Posted by Rach on July 17, 2000, at 5:25:14
In reply to Re: Zoloft and Hair Loss, posted by Sunnely on July 16, 2000, at 22:14:18
> Rach,
>
> Hair loss (alopecia) has been reported with the use of SSRIs. During an 8-month period in 1992, Pfizer (maker of Zoloft) received 21 adverse experience reports of alopecia. In 17 reports specifying gender, 15 patients were women. In 1994, according to Eli Lilly (maker of Prozac), there had been 725 reports of hair loss due to Prozac. Of those cases that indicated gender, 540 involved women and 73 involved men. Incidentally, hair loss due to another antidepressant nefazodone (Serzone) has also been reported. Mood stabilizers such as lithium and Depakote have been known to cause hair loss.
>
> Assuming the hair loss is not caused by some medical/psychological conditions such as thyroid problem or trichotillomania (obsessive hair pulling), the combined use of selenium and zinc seems to have beneficial effect for Depakote-induced hair loss. Not sure if this works for the SSRI-induced hair loss but worth a try. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for selenium is 70 mcg (microgram) daily while the RDA for zince is 15 mg (milligram). For hair loss due to Depakote, higher doses of selenium/zinc combination is recommended such as 200 mcg selenium and 100 mg zinc. Those who are already taking a multivitamin could change to a brand called "One Source" from WalMart, which already contains 200 mcg of selenium. However, it only has the RDA for zinc, so it would still be necessary to take an additional zinc supplement.
>
> If the above trial doesn't work and your hair loss persists or worsens and is not due to any medical/psychological condition, may be a switch in antidepressant medication is in order.
>
> References:
>
> [1] SSRI and Hair Loss? In: Biological Therapies in Psychiatry Newsletter, AJ Gelenberg MD (editor), April 1996.
>
> [2] Hair Loss with Nefazodone. In: Biological Therapies Newsletter, AJ Gelenberg, MD (editor), April 1998.
>
> [3] Is there any type of treatment for hair loss associated with the use of valproate (Depakote)? Clinical Consult (Answer provided by Michael Johnson, MD of the Medical University of So. Carolina, Charleston). In: Psychopharmacology Update, July 1999.Sunnley,
Thank you for all that info. I had a look at some herbal stuff today, and I could only find one supplement that had selenium in it (I'm in Australia). On the pack it said that selenium in high doses can cause hair loss. I'm confused! Can you, (or anyone) shed any light?Thanks,
Rach
poster:Rach
thread:40674
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000717/msgs/40704.html