Lamictal and Hair Loss

by Maria
(New York)

Lamictal and Hair Loss

Lamictal and Hair Loss

I always had thick hair but recently I was put on Lamictal (600mg) for seizures. I had been on Dilantin and Tegretol for many years but suffered from severe vertigo.

I was told Lamictal had very little side effects. A few months after starting this medicine I noticed my hair got very thin. I took a mirror and examined my hair and realized my scalp was showing on the sides, back and top of my head. I am sick over this. I went to my medical doctor and he ran blood tests which all came back normal.

He said the sudden hair loss is most likely caused by Lamictal. I have to be weaned off this b/c stopping suddenly could trigger a seizure. Once I stop this medicine will my hair grow back or will I go bald completely. Also how long does it take before seeing any results?

Editor Comments,

Dear Maria,

A change in medications can indeed trigger unwanted hair loss due to the fact new medications do bring new side effects and also put your body into different levels of stress. It’s actually pretty common when you take medications like Lamictal.

I am not that familiar with the anti seizure med but I know for a matter of fact that potent medications like Lamictal are known to trigger hair loss and also possibly multiple substantial side effects like vertigo, nausea and anxiety attacks. I am sure a decent percentage of users will suffer hair ‘shocks’ from taking this medication and will face with a period of shedding. This is generally your body’s reaction towards this medication and whether you will or not you will lose all your hair strongly depends on how your body can tolerate this medication and adapt to it. In a great number of cases, the hair loss should reduce and normalized to a decent level after a period of using this medication.


As for the recovery, usually after you stop taking this medication, your hair should be able to grow back after a few months time. Depending on the length of your original hair, it will take 1 month for your hair to grow half an inch, so longer hair will mean longer recovery times. You might want to try a shorter hair cut to reduce the impression of hair loss at the moment.

I can’t stress how important it is to continue to taking anti-seizure medications like Lamictal if there is no other alternatives and your doctor recommends it to prevent unwanted side effects like seizures. The rule of thumb is to always treat the more threatening disease first before handling your hair condition because usually the former often affects the latter but there are ways you can still improve your hair growth. Do talk to your doctor about Minoxidil 2% for women or Viviscal. If you are not allergic to these treatments, they might speed up your recovery.

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Lamictal and Hair Loss

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Dec 24, 2011
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Lamictal & hair loss
by: Anonymous

Hi everyone,
I too experience hair loss from Lamictal and other antidepressants. It is mading, I went to the dermatologist and they told me there is nothing they can do. It seems to fall out while takeing a shower. There is something about being in the water that exacterbates the problem. I searched the internet for days for a cure and here is what I found. Your hair loss can be caused by a lack of blood flow to your scalp. I believe that the medication somehow prohibits the blood flow to your scalp. Therefore it may be beneficial to increase the blood flow in the following way.
1st I have an inversion table and I invert myself upside down. In case you don't know what and inversion table is I found a YouTube clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYbT9M6KaO0
Then I massage my scalp, you tube video below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp_97Dq5GSA
I wash my hair in tepid water so as not to open up the pores and allow hair to come out in the shower, and gingerly comb it. I also take Ginkgo Biloba to help increase blood flow.
My hair doesn't seem to fall out at any other time but in the shower. This system I developed seems to help. I washed my hair the other day and about 250 hairs fell out. Then in a panic I searched the internet, did the things I mentioned and washed my hait today and about 10 hairs fell out. I am no doctor and I am unsure this will help, but it seems to help me and has worked in the past with other drugs I have taken.
I hope this helps, I feel your pain and can relate real time!
*The above you tube clips are random and I am unassociated with the people in them

Dec 04, 2011
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Medications react differently to all of us
by: Anonymous

