Hair Loss Started When I Began Taking Ambien
I have been taking ambien for an extended period to aid in getting enough sleep. I go to sleep okay, but wake up after about two hours and cannot go back to sleep without the medication. I first took sonata and then ambien CR, but realized that, in my case, ambien worked just as well. However, I have noticed that my rate of hair loss has noticeably increased beyond the normal aging process. In looking back, the hair loss started soon after the time that I started taking the ambien. In addition, I have had itching scalp as well as one infected place on the crown of my head. I had never had these issues before. Could this result from the use of ambien products?
There seems to be many people who have personal experiences with Ambien (zolpidem) that suggest hair loss from it, although the literature does not state this relationship. You might probably reconsider taking the medication and see if stopping it stops the hair loss. As Ambien is a prescription drug, you should discuss the change with your prescribing doctor. I also couldn’t find anything in the literature relating scalp itch or skin irritation with this medication.
See our previous blog post about Ambien here.
Wow, I just made a decision to STOP taking Ambien. I too have been taking Ambien – going on maybe 18 mos to 2 years. Last August I had an episode where my hair just dried up & my scalp became painful (itchy & sore) and my hair began to fall out at an alarming rate. It occured about a week or two after I had tried a new “no amonia” hair dye so I chalked it up to having some kind of allergic reaction. (My primary physician & dermatologist could give me no further insight.) The hair loss eventually slowed down & the pain subsided a bit so I figured my scalp was recovering. But then I had another episode in Dec.08 where the hair loss & pain accelerated again and it has not yet subsided. I’ve been racking my brain to try and figure out what could be causing this – hormones? diet? disease?…and last night, as I was taking my Ambien, the thought occurred to me…”Could it be the Ambien?”. So today I “Googled it” and HELLO…I found this blog. My heart goes out to the others who have and/or are experiencing this very same nightmare – it is unimaginable! I will be sure to discuss this with my Doc and post an update soon. Best wishes ladies.
I have taken Ambien since it came out. It’s only since it went generic to lopiderm that I noticed the hair loss. I couldn’t figure it out at first but after reading these blogs I am positive that the lopiderm is to blame. I am going to stop immediately and hope my hair comes back. Good luck to all of you and thanks for taking the time to write about it, otherwise I would never have figured it out.
I have been having hair loss issues for about 6 months. I’m 50 years old and up till now had a full head of hair. I was having sleep issues and started taking Ambien. Later I started noticing that my hair was thinning very rapidly over a short period. My scalp also itched and tingled for no reason. I was extremely perplexed and couldn’t figure out could be causing the hair loss. I saw a dermatologist and she said that my scalp was red but there was no apparent reason. I don’t take any other medication so like others thought it could be the Ambien. Once I stopped taking Ambien the tingling and itching stopped. We’ll see if the hair will return.
I am a 30 year old woman and took ambien for about a month. I also started to lose my hair at an alarming rate. I couldn’t figure out why. Then I read all the posts other people said about ambien. When I asked my Dr he said it was definitely possible. Even though it is not listed as a side effect what they do when they do a trial run on medicine is they get together a group of people and hope that they represent the average person. Then they list all side effects these people had. So these people do not always represent the rest of the population. I tried to contact ambien and the FDA but got no where. Luckily I stopped it early and my hair has almost stopped falling out after about 2 weeks. I will write again if it grows back. My hair is a little thinner but I don’t think it’s too bad yet. Thank you for people who wrote because I realized it was the ambien.
I am a 25 year-old male and have been taking Ambien regularly for the past 5 months. My family also has no history of hair-loss. However, upon the 4th month of taking Ambien I noticed severe hair-loss. I never really kept track of how much hair comes out when I shower, but when my lost hair clogs the drain in one episode it becomes very noticeable.
Please recognize this undocumented side-effect of this drug.
Unfortunately I have not decided which is worse: looking bad because I am balding at my age or feeling terrible because I get 1.5-3 hours of sleep a night.
so glad i found this site…the last thing i would have thought of was the ambien causing hair loss but its been happening to me ever since i started using it about 2 yrs ago…depressing..guess i’ll have to try and go it alone sleep wise…back to warm milk at night…guess my hair is more important to me than sleep lol..
