treatment to the end now over half of my head is bald!!!
I don't know what to do. I keep going back to the dermatologist for treatments for the alopecia, but it just keeps getting worse.
If anyone has had a similar experience and would like to share or has found some other treatments that work, please post a reply.

Melissa

I'm glad I thought to check to see if Wellbutrin might be causing my hair loss. I had some natural thinning at my temples before and started using Rogaine for women with great success. Then after my mastectomy and breaking up with a guy I went on Wellbutrin. I am currently taking the 150mg three times a day. I am losing so much hair it's scaring me. It comes off my head all day long. Like others have said I also have a handful in the hour, another handful in my comb and then it just continues to jump ship all day long. I have lost at least half of my hair.

I have had the Mirena for at least 3 1/2 to 4 years and I am a person that believes that everything happens for a reason. I know I came across this website because of the tremendous hairloss that I have had. Last year in 2007 all of my hair fell out in the sink, prior to that my hair had started to change drastically from thick beautiful hair to thin, fine, lifeless hair. I had breakage and shedding. I washed my hair one night and started screaming and crying to my husband because all of my hair was in the sink. It wasnt to completely skin bald but more to a mans short hair cut ALL the long strands of hair were gone. I was completely devastated and wore a wig for approximately 6 to 8 months and little by little I grew a full head of hair back, but not long, only enough to have a cute short cut. I have taken extremely good care of my hair ever since and am very careful with it. Only to find now a year later, that I am thinning and now have male pattern hairloss, the very top (crown) of my head has gotten extremely thin in an area the size of say a grapefruit, I have to take the somewhat longer parts of my hair and comb over the thinned part to hide it. Its ridiculous that Im in this situation again, but I never ever related it to Mirena, well I called for an appt. at my OB on April 4, 2008 to have this damn thing removed. I used to love it, it practically stopped my period. Recently over the past 3 months I have noticed a tremendous amount of back pain also. Unbelievable. There is no way this many women are having the same symptoms and this not be the cause.
I hope we all get the word out. It does work for some, but for so many it is heartache.
I hope we all get our youthful, thick, beautiful hair back ! WOW.

I started taking Lamictal about six weeks ago for epilepsy. Now keep in mind, I was on Dilantin which worked great for 17 years and then suddenly stopped working. I have been in medication hell since then. First Topamax made me dumb as a rock. I would space out all the time. Worst drug ever. Then Keppra which was better in that my memory/ability to speak came back but I had these intense ups and down. I had rages constantly. Now I'm on Lamictal. So far, it's better than the Topamax and the Keppra, however the dreams are very intense as are the night sweats. I'm also experiencing much hair loss. Fortunately I have a full head of hair but I'm afraid I will eventually lose it all.

Wow! I feel so bad for all of you ladies! I am 37yo with no kids and no plans to have any. Inserting the Mirena was the best thing I could have ever done. I had my IUD inserted in Nov. '07 and the only "side effect" I have experienced is instead of my period being 3 to 4 days with no cramps (pre-IUD insertion) it is now a full week with cramps (post-IUD insertion). I've experienced no weight gain, no hair loss, no mood swings, no depression. But my period is no where near as heavy as it used to be. It's to the point where I only have to use a panty liner and no pads. I take either Motrin or Aleve for my cramps and I use Thermacare heating pads for my cramps which gets me through the day. Good luck to the rest of you.

I'm a 26 year old female and I've been on Topamax since March 2007. It has completely gotten rid of the debilitating headaches I experienced 3-6 times a week. It also got rid of my anxiety. I got my life back, my antidepressant kicked in at the same time. I experienced all the usual side-effects, tingling hands and feet, forgetting words, memory problems, loss of appetite, but was COMPLETELY pain-free. I still am. However, I never remember anything now, forget whether or not I did something, paid my bills, etc, lose things constantly, and I have lost about 20 lbs. Not good. I look anorexic. I have bones sticking out. Eating is hard. I forget to eat and drink all day and food is just unappealing. I feel fuzzy and stupid and slow. Not sharp like I used to be. It has killed my confidence and self-esteem. But I was wondering if any women out there got yeast infections while they were on Topamax. I've had one monthly since I started it, and my doc said it's a rare side effect. Oh yeah, I've had mild hair loss and mild to moderate acne now. This drug, it is such a 50-50. Living with chronic pain, those headaches were awful. But doubting yourself is awful too. Anyone have similar experiences?