Category: Drugs (Cause Hair Loss)

In November 2004 I took Ibuprofen for a knee injury and by the end of the week my pain was unbearable; the Ibuprofen did not help with the pain at all, but all of my hair fell out. Well, I used Nioxin and have been taking one Biotin and 3 Hair, Body, and Nail pills a day.

My hair on my head is growing back (finally) It’s very short and I can see differing lengths…. But I have also noticed very fine hairs growing on my face and not just where my eyebrows used to be. Is this the normal fuzz that was probably there before that I didn’t notice or are my vitamins trying to make me look like a man.

I’m 37 years old. Please help me.

While many drugs may cause hair loss, I suspect your hair loss may have been coincidental or from the physical stress caused by your knee injury. With respect to the fuzz you notice on your face, it is most likely that was there before and you had not noticed. You can see this in everybody. We’re all fuzzy!

Doctor,
You recently mentioned (GNC Men’s Mega Men and Hair Loss) that a certain GNC multivitamin contains DHEA, which can produce hair loss as a side effect. I use the GNC mega men multivitamin, and I can’t find any mention of DHEA -or the full name of Dehydroepiandrosterone- in the ingredients. Does it go by a different name? I suspect one or more of the following ingredients: L-Arginine, L-Carnitine, L-Glutamine, L-Taurine, L-Valine, L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine.

I also take a protein shake that contains much larger quantities of L-Isoleucine, L-Leucine, L-Valine, and L-Glutamine. In addition, I take a creatine supplement with L-Glutamine, Taurine, Glycine, K-Arginine, and L-Methionine.

Ironically, I usually take these supplements alongside of a DHT blocker (first propecia, more recently Avodart) because I was experiencing thinning hair a while back. I’m under the impression some of these may increase DHT production in the body.

I would appreciate it if you could tell me which, if any, of these ingredients produce hair-loss, or increase DHT, as a side-effect.The good news is that I haven’t noticed any additional hair loss, but I would like to cease use of these products ASAP if they accelerate the hair loss process.

Thank you very much.

My comments that reflected the presence of DHEA in the product GNC Men’s Mega Men come from the GNC.com website, where it states “Features DHEA, one of the most abundant hormones produced in the body and is a precursor to other hormones.. ”

DHEA can cause hair loss and that is all I have said about it. I am not against this product, just looking for things that cause hair loss and reporting what I learn to this audience.

With regard to the other listed nutrient supplements that you asked about, clearly a deficiency of any essential dietary elements in your diet can, by themselves produce hair loss.

L-Glutamine: There is a suggestion that high amount of this can cause increases in growth hormone, which could therefore produce hair loss if that association bares out.

Taurine, Glycine, K-Arginine, and L-Methionine : There is no direct association that I know of between taking amino acids supplement and hair loss. Any deficiency in these however, will produce hair loss. Good diets should alone produce adequate amounts of these essential nutritionals.

Hi Dr. Rassman, just a quick question. Upon starting propecia 7 months ago i noticed a definate decrease in body hair. Have you come across this in your practice and what would you make of it.

Many thanks

Yes, through people that have written in to this blog, I have heard that this is a side effect. I have had one patient of mine who (like you) reported reduced body hair with Propecia use. I just wish it would have done that for me because at times I feel that I look like the picture on the right.

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