When using trazodone as a sleep aid I notice more hair on my pillow in the morning and have noticed thinning on top of head along lines of pattern baldness. I am 58 and have always enjoyed healthy hair.
Trazodone; Has head hair loss been reported as side effect?
Question posted by nedadannon on 29 June 2011
Last updated on 23 September 2024
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
29 Answers Page 2
Momof04
30 June 2019
I'm female, 52 yrs young... started using trazodone 1/2019 for insomnia, works wonders for me...
But now beginning of 7/1/2019 have been noticing a significant amount of hair loss, & thinning on top, could not pin point but after doing some research
Im leaning toward this medication.
Going to stop trazodone, as of today...
Will post update 8/1/2019
Wish me luck,
Inactive
11 June 2019
I am 45 years old. My Dr prescribed Trazodone for me 2 years ago for sleep. I started noticing my hair on my head, legs, armpits and arms was falling out . I have thin hair as it is. I asked him several times if Trazodone could be the cause and he said no. The Dr moved away and I was assigned another DR. He told me I was not the only one who complained Trazodone caused hair loss and he had done a lot of research on it and concluded it was a rare side effect but it happens. He also told me he did not believe any DR should prescribe medications that are used for something else as sleep aids. He called it "a very nasty medication that is misused". This was 6 months ago. He put me on Dalmane a real sleeping pill, told me to try Biotin and vitamin C for hair regrowth. About a month afterwards my hair started growing back, not like it had been but each month I get more back. Also it's come back in the places I mentioned. I would not advise anybody to take trazodone.
Momof04
30 June 2019
Hi, I just read your post, I too am an ex Trazodone user, due to insomnia...
You gave me hope, on the hair growth.
I started taking Biotin 2x5000,
Now its a wait & see process..
Just wanted to say Thank you...
itea
6 Feb 2019
Absolutely can cause hair loss. I had been taking the drug for sleep for over a year and my hair was thinning out and falling out at an alarming rate. I stopped several different medications and my hair loss stopped. I started the Trazodone again about 2 weeks ago and hair loss has returned. Stopping this med.
emily lila
5 Feb 2019
Whew, so glad i googled and found this site. I had been taking trazodone as needed for sleep for the past 4-5 yrs. About 9 months ago my hair started falling out at an extreme rate, after about 3 months I had lost about 50% of hair on my head and more than that on lower legs, underarms and pubic areas.
Since trazodone was so hard for me to wake up after taking ( requiring 3 cups of Tea to function). I stopped taking it. the hair loss stopped almost immediately. that was about 6 months ago now and I am still waiting for regrowth to start. My doctor just informed me that long term or high use of trazodone may have been the cause of the loss. I will never go back to it. I also want to add that I too have been suffering from ringing in the ears for probably that long as well, with it increasing as time has gone on. the ringing continues, so I am thinking it may not be because of the trazodone. but if it ever does diminish or stops I will re-post about that also.
emily lila
28 March 2021
wanted to add update, 2 1/2 yrs since stopping, hair loss has stopped, but has been extremely slow to regrow, so permanent damage may have been done. I was a long time user ( 4-5 yrs) before hair loss began. head hair at maybe 60%-65% of pre loss level compared to the 50%, but age (menopause) also cause thinning hair, so hard to judge effectively. I would never recommend this drug regardless of the sleep benefits.
kaimom
26 Jan 2019
There's zero evidence listed on the side effects list, but I feel like I've tried everything to address hair loss over a year and so far four doctors are clueless. I've lost 50% of my hair and it's so frustrating.
Looking all my meds... Traz has helped me tremendously with restorative sleep for over 2 years.
Any updates on the hair loss after stopping Traz?
Defoe
19 Oct 2018
Hi, I have been using trazodone for about four months and am experiencing the very same hair loss effect as you. Also, my hair has become slightly straw-like, requiring shampooing about every day, the medication also causes a ringing in my ears.
I am about to give it up and go back to zolpidem for sleep. I'm taking no other meds that have previously caused these symptoms.
kaimom
26 Jan 2019
I've also been having constant ringing in my ears for over 6 months. Hmm...
