May 25 2006, 12:34 pm PT | Posted in: Drugs + Drugs (Cause Hair Loss)
Dr. Rassman,
Thank you so much for your answer concerning the two shoulder injections of cortisone!
I also have acid reflux,& had taken nexium, but stopped it after noticing hair loss more accelerated than usual. Are you aware of any hair loss associated with Nexium, as this drug seems to work best with GERD, & will regrowth occur after suspension? Also does regrowth generally occur with hair lost to seborrheic dermatitis, if treated? Thank you again for your prolific insight!
Nexium can cause hair loss, though it is a rare side effect. Seborrheic dermatitis rarely produces hair loss unless you scratch it and produce traction alopecia by continuously pulling at your hair.
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Related Entries
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Balding Forum
I just stopped taking Nexium because I started using hair. Will it regrow?
Me too! Very fast hair loss. It was so thick just a few months ago. Will it grow back? (I kinda suspected the Nexium)
Ok I was at my wits end trying to figure out why my hair is fallin out like crazy. The only prescriptions I take are Advair for 6 years, Spiriva for about 3 years and was taking Prevacid for 6 years then all of a sudden my insurance didnt want to pay for it anymore so my doctor changed me over to Nexium 40mgs. I have been on it for at least 6 months now and for the past 4 months my hair started falling out. You can see the hair follicle (?Spell) on the ends of it. Now I think I am ready to start taking something else for GERD before I go bald. I have been taking every vitamin under the sun that is good for your hair and it has done no good at all. Will my hair grow back after I stop taking it? I am so glad I found this site! Thank you so much! I have Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, I dont need hair loss on top of that. Lisa
My hair has been falling out since I started Nexium for reflux. I stopped taking the drug. It also caused bloating and constant bowl movements. I will not take this drug ever again. Do you know if I will see any of this hair again?
I would like to have this side effect listed way up there on common problems.
Yes…I noticed the same thing …after reading the above comments. So I went to look up side effects…’nexium hair loss’ found you guys. Wow I am off the purple pill as of tonight. I was on it only for 3 weeks. I noticed hair in my comb alot of it too much….the only different thing I was taking was the nexium….
No one tells you these things a shame, for so many people who don’t connect it….very unfair.
***(Anyone have their hair grow back after stopping the purple pill ??)
**Please share your comments with me ASAP!
I had thick blonde hair and it thinned out. I ordered something called ‘thicker, longer hair’…over internett. Going to try it. My sister tryed it for length…couldn’t believe how long her hair grew in 3 months much thicker too! Well hope this info. helps ya’s.
Can’t wait to start the treatment cheap too.
ok, we’ve established that nexium seems to cause hair loss. but does anyone know if the hair grows back after recession?
The hairloss seems to be on the top of my head not the sides or back as much. Is this the same for everyone else? Does male patten baldness seem to happen overnight? No family history either.
definately have hair loss on top too, but none on sides or back. anybody see it fill back in after stopping nexium?
I experienced the same from Nexium. I have been off for one week and am still experiencing RAPID hair loss - a huge handfull with every shower. I was told from the PA whom I saw for blood work to expect a month of more hairloss before things start to reverse. I am also made an appointments with doctor and a dermatologist. I may not have hair if it goes another month.
so my doctor thinks i’m nuts…says should be no hair loss from Nexium, yet i took it one month, hair started coming out when combing after washing it-even when i use mousse & hair combs thru totally easy- then as weeks went on- 2 more months on nexium now-3 months total- and i’ve reached my boiling point- hair loss coming out has doubled & nothing has helped- thinning hair shampoo was bought & hair vitamins and no help…so i stopped Nexium… i also had 13 lbs weight gain in 2 months & am a 45 yr old female & have weighed 120 ALL my life & am at 135 after 2 months nexium also so either acid reflux/throat dysphagia feeling or fat & bald? gee what a choice ! I am waiting for a 2 wks to see where i am at hair loss wise & weight wise~ later, terri
I had gert when I was 25 years of age and have change tablets a number of time. I am 44 years of age and have been on Nexium for 2 months and stopped when I noticed baldness on the top of my head. I reverted back to Losec but it continues to fall out. Not happy because both sides of my family have lots of hair even at the age of 70 years + .
