Hair loss and Topamax

[QusieSue]

I have been prescribed Wellbutrin for depression and Topamax as a mood stabilizer.  The combination worked very well for me and the bonus was that I lost weight.  However, I also lost hair.  I was wondering if anyone else experienced the same problem.

[takinglotsofpills]

I too can see my scalp but thought I was just going to be another half bald old lady one day...didn't know why.  Now I do.  PLUS my doctor just increased my Topamax from 100mg twice daily to 200mg twice daily and this is for migraine prevention, and probably also depression related issued (?).  I am 5'9" and my weight initially fell to 108 but is now 133 thankfully, but I am afraid I'll battle the weight loss again.  Ensure helps!  I'm 63 & have taken it since having an episode of transient binocular blindness one morning--pretty scary!  Since stroke was ruled out, & I have migraines it had to have been that they said.  I hate this medicine, but I'd hate going blind driving 70 mph too, so what can you do?  I am puzzled why doc made such a huge increase in dosage, and also didn't titrate it...just doubled it-wham!  But we have to trust their knowlege, right?  (I'm researching it as best I can on my own-it's MY body afterall).  Good luck everyone!

[keyna5]

I only take 75 mgs a day and my hair still is falling out like crazy.I think the best solution is to simply stop taking it and find another solution for my nerve pain.

[newbie5533]

I have read many of the above mentioned posts regarding hair loss and I wanted to share the little bit of info I have gained going thru rapid weight loss with my wife. She got with a weight loss system and lost 48 pounds in 14 weeks. Man she was looking good and feeling great. After about three months she started noticing that her hair was shedding at a rate much faster than normal. This continued on. She got to her goal weight over the next month and had lost 62 in just over 5 months. Hair loss has now become a major concern to her and therefore me. What we have found is the body needs a certain amount of calories just to maintain normal body functions. When the body is starved of the calories it needs it will not assign the available calories to hair growth. The problem with this is that the hair growth cycle takes about 3 months for the shedding to start being noticed, then another 3 months for the increased calorie intake to reset the hair growth. People are always shedding 10% of your hair. So for most people the hair growth will return but you need to make sure that you are taking in an healthy amount of calories. People think that the less you intake the better off you will be. You are actually starving your body and shocking you system. 1100 to 1200 will lose weight for you and your chances of side effects will be much less than consuming less than 800 calories a day. We wish we were informed about the side effects of the rapid weight loss and we would have chosen to go about the weight loss slower. The whole thing with the weight loss is that you have to change the way you think about food and make lifestyle changes, or it will come right back on. My wife is now coaching other people who need a system and guidelines to making a weight loss goal attainable. It has changed my wife's life and attitude. She went from a size 14 to a size 8. Went from a constant state of being mildly depressed to now being silly and carefree. I can say that she has been free from the bondage of weight for over the last 14 months. God bless. Weight loss is possible. ( she had tried most of the "name brand" diets only to lose some and gain it right back because they didnt really break the addictions to carbs and sugars and only left her feeling deprived ). I know for many here this post will be too late but hopefully you will understand what may be causing your hair loss. If you or anyone else needs some help with weight loss dont hesitate to email.

[dontlikedrugs]

I started reading this thread because my doctor suggested I try Topamax for weight loss. So glad I did because I can't risk losing more hair (it is already very thin), so will not try the drug. Just wanted to pass on some info that might be helpful to the migraine sufferers here. I used to get migraines fairly frequently and a friend told me she had had success eradicating her migraines by using vitamin B complex. I started using a good quality Stress B Complex (as directed on the label) and it dramatically cut back on my migraines. I rarely get them anymore.

[kimberzz]

Hello!  My name is Kimberly and I’m 48 years old.  I have Ankylosing Spondylitis (arthritis of the spinal cord) and have been on metotrexate for over ten years now.  That is a medication that is also used to treat cancer patients and works well on disease arthritis.  I have a lot of American Indian heritage and never suffered the ‘normal’ hair loss that most do while taking methotrexate, which is of course awesome.  