I have been taking regular ambien for one year, and could not figure out why my hair is falling out like crazy. I just thought it was hormonal, (i\’m 37) , one day i googled \”ambien and hair loss\” and was alarmed to see how many other people were experiencing this side effect. I am off of Ambien now for one month, so i will see if my hair grows back. I am starting to see my scalp on the crown of my head, which is depressing. I hope i never have to take Ambien again, it\’s not worth it.
I am now sure that my hair loss is due to Ambien. I have been taking it for a littel over 6 months and also have experienced itching on my scalp and a terrible loss of hair. Do amy of you know if the loss is temporary? I am not taking any other medicine, so I can say for sure that it is Ambien. Please do not take this unles you are already bold. If you know of anything that can help regrow hair, I would appreciate it. We should make this known to te public, the lab, the doctors. Thanks.
What a relief! I have been going through great pains to explore why my hair has been falling out for well over 2 years. The patterns did just not make any sense and I have had every test imaginable relating to hormones etc, seen dermatologists and geneologist – all leading nowhere. I have gone through a myriad of different shampoos, diet changes, on-off the pill, vitamin supplements – you name it. And like a bolt of lightning it occurred to me that perhaps it could be the Stilnox (what we call Ambien here in Australia). I love the stuff, its like a special “treat” to have a good night’s sleep several nights a week and sometimes I go through periods of taking it every night. A few months back I stopped taking it altogether and my hair stopped falling out, but it also coincided with going back on the pill, so I assumed it was that. But a month later, whilst on holiday and taking Stilnox every night my hair went through an enormous shedding which freaked me out no end. This was so depressing because I was back at square one – it was obviously not to do with the pill. I stopped taking Stilnox when I returned from holiday because I didn’t have any for awhile. The shedding seemed to have almost stopped. I started it again about two weeks ago, and voila the shedding has begun again. I feel quite silly that I have not put two & two together before now – today – when I finally googled it. I now feel confident that if I stop taking the Stilnox the shedding is likely to stop. I really hope so because my hair is amazingly thin in comparison to its usual state and I can’t afford to lose much more. I am so hoping this is the cause and that my hair will actually grow back. I have also experienced a very senstivie and itchy scalp with no dandruff or other indicators of irritation which I assumed was an allergy to shampoo or just a reaction to so much hair loss. I have been taking Stilnox for well over ten years on and off, but have also been producing children and going through hormonal changes during this time, which I have always assumed was causing the shedding. I think I have explored absolutely every other avenue EXCEPT the Stilnox … will keep you posted as to progress and would love to hear any similar stories.
Update – 4 months on and I am happy to say my hair is growing back – not at its original state yet, but definitely growing and only a small percentage of hair loss. I attribute this definitely to stopping the sleeping tablets. I hope this helps anyone else going down the same road. Cheers.
Please read. Although there may not be documented literature to back this up, a lot of us here have personal stories to back it up.
My hair has been fine until I started taking ambien 1.5 months ago. It has receded about 1cm in the last month and my whole head of hair has become fine, thin, and weak. I haven’t changed anything in my diet or lifestyle in the last month (except for the Ambien). Sad to say it, but it looks like its time to let it go.
WOW! I am sitting here on Vacation and racking my brain why my hair is falling out. And was wondering if it is Ambien and found this blog. Thanks for posting everyone. I’ve been taking Ambien for 4 or 5 years and it has been falling out like crazy. I do have a thyriod problem and always thought it was that. But my hair is getting so thin I’m really getting worried. I also had tingling and itching with no redness on my scalp a year ago that went away. I’m also going to stop taking it that I also love the good night sleep. But my hair is more important to me also.
I’m also so glad I found this site. I’ve taken Ambien now for almost two years. I’ve gone through two very traumatic events and assumed that was the cause. Here five months later with my life so much calmer and still it’s falling out, so what could be the cause?? I’ve changed shampoos and blood tests were no different than before. The aha moment was when I went from taking 1/2 of an Ambien to a whole tablet.. wow, did I notice the hair falling out. I found this site while googling and will no longer take Ambien. I too hate to lose that nice 15 minutes to fall asleep but with hair grown to my waist, I’m not giving that up lol. Seriously though, I’m so tired of the itchy, tingly scalp and finding long hair everywhere. Thanks again to everyone who has posted here. I’ll find another way to get to sleep and that’s that.
