My hair is falling out could it be the suboxone?

[jop60]

My hair is falling out so badly I am so depressed about it. Could Suboxone be the cause? I have been on it for 9 months and the last two months my hair is falling out all over the place. I am weening myself off the meds and hope and pray the hair will stop falling out and grow back in. All my blood work is normal. Will my hair grow back in?

[arisa786]

hi dear,,
             u really have positive thinking after these big losses..i appreciate you. my life is also very stressfull....so i cant manage other problems how they fall on my head..huuh....i lose happiness in my life for sure thats why i deprived of my beautiful hair.and now i dont think so they grow back in previous condition or same length.now i stopped all medications to see the result..nd the result will be sure the full baldness i think (crying frm inside)
regards.

[Intosh]

I've been on Suboxone for about 10 months. My hair use to be long, straight, and course. My hair is not only falling out but you can hold a hair up to the light and see the thickness change in each hair. With an educated guess concerning how long it takes my hair to grow, the timing is just about right from when I first started the Suboxone. I couldn't believe how dramatic the hair goes from thick and course to these little puny hairs that continue to fall out. It looks like it happen within a one months time frame of when I first started taking the Suboxone. I to went to a dermatologist. As a result I ended up at a known hair replacement center. So far I've spent around $20,000 TRYING to keep up with my hair falling out. I'm aggressively lowering my dosage of Suboxone and doing everything else I can to stop the process.
Of course I don't know for a fact that Suboxone is the problem. However relating a drugs historically timeline to Suboxone, this drug is a fairly new drug on the market here in the U.S. compared with something like Methadone. Personally I think Suboxone patients are test subjects. Every time I go to the clinic that prescribes the medication to me, I have to fill out a medical form concerning any side affects I maybe having along with a battery of other questions about the medication. The drug needs more testing on long term side effects. I imagine that's what we are helping the pharmaceutical development companies do.
As much as I hate to admit it but the drug has helped me stay off narcotics and I'm very thankful for that. If it is Suboxone that is causing our hair to fall out, we have other choices but how successful will those choices be? How does one weigh out life long priorities when taking these medications? Like every thing else in today's world we need more knowledge about these drugs. I don't think the government or pharmaceutical companies do the kind of in depth studies that should be done for one simple reason. They look at people like us and think the drug does what its suppose to do and any long term side effects don't matter. I think we fall into the same category as AIDS patients back in the 1980's when AIDS patients and the media had to rise hell to get momentum going to help them. They look at us as sub-human, what we get we deserve as punishment. People in general don't see addiction as a disease. I think this is still the case across the pharmaceutical, medical, and government institutions. I don't think they want to do any real in depth studies into addiction. When I say REAL I mean to cure it. There are all kinds of ways today to keep addiction from happening, they just don't practice it. Addiction and rehab is BIG BIG business for the economy but at who's expense?  I'm starting to sound a little paranoid so I'll stop here, but it sure leaves me scratching my head... I mean my bald head!    
I'm simply drawing on my personal experiences I hope things are different for other people and they don't have the same reactions to this drug as I have had. I hope after I'm clean from this medication my hair will start to grow back, but I'm not holding my breath.
On a positive note. I was on heavy narcotics for years after a car accident. I almost lost my family and friends among many other problems... like death! Suboxone helped bring me back from the brink! I must say: " I'd rather shine my bald head everyday with a smile on my face than to be laying in a cold grave".
"A sure way to lose happiness, is to want it at the expense of everything else". Bette Davis

[Suzy4321]

♥️ same situation. Thanks for sharing...please update us!

[arisa786]

dear dr.kaul,

i have the same problem alopecia since last six months.i suffered of typhoide 6 months ago.thats y i think i lost my precious hair.my hair type is silky n straight.i went several times to dermatologist but still not cure.used many medicines like multivitamines etc..still not stopped to falling hair.please help me out !!!!!!

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Hair loss is not a known side effect of suboxone. Hair loss is termed as alopecia in medical terms. Aside the male pattern baldness, alopecia could occur secondary to a few causes such as cellulites, fungal infections, hormonal imbalance, hypervitaminosis A, some autoimmune diseases such as lupus, medications side effect, infection, folliculitis etc. I would suggest consulting a dermatologist for an evaluation to rule out the above mentioned causes and appropriate treatment.
Hope this helps.

Take care!