Hair loss w/Tramadol???

[pishka]

Am I crazy, or does continuous use of Tramadol at high doses cause your hair to fall out?  I have been on Tramadol daily for 3 years.  I really am loosing my hair.  Has this happened to anyone??  Will it grow back after I finally kick this habit??

[KyBy]

I know this is not human related, but just as an FYI: Our labradoodle had a back injury and was put on Tramadol. Over the course of about two months all of the hair on her back fell out. Once she finished the meds, her hair slowly grew back in, just as thick as before. This is perhaps the same thing happening with people who have commented here? I hope no one is offended at mentioning my puppy, but my husband and I have been stumped about why her hair fell out, the vet said it was not the tramadol, but its the only thing that changed. Good luck to all you people suffering hair loss, and hopefully it grows back.

[Scrappy2]

I think there is a correlation between tramadol & hair loss. Post op last yr I was taking 100mg tramadol evry 6 hrs & my hair was falling out. Cut back to 100mg once a day everything ok but pain control not sufficient. After 6 months I switched to tramadol extended release 200mg 1-2 times a day & 5 days later my hair loss started again. It grew back before so perhaps this happens at high level dosages.  I'll need to lower to dosage to see if it stops. BTW. It took months for new hair to start coming in but how happy I was to see little sprouts

[STEFG5]

Have you stopped tramadol?  Did your hair start to grow back - if so, how long did it take?  I have had a similar issue.

[madtram]

Common causes of hair loss are hormone & nutritional imbalances.  Tramadol, in common with other opioids & opiates tends to decrease natural hormone production, including estrogen which contributes to healthy hair growth.

  It also commonly reduces appetite which could mean that you are not getting the vitamins & minerals you need for optimum health.  As hair is not vital to survival, in any state of nutritional deficit, available nourishment will be directed to vital organs like the brain in preference to hair & nails.  

Your hair loss may be more noticeable because the rate of hair replacement growth has slowed right down.

So yes it's possible that the tramadol is directly or indirectly to blame but once your hormones have returned to pre-tramadol levels, your hair growth should also return to normal.  I will add "good hair" to my list of the many benefits of being tramadol free.

Tramadol is insidious & sneaky with its changes, you will be pleasantly surprised at how many things improve without it.

M