Metoprolol & Hair Loss (Page 3) (Top voted first)

I have been taking 200 mg. a day for about 4 years. I thought it was a coincidence that I've lost 50% of my hair during this time because I am also going through menopause. I just found out that it is possible the hair loss is caused by metoprolol, so my doctor just wrote me a RX for a different drug. Will my hair grow back? It was very long, down to my waist, but I've been cutting it to compensate for the thinness. I just touch my head and lose a few hairs! Any ideas?

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Hello everyone! It's a little comforting to see that I am not alone, but I also hate that there are so many of us going through this.. My name is Kristina I am 25 years old and I have been taking Metoprolol 25mg since June 10th 2011 to date. For the past maybe month to month and a half, I have noticed a very significant amount of hair loss =/ Âthis frightens me very much so. My doctor prescribed this to me because I was having palpitations. I had a few tests done to rule out any heart problems: EKG, 24hr heart monitor. ÂAll was well, Although I continued to complain about feeling my heart beat irregularly (fast) for no apparent reason so Metoprolol he prescribes.. I do not have high blood pressure, was he right to prescribe this to me?? ÂAlthough this medication does help me noticeably with palpitations.. though I'm sure it would because it does what its suppose to which is slow the heart rate, I am now so stressed for my hair loss!! Â:'( ÂI am in a vendetta with these pills! Should I continue to take them for my palpitations or should I stop to prevent more hair loss!?!? I was aware before starting this medication that it may cause weight gain and or make losing weight a harder task, but I was blindsided by the hair loss until today! I have been online for the past 2 hours researching and now there is no doubt in my mind the pills are to blame for my clogged bath drain and numerous hair balls on my floor and extra thinning hair. So as I sit here typing I have decided to call Kaiser in the morning and make an urgent appointment with my doctor and see what he has to say... I will keep you guy posted as soon as I am able. Thank you for reading. And remember "This to shall pass" Blessings <3

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IF your doctor insists metropolol is not causing your hair loss, you should confront him with a statement from your pharmist! They know so much more about drugs than doctors do (seriously).

For heart problems and blood pressure problems it seems you only have a choice between ace inhibitors and beta blockers. Ask a pharmacist for a list of the most popular in each category. See which list metropolol is on and choose one from the other! Both will help, so why not choose one from the other category?

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I feel for you soo much. I am a 40yr old female and i have been on it for 2yrs-Metoprolol 25mg. The bad thing about it is that i was not given it for HBP i was given it for heart palpatations. Now when I stopped taking it breifly,I ended up in the hospital with a BP of 172/154! I don't want to take this crap. I called my Dr today and the nurse tells me to not take it anymore, but i thought you had to be weened off of it. Wow good advise especially since they still have not called me back!!!!!

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im sorry shuld of said i was on bisoprolol but most beta blockers work the same and yes it was defo 100 percent the drug and if anybody is taken and is having problems plz dont waite as long as i did to get it sorted

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erm iv bein off mine 2 months and my hair has not even started to grow back at all i hopeing it mote just take time ,and iv also had the heart opp so i wont have to take meds again thank god

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HAVE RESEARCHED OVER AND OVER WHAT TO DO ABOUT MY HAIR LOST, I RECENTLY FOUND OUT THE MED I AM TAKING CAUSE HAIR LOSS, I NOTICED BUT WITH AGE I THOUGHT IT WAS NORMAL, NOTICED THAT I SEE STRAIGHT THUR MY HAIR AND A VERY THIN PONYTAIL, OVER A MATTER OF FEW MONTHS WAS NOT OKAY. I AM NOW SCARED TO WASH MY HAIR BECAUSE IT IS ALL IN THE BRUSH. I JUST CRIED NOT TO BE VAIN BUT WITH RAPID WEIGHT GAIN BECAUSE OF THE MED AND NOW THIS I AM MAJORLY DEPRESSED. MY HAIR WAS LONG AND FULL NOT ANYMORE, MY NEXT STEP WOULD BE A WIG TOO THIN TO WEAR SHORT. GLAD TO KNOW I MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE. I AM NOT TAKEN THIS NO MORE.

