Is there any antidepressant which doesn't cause hair loss?

[MickeyP]

Hi. I just went to the psychiatrist. I was having a bad depression and this time it was caused by my hair loss.

He diagnosed me with bipolar disorder and body dysmorphic disorder. He prescribed me an SSRI antidepressant, Besitran (it's called Zoloft in other places), whose active ingredient is sertraline.

As concerned as I am now with hair loss, and being it the main cause of my current depression, the first thing I did after leaving was searching Google with the keywords "sertraline hair loss". It came up with this page:

http://www.americanhairloss.org/drug_induced_hair_loss/

It mentions sertraline as one of the antidepressants which could cause hair loss. I also found some forum posts where people say it caused them hair loss. The thing is, is there any other SSRI which is hair loss safe? No matter which SSRI drug I put on Google, they all seem to potentially cause hair loss, so maybe it's something inherent to this type of drugs. Yes, I know Google will find anything you want. Heck, even if I put "aspirin hair loss", there are some results about it.

Well, I found Pzifer itself (Zoloft's manufacturer) claims hair loss is present in 1% of cases. It's fairly low, I know, but increased hair loss is the last thing I need now, and it would counteract any benefit the drug could have. I found fluvoxamine has just 0.02% of indicence of hair loss (yet you can find some cases in Google), maybe I could talk to my psychiatrist about prescribing that drug instead.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Deus_Ex_Lemur]

I was losing my hair before going on zoloft. Zoloft I swore for a time increased my hairloss. It was a case of logical fallacy; same thing using toppik I swore it made my hairloss worse. But it was just time and during a shedding phase. Now; no doubt a small segment may get some hairloss as a result. And be warned that small % are loud as hell. Like some here and other places that herald follicle apocalypse upon use of finasteride because of their experience and sides. More people are fine using it than bad; however those sides are possible and bad experiences do occur and you just need to be aware of that and cautious and conscientious when taking a strong drug like finasteride; and like an SSRI.

Also you'll find cases where drugs for hairloss solutions CAUSE hairloss. Yeah they do; take finasteride you may shed bad. And be scared and go off it. And write nasty reviews in forums and sites. And be loud. But not understand what the drug actually does and the proper use. I wouldn't let a small % stop you from getting the help that the SSRI may yield. And I am sure your depression is not ONLY due to hairloss. And if you go on it; you will still lose your hair; dont think its suddenly losing more as a result. If it causes loss it'll be rapid and a lot. Anyways; good luck.

 

[nuttyrich]

Zoloft doesn't have a high risk of hair loss. You said you were diagnosed with Bi-Polar, well make sure they don't give you LITHIUM that will. cause bad acne and hair loss, also depakote is known for hair loss. There is a very good drug out there for bi polar called "Lamitcal" it's very safe and very little side effects. What dosage of zoloft are you on, I know there was a study that 50 mg of zoloft was JUST as effective as 100-200 mgs, all I know when I was on Zoloft (200 mgs) I had NO sense of feelings if my girlfriend at the time said Rich what do you want to watch I would say I don't care, Rich what do you want to eat " I don't care" Rich can we drive off of a cliff " I don't care" and forget getting it up with HIGH dosages of zoloft, leave it to pzier to create zoloft and v**** yet they BOTH compete for the same receptor. I advise you to visit a great site for anti-depressants and anxiety medication www.crazymeds.us it's a great site 100 free and they give you the TRUTH! I'm on Lexapro it's the safest drug to be on that won't cause an INCREASE in Bi-polar symptoms as most ssri's cause mania most notably (Prozac, zoloft). I wish you the best, oh I also see you are diagnosed with BDD I have it also, I would assume you have OCD also ( goes hand in hand). You should try cognitive behavioral therapy along with medication. Please make sure you are properly diagnosed. I was diagnosed with Depression and Bi Polar, but after 6 years the total truth came out "Bodily Dysmorphic Disorder" BDD. I bet you the mirror dictates your MOOD and the first thing you look for is "defects" and most of them are either minimal or non existent but we make say a small zit out out to be a mountain. I advise a book called "The Broken Mirror". BDD is tough to treat and I have learned through the years you need to ride is like you are surfing... ride the wave you will have good and bad days.. but it will get better. Does the zoloft make you feel better? Feel free to message me!

God Bless,
Rich

 

[MickeyP]

Hi. Thanks a lot for your replies. I've just taken my second pill. This first week I'm taking 50 mg., which will be increased to 100 mg. on the second and 150 on the third.

 

[Deus_Ex_Lemur]

I started on 25 then upp'd to 50. But wont go higher for reasons that happened to nuttyrich. And doctor's seem to want to up the dose when you say yeah been feeling better on it. "Okay 100mg!" Err no... luckily I found a nice new doctor down to earth and very conscious about things nutty mentioned. And good site nutty never seen it before; looks very good!

 

[kento]

Hmm don't know but pot smoking is good alternative for that

 

[nuttyrich]

Deus so many doctors have this pattern "Raise Raise Raise" the medication. You tell them about side effects they say it will go away, see if they would take it themselves!I try to help anyone I possibly can be it with depression or hair loss. I know from many years of taking medications that with certain medications higher is not better ( Zoloft being one of them) what you get at 50 is what you will get at 100 150 or 200 so better to stay at 50 and get less side effects. At 50 mg's a man can function well sexually and side effects wise, hey can even delay ejaculation a bit so not all bad, problem is when you go higher it becomes NUMB and you lose most feeling and desire.Going super higher on one medication, you get tons of side effects and then the Doctor gives you another medication to combat it, be it anxiety or for sleep or for the classic is wellbutrin to "offset" sexual side effects! Give that to a manic person they will go haywire! Anyways glad I can help and I hope he uses that site as it has helped me out tremendously.

All the best,
Rich

 

[nuttyrich]

Pot smoking for depression? Pot causes depression, cancer, memory loss, hair loss, and possibly man boobs! Maybe if he just had anxiety pot could help him, but weed is the LAST thing he needs.

 

[kento]

Pot smoking for depression? Pot causes depression, cancer, memory loss, hair loss, and possibly man boobs! Maybe if he just had anxiety pot could help him, but weed is the LAST thing he needs.

This i tell from my personal experience, i was pot smoker in the last 3-4 years and i didn't care for my hair loss problem and most of my problems. I'm off that for 4 months and i care much more than i was before. I agree you about the other things you said but not sure about the hair loss i will see that. I don't trust in antidepresant drugs it's bad thing to take really, not telling that the pot is good. But i guess the best way to pass depresion is to do it naturally you just need to find the cause. If it's legal that doesn't means that it safe. But our bodies aren't same when i drink alcohol i'm all chill out and you can find people who are aggressive