For Bryan: my dad uses Beta blockers.

jimmystanley · Aug 25, 2005

My dad is taking Beta blockers for his high blood pressure and i was amazed to see how well it worked. He has the blood pressure of a 16 year old again (he is 62). I have become very interested in this idea of beta blockers used for hair loss. I'm just starting to do research but do you have any opinions/information you can give me??? thanks bryan

Idaho X · Aug 25, 2005

When I first noticed my hair loss a year ago, I was taking high doses of beta blockers to control migraines and a heart arythmia. I had been on the drugs for three years at that point.

Since there is not a strong history of baldness in my family and I was only 32, I did some research into my drug prescriptions. I found that beta blockers have a rare side effect of inducing hair loss. I even found one article that claimed beta blockers could trigger male pattern baldness.

Check out this link for a discussion of Inderal, a common beta blocker used to treat high blood pressure, arythmias, and migraines:

http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/ind1207.htm

Anyway, I was inspired to get off the drugs. I decided to live with the headaches and have surgery to correct the arythmia. I have been beta blocker free for 5 months and my hair has not improved significantly (despite finasteride/nizoral). I can never be sure if the beta blockers triggered my hair loss, but I am of the opinion that they definitely did not help to prevent or slow it.