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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by TrishP on October 12, 2005, at 15:36:05
Does Wellbutrin cause hair loss? I've been noticing a lot of hair on my counter and in my sink, everywhere.
Also - I only have 100mg SR pills. I am taking 1 2x a day. Can I up it to 2 in the morning and 1 at lunch?
Of course, I may be bald by then.
Posted by TrishP on October 14, 2005, at 5:26:05
I've liked Wellbutrin for some time now, but my hair is falling out and getting brittle. I've heard of people complaining about hair loss with Wellbutrin before.
Is there another med that is good - maybe plain old Prozac that would work better.
I like my Klonopin and sometimes Trazodone to sleep. But I need something to lift my mood that won't make me bald.
Posted by med_empowered on October 14, 2005, at 5:46:25
In reply to Wellbutrin hair is brittle and falling out!, posted by TrishP on October 14, 2005, at 5:26:05
hey! Hair loss seems to be an unfortunately common side-effect of psychiatric drugs...its more common with stuff like depakote and lithium, but it pops up with frightening regularity with other meds, too. Reading over your combo, I kinda wondered if maybe it isn't **just** the wellbutrin causing the hairloss. Next to Frisium (not available in the US), Klonopin is the strongest anti-convulsant benzo; its also linked to hair loss now and then. What I've noticed with my own med combos is that sometimes when 2 drugs have overlapping side effects, I won't get the side-effects if I only take 1 of the drugs...but, add the 2nd drug, and *bam* I end up with the side-effect in question. Just a theory ;-) . Anyway, if Wellbutrin helped you out some, but you need to switch it out, there are plenty of options. You could try Provigil, which is a straight-up (mild) stimulant; it won't have the same anti-depressant oomph wellbutrin does, but it can help with depression...equally important, it can have very beneficial effects on things like apathy, fatigue, lack of motivation, etc. Stronger stimulants would be an option, but...they can also cause hair loss. The more "activating" tricyclics present another possibility; Pamelor, for instance, could be helpful. The problems there would be dulled cognition, weight gain, and cardiovascular issues. Straterra is used now and then as an add-on; that might be useful, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Prozac could be a good idea...the only problem would be waiting for a response (Prozac, for whatever reason, needs a good 6-8 weeks for an "adequate trial"; the other SSRIs need about 2-4 weeks, and Lexapro often starts working a little bit faster than 2 weeks). If you wanted to try a combo, you could see if adding Pindolol and/or Buspar helped...both seem to speed up antidepressant response time a bit (in some people) and Buspar seems to help with sexual side effects and anxiety (again..in some people). Plus, Buspar might have some anti-akathisia action (thats why its sometimes co-prescribed with neuroleptics)...that could make the SSRI experience more tolerable. Effexor could be an option, but dosing is tricky, side effects can suck, and withdrawal is hell (can you tell I'm not an Effexor fan?). Cymbalta could help, but no one really knows much about it, and some people report *less* energy when they get up to the 60mgs "threshold dose". If you dont take one already, you might want to consider a multivitamin and/or a B-vitamin complex, and/or some zince/copper (you'll need to add copper if you're supplementing zince for an extended period of time). I've heard that some people get good results from SelsunBlue and other selenium-based shampoos. I can't explain this, but it seems to work for some people. Simplifying your med regimine a bit might help, too; if, for instance, you could just take a bit more Klonopin when you need help sleeping, that would reduce the # of meds you're taking...plus, since Klonopin is a semi-quasi-mood-stabilizer with a super-long half-life, you'd get some lasting additional anti-anxiety effects and possibly somewhat increased mood-stability. Good luck!
Posted by denise1966 on October 14, 2005, at 6:48:31
In reply to Wellbutrin hair is brittle and falling out!, posted by TrishP on October 14, 2005, at 5:26:05
Just wondering if maybe you have a thyroid problem. Hair falling out can be a symptom of a thyroid disorder so I've read.
Do you feel cold all the time as well?
Kind Regards....Denise
Posted by TrishP on October 14, 2005, at 7:12:36
In reply to Re: Have you had your thyroid checked?, posted by denise1966 on October 14, 2005, at 6:48:31
I do feel cold a lot. What does that mean?
> Just wondering if maybe you have a thyroid problem. Hair falling out can be a symptom of a thyroid disorder so I've read.
>
> Do you feel cold all the time as well?
>
>
> Kind Regards....Denise
Posted by Sarah T. on October 17, 2005, at 1:38:12
In reply to Wellbutrin hair is brittle and falling out!, posted by TrishP on October 14, 2005, at 5:26:05
Hi Trish.
Your hair loss may very well be caused by Wellbutrin, but before you change medications or change any other variables, I think it's a good idea to go to the doctor and have a complete physical check up, including lots of blood tests, especially thyroid tests (TSH, T4, T3). You should also have ferritin checked and possibly cortisol. You might also want to make an appointment with a dermatologist. Some dermatologists even specialize in hair.
Last winter I had a lot of hair loss, and I wasn't on any medications then. I think it was caused by stress , but I'm not sure. I increased my intake of B vitamins and vitamin C. Several people suggested Nioxin shampoo. It was difficult to find, but I did finally find some at a hair salon. It's pretty good, and there's a conditioner that goes with it. I also use Nizoral Shampoo approximately once a week. I don't have a scalp fungus, but when I had all that hair loss, I was worried that I might have a fungus, so that's why I started using Nizoral. If you do get some Nizoral, you're not supposed to use it more than a few times per week; however, Nioxin can be used more frequently.
By the way, have you had any other physical symptoms related to your Wellbutrin use? Have you gotten pimples or acne? When I was on Wellbutrin, I looked as if I had reverted to adolescence. My skin got very oily, and I had big pimples, much worse than anything I'd had as a teenager.
Although I have never bothered to investigate this further, I had a theory that Wellbutrin might be androgenic (i.e., it might increase production of male hormones). The reason I think that might be the case is that Wellbutrin is known for increasing sex drive (unlike almost every other antidepressant), it is known to cause hair loss (balding is often associated with increase in male hormones), and it can cause acne and/or oily skin (also a sign of increased male hormones).
By the way, my doctor told me that nearly all medicines, even aspirin, can affect the hair growth cycle.
This is the end of the thread.
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