THANK YOU to all who took the time to post here. I have been losing my hair as well at a rapid rate! My hair has literally been clogging the shower drain. I have been on Ambien for several months, but never made the association between the drug and my hair loss. Thank goodness I decided to do a search! WOW! I am done with Ambien! I can only hope that my hair will grow back… or at least stop falling out! Will update everyone. Thank you again for these posts. :)
I was on Ambien several years ago & was losing my hair but never realized it was from the Ambien. My hair grew back after 4 months of stopping Ambien. I recently got back on Ambien & the hair loss stated again. Until I read these blogs…I now know it is the Ambien. Thanks to everyone who posted the side-effects of Ambien. Good-bye Ambien! Thank you everyone!
I was wondering about the hairloss. Mine has been coming out like crazy!!! I need to stop taking Ambien. Quesiton for you that did stop taking it. Did you have any problems stopping the meds? I have heard of some people having a hard time stopping them. Also how long did it take for hair to stop falling out and start growing back??
Thanks!!
Katy…I stopped taking it 7 weeks ago and my hair loss has noticeably stopped and pretty much right away. However, I have not noticed any replenishment. I imagine it’ll take a very long time for that and I hope it will come back! I used to have a lot of hair, not anymore! Also I was surprised that I have been able to sleep, it’s obviously not the instant falling to sleep as w/ the med but I’ll listen to some talk radio (or something like it) and it helps me to drift off w/out my mind racing.
I want to add something else to my previous post. I quit because of the hair loss but discovered an added benefit to quitting. I feel this med was making me mildly depressed. I had always attributed it to peri menopause and did lots of exercise to cure that feeling (and exercise did help immensely). However, there is a noticeably lightened mood (and the brain fog has cleared)from stopping this sleep med. And I was only taking one half of one pill!
Thank you so much to everyone who has posted! I have been so upset about my thinning hair, there are no words. But taking Ambien explains it all. I plan on stopping it asap.
Wow…I started taking Ambien on April 18, 2012, and recently discovered the crown of my head has significant hair loss. It started off with itching and mild burning at the crown and at the edges. The itching and burning became so frequent and unbearable, I decided to look at the affected area. I was devastated to discover the significant amount of hair that was missing. The pain is so severe that moving my hair or even laying my head down on my pillow is unbearable at times. I will stop taking it to see if the symptoms and loss subsides or stops.
Im so glad I found this blog! I started to experience a large amount of hair loss after I went from an occasional dose of Ambien, to nightly use. I had no idea that hair loss was a side effect until I happened to experience daily headaches when I started taking the Ambien nightly and came across this blog and the correlation of hairl loss and increased dosage, started to add up!! I had an incredibly healthy head of hair, up until that point then I noticed the terrible thinning and long strands from the root all over the floor with just daily combing!! I pray that it comes back and I have discontinued the Ambien! The hair loss she become a listed side effect, immediately !!
OMG I CANT BELIVE IT AND I THOUGHT I WAS SICK MASIVE LOOS OF HAIR IN 2 MONTHS
I am so glad I found this blog. I was taking Ambien/Zolpidem occasionally (2 pills per week and half dose only) since a month or so and during that time my hair started falling like never before! strands on the floor, in the shower, on clothes, in the comb… I could not associate this thinning to anything, as my diet and lifestyle has not changed a bit. NOw I am certain it is Zolpidem. How unethical that a pharmaceutical company does not include this warning! I am so upset with my lost hair but hopefully it grows back. Never had a hair thinning problem before…
