| Author | Message | ||
     Emily |
Hi everyone.. I've posted here before.. I'm 21 and starting to notice significant thinning of my hair. Crash diets and horrible sleeping & eating habits are in my past and present. Depression too.. Dermatologist was no help, endocrinologist did tests months back and I've yet to see results. I've decided that it might help me get my life on track if I try taking Prozac. Hoping that if it fixes my 1) inability to get out of bed some days and inability to go to bed other days and 2) meal skipping and bingeing, it might also stop my hair loss... but now I'm hearing hints of anti depressants aggravating hair loss in women.. can somebody please tell me more? I'm stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place it would seem.. please please help. Thanks, Emily | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Emily: It sounds like your problems are more serious than just hair loss. I doubt if Prozac will get your life "on track." Prozac (fluoretine) is an antidepressant that is also supposed to help people with obsessive-compulsive disorders and some eating disorders. But relying on this habit-forming drug to get you through the day and the night is not a wise decision. But this is not a psychology or medical site. You specifically want to know if Prozac will have a negative effect on your hair. Hair loss is not officially listed as one of the side effects for Prozac, but if you read messages on hair-loss forums you'll find that hair loss is one of the side effects. | ||
| Emily |
Thanks for the reply.. My doctor thought that Prozac would be appropriate for me. She prescribed me the lowest available dose, 10mg. I think it's a wise decision to start making an effort to put myself back together, but maybe that's just me.. So are there any antidepressants that don't have hair loss as a side effect? Is taking prozac likely worse for my hair than not sleeping or eating regularly? | ||
| Anonymous |
Emily, I agree with Tom. Drugs aren't the answer even if they are "prescription" drugs. Try a better diet, more exercise including the scalp exercise and better sleeping habits first. You are very young and should be able to bounce back with a positive attitude in no time without the need of antidepressants. | ||
| Emily |
yeah, thanks.. You sound a bit like the shrink who told me to "go make friends" when I went in with the problem of being depressed and having no friends. I know I need a better diet and exercise. I also know it's been about 8 months since I cared about my health or my grades or anything. The Prozac isn't for my hair. but I'm probably just as full of crap as always. I don't even want to take the prozac, my parents/doctor think it's a good idea. Not much to bounce back to anyway.. being a less depressed shitty useless friendless drag of a person. Sorry guys. | ||
| sd |
I think you are right to approach antidepressants with some trepidation. Years ago, I was prescribed Paxil for what was, in retrospect, a very mild episode of depression. I was very eager to take the medications because I wanted to feel better instantly. I did experience some relief from the symptoms, but within a month and a half, I came to realize that the experience of being on medication did not feel natural. I felt emotionally invulnerable (which, I can assure you, is not a mental state that the drugs are intended to create) and a lot of silly, stupid things that I took for granted were gone (e.g i could not cry while on the medications, among other things). I came off the pills, crashed into a depression that made the original depression seem like a vacation (generally, when medications fail, the subseqent depression is deeper and longer lasting) and was put on Zoloft, which also failed to work the way it was intended. The upshot is: it's seven years later and I'm still picking up the pieces. I don't take antidepressants and I never will again. The worst thing is that I stopped feeling like myself. I suspect that the medications have had lasting, potentially irreversible effects on my brain chemistry. So what's the moral? Be careful. Most psychiatrists I've talked to say that medications work for about 80% of patients on the first try. Those are good odds, but if you're in that 20%, it could be a very long time before you're feeling better. Statistics show that if left alone, the usual depressive episode will resolve itself in 6 months to a year. I wish I'd left it alone. | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
sd: That is an absolutely powerful piece of writing. I wish this would be included in the "information" found in the drug packages. I read your message several times. This is the real thing. I hope Emily reads it carefully. | ||
| blsmancini |
I took a low level of antidepressants for a few years- not for depression, but because they can REGULATE hormones- this made my whole monthly cycle go more smoothly, and reduced my monthly migraines by half. I decided to go off of them, and that is when my hairloss started. It might be coincedence. But I am not sure. Any drug should she begun slowly, and tapered off of slowly. | ||
| bmancini |
I should also add my first doctor said my hairloss was due to stress, and that I should meditate or join a church. I nodded, and called for a second opinion from another doctor that same day. If this doctors advice doesn't ring true for you, you are entitled to a second opinion, even with an HMO. I don't think your doctor understands the depth of your depression- you might want to get a second opinion, and have a family member come along, to give a doctor another view. A lot of people want to say drugs aren't the answer, and sometimes they aren't, but I know for a fact anti depressants save many lives. | ||