In 2007 I started fainting and developing severe (skullcap) headaches immediately after I recovered from fainting.  I even shattered my elbow in 2008 when I fainted on my tile foyer in the middle of the day for no known reason.  Like most of us I shrugged off my fainting spells for various reasons.  Then in 2008 I started losing my hair (eyelashes and eyebrows too).  At that time my hair was at my waist and so thick I could only wrap a ponytail holder around it once and that was hard.  I became so concerned and thought that I may have developed Lupus or something, so I collected the hair that I lost in a day in a sandwich bang and then the hair that I lost in a week in another bag.  I took my evidence (lol) to my rheumatologist and he said that he did not need me to show him because he could see it with his own eyes but he had no answer as to why.  

Part of my treatment for spinal arthritis is cervical/lumbar steroid epidurals.  However, in October of 2010 the anesthesiologist refused to put me under for the procedure because my blood pressure was crazy high-- That too was a new and troublesome symptom.  To receive the necessary treatment for my arthritis I had to be cleared by two different cardiologists and it took five months, I had a tilt test for “POTS Syndrome” I was tested for diabetes, etc.  Nothing seemed to explain my fainting or my extreme hair loss/weight loss.  My rheumatologist had/has me on the maximum amount of FOLIC ACID to offset the hair loss but it didn’t stopping the hair loss BUT CAUSES TONS OF NEW GROWTH.  I was finally approved for my steroid epidurals and had those procedures which help my mobility in my neck and my hips tremendously.  Because of the fainting I had not been driving but decided that since I had been cleared by two different cardiologists that surly I could take a short drive and have my hair colored and styled.  Bad idea… I took a short drive had my hair done, it took three hours.  By the end of the visit I started feeling very weird and knew that I needed to get home fast.  I should have never left the salon because I got about two miles away and started to faint.  I was able to get off the road and call my husband before I passed out.  Thankfully, no one was hurt.  After that incident the doctors started taking my fainting issue very seriously and submitted my case to UT Southwestern/St. Paul Medical Center in Dallas, Tx.  After they reviewed my case they accepted me and I now have a team of brilliant doctors working on my case.  After a lot of neurological and endocrinology testing they have come up with the diagnosis of:
INTRACTABLE MIGRAINES WITH AN AURA OF FAINTING.  I had no idea and had attributed my severe headaches to my cervical arthritis.  Of course they immediate put me on Topamax and I’ve been taking 100 mg. since May 2011.  Because I’m already a thin person and never been over weight my neurologist warned me about the weight loss associated with this medication and said that if I lost more than five pounds I would not be able to continue with the medication.  I’m desperate to stop these migraines and get on with my life and will do whatever I can to treat this condition.  

This is going to sound crazy to all of you from what I have read… I’ve actually stopped losing my hair since I’ve been taking Topamax!  Go figure?!  Simply because I have forced myself to eat health (well-balanced) meals three times a day.  Whereas, before Topamax I ate almost nothing due to the pain I was suffering through so many migraines and severe arthritis pain I was basically unable to eat.  I would eat two bites or half of a Cliff bar for breakfast and the other half for dinner because of the vomiting from pain.  Therefore, I had lost about 40 plus pounds and was suffering severe leg cramping (charlie horses), weakness AND HAIR LOSS from being malnutrition.  However to look at me you would never have known that my body was not properly fed.  In fact people always tell me they don’t believe that I’m the age that I am.  Obviously, I have not been on Topamax long enough to know if the medication is going to work for me and the side effects are dreadful indeed.  But my brilliant neurologist has told me that those it works for say it’s a God send so I’m willing to see if I may be one of the blessed ones.

If you’re losing hair and have lost a lot of weight fast: Consider that that may be the cause of your hair loss.  Prescription folic acid is the best treatment to offset hair loss.  If you don’t have a doctor that will prescribe it you can buy it over the counter, just take more than suggested.  For those of you that may have taken it while you were pregnant remember how your hair and nails grew like crazy?  Yep, it works!  Remember that knowledge is power.  Good luck to all of you and I truly understand that if you don’t have your health you don’t have anything.  God bless.

[DontWannaBeBaldAt32]

THANK GOODNESS I FOUND THIS!! I just started taking Topamax yesterday, because I occasionally get migraines, but honestly it's because I know about the weight loss. I had NO idea about the hair loss! I'm not taking it anymore; God gave me the most fabulous hair - I can't lose it just to lose a few pounds! Thanks for posting everyone!