Hair loss?!?!

Hi there,

I take Tegretol (600mg x2) and have done for nearly 18 months (Before that I was on a lower dose for years) I also have quite fine hair so I think I am in a good position to relate to you. I dont experience very much hair loss at all. I think my hair is probably weaker, and where my hair is very long (about halfway down my back) it can get knotted and easily breaks when brushed. But I have not had any significant hair loss with the tegretol (And I have been taking it since 1999)

Darren

Hi there Puppy and Welcome to HealingWell!

Im not sure which drug you are taking, but I do know that hair loss is listed on most Anti-Epileptic Drugs. (AED's). I am really sorry that you have lost so much of your hair. I cannot imagine how that must feel. I am (Like you, I think) confused as to why you are taking an AED if you are not BP, Epileptic etc... Did you asked your doctor for the reason why he prescribed it when he took you off it? Although you stopped taking the drug on the 7th of March, there is a period of time (which varies from drug to drug) where the drug is still in your body, which may explain why your hair is still falling out. I would definately go back to the doctor and discuss this.

Darren

Hi there and Welcome to HealingWell,

Your doctor is right in saying that hair loss is not a known side effect of the zonegran. Thats not to say that it is not the zonegran interacting with something else causing it. Having the bloodwork done was a good idea, but if it has come back normal I would ask again about changing back to depakote (Which strangely, is known for hair loss!). The only other thing I can think of is whether it is a delayed reaction to the depakote.

Hope that helps!

Darren

Well i am also facing the same problem of hair loss, even i am trying some herbal treatments given in a herbal site http://www.mamaherb.com/ these treatments helping me out in preventing my hair loss.

I have been taking Keppra for 3 years, and immediately started noticing a great deal of hair loss. I asked for a prescription for Natafort from my neurologist after coming across information that it might help with the hair loss. My neurologist gave the script to me but was skeptical it would help. Natafort helped so much to combat the hair loss I experienced taking the Keppra. My hair was thicker, and nails which had been brittle were very strong. However now Natafort is unavailable... all the pharmacies I contacted said the manufacturer had discontinued it. Since I can't get Natafort, should I try another name brand (not generic) pre-natal vitamin?

From my experience the generic for Natafort wasn't any help with the hair loss. Please help! TIA!

I'm back and thanks for still being here : )  Had the Right Temp. Lobe Surgery 4 years ago and just recently started having seizures again (only in my sleep).  They've just put me on a low dose of Keppra (250am - 250pm) and needless to say my hair is falling out.  I've been there done that and I waited along time for my hair to grow back after being on so many meds prior to epilepsy surgery (Lamictal, Dilantin, Tegretol, etc. and nothing worked).  (NOTE:  A year after surgery they took me off meds and my hair did grow back thicker and healthier, which I attribute to becoming a health freak and eating right as well as taking a multi-vitamin which I'm starting all over again).  This is the really my 1st time on Keppra (was only on it for about 2 weeks prior to surgery) and I see that too causes hair loss.  For some reason the Keppra seems to make it fall out much quicker than at least the Lamictal did.  Dilantin I don't recall having hair loss, but due to the adverse "future" side effects my doc doesn't even prescibe it anymore.  The Keppra is controlling the seizures but I'm wondering if it's something that eventually stops?  I've only been on it for a 3 weeks and last week I cut my long hair off since I couldn't stand to watch it fall out AGAIN and it doesn't even reach my shouders and it still falls out.  No bald spots, at least not yet, thank G-d.  I'm just trying to determine how to handle the hair loss so I can actually stay on this med and not have to go on the journey of finding the right med.  I can handle mostly all the side effects since I've done it before (tired, slow, Lamictal = insomnia, forgetting words, etc.) but I really don't want to deal with the hair stuff again.  p.s.  B12 works great for the irritability that Keppra causes and I highly recommend it and so does my husband : )  I did buy the Selsum Blue and I will try that and I'm taking now the Biotin as well as a Centrum Silver (even though I'm only 40) since I hear that helps.  I just want to know if the hair loss eventually stops once your body gets use to the med and if so, approx. how long?  I use to have way too many violent gran mal seizures and had to have the surgery and now I have small seizure in my sleep (only my arm bangs) so this time I would prefer to have the small little siezures than all these crazy side effects from meds.  I feel there has to be a way to combat the hair loss as well as take the drug.  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated and I hope I can be help to those out there as well since I've been down this road and even had the surgery.     