THANK GOD I AM A NERVOUSE NELLY AS MY BOYFREIND SAYS, I AM A HAIR STYLIST AND BEEN UNDER STRESS ( TODAY WHO ISNT) I WAS NOT SLEEPING SO MY DR GAVE ME AMBIAN AND I WAS ON IT FOR ABOUT 6 MONTHS WHEN MY HAIR STARTED TO FALL OUT THIS WAS THE 1 ST TIM I CHALKED UP TO HAVE MY GALBLADDER OUT AND THE STRESS I STOPPED TAKING THE AMBIAN AND NOTIVED MY HAIR STOPPED FALLING OUT… ABOUT 6 MONTHS GO BY AND I START THE AMBIAN YET AGAIN I WAS ON IT FOR ANOTHER 6 MONTHS OR SO AND I NOTICED MY HAIR FALLING OUT I THOUGHT I WAS IN MY NATURAL SHEDDING TIME WE ALL HAVE BUT OMG ONE NIGHT MY HEAD STARTED TO ITCH AND BURN I MEAN WHERE I COULDNT STOP IT WAS HORIABLE THINKING I MAY HAVE CAUGHT I SKIN INFECTION OR HAD SOMETHING IT WOULDNT STOP THEN I GOT THESE LITTLE RED OOZY BUMPS WHICH SCAPPED OVER NASTY…. I COLORED MY HAIR AND IT SEMED TO HELP… A WEEK OR SO LATER MY HAIR WAS FALLING OUT ALL OVER, MOSTLY ON THE SIDES AND ON THE TOP. I WENT TO A DERMATOLOGIST AND SHE AGREED IT COULD BE THE AMBIAN…. SO I STOPPED THE MEDS AND IT CONTINUED TO FALL OUT FOR ABOUT ANOTHER MONTH…. I LOST UP TO 60 % OF MY HAIR THANK GOD I KNOW HOW TO STYLE MY HAIR PEOPLE CULD NOTICE A BIT AND WHEN I SHOWED THEM THEY WHERE IN SHOCK…. THANK GOD IT SLOWED DOWN TO A NORMAL RATE…. AND I HAVE NEW GROWTH THANK YOU……. I HAVE LITTLE STUBBYS ALL OVER BUT IT IS GROWING BACK….. THANK YOU FOR THIS SITE AS I REALIZED TO ALL THE OOTHER STORIES ABOUT THE ITCYNESS AND SORE AND THE HAIR FEELING WEIRD LIKE IT HURT… I REALIZED IT WAS THIS DRUG,,, DO NOT TAKE IS MY THOUGHT…. THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL…..
Update to previous posts.
Just reading through these posts again – mostly to convince myself that it is the sleeping pills causing the hair loss, as I have succumbed to still taking on occasion (half tab maybe twice a week). And yes, it seems to coincide that the weeks I take the Stillnox (zolpiderm) I experience shedding, but on a much less scale than previously. However, when I stopped taking it altogether the shedding did not stop immediately and I thought it may have been linked to a shampoo allergy (ie. to sulfate). Switching to sulfate & silicone free hair products did help and I have been using them ever since. My theory now is that the zolpiderm causes a sensitivity to these chemicals as well. It takes a little while to get used to using these shampoos, as they don’t foam like regular shampoos, but it is worth the persistence. I was using very expensive Kerastase range before (which did make my hair look nice) but in all honesty I can now tell no difference by using the chemical free shampoos and my hair is as healthy as its ever been. The volume of hair is still not back to original, but if I can discipline myself to stop taking the sleeping pills altogether, I reckon it would be thicker. To sum up, I definitely think the zolpiderm causes the hair loss, but I also think it causes a sensitivity to shampoo chemicals and it is worth trying chemical-free products. I will add though, I was taking zolpiderm for a very long period of time – on & off for well over ten years with no other side effects whatsoever, so maybe this sensitivity developed over a long period of time. Can’t hurt to try though! :)
My doctor started me on ambien about 2 years ago, she told me it was habit forming and would only give me 10 pill to last me 3 months. So in the beginning I used it very sparingly. I then started a new job working night shifts and had to sleep during the day, I found a new doctor and they prescribed me zoldipem. I took it religiously every day. That first month of being on it, I noticed 30+ hairs on my pillow every morning, I got out the lint roller and thougth oh maybe thats a weeks worth…nope! Next day the same, then came the shower…removing hair from the drain, bathroom floor, sink, clothes…I freaked and knew something was wrong. I have gone through blood tests, dermatologist, got off my antidepressants, stopped my birth control pill, take supplements…done everything…! And still I shed. The only thing I didn’t do, OR wanted to believe it could be that wonder sleep drug! BUT now I have decided to stop! I have been trying to cut back for months and was currently only taking 2.5mg a night, but last night decided to just take 50mg of benadryl and I SLEPT! I feel good today! I’m sooo quiting this horrible drug! I also noticed when I was on it was more irritable and depressed. ANYONE who as updates on hair regrowth after stopping ambien please POST! I want to hear some positives!
I started taking Abiem the first week of August, after a month I started losing my hair excessively, everwhere. I thought it might be my thyroid, hormones, hair color. I had several blood test to prove these symptoms were not the culprit. Nothing else in my life has changed, this medication should have a side effect as hair loss. Thank you all who wrote an article, to show me this is my problem, I hope to see hair in a few months. How sad is this of the FDA.
