You may not realize that some of the medications your doctor prescribes may cause you to lose your hair.  While helping to cure certain medical conditions some of the side effects are quite surprising, hair loss being among them.

I will list the type of conditions that require some of these particular medications and what the medications are.

Levothyroxine (Synthroid) Treats hypothyroidism. Also treats an enlarged thyroid gland and thyroid cancer.”

Synthroid Read more on Synthroid

Synthroid is a common medication that is prescribed to treat hypothroidism. Apparently it is a pretty common side effect to experience hair loss from it for those individuals who are sensitive to the medication.

Acne The occurrence of inflamed or infected sebaceous glands in the skin; in particular, a condition characterized by red pimples on the face, prevalent chiefly among teenagers.”

Acne

All drugs derived from vitamin A as treatments for acne or other conditions, including:

• Accutane (isotretinoin)

Blood – The fluid that circulates in the principal vascular system of human beings and other vertebrates, in humans consisting of plasma in which the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are suspended.”

Blood

Anticoagulants (blood thinners), including:

• Panwarfin (warfarin sodium)
• Sofarin (warfarin sodium)
• Coumadin (warfarin sodium)
• Heparin injections

Cholesterol- a sterol, C 27 H 46 O, that occurs in all animal tissues, especially in the brain, spinal cord, and adipose tissue, functioning chiefly as a protective agent in the skin and myelin sheaths of nerve cells, a detoxifier in the bloodstream, and as a precursor of many steroids: deposits of cholesterol form in certain pathological conditions, as gallstones and atherosclerotic plaques.” Cholesterol

Cholesterol-lowering drugs, including:

• Atronid-S (clofibrate)
• Lopid (gemfibrozil)

Convulsions/ Epilepsy” title_bg_color=”#ecf4c0″ content=”Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by seizures (convulsions). Seizures are caused by short bursts of intense electrical energy in the brain. When these bursts occur in one part of the brain, it is called a partial seizure. When they occur throughout the whole brain, it is called a generalized seizure. These seizures cause symptoms in the entire body. A generalized seizure may also be called a generalized tonic-clonic seizure or a grand mal seizure. Epilepsy may sometimes be referred to as a seizure disorder.”

Convulsions/ Epilepsy

• Anticonvulsants, including:
• Tridone (trimethadione)

 Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depression, major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and depression may make you feel as if life isn’t worth living.

Depression

• Antidepression drugs, including:
• Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride)
• Zoloft (sertraline hydrochloride)
• Paxil (paroxetine)
• Anafranil (clomipramine)
• Janimine (imipramine)
• Tofranil (imipramine)
• Tofranil PM (imipramine)
• Adapin (doxepin)
• Sinequan (doxepin)
• Surmontil (trimipramine)
• Pamelor (nortriptyline)
• Ventyl (nortriptyline)
• Elavin (amitriptyline)
• Endep (amitriptyline)
• Norpramin (desipramine)
• Pertofrane (desipramine)
• Vivactil (protriptyline hydrochloride)
• Asendin (amoxapine)
• Haldol ( haloperidol)

A diet is nothing more than developing healthy eating habits isn’t as confusing or as restrictive as many people imagine. The essential steps are to eat mostly foods derived from plants—vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes (beans, peas, lentils) and limit highly processed foods. Here are some guidelines for building a healthy diet.

Diet

• Amphetamines

Any of a diverse group of eukaryotic single-celled or multinucleate organisms that live by decomposing and absorbing the organic material in which they grow, comprising the mushrooms, molds, mildews, smuts, rusts, and yeasts, and classified in the kingdom Fungi or, in some classification systems, in the division Fungi (Thallophyta) of the kingdom Plantae.

Fungus

• Antifungals

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. Glaucoma can damage your vision so gradually you may not notice any loss of vision until the disease is at an advanced stage. The most common type of glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, has no noticeable signs or symptoms except gradual vision loss.

Glaucoma

The beta-blocker drugs, including:

• Timoptic Eye Drops (timolol)
• Timoptic Ocudose (timolol)
• Timoptic XC (timolol)

Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. Most of the time, having too much uric acid isn’t harmful. Many people with high levels in their blood never get gout. But when uric acid levels in your blood are too high, the uric acid may form hard crystals in your joints.

Gout

• Lopurin (allopurinol)
• Zyloprim (allopurinol)

A hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation. In vertebrates there may be up to four chambers (as in humans), with two atria and two ventricles.

