HELP! I am 43, was on Concerta for one year until Oct 7, 2008, changed to Adderall XR 20mg 1x/day on Oct 8th. Hair loss of 50% and it is still falling out in clumps in the shower. Has anyone else experienced the same on both Concerta and Adderall XR? I decided today that I am no longer going to take either and need an alternative because while on Concerta I accomplished so much in the last year. I need the help for ADHD but can't handle being without hair. It looks really bad right now and all I can hope for is that it will grow back. If your hair fell out while on these, did it grow back when you stopped taking the meds? I really hope so!

hello,

i have never heard of that as a side effect of ADHD medicine. Are you sure that those are responsible? Im sure it is possible.

A possible solution could be to take saw palmetto supplement with Rogaine to prevent further hair from falling out. I use both, and it is not a miracle cure, but it definatly helps. My hair loss is not related to ADHD medication though.

I haven't noticed anything like that but one thing I would look at is diet. Have you severely reduced your calorie intake? This alone can cause thinning hair. Are you taking vitamins every day? A good multivitamin, along with supplements like fish oil and magnesium are a good idea. You might also do a little research on line and see what other herbs or supplements are recommended for thinning hiar.

For those that say they never head about hair loss from ADHD medication, read the prescribing information for concerta, burried in section 6.6 is alopecia - wish I would have received this information when I got the meds, unfortunately not included in the paperwork from the pharmacy. So it has taken me one year and over half my hair to find out it WAS Concerta. To read the document you have to go to concerta.net
Concerta does cause hair loss!! And if you have been a member of this forum for any length of time, you would have seen many of these posts. Over the last week have read many many posts about hair loss on Adderall and Concerta on this site and others. My dermatologists is the one who figured it out from a report by the Medical College of Wisconsin.
I want to hear from anyone who experienced hair loss while on these meds.
As a side note, my diet is fine, I take a multi vitamin, I don't drink or take any other drugs, I have had no chemical treatments to my hair, my thyroid is fine, my blood tests all came back normal and I am healthy. It IS the Concerta and for the past month on Adderall the hair loss has increased. No longer taking either.

I highly doubt that Adderall has any effect on your hair loss...

Read up on general hair loss, Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and Finasteride (propecia).

Rogaine won't hurt, and neither will Nioxin or Nizoral.

- Glen

It will be interesting to follow this thread. I have no experience with Concerta at all (so far, anyway) -- I'm taking Adderall.

But I took a med earlier this year that made my hair start falling out a lot too (more than it already had). When I asked the doctor about it, he said "gosh, never heard of that". I looked at the sheet that came with it and it didn't mention hair loss.

I mentioned my hair falling out to the woman who cuts my hair. She said "have you started taking any medicines lately - those can cause it".

So I Googled "hair loss" with the med name. I found tons of people experienced this. The doc took me off of it and said the hair should come back. I'm not doing anything special for it.

I can only guess they don't include this side-effect because of two things. 1-who would take it if they went bald from it, and 2-it's not life-threatening.

I can only guess they don't include this side-effect because of two things. 1-who would take it if they went bald from it

Bald people.

Not sure if this is helpful, but here's what Wikipedia has to say about Alopecia. The part about "emotional stress or a pathogen" combining with "hereditary factors" may be significant....


"The condition affects 0.1%–0.2% of humans, occurring in both males and females.<sup id="cite_ref-draelos_0-1" class="reference">[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-draelos-0)</sup> Alopecia areata occurs in people who are apparently healthy and have no skin disorder.<sup id="cite_ref-merck_2-0" class="reference">[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-merck-2)</sup> Initial presentation most commonly occurs in the late teenage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage) years, early childhood, or young adulthood, but can happen with people of all ages.<sup id="cite_ref-draelos_0-2" class="reference">[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-draelos-0)</sup>
Alopecia areata is not contagious (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infectious_disease).<sup id="cite_ref-draelos_0-6" class="reference">[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-draelos-0)</sup> It occurs more frequently in people who have affected family members, suggesting that heredity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heredity) may be a factor<sup id="cite_ref-draelos_0-7" class="reference">[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-draelos-0)</sup>, and at least one of the genes involved has been mapped to chromosome 8p21-22<sup id="cite_ref-pubmedcentral_4-0" class="reference">[5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-pubmedcentral-4)</sup>. In addition, it is slightly more likely to occur in people who have relatives with autoimmune diseases (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoimmune_disease).<sup id="cite_ref-WebMD_3-2" class="reference">[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-WebMD-3)</sup>
The condition is thought to be an autoimmune disorder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autoimmune_disorder) in which the body attacks its own hair follicles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_follicle) and suppresses or stops hair growth.<sup id="cite_ref-draelos_0-8" class="reference">[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-draelos-0)</sup> There is evidence that T cell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_cell) lymphocytes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphocytes) cluster around these follicles, causing inflammation and subsequent hair loss. An unknown environmental trigger such as emotional stress (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_stress) or a pathogen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathogen) is thought to combine with hereditary factors to cause the condition.<sup id="cite_ref-merck_2-1" class="reference">[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata#cite_note-merck-2)</sup> There are a few recorded cases of babies being born with congenital (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital) alopecia areata; however, these are not cases of autoimmune disease because an infant is born without a fully developed immune system. Alopecia can be an adverse effect from using Prilosec, which is a Proton Pump Inhibitor that is used in treating GERD, among other things.<sup class="noprint Template-Fact">[citation needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)]</sup>
As with most autoimmune diseases, alopecia areata is associated with increased risk of developing other autoimmune diseases, specifically systemic lupus erythematosus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemic_lupus_erythematosus) or SLE.
May also be caused by Vitamin B5 (pantothenate) deficiency, which is needed as cofactor for acyl transfers, and for fatty acid synthase"

