Ahh My hair is falling out!

[Deb12345]

Joan wrote: “I spoke to dr K and we are adding zinc. Not sure if that will help, but we will give it a shot. WIll let you know any results”.

My reply: Thank you Joan, that would be very useful information. At the moment I loose around 20 to 40 hairs each night. Not sure how many I loose during the day but I know it’s a lot. I am going to my hairdressers tomorrow to see what they think of my hair (i.e. if they think my hair is thinning badly or if this is a "normal" amount of hair to loose each day / night) and if they have got any suggestions. I’m on 1000mg of Keppra and 25mg Lamotrigine. My Neurologist is going to gradually increase the Lamotrigine and wean me off the Keppra, but if I am lacking in Zinc would like to stay on the Keppra because I don’t seem to be having many other side effects with it.

[Eve]

Well I guess I need to add more Vitamin Bs to my vitamin supplements. I am going to go broke buying all these vitamins to wean out the side affects of these darn meds.

[Cinnabar]

When my hair was falling out my doctor recommended following up with vitamin supplements:

Bioten, B-Complex and Selenium. Apples and apple juice also help. You can go online and research foods which increase hair growth. I know what your going through! I posted here many times about my anguish over hair loss. Oh, and I just hated seeing those hair shampoo commercials with models swingin their hair around!

[Loudmouth]

Topamax was the worst for me losing my hair, it used to block up my hoover, and I'd have to brush my hair over the bin! But then, topamax was just an eeevil med for me in sooooo many ways lol. Had a bit of a problem when I was on lamotrigine many moons ago, but since I've been on the gabapentin, if anything, my hair seems fuller and thicker and staying right where it should be. My hair has never looked so good!

[Cinnabar]

Isn't that a great feeling. Finally!

[KelVarQ]

For me it was definitely Keppra and Lamictal. Lamictal not as bad as the Keppra since I lost hair from all over and although it thinned out terribly I didn't have bald patches.

After RTL went off all meds and my hair grew back thicker and fuller! YAY But, 4 years later (May 2009) started having seizures and was put on Keppra (250mg am and 250mg pm - not a high dose) and within a couple days my hair started falling out and doc said, "Give it more time" and within one month I had a bunch of bald patches and was diagnosed with alopecia areata and weaned off the drug totally and the dermatologist gave me steriod injections in the bald patches. Thankfully it has grown back and I cut my hair shorter to help with the many, many shorter strands blend in.

Meds that did not cause me hair loss: Dilantin and Tegretol.

[Eve]

I am still on 1500 mg Keppra and I swear my hair seems to be thinning out!! I even got my hair done yesterday and it still looks thinner than it used to. Plus I am still itching from the waist up, mainly in my arms scalp and back. Just got back from the allergist and she thinks I might need a change in neurologist meds. Maybe the zoloft is causing my problems....50 mg I am taking of it.

So Friday I go back to the neurologist to discuss these meds the Keppra and Zoloft.
Meanwhile I am still itching. I stoppped taking the Mag thinking that might be causing the itching but there has been no change. The allergist did tell me to stop taking the Vitamin A though. I was taking 24,000 units a day of that.

And my hair still looks thinner to me..............................................:e :

[KelVarQ]

Eve, the Keppra made my scalp itchy and I recall being on Lamictal years ago and feeling my whole body itch (only lasted for a short period) and it freaked me out since the itching seemed to be on the inside of the flesh rather than the outside. Also, too much Vitamin A will also make your hair fall out, so it's good that you're not taking that now. Be well.

[Eve]

Kel, thanks for the tips................. that is why I am going back to the neurologist on Friday. I also feel like I am itching beneath my skin and it is driving me nuts. I may have to go off this Keppra. I just dont know what seizure med I could try next. I cant go back on Tegretol it made my liver enzymes abnormal . Topomax made my focus messed up. So we'll see what the Dr says on Friday. I just cant deal with this itching anymopre I am going nuts. I am taking xyzal , an antihistimine which is supposed to be like Benadryl to relieve the itching but it does not seem to help much. And the dermatologist gave me all these creams to use and they dont work and now they are all referring me back to the neurologist. Even the allergist told me she does not think it is anything in the environment that is makling me itch and she is also refering me back to the neurologist and she said she is sending him a letter too.

[Loudmouth]

I don't know about US brand names, but I suffer from a LOT of allergies (even to the BINDERS and FILLERS in a lot of tablets, including some epilepsy meds lol), and the ONLY anti-histimines I've found that work for med reactions with me are called cetirizine hydrochloride and cetirizine dihydrochloride. I hope that helps.

