hair loss with lexapro

I am 51 and have been experiencing hair loss for the past 4 years. (menopause) I have also been dealing with my husband's injury since his motorcycle accident 9 months ago. I decided to go on Lexapro 6 weeks ago to help deal with my depressed mood since his accident. In the last 2 weeks I have noticed that my hair has changed and falling out even more. I had no idea what was going on until I read this forum. I am going off the meds and hope that my hair stops falling out so badly.

Im glad I found this. I had to go on a high dosage of lexapro about 6 months ago. I had a couple thinner spots before but now I have very large bald spots! My girfriend took a picture of me yesterday and I realized how bad it had gotten! I looked at a picture of me before I started taking a high dosage of the drug and now and it is a huge difference. I was only taking 10mg before and it was switched to 40mg. I am going to talk to my drs about this.

I can't tell you how happy I am to have found this site.    I have been taking lexapro since July of last year.   I had taken prozac before that.   I had started to notice hair thinning after I had started the prozac but kind of ignored it and thought it could have been hormonal.   I started a sensible diet program (weight watchers) and lost almost 30 pounds last spring into summer.   Around August of last summer I had noticed serious thinning of my hair.   My scalp also started to burn.   The worst of this was in October and November of 2010.   I went to many dx - and none of them told me it could be the lexapro.   One even said, it wasn't.   They were blaming it on my weight loss (which was sensible and a 2 pound a week loss of weight).   It wasn't until I actually asked my dermatologist if it could be the lexapro that she said it could.  She indicated that clinical trials reported people having hair loss.   I was on 10 mg and stopped COLD turkey 7 weeks ago.   I was also taking another low level anti-depressant subscribed to help me sleep that also shows hair loss as a side effect.  I'm actually angy that when I was coming into the doctors to find out why I was losing hair - NO ONE told me it could be the anti-depressants.  Now as I read blogs on the internet - I see many, many people are having the same problem.   I thank you all for posting your experiences and I am hopeful that when I reach the 3-4 month stage, I start to see a change in the hair loss and can't wait to see some growth return.   I am 49 years old and I understand that as I approach the menapausal age, I will see some thinning of my hair but my mother and sisters don't have this problem at ALL and I am convinced it was the lexapro.   Thank you again for your posts - I feel like there is a light at the end of a very dark tunnel for me.

ok I had very thick wonderful hair before lex and have experienced major thinning after almost a year of taking it I am 18 and a male So after research I believe I have come up with a very viable and fact supported reason why it does this and it is actually very helpful. So first off hair growth has two main phases anagen and telogen phases. Anagen is the phase where hair is growing and can last years and by an unknown trigger to scientists the telogen phase begins and the hair falls out and dies. Since lexapro is an antidepressant that effects so many hormones in our body it probably signals the anagen phase to go into the telogen phase very early thus making most of the hair unhealthy and thin. So the overwhelmingly good news is that after lexapro is stopped and flushed out of your body ( takes a couple of months) your genes will take over and no foreign hair trigger will mess up your hair- therefore your hair will return to normal. Again this is just my theory I am only in college and hope to become a dermatologist but this makes absolute sense to me and I have extensive knowledge in biology. Hope this helps.

I have read through all of these posts and am eager to hear back from those who posted earlier to find out if everyone had there hair return to normal.  I, like everyone here, have been experiencing the panic associated with finding hair constantly coming out.  I started Lexapro in February (5 mg) and eased up to 10 about a month later.  I resisted being on this drug and so by mid March I began to ween back off until I took my last dose on May 2nd.  I have always lost a lot of hair in the shower and so didnt think much of it until I noticed it was coming out everytime I touched it.  I now have significant thinning (almost bald) along my left temple, along the sides and some at the crown.  All women in my family have thick heads of hair well into their 70's so I know it is not a familial thing.  I am completely devastated by this and just pray it will turn around.

Hello,

Did it get better? I was on Celexa for a few months, and my hair started falling out like crazy. Luckily I had a TON of thick hair before, and can still sort of hide the loss... but when I complained, my Dr. Switched me to Lexapro (which I just picked up today). Since I was on such a low dose, I'm thinking of just doing some marathon training to boost my mood instead of lose my hair!