I have seen a lot of comments on Lamictal and how it make hair fall out. I took this medication for years, but it did not make my hair fall out. I have taken Keppra for years, and still do. It is not a problem for my hair either. Depakote did cause my to lose a lot of hair and lose a lot of weight. Weird this is that Depakote usually makes people GAIN weight. I lost so much weight to where friends and family thought I was bulimic. I have taken a lot of different medications for epilepsy. I am now taking Vimpat, which is a new medication. It has caused my hair to fall out again. I was taking Keppra and Trileptal and had thick curly hair. Got off Trileptal to help control seizures better and got on Vimpat. Well....hair is thinning out again and I have itchy scalp....feels like dandruff. HATE THIS!!! I have lost tons of hair and had to get a lot cut off to make it look a little bit more healthy. So, I guess what I am trying to say here is that it looks like everyone reacts differently to medications. Lamictal was fine for me while it caused others to lose hair.

Sep 12, 2011
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drugs for bipolar2
by: sara

hey ava , i been on Neurontin/Gabapentin which i take Gabapentin for 2 years and never seen any hair loss or any other side affect ,i was taking the manufacturer greenstone for those 2 years, one day i go to pick up my meds from my pharmacy ,they changed manufacturer, took them for about 1 month and my hair was falling out in hand fulls and started to loses weight , i went to my psych and told him every thing and he wanted me to start taking lamictal i said no ,i went to my pharmacy and asked about why they changed manufacturer ,she told me i would have to order the ones i want a month before,any ways went back to my psych and i cave in to the lamictal and now its been 2 months and god only knows the bull shit im going through , hair falling out my thyroids geting missed and im having problems with my gums, 2 weeks ago i start it hair stopped fall out, 6 days ago i went back on it and again hair re stared to fall, im back off it now and im not going back on it ,waiting to talk to my psych and start to re take my Gabapentin.im only 26 and its sucks that these are the problems i have to face but life is life and i have just not give up ,so for all of those out there do what you think is best for your self and not what doctors try to shove down your throat ,hope any one that reads this don't give up please ,cause i read allot of sad stuff online reading peoples thoughts and reviews and they just make me feel so much worse,stay strong -sara,

Apr 24, 2011
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Epilepsy
by: Sassy

I too have suffered hair loss from all the drugs for Epilepsy, but stress does the same thing too so its a double wammy. Just living with Epilepsy for the last 6 years and still looking for a drug which does not cause hair loss is a stress in itself.

I am trying to find some info on Gabapentin for Epilepsy and hair loss. I have just lost half my hair again after just growing it back for the last 6 to 8 months. I had stopped Tegretol for 12 months because of hair loss. I have just lost it due to stress than stupidly started back on Tegretol and have lost probably more. I am cutting back then off Tegretol again for who knows how long. Not being able to drive is a real killer, my quality of life is a nightmre.

Apr 11, 2011
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Lamictin - Hair Loss
by: Naz

I am so disappointed with the hair loss that this medicine has caused. I was also on birth control pills (which i have now stopped) and I think that made it even worse. I was one of those people who had hair to die for - down to my waste, long black and beautiful. Now I can't seem to find any style to cover my scalp. I was diagnosed with epilepsy about 8 months ago - sometimes I wish I never was. I have great clear awake days - my "quality of brain life" has increased, but the hair loss makes me heartsore.

I WANT TO SHAVE MY HEAD - do you think this will help? Because the regrowth from shaving is amazing. Or is this just a silly idea because as long as I take the medicine, I will continue to lose hair. WILL IT EVEN GROW BACK??!??!?!

Doctors haven't answered me and my poor hairdresser has no advice.

Apr 11, 2011
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Lamictal and hair loss
by: L. G.

I was on Dilantin & phenobarbital for 52 yrs..No hair loss for me on those drugs.. I was having too many auras so thought I'd try new meds. Lamictal & Vimpat (a new drug) is what they put me on. I started slowly with thinning hair now it's been approx. 5 months.

