October 14 2005, 2:15 pm PT | Posted in: Drugs (Cause Hair Loss)
I have been using Lisinopril for high blood pressure for more than a year now and I have noticed that my hair is falling out. I don’t know if the Lisinopril is the cause because I am also under a lot of stress, but is hair loss a side effect of this medication? If it is, will my hair grow back if I stop using this medication? Is there another high blood pressure medication I can use? Please let me know. I don’t need this added stress.
Yes, Lisinopril can cause hair loss. There are many antihypertensive medications, but I would not want to recommend which one you should try, as that is your doctor’s job. Ask your doctor to recommend another medication if you feel that the hair loss and Lisinopril are more than a coincidence.
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Hi i have been slowly losing my hair over the last few years. I have started a slow receding process that i believe is in the early stage 3 according to your chart. I have no thinning or balding in the crown. My question is do you get your hairline gene from either parent? My father has a receding hairline but has never gone bald and he is in his 60’s. He has had that receded look for as long as i could remember. Could i just have inherited his hairline or do males only get there hairlines from the mothers side? My hope is that i just have his hairline and i can happily live with that. Thanks for any info you can provide.
Dan,
I’ve answered this question recently here: http://www.baldingblog.com/2005/10/11/where-does-the-hair-loss-gene-come-from/
The short answer is YES!
However, it is a very rare side effect.
Personally, it has happened to both myself and my mother.
My mother caught it early, and just had a very slight thinning of the hair, which grew back. I lost pretty much all the hair on my head, and a thinning of hair on the body.
I should grow back once the medication stops after a time, a month or two. I’m under the care of dermatologist, who recommended that my regular doctor change the prescription; however both he and my regular doctor did not believe me when I said I thought it was the lisinopril; only after much research did my dermatologist agree.
El, thank you for your blog! I am having the same issue with my hair and lisinopril…and both my doctor and dermatologist do not believe me when I say it’s the medication. Do you have any recommendations that I may suggest to them in terms of tests that would help me get them to see that I am not crazy????