Heart

Many drugs prescribed for the heart, including those known as the beta blockers, which are also used to treat high blood pressure, and include:

• Tenormin (atenolol)
• Lopressor (metoprolol)
• Corgard (nadolol)
• Inderal and Inderal LA (propanolol)
• Blocadren (timolol)

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease. Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

High Blood Pressure

See Above list of beta blockers under “Heart”

Hormones play a large and important role in everyone’s daily health and well-being. Disease, certain stages of life and different health conditions can affect your body’s ability to make or use the hormones you need. You will find more information here about specific diseases and conditions that affect hormones and health, and learn about the available treatment options.

Hormonal Conditions

All hormone-containing drugs and drugs prescribed for hormone-related, reproductive, male-specific, and female-specific conditions and situations have the potential to cause hair loss, including:

• Birth Control Pills
• Hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) for women (estrogen or progesterone)
• Male androgenic hormones and all forms of testosterone
• Anabolic steriods
• Prednisone and other steroids

Inflammation is the body’s attempt at self-protection; the aim being to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged cells, irritants, or pathogens – and begin the healing process. When something harmful or irritating affects a part of our body, there is a biological response to try to remove it, the signs and symptoms of inflammation, specifically acute inflammation, show that the body is trying to heal itself. Inflammation does not mean infection, even when an infection causes inflammation. Infection is caused by a bacterium, virus or fungus, while inflammation is the body’s response to it.

Inflammation

Many anti-inflammatory drugs, including those prescribed for localized pain, swelling and injury.

• Arthritis drugs
• Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs including:
• Naprosyn (naproxen)
• Anaprox (naproxen)
• Anaprox DS (naproxen)
• Indocin (indomethacin)
• Indocin SR (indomethacin)
• Clinoril (sulindac)

An anti-inflammatory that is also used as a chemotherapy drug:

• Methotrexate (MTX)
• Rheumatex (methotrexate)
• Folex (methotrexate)

Parkinson’s disease affects the way you move. It happens when there is a problem with certain nerve cells in the brain. Normally, these nerve cells make an important chemical called dopamine. Dopamine sends signals to the part of your brain that controls movement. It lets your muscles move smoothly and do what you want them to do. When you have Parkinson’s, these nerve cells break down. Then you no longer have enough dopamine, and you have trouble moving the way you want to. Parkinson’s is progressive, which means it gets worse over time. But usually this happens slowly, over many years. And there are good treatments that can help you live a full life. No one knows for sure what makes these nerve cells break down. But scientists are doing a lot of research to look for the answer. They are studying many possible causes, including aging and poisons in the environment. The four main symptoms of Parkinson’s are: Tremor, which means shaking or trembling. Tremor may affect your hands, arms, or legs. Stiff muscles. Slow movement and Problems with balance or walking.

Parkinson’s Disease

• Levadopa / L-dopa (dopar, larodopa)

Thyroid disorders are conditions that affect the thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped gland in the front of the neck. The thyroid has important roles to regulate numerous metabolic processes throughout the body. Different types of thyroid disorders affect either its structure or function.

Thyroid Disorders

• Many of the drugs used to treat the thyroid

• Many of the drugs used to treat the thyroid

Ulcers are holes that form in the lining of the upper part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. When they occur in the stomach, they are called gastric ulcers. If they form in the first part of your small intestine, the duodenum, they are referred to as duodenal ulcers. “An ulcer is a wound in the lining of the stomach or duodenum, but really any part of the gastrointestinal tract can ulcerate. An ulcer is a chronic injury where the lining has been disrupted. However, when people refer to an ulcer they are usually referring to peptic ulcer disease. The word peptic refers to digestion. A peptic ulcer is the umbrella term for all types of GI ulcers. Technically an ulcer is at least 0.5 centimeters wide, but can be much larger. Duodenal ulcers mainly occur in people between 20 and 50 years old and gastric ulcers typically appear in people over age 40. Duodenal ulcers are about four times more common than gastric ulcers.

Ulcer

Many of the drugs used to treat indigestion, stomach difficulties, and ulcers, including over-the-counter dosages and prescription dosages.

• Tagamet (cimetidine)
• Zantac (ranitidine)
• Pepcid (famotidine)

Be sure to discuss with your doctor or pharmacist, all side effects of every drug that is prescribed to you.