I was crying this morning looking in the mirror knowing I would loose more hair today. It started on top my head, also in my part also in the back and now I noticed I have a slight receding hair line. Check your eye lashes and eye brows too. Is there anyway to stop this. I do have Epilepsy. I loved my hair, as we all do. My question (which few people if any answer this)is does your hair grow back if you change medications? PLEASE SOMEONE ANSWER!!!!

Thank You,
L.G.

Mar 07, 2011
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lamictal
by: Anonymous

I have been losing hair but have been on wellburin, buspar, and xanax for years - in 2006 i ws diagonsed with Biplar and placed on Lamictal.

I was noticing hair thinning but recently when I took mirror to look at back of hair I was in shock - where I parted my air on the side in the back near top you could see scalp - I tried parting in middle and helped a little but even so looks like part just keeps going down in the back.

I have finally made an appt with a hair loss/bio chemical specialist who is going to take out 3 hairs from different areas to anylze them - I just recently stopped taking the lamictal and pray it grows back - I have long hair but even if my hair just grows back 3 - 4 inches, it will at least cover that bald spot.......it would be nice if the doctors that prescribe this would let yu know - I am still struggling to lose weight from when they put me on seroquel.

I was 125 lbs - without changing my diet, in fact I started eating less, I shot up to 175 lbs and my primary dr tells me is very hard to lose weight caused by medication - I do not fit in any of my clothes and purchsed very little in hopes I can get rid of this weight.

May 10, 2010
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Neurontin and Depakote Hair Loss
by: Ava

Just want to add that Neurontin does make your hair fall out, even though my dr. says it is not from this anti seizure drug. He is lying. I stopped the med without tapering off and within a week my hair loss slowed down significantly.

I am a cosmotologist and would like women to know that when you notice hair falling out, DO NOT BRUSH YOUR HAIR! This will make much more hair fall out. Try not to wash it every day. Don't care about how awful it looks from not brushing--you will save a lot of hair from falling out.

When I did this, I would see hair all over my shirt which was quite alarming. Also, washing the hair leaves a lot of hair in the drain. If you are not epileptic, get off the med. immed. Your hair will keep falling out. Nothing will slow it down. It will get worse. I don't know why people say it may normalize, but my loss got worse in a matter of weeks.

If you are bi-polar, like me, the choices of meds. are awful. Every single med. will have horrible side effects and I am finished taking them. Anti-psychotics produce tardive dyskinesia.

Lithium can ruin your thyroid gland permanently if it runs in your family, kidneys get affected if on long term with a high dose. You also urinate constantly on Lithium and will gain significant weight. Your hair will fall out on anti seizure meds. (not everyone experiences this), but I certainly have.

Maybe someday, there will be better meds. for bipolar people, since we cannot take anti depressants which have more tolerable side effects. Good luck everyone. Life is so difficult.

Sep 28, 2009
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lamictal and hair loss persisting after stopping over 1 month ago
by: Anonymous

I was placed on low dose Lamictal and with in 2 weeks noticed a large amount of hair loss still persisting after stopping the medicine over 1 month ago. I am very worried that it will continue to fall all out and even though I've been taking vitamins the loss has not really slowed down. Does any one know if this is permanent loss and what I can do about it. I'm heartsick.

Aug 20, 2009
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Lamictal & Keppra
by: Anonymous

I too lost hair from Lamictal and it did eventually grow back within 6 months time. I also lost a significant amount of hair on Keppra and was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata, which I'm not getting steriod shots once a month in my scalp. The Lamictal I gradually lost hair all over and with Keppra I lost significant amount very quickly and I now have quite a few bald patches. Yes, many of the anti-seizure drugs do cause hair loss and I find that it's most of the newer ones while the older ones (Tegretol / Dilantin) don't cause hair loss or at least not for me, however, according to my neuro they may have long term side effects such as; bone loss, liver damage, etc. The newer meds process through the kidneys while the older through the liver, so perhaps it's the processing through the kidneys is the reason for hair loss with the newer medications.

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