Stars Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) I have been on Lamictal for 3-4 months and note that a lot of my hair has thinned out, quite noticeably. Is this common with lamictal or should I be looking for other things? There are some other factors, but I tend to get hair fallout and skin funk easily. I recall taking deakote for about 2 years and it turned my skin swallow and old looking and I literally woke up with less hair the day after starting it( hair in the bed). This has not happened with lamictal, but it has been a gradual decrease. Edited January 5, 2010 by Stars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybirdie Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I don't know about others, but I was on it for a year a and half and during that time, I had a lot of gradual thinning. In fact, it was the main reason I disontinued. It's been awhile and my hair thickened up again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 It does seem to happen to some people, but nothing like with Depakote, or even high(er) doses of Tegretol/Trileptal/Topamax. Some people even have said the opposite; their hair and nails grow faster while on Lamictal. Could go either way. I personally noticed no change. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mika Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 YES! A ton!!! Buy Pantene Restoratives. It helps a lot. Not falling out anymore. I just had to cut 3 inches off of my hair to get rid of the thin hair on the bottom. The hair dresser said it could take up to 6 months to a year for all the thin hair to grow out! I used to have REALLY thick curly hair. I hope it gets back to that. I definitely think it's the Lamictal. It messes with your hormones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxz16 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I've always had thick hair, but about a month after I started taking lamictal handfuls were coming out every time I showered and brushed my hair. I had to comb my hair twice daily for about 10 minutes to get all the extra hair that kept falling out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stars Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 (edited) Did anyone think it was dose related on the lamictal? I know depakote is a huge offender- been there done that. I noticed someone said topamax. Does topamax have this reputation or is it very individual? I also wanted to add that ( this is soooo embarrassing) when I go poo, well the smell is very bad. Not normal smell- it is like something had rotted inside me. ( an old joke comes to mind- did something crawl up inside you and die?) but this is no joke- it is very bad. Also, I note that I have a foul taste in my mouth upon awakening and feel nauseous in the am. Edited October 23, 2009 by Stars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r2mnot Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I also wanted to add that ( this is soooo embarrassing) when I go poo, well the smell is very bad. Not normal smell- it is like something had rotted inside me. ( an old joke comes to mind- did something crawl up inside you and die?) but this is no joke- it is very bad. Also, I note that I have a foul taste in my mouth upon awakening and feel nauseous in the am. All of the above. For the stinky poop, Heh, I just light a match or two and run the fan. I drink a little ginger ale in the morning, which helps with the nausea. I had to give up coffee, and I take my supplements later in the day with food. I brush and floss before I go to bed, including gums, inside of cheeks and tongue. I still have dragon breath in the morning, but I worry more about the bacteria build up than the nasty breath. I just repeat the brush/floss thing in the morning, and after every meal/snack. It all seems less bad if I stay good and hydrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beetle Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Did anyone think it was dose related on the lamictal? I know depakote is a huge offender- been there done that. I noticed someone said topamax. Does topamax have this reputation or is it very individual? I also wanted to add that ( this is soooo embarrassing) when I go poo, well the smell is very bad. Not normal smell- it is like something had rotted inside me. ( an old joke comes to mind- did something crawl up inside you and die?) but this is no joke- it is very bad. Also, I note that I have a foul taste in my mouth upon awakening and feel nauseous in the am. Just wanted to say I notice this myself too. It's been ever since meds in general but I don't know which one it is, if not a combination of my meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r2mnot Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Someone just suggested to me that candied ginger might work better than ginger ale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkiemarie Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 I can't say for sure with lamictal, but my lithium morning sickness (as I call it) is subdued with a glass of milk. Worth a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazynotstupid Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Just wanted to throw in that hair loss/thinning has been a noted s/e of lamictal. Heck, one guy on here some time ago decided he'd rather be suicidal than go bald on lamictal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stars Posted October 24, 2009 Author Share Posted October 24, 2009 (edited) My hair is so thin I can see the scalp on top. I do not know what I'm going to do. I wonder if it might be dose related? I feel so depressed without the lamictal. I do want hair, however. Right now I have my hair in a pebbles hairdo, all pulled up on top of my head to hide the thinning. Edited October 24, 2009 by Stars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Does topamax have this reputation or is it very individual? I don't have any numbers or anything right this minute, but