| Anonymous |
I've tried 4 different antidepressants and personally I don't think they are affective. Most studies are backed by big drug companys (bad results don't need to be published)and even then a placebo isn't that far behind. The effect they had on me was tiredness and numbing of emotions, useful if you want to feel like a zombie. There is quite a lot on the web about the 'antidepressant myth'. I suggest you look yourself and make your own mind up. Insteadof drugs persist with a supportive therapist if you find that helps. At 21 you are still 'finding yourself' as they say........ Depression can be a normal reaction to modern life.....find what makes you happy........i can pretty much guarantee it won't be antidepressants. | ||
| anonymous22 |
Do antidepressants affect hair in MEN as well as in WOMEN?- Body chemistry is different and most hair loss forums that mention ANtidepressants and Hairloss are female... Anybody know about this??? | ||
| Holly |
I can totally relate to what sd said. I had a mild depression 4 years ago when I was approaching my 40th birthday. Went on Zoloft on the advice of the shrink. 2 years later I tried to get off of it - major hell. I finally weaned off and a couple months later started having panic attacks no stop. Never had them before the Zoloft. In order to function, I had to go back on Lexapro. I truly think the antidepressant changed my brain chemistry and made me unable to function without medication now. Every doctor I propose this theory to thinks its balderdash and tells me there are no irreversible effects. I feel like I'm in Invasion of the Body Snatchers and no one believes me. I'm still hopeful I can get off this crap someday. | ||
| Tom Hagerty |
Holly: Dr. Andrew Weil thinks that doctors are telling far to many people to take antidepressants. Depression is part of everyone's life. It's often best to work through it without chemical help. But if you're on an antidepressant he has some good suggestion for getting off: "While you're tapering off the medication, try to get regular aerobic exercise, which I highly recommend as a treatment for depression. Some talk therapy or counseling can also help. And I suggest increasing your intake of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish such as salmon and sardines, or supplementing with fish oil capsules. Researchers aren't exactly sure why, but these fatty acids may correct overactive cell signaling in the brain, which appears to be linked to depression. Also, avoid caffeine, which can worsen symptoms." Holly, I get a lot of the omega-3 fatty acids by using flax seeds powder from Puritan's Pride. I mix this in oat meal for breakfast. It tastes good too. | ||
| Anonymous |
To Emily, people who havent suffered clinical depression often give you the "just cheer up" garbage. They dont realise you would if you could. If you are really suffering from depression not just a rough patch get help. As for antidepressants thinning your hair well I suspect they may be part of it. i have always had thin hair but now I only have about a third left. Having said that if you are feeling suicidal, getting help for your mental well being is far more important than your hair. Who needs hair if you are to depressed to live your life. ? And you deserve a good life and i want you to be around to enjoy it. I have been on three types. The first two (cipramil and zoloft) turned me into a zombie. The third worked for me very well. Its called aurorix and arima and the technical name for it is moclobemide. I truly think I would not be here today if it wasnt for that. It made me feel like my old energetic self again and now I am weaned off it and happy. My depression days were so black I never thought I would recover but I did and you will too. Take care. Just review the effectiveness of your antideppressants after a few months. There will be a type that will work for you but dont chop and change without consideration. that can cause more harm than good and when youre ready wean yourself off dont go cold turkey. Be responsible with your medications. all the best from Kristy. (someone who has been through it) | ||
| Rufus HD New member Username: Thewanderer Post Number: 1 Registered: 09-2006 |
I am 20 years old, soon to be 21, and was put on anti-depressants from the time I was 16 years old, until I stopped taking them almost 3 years ago. I started losing the thickness in my hair then, and now am almost bald on top. I have read several of these posts and am all but surprised, as well as relieved, that there are others out there who went through the same thing as me. I was originally placed on Paxil at 50mgs to 100mgs, but I was constantly sleeping and my brain literally felt like it was being ripped apart. I was then put on Zoloft and got similar effects, I went off them, only to have 'with drawals' from the drugs. I have never looked back since then, but my hair is still falling out. I almost can cry when I read how some of you couldn't even cry or have regular emotions while on the drugs, the same as I went through. I also find it humorous, in a morbid way, how my own doctors told me "Get a girlfriend and you can throw the pills away and not be depressed again", the same as many of you who said that your own doctors told you to "go to church" or some other activity. Maybe I shouldn't have went off cold turkey, I don't know, but since then my hair is still falling out at an alarming rate and I still face other issues that occured while I was on the drugs. Sincerly, Been There P.S. I'm a man, and yea I've had the hair loss, despite the drugs saying it occurs in women. |
