Women Hair Loss Forums

FREE!!! Hair Replacement Contest - UK, US, Canada, India
click here

Tricyclic antidepressants and hormones (Anti-depressants & Hair Loss)

posted by To everyone, 25.09.2006, 16:31

Are tricyclic antidepressants (specifically nortriptyline) known to have any effect on female hormones?

I stopped nortriptyline 4 months ago after it started a massive TE shed. But 4 mo. later my hair loss is still the same as before, and I lose tons of miniaturized hairs that look like spiderwebs ranging from less than 1cm to over 3 inches, which means they all tried to grow sometime after the 7 months I was taking the anti. I also still lose regular healthy hairs, and I never had any such miniaturized hairs prior to the antidepressant.

My ferritin was very low (8) when it was tested 2 mo. ago and I have religiously been eating red meat, taking iron supps, etc. for 8 weeks. I just had it retested but I don't know the results yet.

Any ideas why I am not seeing even slight reduction in shed? I have NO regrowth but I see a few miniaturized hairs sticking up here and there on my head. I am so desperate and fearful that this I will never recover my hair and keep losing it although everyone tells me to wait and see. And my biopsies say AGA but I don't know if I should rely on that since I know one other gal who had her biopsy read in the same place saying probably mild AGA but it wasn't at all-it was TE and it went away in 4mo.

I know AGA usually crops up anytime there is a big hormonal change which I wonder if the antidepressant caused? I can't find any literature on it though, except that DHEA acts like an antidepressant. So do antidepressants raise DHEA levels in your body? I don't have a before and after number.

It is so hard to keep up this fight and go on with school, work, etc. I thought this would be over months ago since I stopped on June 1. please someone have any advice? Thanks.


To everyone is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: YES

Complete thread:

• Tricyclic antidepressants and hormones - To everyone, 25.09.2006, 16:31
  • Tricyclic antidepressants and hormones - to everyone, 25.09.2006, 16:35
    • Tricyclic antidepressants and hormones - HairSite Admin, 26.09.2006, 06:07
      • Tricyclic antidepressants and hormones - mickelvine, 26.03.2008, 00:50
    • Tricyclic antidepressants and hormones - allywied, 26.09.2006, 18:42
      • Tricyclic antidepressants are bad for hormones for some - to all, 28.09.2006, 12:01
        • Tricyclic antidepressants are bad for hormones for some - shortywcb, 17.12.2007, 04:31
        • Tricyclic antidepressants are bad for hormones for some - mickelvine, 10.04.2008, 02:16