at least at higher doses I think it's more likely to than Lamictal, because it has a stronger effect on hormone levels. At lower doses, though (which is where most people end up for non-seizure uses), it doesn't as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazynotstupid Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Does topamax have this reputation or is it very individual? I don't have any numbers or anything right this minute, but at least at higher doses I think it's more likely to than Lamictal, because it has a stronger effect on hormone levels. At lower doses, though (which is where most people end up for non-seizure uses), it doesn't as much. I totally missed that for some reason but I thin yes it does, and at higher doses--however I haven't really noticed my hair being too bad being on both lamictal and topamax. Thinner maybe but hell it's been 5 years so dunno. Lithium was giving me a bald spot though. My dad was giving me a hard time about that one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caycilia Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I have this problem too. I do wish there was a solution. I am quite worried about it. Has anyone switched meds because of this or found something that helped? I will try the Pantene Restoratives, definitely. Since starting Lamictal I have also had an increase in/darkening of body hair, so I would say it does seem to mess with your hormones. Has anyone else had that? It's really embarassing and worrisome. It keeps getting worse, too. . . Do these side-effects continue to get worse and worse? Argh. . . *C* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 A friend who is a neurologist said to me there are definitely good and bad shampoos. He specifically said not to use Herbal Essence. I use Pantene, but had no idea it was good for this kind of thing. I have a ton of hair, very fine but thick. I would definitely find it extremely depressing if it began to thin, more depressing than weight gain, to be honest (I am used to being overweight). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stars Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 (edited) I had to stop the lamictal due to several reasons. I was getting manic and talking to myself a lot. You know the crazy talking to yourself that looks so bizarre. Anyhow, I stopped it and now that is better. Now I'm just depressed again. Doc tired me on Abilify at my request. It also made me manic. I felt less depressed but manic. I am now having to take Lyrica for nerve pain and I'm having hair fallout again. Looks like any of the anit-convlusants are going to cause hair fallout for me. What a drag. I also noted I have gained back about 10 pounds. Don't know if it was the lyrica or lamicial or what but that is so depressing.I worked so hard to lose that weight and now it is sitting in my middle again. Blast it all. Edited January 5, 2010 by Stars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papertrees Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 I had a ton of hairloss on lamictal too... but it has stopped since I upped my dose to 200mg. Now my hair is thick and back to its old self again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obscuremachine Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Old Thread My Pdoc tried increasing my Lamictal from 300mg to 400mg. Within about 10 days, I started having to pull large clumps of hair out of my shower drain, every time I took a shower. Every time; a significantly large clump. I had some bad reactions to 400mg of Lamictal (return of depression and increased anxiety). When he lowered the lamictal back to 300mg, within 4 days there stopped being hair in the drain. That was 3 weeks ago and I haven't needed to pull hair out of the drain, not once. Anecdotal I know, but it was very noticeable. I'm secure enough that hair loss wouldn't really bother me. Bald, who cares? My hairs been orange, green, blue, pink. It's hair. who cares. Then again, my pdoc has the worst hair piece ever. EVER! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteyrulz Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Yikes! I'm on Topamax (50mg) and just started Lamictal. Guess I'd better run for some Pantene Restoratives or Nioxin, and start taking Biotin orally. It's always something!! when will they make a pill that has no SE's, works for everyone, & is inexpensive?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chutesandladders Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I got off lamictal for several reasons one of which was hair loss. Every time I showered, I ran my fingers through my hair and handfuls came out. As a girl it's pretty embarrassing to have a bald spot and thinning hair. But after I got off it, my hair grew right back and I was fine. I think it is listed side effect (but what isn't?) but those don't always happen to everyone. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saoirse Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 My hair has thinned a bit on lamictal but not very badly. The good part is that it seems hair loss caused by lamictal seems to rectify itself if the drug is stopped/reduced... at least in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ilovemusic123 Posted December 16, 2015 Share Posted December 16, 2015 On 10/23/2009 at 10:53 AM, nalgas said: It does seem to happen to some people, but nothing like with Depakote, or even high(er) doses of Tegretol/Trileptal/Topamax. Some people even have said the opposite; their hair and nails grow faster while on Lamictal. Could go either way. I personally noticed no change. Hi, sorry to bring up old topics but my doctor is considering lamictal for my anxiety. I did have this reaction with Tegretol. My nails would grow much faster than usual, the same with my hair, but at the same time I would loose tons of hair every day like 2-3x. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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