[Eve]

Thanks loudmouth. I will look up those meds you mentioned. In addition to the xyzal the allergist gave me allegra another antihistimine and a cream called triamcinolone. I am thinking more and more about whether I should try that Lamcital. I'll decide by Monday. I will stay off zoloft for 1 more day and see if the itching goes down.

[Eve]

Does anyway take Biotin for the hair?

I brought some 1000 mcg tablets of Biotin. But dont know how much to take.

If so how much do you take?

I don't want to take too much because I dont want it to cause seizures. I read somewhere that if you take too much of it it can cause seizures but it didnt say how much is too much.

Did Biotin n help anybody here with their hair loss ?

My hair still feels thinner than what it used to be.

[Cinnabar]

I take 300 mg of Biotin and I believe it's helped with my hair loss. Also try Selenium, 200 mg, with it. And B-Complex. All doctor recommended. Diet and excersize works well in conjunction. We need plenty of oxegen for hair health.

And thanks. I didn't know too much Biotin causes seizures. I'll stick with the 300 mg dosage!

[arrowstation]

After about 4 years of Carbatrol, my hair started to fall out pretty badly. It still is and I'm trying to switch to Lamictal. My neurologist said Lamictal doesn't have a hair loss side effect but I see that some of you have had it He also told me there was nothing else I could do about it other than switching meds but I'll definitely try some of the things you guys suggested.
About how long does it take to start growing back after you stop the medication that causes the hair loss?

[KelVarQ]

I'm sorry Arrowstation about the hairloss, I know how hard it is : ( You doctor is not 100% wrong saying Lamictal doesn't cause hairloss since for many it doesn't and I don't know that it's one of the side effects listed, however, I did lose hair on Lamictal (Keppra too). I didn't start losing hair with Lamictal until about 6-7 months later and it was a slow process (not as fast as Keppra), so I didn't notice it immediately but realized my hair was slowly but surely thinning out. (Note: I have thin hair to begin with, so it was fairly obvious).
As far as time period, I can only tell you that it took a good 2 months for my hair to stop falling out (with everyday getting better) once meds were stopped. My hair did grow back both times after stopping the meds (Lamictal about 4 years ago and Keppra just recently).
I believe for some the hair loss eventually stopped while continuing to take the meds, if you're willing to wait it out. I refused to wait it out on Keppra since I was losing way too much. Lamictal I had no choice since my doctor wouldn't and couldn't switch me since I had the RTL surgery and although I was slowly losing hair from all over I never went bald and luckily it wasn't as noticeable to others since I was losing it from all over (no bald patches) and unfortunately for me it never actually stopped until my doctor took me off everything (1 yr. after RTL).
I would say give Lamictal a try since MANY have no problems with it and unfortunately you won't really know until you try. Keep in mind, if you hate it you can always try something else until you find the drug that suits you best.
GOOD LUCK!

[Sheri]

In my case, it was "generic" Lamictal. I posted frantically about this on the site quite a while back. Now, on brand name Lamictal my hair has grown back. It was just awful seeing strands of my hair everywhere. And washing my hair? Forget it.

My doctor also put me on suppliment vitamins. B-12, Biotin and Selinium.

Oh, Depakote also caused hair loss. One off it, my hair grew back very quickly.

I picked up some Biotin today. Thanks for the tip.

[greatfulgirl]

well currently I am on Topamax and Limictal and I have hair loss. About 2 years ago I was on Dilantan and had large hair clumps falling out as i do now. the only difference is that I don't look malnourished and have less energy i feel really dopey. When I was fifteen I was also taking Topamax and had no hair loss I think this is quite unusual. I am 21 and I have thin spindly hair that falls apart and i also noticed that my nails have started splitting easier.

[Billyboyboo]

Klonopin made me lose some hair, not too much, but some, especially going to a lower dose, though it's a Benzo, Anti-Convulsant, but my 2 cents.



Billy.

[CathyAnn31]

Mine was falling out before the Lamictal, even worse now that I am on it. Thank goodness I had plenty to begin with tho.

I am mostly losing it from the back, my sides seem ok. I clean my shower drain almost daily. Sucks.

[Rae1889]

My got really thick on Lamictal, then it started to fall out. Took until just recently to stop, but its getting full again. lets just hope that means the cycle won't start again.