anxiety

[cc131]

my son is 15, he has been on zoloft 50 mg for about a year and clonazepan.05mg once a day as well..since then the top of his head has been thinning.. his hair is very thick all around but the top i can see his scalp.. this really hasnt started since the zoloft. he does take biotin everyday and it doent help..can it be because of the ZOLOFT?? he takes setraline(the generic) he does have stress as well.he started the meds because my brother died last october, he was 30 and my sons best friend.my son now has noone ,my brother lived with us and was his father figure too..we had to move in w my parents and its not easy either,,PLEASE HELP!! his psychiatrist said if more hair falls out it may be the zoloft and wed hafta switch..i addressed it w him ..any advice??PLEASEEE!!!

[remar]

It can be hard to treat a teen with these meds. If he's not doing very well on the Zoloft, and it sounds like he may not be, then it might be time to try a different med.
Don't listen to your mother, just my opinion. Our children need us no matter what age they are. Just tell your mother that he is your child and you will do what you think is right for him.
Is there anyway you and your son can have time alone. Maybe go see a movie together, go for walks, things like that? It may really do him good to get out of the house and spend time only with his mom.
I'm still thinking he may need a different med. Zoloft should be helping him by now and it does'nt seem to be doing that.
Does he like his counselor? It's important that he does. I'm wondering if he's not talking to her because she's a woman and he may do better working with a male therapist?

[cc131]

my son is 15 and still has stress, actually it seems as if he has developed more anxieties since on the medicine zoloft, it helps w the anger but it makes him nervous and afraid to be in the same room as someone else here at home like his grandparents,so can the stress of that cause the hair loss? they are stressful people to live with as we had to move in w them after my poor brother passed away! and he does see a counselor but he has a hard time talkin to her. like i said he is more socially phobic now,, and he stays in his room alot as well.. i try to help but my mother says im hurting him by coddling him..she doesnt understand mental illness..AT ALL!! and i think she is part of the problem because she is not sympathetic.and my father is just a grumpy old man that gives off a negative vibe,, i am tryin to get stronger so we can move,,but i dont wanna run away either.we stay upstairs and its hard cuz my parents are downstairs and they just are not right.they dont get along and it affects us all!  it affects me so obviously its gonna affect my boy!!.. but in the mean time while we hafta stay here because of the situation,,can u reccomend any advice?  and any supplement ideas? thank u

[nursegirl6572]

I agree with remar.  From what I could gather from a quick internet search, it looks like hair loss is a side effect that some on Zoloft have reported.  Not COMMON mind you, but a small percentage of people have reported it.

I'd also wonder if perhaps just the stress and anxiety couldn't be the culprit.  Also, how old is your son?  May be a combination of things.  Definitely keep working with the doctor, and go from there.

Let us know how he's doing, and I'm sorry for the loss of your brother.

[remar]

These meds can have side effects. I would recommend asking your pharmacist if this may be a possible side effect. They do know all about meds.
Has your son done well on Zoloft or is he still having a lot of anxiety? If the anxiety is still bad his hair loss could be from that.
I'm so sorry about your brother. Is your son getting any kind of grief counseling from his psychiatrist?