JimmyMcGill
14 July 2018
I’m a 30 year old male and started taking Trazodone 1 month ago 50-100mg per night. A couple of days ago I got a hair cut and could immediately tell that my hair was thinner than I had ever seen it. I started freakin out and had no idea why it was happening. Then I randomly thought that maybe it could have been the Trazodone I googled and found this page. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that I found this thread (thank you everyone). I’m obviously stopping taking it today and hope my hair grows back
WildcatVet
6 Nov 2017
"Hair loss in psychopharmacology.
Mercke Y1, Sheng H, Khan T, Lippmann S.
Author information
Abstract
Medication-induced alopecia is an occasional side effect of many psychopharmaceuticals. Most of the mood stabilizer and antidepressant drugs can lead to this condition. Some antipsychotic and antianxiety agents induce alopecia. Hair loss is also related to hypothyroidism, which can be induced by lithium and other agents. Alopecia might not be reported by some people, but physicians should be aware of this potential problem which may contribute to noncompliance. Lithium causes hair loss in 12-19% of long-term users.
Valproic acid and/ or divalproex sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium sodium precipitates alopecia in up to 12% of patients in a dose-dependent relationship. Incidences up to 28% are observed with high valproate concentration exposures. These pharmaceuticals also can change hair color and structure. The occurrence of carbamazepine-induced alopecia is at or below 6%. Hair loss is less common with other mood stabilizers. Tricyclic antidepressants, maprotilene, trazodone, and virtually all the new generation of antidepressants may on rare occasions lead to alopecia. The same applies to haloperidol, olanzepine, risperidone, clonazepam, and buspirone, but not to other neuroleptics, benzodiazepines, or barbiturates, selected antihistamines, and antiparkinsonians. Discontinuation of the medication or dose reduction almost always leads to complete hair regrowth. The therapeutic value of mineral supplements remains unclear."
Flight2mars
6 Nov 2017
OMG... I'm searching for the same answer. I've been on trazodone for 7months for insomnia. Recently it stopped working and increased dosage will cause stuffed nose which is worse. While on trazodone and still can't sleep will make ur following day a living hell. Masive headache and pressure, etc. Doc prescribed me with 600mg gabapentin for sleep. It get you tire and sleepy but can't fall asleep so I mixed with 50mg of trazodone. It work for a week and I started to get serious eye twitch on my left eye only. I though it is due to tiredness but now it's been 3 weeks and getting worse. Im worried, not sure if it's because of Gabe or mixing with 2 meds. If I don't, then I will never able to sleep and completely useless and depress.
My symptom is weird, doc still trying to find why my brain work like this (without meds or with meds-when med dont work that day - when I'm about to doze off, my conscience immediately kick in and wake me back up. This happen every 5 mins making my heart feel really weird. Feel so awful that sometime u think dieing is better off. But I'm not that weak. Still struggling and have hope someday somehow it'll get better. Ignore grammar .. haven't sleep for 3days.. maybe 30mins here and there.
Kman413
27 May 2017
I have been using Trazodone for about two months and have experience a loss of hair. My barber asked if I noticed it was thinning out. He been cutting my hair for years and always assured me I never would go bald. I was taking 100mgs and stopped immediately with no adverse effect. Don't let anyone tell you antidepressants can't cause hair loss.
nmwjmw
4 Dec 2015
Oh my gosh!!! My hair has been getting thinner and thinner and I started having a twitch in my eye. I have been taking Trazadone almost every night for a year.Thank you thank you I am going to stop taking it and see if it grows back! Joanne
Ophelia9
3 June 2016
I had the eye twitch too, and my doctor completely blew me off. He tried to blame it on anything but the brand new medication I just started. It stopped when I stopped the medicine.
Ophelia9
3 June 2016
He said he didn't think my eye muscle twitching could be because of the medicine, "because why would only one eye twitch?" Please tell me how that makes sense?
nmwjmw
3 June 2016
I don't know, my Dr said it was from aging and asked if my family also had hairloss. At this point I have no idea but I started taking Biotin and my hair seems the same after 6 months..I am going to get back to doing yoga.
Trinitytx
6 June 2016
I started trazadone 6 weeks before my scalp started burning and feeling sore. Shedding is massive and I have anxiety for the first time in my life.