Lisa, (sorry this is 9 months late lol) I have also been experiencing significant hair loss but through web searches I have connected it to the advair disc I and you also take (I do not take nexium, I only found this page from a search pulling up your post). I have been on the discus for around 4 years now with no noticable side effects… wow… what a wonder drug right? NOT - People have been reporting hair loss while on Advair after several years of use which is no wonder as it does have a steroid component. NOT cool esp. when I have very fine hair to start with. Off to call my doc and see if I can’t get onto something better.
I think your issue might be a combo of the two meds, both of which seem to be causing this problem.
My hair started falling out by the handful. I went to the doctor in tears and a sandwich bag full of hair from that morning only and the doctor looked up Nexium and it is one of the side effects. I have been off of nexium for about 1 1/2 months and the hair is starting to regrow and slowed down on falling out. The doctor said that the nexium works to stop acid production and you have to have acid in your hair folicle for it to grow and w/o acid it does not grow, it falls out. Went from pretty long hair to short very fine thin hair. My doctor put me on calicium supplements for acid reflux.Take with food and he said the calicum supplement absorbs the extra acid in your stomach. I had really horrible reflux and the calicum supplements are working great!
I experienced the same problem while on Nexium, Prilosec and Pepsid AC. After approx. 2 months after stopping the medicine, I did notice new hair regrowth. Since I couldn’t use the prescription medicine,I investigated an alternate route. Believe it or not, I found out that drinking a small amount of apple cider vinegar mixed with water during the day helped. I read that the body needs acid if you introduce acid into the body, it won’t produce as much. I also took acidophilous pills as well to help maintain a balance in my intestines. Acidophilus is the active bacteria found in yogurt. Hope this info is helpful.
I took nexium on and off for a couple of years and started having hair loss on different parts of my body. The dermatologist gave me cortisone injections and said that would help, but it really didn’t help much. I had loss of hair on my head, face, arms and legs. I don’t care so much about the arms and legs, but the face and head are embarrassing. No one in my family is bald. My dad died with a thick head of hair at the age of 80. I’ve noticed that the hair follicles seems to still be healthy, but no hair growing- or very fine blonde hair coming through (my hair is naturally thick and black). I stopped taking Nexium and I’ve noticed the spots on my hands and arms starting to grow back, but my head still has spots where it looks like my hair is receding and on top is much thinner than it used to be.
I would definitely agree that HAIR LOSS should be way up at the top of the list for side effects. I have a hiatal hernia with pretty bad heartburn, so I have had a hard time dealing with any kind of acid, sugar, etc.
I’ve been taking Biotin and natural supplements in hopes of making my hair stronger. We’ll see how it goes.
Frustrated-
My boyfriend of 4 years has terrible heartburn and Nexium has been his savior….but his hair is falling out now and does not look as shinny and healthy as it once did. He has been taking it for a year now. If he stops will his hair grow back???
I took Nexium for a year (GERD, LPRD) and stopped a month ago because it caused depression and worsened my osteoporosis, among a dozen other side effects. Just made the connection between Nexium and hair loss after reading these posts. Thank you! Why at age 55 did I have the hair (head and body) of a 90 year old? Duh. Since stopping the Nexium, I doubled the calcium/D regimen to 1200/800 mg twice a day. Don’t know about my head, but other hair (like eyebrows)is definitely growing back. Taking just 1 Tums right before bed helped a lot with reflux, btw.
I am 31 year-old male and I have taken nexium — recently switched to Prilosec for the last month — for about 2.5 years and have noticed thinning of my hair on the sides about a year ago. I didn’t think much it because I always get a buzz hair cut on the sides. But yesterday my hairdresser noticed how severe the thinning was so I was freaking out and decided to look up on the Web about the side effects of nexium. Eureka! I’m going to completely stop taking nexium and Prilosec! I wish they had warned me about the side effects…. I just hope my hair grows back!
Hair loss? please tell me if anyone has had hair loss using the Advair disc?
Patricia
I’m another who’s been taking Nexium for a few years now and whose hair seems to b out in handfuls. I had a very thick head of hair even though I’m in my late 50’s but have noticed these past few months just how much comes out when I comb, wash or dry it, also lots on the pillow in the morning. I thought the loss was due to my hairdryer or hotbrush but I’m no longer using them so much and the loss is getting worse, not better.
I feel that because Nexium stops acid production it can also stop the proper breakdown of foods and therefore we aren’t getting enough nutrients, no matter how good our diet. My consultant admitted the Nexium can result in low levels of some vitamins. I certainly don’t want to lose my hair and so have decided to stop Nexium and try to manage the acid reflux some other way. I wish I’d been warned about this when I started taking the drug, but wasn’t. I just hope it grows back as I hate the feeling of being ‘thin on top’, even though it’s not really noticeable to other people.