Bald people.

LMAO - but good point just the same


I can only guess they don't include this side-effect because of two things. 1-who would take it if they went bald from it, and 2-it's not life-threatening.

or it could be so rare that empirical scientific research failed to indicate the medication was a causal agent in hair loss.

it could be so rare that empirical scientific research failed to indicate the medication was a causal agent in hair loss.

It's been months since I researched that because I only took that med for a short time. One thing that came up during my figuring it out was a surprise to me. The design of the questions and feedback sheets by the drug company did not provide a place to note other effects the patient experienced. They only had a specific set of reactions one could respond to.

Also, I wasn't sure what empirical meant in this situation (hey it's early for me). So I went to dictionary.com. The 2nd definition from Princeton's WordNet amused me. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/empirical :p

Turns out it wasn't so rare. It was commonly reported anecdotally (i.e., on http://www.askapatient.com and others).
.

empirical = provable or verifiable by experience or experiment.


Turns out it wasn't so rare. It was commonly reported anecdotally

Although I understand it means a hell of a lot to the person loosing their hair however in the grand scheme of things there is a high probability that there still is not enough globally to verifiable adderall as a causative factor

Yea some people wrote about it - but remember people like me who aren't going bald are not going to write about it - very rare in medical terms is 1 in 10,000 or less so if three million people are on this medication and 200 loose their hair it still does not constitute a significant amount to warrant listing as a side effect - even though it does happen - it just doesn't happen very often {percentage wise}

Hair loss on adderall is probably most common from not eating enough protein. I had a good laugh after telling a girl I know she was crazy to take a 'juice fast' for a month to lose weight and having her tell me I didn't know what the hell I was talking about only to have all her hair start to fall out and it turned out to be due to...you guessed it, lack of protein in her diet.

Alopicea is not the same as alopicea ariata. Alopicea just means 'hair loss' and can be due to anything. If it's really from the adderal, then if you stop taking it your hair should grow back in normally.

If you have alopicea ariata (and I do) that can be triggered by anxiety but it generally is a bald spot or spots and it's very easy to diagnose for any reasonable MD. It can also go away, or get better, or stay the same forever and it is usually in totally random locations.

If it conforms to the pattern of male pattern baldness, well, chances are it's just that. Especially if hair loss continues after you stop. Its onset can come very fast and and at surprisingly young ages. They don't day "Hair today, gone tomorrow" for nothing.

Regardless I'd stop for now until you can figure out what's going on if you just started on adderall.

Thanks to those who are supportive and trying to offer solutions. As a woman who had a beautiful head of red naturally curly hair one year ago and now have lost over half of it since on Concerta, it is nice to know there are positive people out there. My hair loss has been general all over my head, no specific bald spots and it comes out in full lenghts from the root. I changed to Adderall XR in early October until three days ago when, after losing more hair, stopped taking the Adderall. My diet during the last year was very good, I did lose some weight, but since my son has been on Adderall for the past 7 years, I knew what I had to do with my diet. My blood tests all came back in normal range and the doctor said it was not my diet. I have been off the Concerta for almost a month and the Adderall XR for just three days so I will report back in a week or so to let you all know if my hair stops falling out. I am still taking vitamins and eating well, lots of vegies, some fruit and dairy and making sure I eat a serving of beef, pork or chicken daily. I love Tuna but only have that twice a week. Again, thank you to those with positive responses, I will keep you posted.

I am 33 years old and I was diagnosed in April of 2008. I started on 18 mg and am now on 72mg of concerta. The month of June, July and August I felt like I was going to itch my scalp out of my head. I went to a dermatologist, called the pharmacist and had my blood work done. Everything seemed normal. Not one thing was said about hair loss until I went for an annual gyno exam 3 days ago and it was this wonderful doctor that looked up adverse side effects and found it. My hair was always fine and thin, but I found I can put an extra loop in my elastic. I am slowly weening to probably cold turkey off this medication. I will try to live with the ADD insanity as long as my hair will come back. Is yours coming back? Is this permanent?

sounds more like a coincidence of timing and having the male pattern balding in your genetics

:(im on 36 og Concerta and im havings hair loss to, im a 33 yr old women and i was on it before because i noticed my hair falling out so i stopped a year later i tried it agian (now ) and im having chunks of hair coming out..Im so scared its not going to grow back..ive stopped it now but help!!!!

