January 23 2009, 11:35 am PT | Posted in: Drugs (Cause Hair Loss)
I have been taking ambien for an extended period to aid in getting enough sleep. I go to sleep okay, but wake up after about two hours and cannot go back to sleep without the medication. I first took sonata and then ambien CR, but realized that, in my case, ambien worked just as well. However, I have noticed that my rate of hair loss has noticeably increased beyond the normal aging process. In looking back, the hair loss started soon after the time that I started taking the ambien. In addition, I have had itching scalp as well as one infected place on the crown of my head. I had never had these issues before. Could this result from the use of ambien products?
There seems to be many people who have personal experiences with Ambien (zolpidem) that suggest hair loss from it, although the literature does not state this relationship. You might probably reconsider taking the medication and see if stopping it stops the hair loss. As Ambien is a prescription drug, you should discuss the change with your prescribing doctor. I also couldn’t find anything in the literature relating scalp itch or skin irritation with this medication.
See our previous blog post about Ambien here.
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Balding Forum
Wow, I just made a decision to STOP taking Ambien. I too have been taking Ambien - going on maybe 18 mos to 2 years. Last August I had an episode where my hair just dried up & my scalp became painful (itchy & sore) and my hair began to fall out at an alarming rate. It occured about a week or two after I had tried a new “no amonia” hair dye so I chalked it up to having some kind of allergic reaction. (My primary physician & dermatologist could give me no further insight.) The hair loss eventually slowed down & the pain subsided a bit so I figured my scalp was recovering. But then I had another episode in Dec.08 where the hair loss & pain accelerated again and it has not yet subsided. I’ve been racking my brain to try and figure out what could be causing this - hormones? diet? disease?…and last night, as I was taking my Ambien, the thought occurred to me…”Could it be the Ambien?”. So today I “Googled it” and HELLO…I found this blog. My heart goes out to the others who have and/or are experiencing this very same nightmare - it is unimaginable! I will be sure to discuss this with my Doc and post an update soon. Best wishes ladies.
I have been having hair loss issues for about 6 months. I’m 50 years old and up till now had a full head of hair. I was having sleep issues and started taking Ambien. Later I started noticing that my hair was thinning very rapidly over a short period. My scalp also itched and tingled for no reason. I was extremely perplexed and couldn’t figure out could be causing the hair loss. I saw a dermatologist and she said that my scalp was red but there was no apparent reason. I don’t take any other medication so like others thought it could be the Ambien. Once I stopped taking Ambien the tingling and itching stopped. We’ll see if the hair will return.
I am a 30 year old woman and took ambien for about a month. I also started to lose my hair at an alarming rate. I couldn’t figure out why. Then I read all the posts other people said about ambien. When I asked my Dr he said it was definitely possible. Even though it is not listed as a side effect what they do when they do a trial run on medicine is they get together a group of people and hope that they represent the average person. Then they list all side effects these people had. So these people do not always represent the rest of the population. I tried to contact ambien and the FDA but got no where. Luckily I stopped it early and my hair has almost stopped falling out after about 2 weeks. I will write again if it grows back. My hair is a little thinner but I don’t think it’s too bad yet. Thank you for people who wrote because I realized it was the ambien.
I am a 25 year-old male and have been taking Ambien regularly for the past 5 months. My family also has no history of hair-loss. However, upon the 4th month of taking Ambien I noticed severe hair-loss. I never really kept track of how much hair comes out when I shower, but when my lost hair clogs the drain in one episode it becomes very noticeable.
Please recognize this undocumented side-effect of this drug.
Unfortunately I have not decided which is worse: looking bad because I am balding at my age or feeling terrible because I get 1.5-3 hours of sleep a night.
so glad i found this site…the last thing i would have thought of was the ambien causing hair loss but its been happening to me ever since i started using it about 2 yrs ago…depressing..guess i’ll have to try and go it alone sleep wise…back to warm milk at night…guess my hair is more important to me than sleep lol..