Ophelia9
24 Nov 2014
It very much caused it in me. I'm a 28 year old female who had thick hair. I started taking it in early October, and by mid November I was crying about how thin my hair had gotten. It was thick and full after years of taking better care of it, and within two months it's alarmingly thin. Not so you can quite see scalp, but it's been a long time since I could feel the wind on my scalp. The worst part is the med was really helping me, and worse still, it turns out my doctor might not be that good at his job. When I went to him with this problem, along with incessant eye twitching, he was really obstinate about it not being the medicine. He claimed it was probably because of Gabapentin, which I've been taking for four years with no side effects. Or that it was because of anxiety, even though my anxiety had never been better on this medicine.
He also said he didn't think my eye muscle twitching could be because of the medicine, "because why would only one eye twitch?" Please tell me how that makes sense?And I hoped I helped someone else lost in a sea of people saying Trazodone doesn't ever cause hair loss.
jenvoy
10 July 2015
Same is happening with me. I started over a month 1/2 ago and over the course of 2 1/2 weeks my hair is falling out. My hair was very thick prior to taking this drug and now it's thinning and I too can fill the wind on my scalp. I'm severely depressed, and now have more anxiety due to what's happening to me. I was prescribed 50 MG and thankfully wasn't at times taking the full dose which I believe would've contributed to more hair loss.
Ophelia9
16 July 2015
All I can say is to start drinking lots of water, eat protein, and take Hair,Skin, Nails vitamins with Biotin in it. It seemed to help my hair rebound after I quit the meds. Hang in there, I know it feels terrible. I'm sorry you had to go through this too
jenvoy
16 July 2015
Thank you for your response Ophelia! I feel like I'm all alone enduring this. My PCP referred me to a dermatologist who said he didn't think my hair loss was due to the Trazodone but was a result of anxiety. He also told me to use Rogaine to stimulate hair growth... which did nothing but cause more hair loss! I'm only using my regular daily multivitamin along with 5,000mg of biotin and B complex vitamin. I'm beyond depressed and now have a small bald spot on my scalp. I've never in my life experienced such hair loss. Even after the birth of my son 2 1/2 years go! That never resulted in bald patches! I'm feeling so helpless and nobody can give me any hope on when this will stop, or if my hair will grow back. I've read a few articles and posts and even a research study was done and of the 60 people who had hair loss as a result of being on this medication and stated there was 100% no regrowth in those people.
I don't know if I was reading it wrong, or perhaps they never did a followup? Needless to say that was devastating to read and made me even more upset. I don't know who to ask for, for help or reassurance.
Ophelia9
19 July 2015
I was worried it would never rebound too. I think those cases of no regrowth are probably a lot to do with people who were going to lose a lot of hair due to genetics, or were just coming up on that point in their lives and the medicine caused the early loss. Mine took 6 months or so til I felt like it was getting noticeably better. I feel pretty fine about it now. I may try Trazadone again at a tiny dose because it did help, but I'll be going up in tiny increments to monitor hair loss and will comment here. Large increases make the chances of hair loss go up.
jenvoy
19 July 2015
It's comforting to read your comments. I Almost started to think maybe I had PCOS or something else is wrong. But I've had extensive blood work done and I'm normal. I'm shocked 25mg could result in such extensive hair shedding. It seems like today was the worst I've seen. I'm sure the stress and anxiety is not helping. How long before your hair stopped shedding extensively? I feel like if it continues at this rate daily for another month I'll have to wear a topper or a wig. Which is devastating.
jenvoy
29 Aug 2015
Ophelia,
Not sure if you'll see this (as I'm sure you've well recovered your hair) I'm curious when your hair stopped shedding? 2 months 3 months? I'm on 2 months this upcoming Wednesday. I've heard drug induced hair loss could take 2-3 months, sometimes up to 6 months. I'm sure you know it's beyond devastating to see your thick locks falling out constantly. I'm prepared for the worst since it's already been 2 months of going through the massive loss (35% loss) but I see new hair growth which I'm happy about. I won't be completely happy and relieved until the shedding stops. Just wanted to see if you remembered how long your shedding lasted?