My 12 year old daughter has been on 875 mg Depakote daily for epilepsy, and has suffered some serious hair loss (breakage) over the past couple of months. This isn't limited to only in the shower, but comes out at all times of day in large clumps. Reading the posts, it appears as if this is something that should (?) disappear after six months or so. Does anybody have any new information that could be shared? Her neurologist has prescribed a compounded vitamin mixture of Selenium, Zinc, and Vitamin E, which she's been taking for just over a month now. She's also taking Biotin lozenges, and I'm probably going to start Nioxin as well.

i have been on 2000mg of depakote also the hair loss is awful. i have been on it for yrs and rescently i went off for 3 months to see if i still needed it. and omg. i did for sure. messed with my head bad. well since i have been back on it the hair loss is worse. my dr. also suggested the same drug. i may have to look into it.

My understanding is that Depakote can make your hair brittle and it breaks off. I was on the medicine a couple of months before I started having this side effect. The hair loss is driving me nuts, I have always had a full, thick head of hair.
My hairdresser suggested using a matthew gardson's method. I have noted one thing with my vellus hairs, they have turned from colourless hairs into tiny black hairs and i am sure that they are thicker to.

I took depakote for chronic daily headache and my hair came out by the handful. I lost probably two thirds. I also gained thirty pounds. I joked with my doctor the med was turning my into a middle aged man (I'm a 20-something woman), but he didn't laugh :(. I took selenium and biotin, which helped but didn't stop it at all. Eventually the hair loss stopped, after I'd lost a lot. It was definitely coming out by the root.
After I went off a lot of it came back, but I feel like not all of it did. My husband says all of it came back. I think it came back finer (the actual strands).
I've been on topomax, no hair loss, but experienced weight loss, which I loved :), but it made me really stupid, to put it bluntly. I'm still on 100mg, to try to loose the weight I gained on the depakote and all the other drugs (SSRIs). Just started Lamictal, which is great for the headaches and my mood, but my hair is coming out (not as fast as with the depakote). I'm worried not all of it will come back. I'm going to try to see a dermatologist.
I'm currently seeing an acupuncturist for my headaches and she says she can help with the hair loss, so I'll see about that. She helps a lot with the headaches.

I have been taking Tegretol 3 times a day for 5 months for neuralgia of my abdominal nerves. For the last 2 weeks my hair has been falling out. I have long wavy hair to my waist & I had noticed it had began to thin for a little while. My scalp is now very visible but I don't have any bald patches. I am afraid to brush or wash my hair. I have been reading up on the way in which our hair has 'cycles' at at any given time 15% of our hair folicils are on 'a rest period' where they bascially stop growing hair & reguvenate. When taking certain meds of which many anti-convulsants are named, the hair folicles don't switch back onto when they should as the next lot start shutting down. They say that the trauma causing the hair to fall out has taken place 3 months prior to the hair being shed. The good news is that when stopped after 6 months the hair should come back in, if u r able to switch meds! My Dad ws epileptic & took tegretol for years amongst other pills so we never sure which caused his hair loss. What effects one of us does not for another.

Hi All,
I am on Depakote ER 250 am and 500 pm and noticed severe hair loss (about half my hair) in July when I started taking it in March. I read someone's blog here and I started taking Centrum Silver once a day, Zinc Twice a day and Maxi Hair supplement twice a day. Guess what? My hair's coming back as of January!! My hair's definitely changed in texture and its really dry. I deep condition it once a week. I don't wear ponytails anymore. I was going to change my meds to Topamax because of the hair loss, but I'm sure glad I didn't. I'm seizure free (most important!) on depakote and life's good.
Good Luck out there!

Epilepsy
Hypothyroidism