For all of you having hair loss, are you eating as much as you used to? Hair loss also happens with gastric bypass patients when their food intake is suddenly reduced.

I'm 33 and started on this medication a few months ago and definalty noticed my hair falling out; big clumps in the shower. i eat well and am even taking supplements for healthier hair.i stopped 3 weeks ago and the loss has slowed down a bit, but its still coming out quite a bit. i guess it will take more time but i hope this isnt permanent!!

Redbird, what did your doctor say? Did he suggest referring you to a specialist?

my son has been on concerta 54 mg for approx 2 years now and he has been losing his hair..he has been to a dermatologist and was said to be alopecia..the doctor said it was due to stress. so i decided to take him off and hes been off since july 09 since then his hair grew back and hasnt fallen out since.so i do blame the hair loss on the medication..

I have kind of wondered if my hair is thinning since I started adderall ir, and I think it is a bit. I try not to overthink it, but I don't want to suddenly lose tons of hair. If xr does it than ir would too right?

I;m curious about how this happened over the course of a year. was it so subtle, and then you realized it was very thinned, or did tons just come out one day?

Its not so far fetched to me because of this faint tingly sensation I get sometimes or just kinda feel warmer on parts of my scalp...but I have a very sensative head.
anyway, best of luck...i'm sure it will grow back.

Glad they have it listed. Musta been statistically significant.

Glad they have it listed. Musta been statistically significant.If even one person experiences a side effect, the manufacturer is required to list it.

Hair loss is a very common side effect from many different causes - some serious ones too. I hope that anyone experiencing significant hair loss gets the appropriate testing to rule out other diseases.

If even one person experiences a side effect, the manufacturer is required to list it.


Is that a law in the US? List it where? I have looked up the meds I've tried, both on the manufacturers sites and various other places. The side-effects that people are reporting have never been fully reported by the manufacturers. The printout that the pharmacy gives you lists only a sub-set of what you find on places like drugs.com or rxlist.

I asked a friend in the medical field about this discrepancy. He said they are not required to report everything but didn't know how they decided what to report.

So I just attributed it to marketing. I'd be interested in knowing if there is some "rule", law, or FDA requirement concerning it. If anyone can cite that, please do.

I'm 21 and on Ritalin. I've been taking 20mg a day since July of this year. I've just started noticing my hair falling out. At first I thought it was nothing, but has quickly progressed into a MAJOR problem:eek:. I use to have crazy thick hair, now it's super thin and I can see my scalp. I don't want to get off of it, but I will if I have too. If I get off of Ritalin, is there any other medicine that I can get on and not have to worry about losing my hair? Like Vyvanase?


I doubt my hair loss is due to poor diet, because I drink a healthy vegetable drink every morning. It has spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and blueberries in it. That has to compensate for something, right?

Maybe it could be because I've been under stress with school. But, I doubt it because I'm a Senior and I've never had this problem. I'm always stressed with school.

One other thing it could be is that I have lost a lot of weight since being on Ritalin. I've lost 52 pounds. I'm 5'10 and 158 now, I use to be 210. Does this have anything to do with it. I'm so scared, I don't know what to do. Ritalin has helped me immensely, I don't know what I will do without it. What other medicines can I take other than Ritalin, Concerta, and Adderall? HELP ME!!!

To the skeptics out there, I can tell you that concerta and adderall both definitely can cause hair loss. The good news is that it is (at least for me) only a sx while taking the meds. I have taken both and have also gone off each for periods of 6 months. After about 4 months of being off them, hair growth comes back significantly and by 6 months its pretty much back to the way it was before. It has to do with hair growth patterns. Right now i've chosen to go back on a low dose of adderall and the hair loss resumed the second day I was on it. The people who have experienced this know how obvious the change is. You wake up and all of the sudden your pillow is covered in hair. Being in medical school, its an unfortunate decision to have to make but I feel its worth it. As soon as I don't need to study 12 hrs/day i'll be off it and hopefully the hair growth will resume again.
In the mean time i'm looking for something to negate the side effects. I'm taking biotin and selenium, tough to say if they help but worth a shot i suppose.

I am 33 years old and I was diagnosed in April of 2008. I started on 18 mg and am now on 72mg of concerta. The month of June, July and August I felt like I was going to itch my scalp out of my head. I went to a dermatologist, called the pharmacist and had my blood work done. Everything seemed normal. Not one thing was said about hair loss until I went for an annual gyno exam 3 days ago and it was this wonderful doctor that looked up adverse side effects and found it. My hair was always fine and thin, but I found I can put an extra loop in my elastic. I am slowly weening to probably cold turkey off this medication. I will try to live with the ADD insanity as long as my hair will come back. Is yours coming back? Is this permanent?

What is your Scalp itching like? I am back on adderall (60mg, @20's) after a two year gap. I'm now experiencing a kind of itching sensation like -small worms under my scalp.- Does anyone else get this feeling? does this describe the feeling you had?