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I forgot to say also that when they switched to the Lisinopril I spoke with my doctor because she mentioned that "my heart and lungs would slowly get stronger now also" because I always had a faster pulse so they put me on the Metorolol also to "slow things down".. and I said hey wait a minute is this going to fix the polycythemia ruba vera that I mysteriously just started having a few years back and she said well yeah I guess that it probably would but no-one had connected the dots.. even when I asked when I was told I had it (a different doc but the new one didn't see it either til I said something)..I only make more blood because I had a low oxygen count (apparently not common) but obviously a side effect also of the slowing everything down for so many years. These meds just aren't good for you:(

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My hairs growing back ppl whoop whoop it's taken 7 months after stoping the pills and had a heart opp there's hope I lost nearly all my hair and now slowly it's coming , come off the drugs it's the only way thanks everyone tho for the support and good luck guys

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I am taking Protandim and became a vendor because of the short term results I saw not related to my bp.. however oxidative stress can be a cause of many issues so I am also monitoring it for this.. I will definately keep everyone posted on what it does for me:) I agree no-one should have to deal with this crap! It is a shame that doctors know so little about this stuff and brush it off.. I went to a dermotologist before changing meds to ask his opinion and he pretty much treated me like I was crazy and it was just me aging..... pointed out some other stuff and basically kicked me out the door! I am only 36 and it is not aging!! gheesh:(

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I have read all of the posts and I am sitting at my PC crying because this is so upsetting. I had two open heart surgeries (ages 9 and 39); I am now 51. Was not on any medications for heart reasons at all. Was put on Metoprolol because of heart palpitations about two years ago. I have been losing my hair for the past 18-20 months playing detective and trying to find out why. I have other issues - perimenopause, migraines, and thyroid. My "other" issues have pretty much been stabilized and I kept telling my doc about my hair loss connection to the beta blocker. I called my Cardiologists office today and I am telling them to get me off of this crap. I don't know what I am more depressed about. Losing my hair or the fact that the "professionals" can't seem to figure it out. From reading posts, it sounds like you either get a wig to mask the hair loss or die because of refusing to take the meds....... phone is ringing. I just finished up my call with the Cardiologists office. The nurse took all of my information and the nurse practitioner will call me back tomorrow. Just for the heck of it I asked the nurse if she gets complaints about hair loss. She said she has not and she looked it up before she called me. Low and behold that side effect is at the bottom of the long list. She told me that she learned something today. I hope she remembers this lesson. I'm just so angry that I want to go and punch somebody out. As I calm down, I wonder if a big part of this problem is that people who take the meds just don't make the connection. They think the hair loss is due to perimenopause, thyroid problems, aging, etc. And, the feedback never gets back to the doctor's ears. My personal plan is to get off of this medication start CoQ10 and Biotin.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to post. I have learned that being your own health care advocate is a necessity these days. I will be sure to follow up with another post to give you an update on my status.

As someone stated.... "this too shall pass"....

I'm so happy to hear that for those who could stop the medication that your hair did come back, it just took a while. The hardest thing is when people pretend that they don't notice your freaking hair is missing. If I absolutely have to be on this medication, I will buy a wig. I know I could have it a lot worse.

My motto is DO NOT take a medication unless you have explored on your own all other options. Don't just take a doctor's word for it Also, just because it is an alternative Rx make sure you do your homework also. Everything has it's limitations. My sister once turned orange from too much Vitamin A. Was really kind of funny.

Peace and good health.

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After reading all the latest post here I would like to comment ....Again...Regarding Lisinopril and Metoprolol. I have tried lisinpril and 4 other bp meds then went to Metoprolol. I had large bald spots the size of a half dollar when I took Lisinopril and Metoprolol and suffered leg pain and with the other 4. My doctor says I am (wierd) and very unusual to be in that 1% category when it comes hair loss. I also went to co10 and biotin and am doing much better and my hair has grown back too.(took about 6 mos.)
After much trial and error I found that I could take Doxazosin Mes 2 mg which has my bp down where it should be and no side affects after 6 mos. Also my husband was on Doxazosin for his heart years ago and it is helpful with heart problems I believe. I agree with Angel, in that the doctors are giving us meds and don't know (or care)what the side affects do to us as long as they are treating main problem. I think a little more research must be done ourselves to achieve the correct balance in our own health.

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Sandy.... thanks for the information. I am weaning myself off Metoprolo but my Cardiologist did not have any suggestions as to a medication that would not have the hair loss side affect. I will keep your Doxazosin in mind. Just in case I absolutely need to be on a medication. I had one question for you. You said it has been 6 months and you have not noticed any side affects from the Doxazosin. Do you recall how long it was with the other meds before you noticed the side affects (particularly the hair loss)? Shame on that doctor for calling you weird. He was unprofessional and uneducated in his own specialty. How worse could that be for a doctor. Thanks again for the post.