Ophelia9
31 Aug 2015
Jenvoy- I think it was around 3 months that I stopped seeing the same amount of shedding. That was after I stopped taking it, though. Keep in mind that your hair goes through natural shedding/growing cycles and that the natural shedding could be exacerbated by the medicine, or sudden increases in any SSRI. I hope you have some luck. I know it's incredibly upsetting and frightening to go through this.
jenvoy
31 Aug 2015
Thank you Ophelia. I stopped almost 2 months ago. I only took for almost a month. I'm expecting it to go on until 3 month mark. I also haven't had my period since July. Like you my Dr. And a dermatologist said it wasn't due to Trazodone. Seriously?! I'm looking forward to getting my hair back! I miss my old thick, wavy hair I used to complain about. Never again!
jenvoy
31 Aug 2015
If anyone reading this is going through the same thing... I read a study that was done just a few years ago for Telogen effluvium (sudden hair loss) and nigella sativa (black cumin oil) was used topically to increase hair growth. In 10 people that used the topical lotion 70% had re-growth. I'm now using this oil to help with re-growth! It's worth a shot!
Trinitytx
2 June 2016
Jenvoy,
I took Trazadone for about 6 weeks and am losing tons of hair. My scalp also burns and I'm freaking out about it. Can you please update? I am so in need of positive outcomes. :(
Trinitytx
22 June 2016
Ophelia, thanks for the positive info. Today was one of those fretful crying days over this, and I knew just coming back to read your posts would be helpful to my heart.
Nana Cheryl
11 Dec 2018
I started taking trazodone about 3 months just had 4 month refill, I have super thick hair, I started noticing a little hair loss but it is horrible now , I wash my hair and can run my fingers through wet hair and huge prices of hair. It is horrible! what did you do ? HELP!
kamurray
11 Feb 2014
Trazodone most definitely can cause hair loss. I was taking Trazodone as a sleep aid for 5 1/2 years. Out of the blue, my hair started to fall out. In a span of 2 months I lost about 40% of my hair. I had blood work done and there was nothing wrong with me. My doctor said that although extremely rare, Trazodone can cause hair loss. I stopped taking it. After one week, the hair loss had slowed significantly. Now three weeks later, the hair loss is minimal, pretty much a normal rate of loss.
nipperz
8 Oct 2014
Trazadone was the cause for my hair loss. I was taking it for sleep and stopped because I suspected it was the problem. My hair loss slowed and so I tried it again, for sleep issues, and the hair loss started again. I use Restoril now for sleep. Great help. They say it's a rare side effect but can be severe. My hair is much thinner now. Hope it recovers.
tflem
26 Jan 2015
Has your hair started coming back? I have been on trazodone for sleep problems for over a year and my hair is very thin. I've tried to stop taking it but have had trouble with withdrawals. I am going to cut back gradually and hope my hair comes back when I'm off it. My husband is bald but I don't care to join him.
kamurray
26 Jan 2015
Yes, my hair did grow back. I was getting a haircut last week and my hair dresser was commenting on how much thicker my hair has gotten. It's now just over one year since I stopped taking trazodone. The bald spots around my temples are gone and the hair is 6-7 inches long now.
Ali Zen
17 March 2015
I was wondering that! I have also been taking trazodone for several years as a sleep aid. I, too, have noticed gradual hair loss. However, much more loss recently. Especially on the side of my head on which I sleep. Thanx for your answer.
stroeve
8 July 2015
I have been taking Trazodone for sleep for more than 10 years now. Over the last 2 years my hair has really thinned to the point that I'm afraid to pull it back anymore. Since I take Trazodone every night, I wonder what alternatives people are using? I don't want to not be able to sleep but this hair loss is terrible!
kamurray
8 July 2015
I tried several different prescriptions - some sleep aids like Ambien, but also a couple of other mild anti-depressants. For me nothing worked as well as Trazodone. They were not as effective and some made me feel groggy or caused crazy, disturbing dreams. Most recently I take 10mg of melatonin about an hour before I go to sleep and that helps. I don't sleep all through the night, but when I am asleep it is a sound sleep. Sometimes I add an OTC sleep aid when I go to bed.
tflem
9 July 2015
I stopped taking Trazadone about 6 months ago and my hair stopped falling out. It seems to be coming back, slowly but surely.
