Other Side Effects Of Statins
Statins can cause nausea, diarrhoea, headache, muscle and joint pain. In some cases, it can cause some rare side effects such as memory problems, liver damage, diabetes, and muscle cell damage.
It is also possible that you dont experience any side effects from the intake of statins. You might have some side effects temporarily, but they can go away with time. Keep a lookout for anything unusual happening with your body. It may be a side effect of the medicine.
Remember, always consult your doctor before deciding to stop taking statins. You also need to take into consideration the benefits of the medicine. With statins, benefits usually outweigh the side effects, such as hair loss. Still, make sure to discuss these details with a medical professional.
Some people are at a greater risk of developing side effects of statins this includes females, people over the age of 80, liver or kidney disease, heavy drinking, and some other medications and medical conditions.
How Does Smp Help Hair Restoration
Scalp micropigmentation is also known as a permanent hair concealer. It is a type of hair tattoo that conceals a receding hairline or patches of baldness caused due to excessive hair shedding from cholesterol drugs. Anybody on blood-thinning therapy and taking statins might experience hair loss and seek help for hair restoration. When you feel that statins cause hair loss, you may seek a solution that hides those flaws on your scalp.
Scalp micropigmentation experts are also skilled at covering unsightly scars on the scalp that might be left by an injury or hair transplant surgery. DermiMatch SMP experts are highly experienced in scar camouflage using scalp micropigmentation. The process involves injecting pigment into tiny dots with microneedles to create an illusion of density and thicker, fuller hair. The best artists know the art of camouflaging thinning areas.
A trained scalp practitioner has the skills needed to restore receded hairlines and create the impression of cropped hair. They are creative in blending the pigment into your existing hair, creating a seamless look that does not look fake.
The best thing about SMP scalp micropigmentation in Arizona is that it requires little to no maintenance. it is permanent and requires a few touch-ups every few years to restore the natural look. Additionally, you dont have to follow any strict lifestyle or dietary restrictions after undergoing scalp micropigmentation.
Anticoagulants Antihypertensives And Statins
Certain medications used to treat hypertension, heart disease and other cardiovascular health issues may cause hair loss.
For example, telogen effluvium hair loss is a well-known side effect of anticoagulants, or blood thinners, used to prevent blood clots.
Anticoagulants linked to hair loss include:
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Warfarin
Some antihypertensive medications, including beta-blockers, are also linked to telogen effluvium hair loss.
Commonly prescribed beta-blockers include propranolol, atenolol, metoprolol, timolol, nadolol and others.
Commonly prescribed ACE inhibitors include benazepril, captopril, lisinopril, moexipril, ramipril, trandolapril and enalapril/enalaprilat.
Finally, although its uncommon, some statins used to lower cholesterol levels may cause hair loss. According to Harvard Medical School, approximately one percent of people prescribed a statin report some level of hair loss during treatment.
Commonly prescribed statins include atorvastatin, fluvastatin, pravastatin, rosuvastatin and others.
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How Serious Is Hair Loss Thats Caused By A Medication
Generally, hair loss caused by medications is temporary. If you only take the medication for a short period of time like antibiotics used to treat an infection you may not even really notice the hair loss symptoms. In these cases, you may just see a sudden, brief burst of hair loss a bit too much hair in the shower, for instance but your hair growth would go back to normal shortly after.
Some medications can cause sudden and immediate hair loss. However, if youve started taking a new long-term medication that you need to take every day like birth control or a blood pressure medication hair loss symptoms may not be noticeable for a while. In fact, you may only begin to experience hair loss a few weeks or even a few months afterward.
Why the delay? Well, drug-induced hair loss usually works by disrupting a part of the hair growth cycle. The phase affected will usually determine your specific hair loss symptoms.
Preventing Hair Loss While On Medication
What you need to do to regrow your hair is up to your doctor and your overall plan for a healthier life. In some cases, you may be able to stop taking the medication causing your hair loss, which will help it to regrow quickly. Once you stop taking the medication, you can expect your hair to regrow within six months.
If you cannot stop taking the medications for other health reasons, there are still ways for you to encourage continued hair growth or to at least prevent it from falling out. Our doctor may recommend a diet and supplements plan, with antioxidants that can stimulate your hair follicles. You may also benefit from a topical solution.
No matter what is causing your hair loss or what your health status is, we are confident that we can find a solution that works for you.
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Can Drugs Make Your Hair To Fall Out
Drugs can affect the hair growth cycle at different stages and induce hair loss as a side effect. As we know already, the hair growth cycle consists of three stages Anagen, Telogen, and Catagen. During the anagen phase, the hair grows actively for two to four years. After this, the hair strand enters the resting phase, which is known as the telogen phase, for three to four months. At the end of this phase, the hair enters catagen phase and sheds from the root. It is eventually replaced by a new hair strand. When it comes hair loss due to drugs, these medications can affect the hair growth cycle in either the anagen phase or in the telogen phase.
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How To Handle Side Effects
Donât stop taking your cholesterol drugs even if they donât make you feel great. Instead, talk to your doctor. There are a few ways they might be able to help you feel better:
Take a brief break. If you have muscle pain, your doctor may tell you to stop taking your drug for a short time and then start it again within a month. The time off can show if your medicine is causing the pain or if itâs due to another problem.
Check your other meds. If you take cholesterol drugs and other medicines, you might be more likely to have side effects. Tell your doctor about everything you take, including prescription drugs, over-the-counter meds, and supplements.
Get a lower dosage. Your doctor may try to reduce how much of your medicine you take. You might also be able to take a pill every other day instead of daily.
Switch treatments. If your side effects are too hard to handle, you might be able to try a different statin such pravastatin and rosuvastatin , which are less likely to cause muscle aches.The cholesterol drug ezetimibe may allow you to take a lower statin dose and thereby help relieve your muscle pain, for example.