I have been taking Prevacid for about 2-3 years and never noticed this issue. About 2.5 months ago I was prescribed Nexium and in the last month have noticed rapid thinning on the top of my head. Like many of the commenters on this page, male pattern baldness does not run in my family, so I was shocked to see this happening to me. This morning something told me to search for any relation to Nexium and hair-loss and I found this page. It was a rude awakening to see that there are side effects related to this problem and yet I couldn’t find them listed, nor was I told about them at my ENT. I’m 29 and officially stopped my Nexium-usage today. I just hope that once the final doses run their course that regrowth will occur. Has anyone been off Nexium long enough to see any positive results?
Also, forgot to mention that like one of the commenters above, the hair-loss isn’t yet visable to an outsider, but when you know your own body, you see the effects. My wife too recognized the change as well.
Stated in the paper,
Undesirable effects,
Rare: Alopecia.
Me, too! I am a 52 year old female who was prescribed Prilosec for gerd by my allergist. I took it for about 5 weeks when I noticed my scalp peeking through. I have had to have my hair cut every three weeks my entire life and have had to have my hair thinned out every other cut. My hair was coarse, thick. Over night my hair has become thin and weak. It has been five weeks since I quit Prilosec (from my investigations, it seems most any of these drugs can cause this). I would estimate I have lost about 30% of my hair (top, crown and sides). I began taking all hair vitamins, good multi-vitamin, Biotin. I was able to completely control my reflux with apple cider vinegar, water with a pinch of baking soda. Seems to be gone. Go figure…no drugs. I have no signs of regrowth, whatsoever. HAS ANYONE REGROWN THEIR HAIR? I read on one site where a physician stated he didn’t think it would regrow. I am truly terrified. I just made an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic to see a specialist, but it will be two months until an opening. I wonder if I will have any hair left. This is heartbreaking.
Man…I’ve been on Nexium for about 8 months…
Started noticing my hair thinning recently so I did some research on biotins and found this article.
I’m going to stop taking Nexium and change my diet so I can control my acid reflux naturally.
Jennifer, you and i did the exact same thing. I too went to visit my GP with a freezer bag full of the hair i had found on my pillow when i woke up that morning. Having your hair fall out esp when you’ve been complimented on having nice hair all your life is hard. My hairdresser is always telling me how full my hair is. Well it was very long and full but now that its thinned out i will have to get it cut short to give it more volume =( I take pride in my appearance and it makes you feel so down seeing all your hair drop to the floor as you walk around the house or in the shower. Every time i look down on my lap i’d see more and more hair… And for all your wondering, yes if it is a side-effect from a drug then t will grow back! Just give it a month or so to feel the results. Nexium should leave your system in days not months my doctor says. I myself have been on Nexium for almost 3 weeks now after having terrible excruciating pains in my chest one night and almost being rushed over to the hospital. Did some research online and found out it was acid reflux, doctor confirmed it, blood test was normal so he handed me some Nexium 40mg. It has helped, i’ve only had unbearable pains once since that night, it lasted about 2 hours but having my hair fall out by the handful is just not worth it. I’ve looked into natural remedies and have too read about the apple cider vinegar like Karen. Not sure if this would work for those who produce too much acid. Apparently you can have acid reflux from not only producing too much acid but also producing too little acid. In this case i would try the apple cider. I know of the 1 teaspoon of honey to sooth and heal your esophogus. I know of the red apples also. They didnt really do much for me. Instead, I am now going to take Acidophilus as a friend who once had acid reflux suggested to me, i will also take calcium as Jennifer was saying it works great for her and i will take Zyrtec which the doctor told me to take… Apparently its what they were giving patients 10yrs ago before drugs like Nexium existed. I will also start drinking Aloe Vera juice from the supermarket. I will try all this and post back to let anyone out there who’s wondering know how i go and if it is at all effective. Im only 23 years old and come from a Mediterranean background so not being able to eat all of my beloved foods is just torture for me. Thank you to everyone who posted their very helpful comments. Hope my post can help someone too.
Sorry i made a mistake. I was told by doc to take ZANTAC not Zyrtec…. My mistake. Hope none of you get confused!
Hello All,
I am 42 Male,been on Nexium 40mg for two years. I have had severe hair loss and Seb-Dermatitis on my face and Scalp.