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So little up date i slowly took my self off the drugs last pill being xmas day 2011 then jan 25 th had opp then 4 weeks later had a mild heart attack,but after all of that uts now june and my hair is starting to come back least it stop falling out after a few months of stopping the drug. But now i can feel my heart probs slowly comeing back ,defo not taken the pills again tho as hair will never be right plus they made me feel poo ,dint brush your hair when wet,and try not ti wash it as much it helps xxxxxxxx

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Roxanne, Yes I can answer your question. I found with all other meds I noticed leg pain and swelling within 16 to17 days (symptyms similar to what the ads describe as PAD, restless leg syndrome) and within 30 to 60 days the hair loss (bald spots) showed up in the back of my head from the Lisinipril and Metropolol. Unfortunately the Doctor's do not know or want to be told about the baldness and I do not know why as he keeps telling me it is only less than 1% that have that and thinks I am weird (the idiot), lol. The Doxozosin is (Cardura) and your cardiologist may not want to mix Metropolol with doxozosin. I would ask him about that as my husband takes metropolol for a heart condition and his cardiologist doesn't want him to take them together. I would rather take Doxazosin for my high BP but don't have a heart condition but it lowers my BP significantly and is the only BP med so far that doesn't cause bad side affects for me. I hope this helps you a little. I don't understand the Dr's not admitting to the many, many complaints bout Hair loss from Metroplol and Lilsinipril.

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Thanks very much for the alternative treatment information. I really appreciate it and am looking
into it right away.

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I have been on Metoprolol for 25 years-and what I did was to monitor my BP daily until I found a normal stable reading-with dosage adjustment.Now I take only 12.5mgm. daily for a normal BP.-and minimal to no hairloss.Everyone is different and may react differently-so don't take my word for it;^)).I had been prescribed 100 mgms.daily.......v152

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Jennifer, thanks for the info. I'm off the Metoprolol now for 6 weeks and no change in the hair loss yet. However, I do believe I need to give it more time. It did cross my mind that maybe I don't need as high a dose as I was on. My entire family is very sensitive to meds and we never usually need much to do the trick. I'm thinking that may be my next option to think about. I didn't even realize a dose could be that low.

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Omg , I can relate, i went to the ER awhile back , my blood pressure was a high, so they admitted me to run other tests, 2 days and they started me on metropolol, some Internal medic doc, so after I got out I told my primary doctor , he did'nt say much, just to keep taking it...during the following months the hair loss started and thinning, dry brittle hair, so damaged...also chronic insomnia...... changed doctors and he took me off the metropolol just yesterday. Hope everything changes....why thes doctors don't tell patients about side effects>>..

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Great you are off. I have had hair loss too. It just drops. I am going to my dr and get rid of this medication. Had stress test all normal! I have gained 20 pounds in 5 months and am exhausted , and I mean exhausted ALL the time. My father died two months ago and I took care of him but now trying to get back to walking and eating well. Forget it I can't walk 20 steps I feel like I weigh 500 pounds.. I know what it is now with my drs on sent not taking this medication. It has crippled me.. Just my story, good luck and tke biotin it work for the hair!

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Please know that even small doses of Metoprolol Succinate can cause hair loss. BUT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MANIFEST RIGHT AWAY. It took a year and a half for me.

I was taking only 25 mg. a day, the smallest dose available. I was very tired. And although I take my blood pressure daily, I did not pay attention to my PULSE. One day, at a routine doctor's visit, the nurse noticed that my pulse was only 40! The doctor had known this, seeing the results of my BP and pulse test at each visit, but never said a world. I asked him if the Metoprolol could cause the low pulse and he said "definitely." So we cut the dose in half. Then my pulse improved to 62.

I noticed small bunches of hair in the shower drain about 9 months ago. And my hair, although always fine, was now baby fine. And it started coming out when I combed it and actually breaking off in my fingers.

I saw a dermatologist who ordered thyroid tests and my thyroid is fine. So I returned to my regular doctor and told him of the hair loss. He said the medical literature does not include much, that such hair loss is "rare" but that a male patient had experienced hair loss while on this med, did his own research and voila!

Apparently, many people are suffering this, as this website proves.

As long as my palpitations are no worse and my blood pressure is good, I will stay off the Metoprolol. If not, I'll have to take it or a substitute (although everything in this class of drugs has the same side effects.) My heart is more important than my hair, but as a woman, it is devastating.

So I stopped the Metoprolol about two months ago. I'm still experiencing the same hair loss and, although the literature says it is reversible, I'll just have to see.

Also, I had taken Lisinopril for a year and had a slight cough, but the worse effect was the sense of constant irritation in my chest, like it was filled with smoke. That problem is gone after I stopped taking it.

The doctors do the best they can with the drugs available. Science isn't perfect. Most drugs have side effects. But I agree that they should give patients more complete warnings about side effects and also take more seriously our reports of them.

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