Consider OTC treatments. Statins may lower levels of a substance in your muscles called coenzyme Q10, and that can cause pain. You may try taking CoQ10 supplements to get relief. Another option, L-carnitine, might help, too. But always talk to your doctor before you start taking any medicine, even ones you buy without a prescription.
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Medications That Cause Hair Loss In Females
Hormone therapies can trigger hormone imbalances in women, causing hair loss and potentially causing permanent female pattern baldness.
Birth control pills used for contraception and hormone replacement therapies , like progesterone and estrogen, are examples. Women who have undergone a full hysterectomy, for example, require ongoing HRT after surgery.
Common Medications That Cause Hair Loss
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Cholesterol-lowering medications
Statins are a class of cholesterol treatments that have a reported side effect of hair loss. This includes drugs such as Lipitor/atorvastatin and Zocor/simvastatin. The statin Crestor/rosuvastatin does not produce this side effect.
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Anticoagulants
Warfarin, also known as Coumadin, is the anticoagulant most commonly associated with hair loss.
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Blood Pressure Medications
Known as ACE inhibitors, medications like captopril and lisinopril treat high blood pressure and have been known to cause hair loss. Fortunately, its only been in about one percent of its users.
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Psoriasis Treatments
The psoriasis pill acitretin, also known as soriatane, is well known for hair loss as a side effect.
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Anti-Arrhythmia Drugs
Amiodarone, also known as Cordarone or Pacerone, has a well reported, but uncommon, hair loss side effect.
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Anticonvulsants
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How Can Medication Cause Hair Loss
Some medications can cause hair loss because they interfere with the normal cycle of scalp hair growth. Healthy hair growth will occur at a rate of roughly 0.35 millimeters per day, which is roughly half of an inch per month. In addition, most healthy men and women will have between 80,000 and 120,000 terminal hairs on their scalp.
Hair follicles, of which you have tens of thousands on your head, each cycle through three primary phases: anagen, catagen, and telogen.
Medications can lead to two different types of hair loss: telogen effluvium and anagen effluvium.
Why And How Do Medications Cause Hair Loss
Drug-induced hair fall is often due to an alteration of the normal hair growth cycle caused by the pharmaceutical. Some drugs directly damage the hair follicles and some drugs disrupt the growth phases, making them longer or shorter.
Usually, each follicle goes through 3 main phases when growing hair:
The Anagen phase is the active hair growth phase. It may last between 2 and 7 years. This is when your hair grows longer.
The Catagen phase is a short transitional phase that lasts about 2 weeks. This is when the hair stops growing longer but it is still attached to the follicle.
The Telogen phase is the resting and shedding stage that lasts about 2 to 4 months. This is when the hair starts detaching from the follicle until eventually the hair shaft and bulb detach and fall. This gives room for a new hair strand to grow from the same follicle and the cycle starts once more.
Based on this explanation, medications cause two types of hair loss:
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Can You Stop Or Reverse The Hair Loss
Where possible, the best way to treat drug-induced alopecia is to stop taking the medication responsible for the hair loss. However, people should not stop taking a medication without their doctorâs agreement.
The doctor will discuss any alternative treatment options and ensure that a person switches safely to any new medications.
Once a person stops taking the medication that caused the alopecia, it can take half a year for the hair to stop shedding.
People usually notice new hair growth within 3â6 months. However, it may take up to 18 months for a personâs hair to recover cosmetically.
People who think that they may be experiencing drug-induced alopecia should speak to a healthcare professional.
Early signs of excessive hair loss include:
- noticing hairs on pillows
- finding extra hairs in combs or hairbrushes
- losing more hair than usual when showering
When diagnosing drug-induced alopecia, a doctor will take a complete medical history that takes into account the following factors:
- any new medications that the person is taking, including over-the-counter drugs and supplements
- any change in medication dosages
- the personâs general health and nutrition status
- whether the person has had any recent illnesses or surgeries
- whether there is a family history of hair loss
A doctor may also perform the following tests to assist the diagnosis:
Medications That Increase Testosterone
Although testosterone itself doesnt directly cause hair loss, your body converts a small amount of testosterone into a hormone called dihydrotestosterone, or DHT.
DHT is the main hormone thats responsible for male pattern baldness. Since DHT is produced from testosterone, any medication that increases your testosterone levels may also increase the amount of DHT thats produced by your body.
If you use testosterone for testosterone replacement therapy , you may notice an increase in hair loss during treatment as your testosterone level increases.
You may also notice more hair loss if you use anabolic steroids or other performance enhancing drugs that are produced from testosterone.
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High Blood Sugar Levels
Uncontrolled or untreated diabetes can result in a persons blood sugar levels becoming too high. Persistently high blood sugar levels can lead to damage in various tissues, organs, and blood vessels within the body.
Damage to blood vessels can restrict blood flow, resulting in certain cells getting less oxygen and nutrients than they need. This deficiency can negatively impact the normal growth cycle of hair follicles, which can lead to hair loss.
Supplements That Cause Hair Loss
Yes. Supplements can cause hair loss in some people, and it is usually related to the dosage. It is very important to follow the recommended dietary allowances for each supplement and discussing with your doctor the addition of a supplement to your routine.
Even though vitamins, minerals, and some herbs are very beneficial to your health, there are plenty of natural sources for them and it is difficult to calculate how much you are really ingesting of a particular nutrient. For example, if you are supplementing with zinc, you need to be careful about the orange juice and other zinc-enriched products you might be consuming too.
The most common supplements to trigger telogen effluvium include:
- Vitamin A RDA 700-900ug
- Vitamin E RDA 3-4 mg
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