I have been on Lexapro for over 15 years and have always complained about my hair loss... on top of it I am hypothyroid.  With medication my thyroid is in good shape now but my hair is falling out like crazy.  I'm on 20mg and am now being switched to Cymbalta for my arthritis.  I am wondering if any of you out there have taken Cymbalta and found the same effects.

I'm so glad I have found all your wonderful comments on this subject.  I think the doc just assumed it was they thyroid but I now suspect the Lexapro.  My son is also on it and is 22 and experiencing hair loss.  Gong to have to talk to his doctor.

ohhh yeahhh i remember being depressed and lossing hair. IT WAS HELL and everyone told me including my doctor that noooo its probably not lexapro but finally WHEN I COULDNT TAKE THE HAIRLOSS ANYMORE i stopped taking lexapro and my hairloss STOPPED with in a couple weeks! so yes if you feel lexapro is causing your hairloss... its worth it to stop after consulting ur doc and and see if thats the case with you. GOODLUCK :)

Hello, I was curious to know about how your hair is now after been off antidepressants. I started taking antidepressants 5 months ago and I have noticed my hair has gotten really thin all over, I had very thick hair before starting this medication but I notice that each hair strand has become thinner. I was wondering if that was your experience when u talk about thinning hair, because lots of people said there hair has been thinning from antidepressants but is it just major shedding of the scalp or actual the hair texture itself becoming thinner, just curious as to what your experience was

I had the same aprehention about taking psych meds because I experienced hair loss from Prozac and afther two years it seamed to be getting better until I was forced to take drugs and the problem started all over again if your depressed try natural antidepressants and it probably control itself if you eat healthy and don't put chemicals in your body also try taking supplements

Thank you all for your helpful posts. I am a 27 year-old woman and have been on Lexapro for about 4 years now. I was on a high dose of 40 mg for about 3 years, and over the past year I've decreased it to 30 mg since I was feeling better. I first noticed hair loss around front of my head 6 months after starting the med. Since I had also started taking birth control around the same time, I was convinced that was the culprit and spent about another 6 months of trying different kinds until I stopped completely. My hair loss didn't stop even after a year, so I saw a dermatologist who recommended that I start using Men's Rogaine. I have to say that the Rogaine has helped some, and I do recommend it to others to help expedite the recovery process. However, my hair is still nowhere as thick as it used to be and I have spent many hours anxiously combing through my hair in front of the mirror for signs of improvement. Reading through all of your posts, I feel optimistic that I may have found the true cause! I will talk to my doctor about slowly weaning off Lexapro and possibly trying another anti-anxiety med. For anyone reading this right now who is anxious or depressed about their hair loss, especially young women, please know that you are definitely not alone and please have hope!

Hi all, I started on 10mg lexapro last July and notice d scalp itchiness, hair loss (a lot), and general changes in hair texture starting about a month later. It was quite disturbing yet I needed the med so I stayed on it. Plus my doc didn't think it was related. Like many of you he told me it was most likely stress-related. I had my doubts though and after about 7 months got a new doc and we tapered off. The whole time I was on it my hair continued to thin, especially in the front and not in a male pattern baldness pattern. It is still thin and I keep waiting for regrowth after being off of it for almost 2 months. After reading these posts I have hope that after it clears my system it will start to regrow. I think it is nearly criminal that we have all had to go through this with no help or accountability being taken by those who treat us. I thought I was losing my mind, but now after looking at this scientifically lex was the only change and the only likely cause. Thank you for all of your posts and if anyone has had regrowth how long did it take after bring off lex before the hair came back?

Yes, I am losing an excessive amount of hair. Although, it doesn't show as a side effect, I'm weaning off it and am now trying Lamictal..... I was on Lexapro before and recall it happening then..

OMG! I never questioned lexapro as causing hair loss. Im at the highest dose and been taking for over a year. My first notice that my hair was coming out was when I used conditioner, it just pulled out so easy or when I used a comb. I thought becuase my hair was so long it was just shedding. I have medium,long hair and its much thinner now, especially at the top where I really dont want hair loss. Im stopping as soon as I find another drug. Im so glad its not "in my head" and I plan on switiching! Im so glad its not permanent!