Hair loss is among the several hundreds of side effects from Zoloft, even though it typically occurs in less than one percent of users. Prozac and Paxil can also trigger hair loss for some individuals.
However an uncomplicated treatment for Zoloft hair loss really does exist. But first, let’s look at the bigger picture. When you think of hairloss related to pharmaceuticals, the first thing that comes to mind are chemotherapy drugs.
Not simply chemotherapy drugs, but a lot of kinds of drug treatments might cause hairloss as a side effect. Acne medication, blood thinners, anti-inflammatory medication, cholesterol lowering medications and even birth control pills are just a couple of illustrations.
Also, stress itself can cause hairloss. And since stress is so often present with those using antidepressants, it’s definitely possible that Zoloft is not even the problem. It might be stress. Either way, there are steps you can take that will reverse the hairloss.
Why Zoloft Leads To Hair Loss
Pfizer, the producer of Zoloft, declares no research has been completed on Zoloft and hairloss. But below is one conceivable explanation:
Nearly all antidepressants contain fluoride. Read the excerpt from this particular article on Wikipedia -
“The fluorine atom is pervasive in drugs, e.g. Prozac, and many other substances such as freon, Teflon, and blood serum…”
Fluoride is actually toxic and in large enough levels will cause all sorts of problems. Amid its various other effects, it suppresses the thyroid gland. The thyroid generates thyroid hormones, which control metabolic systems within the body.
As reported by the National Research Council, a reduction of thyroid activity can lead to a decrease of mental acuity, weight gain, and depression. And that’s not all it can do.
When you curb the function of the thyroid, one of several complications is it can result in hairloss. As a result, it’s possible that the fluoride in Zoloft is what triggers hairloss. Again, this is just a theory.
What To Do Concerning Zoloft Hair Loss
Certainly, one option is just to taper slowly off the Zoloft and come up with new ways to handle your depression or anxiety or OCD or whichever other challenge caused you to start to take Zoloft initially. Most anecdotal evidence suggests that once you quit taking Zoloft, the hair loss ends, and the hair slowly returns.
Still lets say that for some reason, you want to stay on the Zoloft. Then what?
The reason fluoride might hinder thyroid function is because it results in several trace minerals such as selenium, zinc, copper and magnesium, that are essential for good hair health, to become unavailable for the body.
The obvious choice, therefore, is to take a high quality multivitamin and mineral product. Anecdotally, this has been claimed to reverse the Zoloft hairloss even without ending the Zoloft.
The two primary elements you might need are zinc and selenium, in the following doses:
Selenium: 50 to 150 mcg/day
Zinc: 15 to 50 mg/day
Other factors:
Stress all by itself can cause hair loss. Yet it typically requires a few months for that hairloss to start after the stress starts. (Or, after you start using Zoloft.)
If you’re vulnerable to premature hair loss, it may not be attributed just to using Zoloft. It could be stress activated. It might be your body responding to stress. Whatever the case, working on lowering the stress will probably be a beneficial compliment to taking food supplements. So what’s the best way to reduce your stress levels?
Study all you can concerning emotional healing. Considering that stress essentially is produced by not processing your emotions in a healthy fashion. And once you treat any emotional distress, you’ll have much less of a problem with Zoloft hair loss.