stroeve
16 July 2015
Thanks for following up. I guess I need to try to stop taking Trazadone for sleep then because the hair loss is worse than not sleeping. I think it's probably hard to stop all together without tapering off, so I'll start taking 25mg a night and then try to go without after a little while. Thanks for sharing your experiences, the doctors don't say anything about hair loss, and it's hard to know sometimes as I'm 49 so age could be a factor as well. But if Trazadone is contributing then I certainly want to eliminate that factor now...
jenvoy
6 Aug 2015
Tflem I responded to Ophelia a month ago and asked her about her trazodone induced hair loss. I too have hair loss due to trazodone. I was only on 25mg for almost a month and I'm blown away I could have this much hair loss. I'm guessing I've had over 30% of my hair lost due to this drug! I've been researching like crazy and I've read that drug induced hair loss can take 2-3 months or up to 6 months the longest to resolve. It has now been 1 month since I've stopped trazodone and I'm still loosing what looks like 100-150+ a day. I'm freaking myself out because I was on the forum Hairloss reversible.com and the man who runs the site says Iron levels and Ferritin levels (Iron storage) can also cause hairloss. My Ferritin is only 24 and it should be 70 in order to to stop the shedding and regrow healthy hair.
I'm now trying to find others like me who have trazodone hair loss. How long did it take for your hair loss to taper off and resolve?
kamurray
6 Aug 2015
In my case, Trazodone was the only issue. My iron, thyroid, etc were all normal. Once I stopped the Trazodone. There was an immediate tapering of the hair loss. Within 2-3 weeks it's stopped completely. I think someone else may have mentioned it, but get you iron levels back to normal and take additional supplements. The Biotin is good for hair. I also found taking a good Super B complex helped too.
jenvoy
12 Aug 2015
Thank you Kamurray for your response. It's so appreciated. Everyone's body chemistry is so different. While it does help me to hear others recovery stories about hair loss... I need to remind myself that I am unique in the way my body handled the medication. I guess what I find confusing is that I never had hair loss due to my low ferritin or Vit D before hand. Why now? I don't even know if a Doctor could tell me if and when this will resolve. It's frustrating and depressing.
bouncinglife
6 Nov 2015
I took trazodone for a couple months to help with sleep because a mood stabilizer drug affected my sleep. I always enjoyed a good amount of healthy hair. It started to shed probably 200 hair when I washed it. This was so disturbing to me! Cause more anxiety and depression for a moment. I quit taking it immediately. It has been a few months and I noticed my hair has started to recuperate. Because I know how disturbing it was for me.. I want to give people hope that could also be experiencing this. It is quite disturbing. I take a b-complex with methylfolate and coenzyme. I also take biotin everyday. This definitely seems to have helped my hair bounce back. The shedding has now reduced at least 50%. They really need to tell people that this can happen to them when they start this medication. The benefit of the drug is just not worth me having this much hair loss. And also helps to see the cosmetologist and they will look at your scalp for free.
They can tell you how much regrowth you have on your scalp. I hope this helps somebody! It seems that there is hope once you quit taking the medication. PharmaGABA which is a natural anti anxiety seems to be helping me as well with melatonin at night for sleep. I still don't have a solid sleep recovered yet... at least I'm able to get some sleep and it is good sleep when I get it. My sleep is now also having to recuperate. The natural ability to fall asleep and stay asleep is taking my body awhile to come back to. I used to always get solid sleep before any of these medications. I am hoping my body can go back to having a natural solid sleep throughout the night. At least now I'm able to get some sleep when I get it at night. I hope this helps someone
Trinitytx
11 June 2016
Thanks, that makes me feel better. I took it about 2 mos and my hair started shedding and thinning sooo bad in the matter of 3 weeks. I stopped a week and a half ago and i agree, the withdrawals made the anxiety over the hair loss even worse. Thanks so much for the positive stories.
Trinitytx
30 June 2016
Tflem and bouncing life, how long did it take for your hair to stop shedding? It has been a month for me and I'm still losing tons. It's frightening.
Inactive
4 Nov 2011
Hello nedadannon. I've searched myself silly and cannot find anything to suggest that trazodone causes hair loss. Not saying that it can't, but no ones reported it, in clinical studies, theres nothing either, not a mention of it. You might talk to your doctor if it becomes a major problem for you. Best to you then,
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