I have severe dandruff and red patches on my face. My hair is falling out, I had a full head of hair. Can someone Like Vannessa get back to us and let us know if hair grew back? And also please post the directions on how to use the Apple Cider Vinegar/baking soda solution to control GERD.Do all the Proton Pump Inhibitors cause hair loss?? I have taken prevacid also.. Please HELP. Thanks to all of you.
Thanks to everyone who has shared their story and experiences. I does offer some comfort to know that I am not alone…and the apparent consensus here has convinced me that I should explore possible alternatives for the treatment of my acid reflux symptoms.
I would estimate that I’ve been taking the generic form of Nexium, omeprazole, for at least the last 5 years and have been experiencing severe hair loss — although, I never knew the cause of it. (When I would express this concern to the doctors, they would explain it away as heredity or due to hormonal changes. I am a 54 year old woman.) I have also been taking other meds, two of which I have eliminated over the past 2-8 months. The hair loss has continued, so I think I can eliminate those meds as being the cause. I am currently only taking omeprazole and using my albuterol inhaler daily. (I have been using the inhaler for much longer than the omeprazole, so I don’t think that is the cause of my hair loss.)
Has anyone here explored the issue of helicobacter pylori, which can cause GERD? I’m wondering if I should try a course of antibiotic/omeprazole therapy to see if my acid reflux can be cured once and for all.
Finally, I wanted to say a few words about the health care and pharmaceutical industry: DO NOT TRUST them! Big Pharma will do anything to increase its already huge profit margin, even at the expense of your health. (Here’s an interesting anecdote. About 6 months ago, I looked up omeprazole in Wikipedia and saw a citation for hair loss in the article. Now, that citation is GONE! If this side effect became widely known, nobody would take the drug.)
For anyone wanting to read more about the power of Big Pharma — including its control of medical knowledge — I highly recommend this book, written by a family doctor:
Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine (How the Pharmaceutical Companies Distort Medical Knowledge, Mislead Doctors and Compromise Your Health)
http://books.google.com/books?id=B3JKLQKkStwC&dq=overdosed+america&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=qqE36TRHiU&sig=Vj1wGm_rbj20_qC1M3Yqig3Ryuw&hl=en&ei=QlUQSs__AsyEtwepvZmBCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3#PPP1,M1
Many of you have posted messages re. the connection they were experimenting between nexium and hairloos. I have had the same unfortunate side effects- I have taken the pill for about 2 weeks only, and have stopped now (also for 2 weeks). My hair is still falling. Has any of you experimented a regrowth some time after stopping talking the pill? many thanks in advance for your answers.
Oh thank goodness someone started this site. I am a 54 year old woman who has always had thick wonderful hair. My hair is the one thing people always noticed and commented on. Since taking generic forms of Nexim on and off for the past 8 months, I have lost 80 percent of my hair. I sopped taking it a month ago, and my hair is still falling out. iiiieeee. A few months ago I started to panic and went to a “specialist” about my hair loss, he said “yes, you are going bald, and what did you expect, you ar 54 years old” I couldn’t believe it… after all these years with thick luxurious hair, all of a sudden I’m going bald? That’s when I started searching for some other answers and found this site…I’m hoping and praying it grows back.
Like many other posters, I have always had very thick hair, my mother and grandmother both had thick hair until they died (at 85 and 91 respectively). I noticed a couple of months back my hair seemed to be getting thinner, but put it down to the effect of the light shining through my grey roots (I am 57) as I dye my hair dark. It also seemed a lot greasier.
By last month it was clear my hair was getting thinner - a lot thinner with less hair per square inch and what hair there was was thinner (my hair is quite fine but very springy and grows quite densely, or rather it did). Then last week I cut my hand and had to get my husband to help wash my hair and even he commented how thin it was. I thought it must be my age but I looked at all my friends of the same age and their hair was thicker.
So I tried to think when it started and it seemed quite recently. Then I thought again and wondered if I was taking anything that could cause it. I have quite a bad hiatal hernia and usually take ranitidine for the acid reflux at night. But lately the reflux got quite bad and I switched to Omeprazole which cuts off the acid production completely.
I had this once previously on prescription from my doctor but only for ten days. Now it is off prescription so I thought I would try it again. So I checked there were no known serious side effects and kept on taking it.
