October 4 2006, 9:32 am PT | Posted in: Drugs + Drugs (Cause Hair Loss)
hello. I was taking minocycline for about 3 months due to acne. 10mg total a day. I stopped the treatment and through out I noticed that my hair was falling out, but not too much to cause concern. during this past 2 weeks my hair is falling out in big patches and i don’t know what to do? what do you recommend? thank you!
As I’ve said before, many drugs can cause hair loss, but if you are losing big patches of hair, then you need to be evaluated by a doctor (dermatologist) and can not assume that this is caused from the drug you had taken. You need to get a complete physical exam and history reviewed by this doctor. With all of that being said, I do not know of a direct link between minocycline and hair loss.
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i, too, had been on antibiotics for breakouts. i was on various antibiotics(doxy, tetra, mino) for 2 years(way too long). during that time i had minimal to no hairloss. 1 month after i went off, i have started thinning in the hairline. very interesting
i went on mino for acne. during this time my hair started to fall out more rapidly. doc says its not the mino but my hair was fine until i started mino and now its alll falling out
My daughter has been taking minocycline for the past two months and another acne drug for the past 9 mons. I just started noticing that her hair is thinning. This is unacceptable!
Yep, I went on minocycline about 2 months ago, was told to take when breakouts (acne) occurred. My hair has been getting thinner and thinner on top.
I keep hearing people say that it’s not the minocycline, but I didn’t have this problem until I started taking it. You can be damn sure I’m gonna stop.
I’ve been taking minocycline for 6 months to treat severe acne. Recently, I’ve noticed that my hair is thinning. I know my body and know that it’s more than just coincidence. Before I started taking minocycline, which worked wonders on clearing up my face, I had very little signs of a receding hair line and my hair grew out very fast. Now, my hair is receding at an alarming rate and I’ve noticed a slower rate of hair growth. I guess it comes down to making a choice between having acne or being bald.
Hi!..I had started taking minocycline a few years ago to treat my acne. I would use it for an average of 3-4 months and then would stop for another 4 months. I continued this trend for about three years. I have been complaining to my doctor about my thinning hair. I realized after reading all the comments from the rest of you that I did not have this problem prior to using minocycline. I had a head full of long hair. Now, I keep it short, so that the thinning isnt so obvious. Anyway, I went back to my doctor a few days ago inquiring about my acne, and he put me back on minocycline! I’m hesitant to go back on it, wondering if it’ll lead me to the ultimate end of becoming bald! I guess it is a choice as Tim said, it’s either treating the acne, or risk going bald. Acne, I believe can be treated, through perhaps other methods. Hair restoration on the other hand can in most cases be permanent. This sucks.
yeah ive been taking minocycline for like 4-5months and the 1st month i noticed a lil hairloss but it remained the same didnt grow back or keep receeding so yeah i hope its not the medicine
I am a forty something female, who started taking antibiotics some 10 years ago. I started taking erythromycin and then progressed to minocycline. I feel that the over-use of antibiotics has caused some serious problems. Minocycline can cause hair loss, and it does. My hair has is shedding after another course. I think the best thing is to find out what is causing the acne and then treat the cause. Minocycline is excellent as a treatment for acne, however side effects are awful. I also experienced depression and fever/chills. I have decided to suffer acne, and try and understand what the underlying cause is.
Antibiotics are not the answer.
Im 18, have been taking minocycline for 3 years, and for the first 2 years had no problems with it, but for the past 6 months my hair has been falling out in the bath, on my pillow, and even when I touch it. I have always thought that it was just Male Pattern Baldness, yet my mother phoned my Dr and told him about the hairloss and he revealed that Minocyline IS linked to alopecia. Ive been advised to stop the medication and have just been for blood tests today. Im hoping my acne does not return. My Dr has also revealed that when discontinuing Minocycline, it can take up to a year to see hair re-growth.
I was on Minocycline off and on for 3 years. Worked pretty well for acne, but after starting another cycle in January, I noticed immediate hair thinning, joint pain, fatigue and cold sensitivity. I have been off for 5 months now. Joint pain is much better, as is the fatigue and cold sensitivity. Hair is a slight bit better, but not even close to where it previously was. There is no doubt in my mind this is all related to Mino. I am reading a lot about Candida overgrowth caused by long term antibiotics as well. It really disrupts your whole system. I wish I never took mino.
RE: my last comment
Except = Excerpt
so the conclusion is that yes MINOCYCLYNE CAN CAUSE HAIRLOSS/ THINNING. i thought i was the only one with this thought in my head considering my whole family has a full head of hair. Thank god i came across this. now my question is when i stop using this antibiotic will my hair come back to its thick normal self?
It could be that your hair naturally started thinning and it just so happens that you were taking mynocycline at the time. You also have to realize that it isn’t strange that all these people are having similar problems with hair loss because they googled the same thing you did.
What about if you’re only taking this drug for a month?