Can Pristiq cause substantial hair loss?

I am having the same problem. just started pristiq a couple of months ago and noticed a ot of hair coming out in the shower. Have you heard any news on this and possible solutions?

Nothing that I haven't found out on the web. I just cut my hair and am waiting to see if that has any positive effect. I am going to ask my doctor what he thinks. Let me know if you'd like to keep in touch and we'll "compare notes."

I am 34, and started taking pristiq in April after a serious bout of post partum depression.  I was instantly happy within 24 or so hours.....But, about 2 or so months ago (3 months after I started taking the med) I started noticing thining ontop of my scalp.  Now, I have noticed a receding hairline in the front, and for week, clumps of hair in my drain everytime I shower.  Needless to say, now that I have noticed this, and just now looking up this question....I am stopping the medicine.  My postpartum is over, and I will be fine without it. I just can't afford to lose my hair.  That is a road I'm not quite prepared to go down yet. 

My hair has also started falling out since my doctor swiched me to Pristiq.  Ive only been taking it for two months.  My husband notice my receding hair line and I noticed a large bald spot.  I also at the moment am taking adderall and trazadone but I have been taking them for 6 month and didnt notice any hair loss.  ive stopped taking the Pristiq and am trying to eat better and add a few supplement to boost my health and hair loss.  Hopefully my hair will start to grow back so I can wear my hair down unconciously again.  I know its only hair but Im a little scared.

NO WAY did I just run into this post.  

I just googled "substantial hair loss" as I am 5 months postpartum and started losing a TON of hair 3 months ago.  I chalked it up to post pregnancy hormones but it is really coming off at an alarming rate.  Guess what...I ALSO started taking Pristiq right after birth.  Could there be a link here?  Have been taking Iron supplements for over a month and nothing is changing.  I would estimate I have lost about a third of my hair volume by now.

  

I seem to always lose a lot of hair in the shower...for years...but in the last 4 weeks it has become profuse.  I liken it to beginning chemotherapy.  I'm 57 and after 12 years on Effexor XR (with no noticable hair loss) I switched to Pristiq in November 2009.  This in July 2010 and I am getting worried. 

Has anyone got an answer for this.  Does the hair come back when you stop taking the Pristiq?

Laura

I am having the same problem!! Ahh.  I have had hair loss with cordisone meds before.  This happens 3 months after you have started the drug and lasts for 3 months.  I am convinced it is the Pristiq.  I have lost a lot of hair.  I have decided to switch meds.  Other antidepressants did NOT do this to me.  Other causes: Lupus, Diabetes, Androgens and Estrogens out of balence, anitdepressants, diet (lack of protien for 3 days or more) and stress of an illness. The only one that fits is PRISTIQ

I have been on Pristiq for a few months now.  Thought my hair loss was from anxiety.  But after checking today I think it is from the Pristiq, which after I go to the doctor tomorrow I will go off of.  No fear ladies your hair will grow back.  Everyone has a growth cycle.  I lost so much hair from a med one time I had to wear a wig, but it grew back when I got my next growth cycle.  I just started a new growing cycle a little after it started falling out so it's not to bad.  But you can see my scalp which you could not before.  But have no fear it will grow back.  I have been through this before.  I am bipolar and living with a lot of pain and having to be on so many different meds I am sure it will happen again.  :->  Patti

Thanks everyone for this info. I just took my first and LAST Pristiq a few minutes ago. I am having some depression due to several botched surgeries I had. I am otherwise healthy but I lost a kidney and my spleen in a botched back surgery. This has been going on since 2005 after i fell at work.

I had two failed spinal fusions, one of them through the front. The screws pulled out and the cage twisted two weeks later while I was still in the hospital. Then two months later they found I was leaking inside and my ureter was glued to the fusion plate. So they put a stent in . A year later they went to remove the stent, repair the Ureter (tube to the kidney) and the doctor cut the tubing too short. He couldn't reattach the kidney so he took it out. Then he cut the spleen and couldn't stop the bleeding.

Finally, in May 2009, they tried to repair a huge hernia that developed from all the other surgeries and I CODED for 25 minutes two days AFTER the surgery ... They gave me too much medication in the hospital and stopped my heart. Yes, I was dead for 25 minutes. In a coma for 1 week and another drug induced coma after that.

So, yes, I am a little depressed. Did I mention this was Workman's Comp? Now you know why I am depressed, I have a case adjuster that is denying me everything that can help me get better and back to having a life, job and health.

Sorry, I had to explain all of this. Anyway, I had tried Wellbutrin and Cymbalta a while back but in both instances I started losing my hair very rapidly. I had thick hair so I noticed the loss but didn't panic until I was getting it "raining' down my face while just sitting and reading. I touched it and came away with about 30 hairs ... I stopped the meds and the hair did grow back though. Take heart all of you, it will grow back.

So, I told the doctor that I was again depressed, out of work since 2005, my husband unemployed two years now in this economy and we are losing our house that was paid for before I fell at work. She prescribed "Pristiq" ... At this point, thanks to this post, I'll skip the medication, Pristiq, and at least keep my hair. One reason, it will be cold out there when they evict us. And, at least I can pull out my hair when I really get depressed and frustrated with the WC adjuster. LOL

Sorry for the long post and tell-all but I just took the Pristiq and thought I ought to check on the hair loss again and found this! I can't believe my doctor gave me this after all the other hair loss problems. Do they even listen to us anymore? Or know what they are prescribing for us? I swear, it just makes you wonder if they really know their patients anymore or are we just another number ...

Good luck to all of you, keep laughing it is the best medicine of all. And remember, if you can't laugh at yourself you can always laugh at your neighbors. LOL
 

PS. If anyone knows either a good SC lawyer (Medical Malpractice), a better Back Surgeon and while I'm asking, how about a screenwriter's agent (I've got two) please contact me. Hey, it's Christmas time, miracles are possible! I'm not on Facebook and although I may be a twit I can't twitter.

I figure I can always ask though right? What is the worst thing anyone can say? NO. (Two little letters) With all I've been through and what lies ahead two letters can't hurt me anymore!
 

Karen Detweiler-Mahr-Pellegrino

was on pristiq for 5-6 months, i think i lost about 1/3 of my hair volume as well, lots of thinning patches on my scalp. freaked out after googling "hair loss" and "pristiq", not 100% certain it is the cause, but i've been off it for 12 days now and have noticed my hair has stopped falling out at an alarming rate. of course, that could also be because i have so little left.. sigh.

I am 23 and I was on Pristiq for 3 years, during which my hair slowly thinned, predominantly at the front.  I had no idea what was the cause and my doctor had checked for all possible problems including a thyroid check, which was all fine.  Though I cannot be sure, I will say that I got off of Pristiq a few months ago (a whole different nightmare in of itself) and I am pretty sure my hair is looking thicker now.  Good luck to anyone dealing with these problems. 

I am 26 and have been on Pristiq for about 7 months.  I am noticing a receding hairline and more noticable is the fact that my eyelashes are brittle and breaking off in clumps.  I have always had beautiful eyelashes and great hair so this is all a bit overwhelming.  I just wanted to see if anyone else is losing eyelashes on Pristiq...  Thanks