I realised this coincided with my hair loss and I was not taking any other drug. So I wondered if that might be the cause. I typed heartburn and hair loss into google and came up with all these sites about omeprazole and hair loss. There was my answer.
I am not sure if the original ranitidine caused hair loss, I don\’t think so. It is an H2 antagonist, ie cuts down on acid production. Omeprazole is a PTP (proton pump inhibitor) and cuts out the acid altogether. Needing acid to grow hair makes sense, and I have always had low levels of folic acid.
More men than women get hernias. So when a man is taking omeprazole and gets hair loss he is told it is male baldness. When an older women gets hair loss while taking it is is ascribed to the menopause. Only younger women may be taken seriously which is probably why the hair loss stats are underestimated.
I have now stopped taking omeprazole and am trying to cope with the reflux by eating more digestible food more slowly earlier in the evening and sleeping propped up. I don\’t know if my hair will grow back, in theory it should as drug related hair loss is supposed to stop when the drug is stopped. If my remaining hair even gets thicker that would be an improvement.
I have been diagnosed with reflux and my doctor put me on nexium. I have been on it for about 4 months. I have just started to lose my hair and its coming out rapidly after he upped my dosage from 20 mg to 40mg. Went to the docs and he laughed when i asked whether it could be the nexium thats making it fall out. Im really starting to worry, my hair is falling out worse and worse as each day passes and ive stopped straightening my hair and blowdrying it and even have started taking vitamins and nothing is stopping it. after discovering this sight i am convinced that it must be the nexium and am going to stop taking it! but am scared it may not grow back… how long did it take for the hair to stop falling out for everybody when they stopped taking the nexium?
I took omeprazole (Prilosec or Zanprol)to control hearburn caused by a hernia. It eventually dawned on me it must be the reason for my thinning hair (I practically have a bald patch now on the top of my head) after I read up on the web, that thinning hair loss as a result of the drug reducing production of folic acid which you need to grow healthy hair.
So I have stopped taking Prilosec and am taking vitamin supplements which include folic acid. To control the acid reflux I now eat my evening meal much earlier at night, and do not eat any meat or spicy food after 7.00 pm. (If I need a snack I eat custard or yoghurt or a small piece of cheesecake). I also take calcium tablets with my last meal of the day to help digest it. And I sleep propped up with several pillows. All this has been a great help in controlling my heartburn.
My sister has a closed friend who is a nutritionist and she told her it is becoming increasingly well known that these drugs cause hair loss. As I said in previous post, because there are other causes of hair loss, doctors first reaction is to attribute your hair loss to these alternative causes.
Is it working, don’t know yet as I have only been off it for a month. Will keep you posted.
Hi, I am so glad I found this Blog. I am a 27 female and have fine hair to begin with but never had any problems with it falling out or thinning out. I started taking prilosec 6 weeks ago for an ulcer. I noticed I have been loosing alot of hair as well out of no where and I also notice it looks thin on the sides of my hairline / scalp. I am so upset I went to see my dermo, asked the gastro. and family doctor about this and one out of three of them say yes i have heard of it but the others say no prilosec does not cause this something else would… After reading these blogs i feel a little better. I stopped the prilosec for a week now. Will the hair grow back? It is insane that prilosec and nexium do not list this as one of there side effects, its serious to me and very damaging the idea of potentially going bald.. Enough to seriously make me worry and get another ulcer. I wonder if there are any class action lawsuits about this drug and hidden side effects. We as patients and consumers should be warned of all of the potential side effects.
Sorry for the above typo, “that is one out of the three of them have said they have seen this.”
Does anyone know if there are any class action lawsuits going on to attach to since Prilosec hid the fact that one can loose their hair on this drug. Which to me is very serious and damaging as a 27 ur old female patient, with no ever hair conditions before this to date! Im furious!
PRILOSEC BLOCKS B12 Vitamin from your body….
Look it up its all over the internet…
B-12 deficiency can cause a type of anemia that is characterized by fewer but larger red blood cells. Other effects include walking and balance disturbances, a loss of vibration sensation, confusion, and, in seriously advanced cases, dementia. Since the body requires B12 to an inadequate supply of B12 can expose nerves to damage.
Symptoms of B-12 deficiency and B-12-related anemia include:
•Feeling tired or weak
•Pale appearance to the lining of lower eyelids
•Palpitations, fast or irregular heart beat.
•Faintness and breathlessness.
•Hair loss ****************
•Bruising that occurs without reason
•Dizziness
•Long or unusually heavy menstrual periods