I’m so happy to have found this blog! I’ve been taking 7.5 mg. of ambien every night for the past 3 years. I only took the full 10 mg. once and experienced really strange dreams. Anyway, Shortly after beginning the ambien, I began to notice my hair was coming out by the hand full every morning! At the time I was under an extreme amount of stress so I attributed the hairloss to that. However, once the stress was over the hairloss continued at an alarming rate. Even a year after my stress had ended I continued to lose my hair. I tried numerous shampoos, dietary changes, vitamins & supplements. Ambien’s website says nothing about hairloss, so I dismissed it. Now, that I quit Ambien almost four weeks ago, my hairloss has slowed. This has led me to the conclusion that Ambien played a significant role in my hairloss. Oh, I also experienced the intermittent tingling sensation and sharp pains on my scalp.
I would encourage anyone who is considering or who is taking this drug to seek other alternatives.
I wondered if anyone has experienced a difference using generic Ambien vs brand resulting in hair loss? I noticed the hair loss with using the generic. Prior to that, using brand, I hadn’t noticed hair loss.
Thank you all for posting to this site! I have been taking Ambien for almost a year and have noticed a tremendous hair loss. I’m holding back the tears now becuase I’m so happy to know the reason but also sad to know it’s the Ambien that’s caused this. No warning of this in the side effects. I plan to stop right away and pray the hair grows back.
My hair has been shedding and thinning rapidly, I was trying to figure it out; and then I thought of the Ambien, and sure enough I find this blog. Now, I have to choose hair or sleep. What a woman to do? Help!!!
I regularly take ambien to help me sleep. I travel for business and it helps to get settled in strange hotels. I have been taking it periodically over the past five years. I finally put two and two together to figure out that this might be the reason for my hair loss–it has been falling out at an alarming rate the past few years. I do have regrowth and now I think it is during the periods that I do not take the medication. I just googled ambien and hair loss and found this site. I will be discontinuing the ambien as I cannot afford anymore hair loss. Good luck to us all!
I googled for hair loss + zolpidem and found your blog. Well, I started taking zolpidem TWO days ago and my body reacted weirdly, by making my hair fall like crazy. My hair is very sensitive to changes in medication, diet, etc so I thought it could be the medicine. I took clonazepam before for 2 years, stopped because I got resistance and now this is the third medication that I try without good results :(
After finding this site several months ago while looking for answers to my sudden hair loss, I was forced to take a hard look at my medications. I had gone off birth control and Adderall, hoping my hair loss was due to one of those as I wasn’t ready to give up my Ambien. But after reading so many posts here with symptoms exactly like mine (itchy scalp, excessive shedding, thinning…) I knew that I had to go off Ambien to know for sure. I had been on it for nearly 3 years and in the last year started to notice hair falling out constantly and my scalp was starting to show. I’m a 28 year old female so I know some thinning is expected but not this much.
One night I decided to just cut it out cold turkey. With the aid of acupuncture I slept for maybe 1 hour each night for 3 weeks, and it was extremely difficult! But there’s hope out there guys, it really can be done!
It’s been almost 3 months since I’ve gone off Ambien and I’ve noticed a HUGE change in the texture of my hair! It’s not as dry or brittle. My scalp doesn’t itch and the soreness is going away. I feel like the shedding has significantly slowed down as well. I haven’t noticed any new growth yet though but I know that can take months.
An extra bonus is that I feel AMAZING! I have more energy, am happy and clear headed. I had no idea how much Ambien was effecting my moods until I was completely off of it.
It’s going to be a difficult road if you choose to go off it, but by practicing healthy sleeping habits ie: no computer/tv 1 hr before bed, lots of exercise during the day, no sleeping in late, no food after 7:00pm, don’t hang out in your room or on your bed….all have helped. I also have been experimenting with binaural beats for sleep which can be found on youtube. Just be sure to wear head phones to block outside sound. It’s weird at first but I fall asleep faster when I do this.
I know I’m a lucky one as I expected it to take longer to adjust to no drugs, but I truly feel that acupuncture and the better sleep habits aided in such a fast recovery. I’m still only getting about 6 hours of sleep a night, but it’s a deep sleep that I never got before…even on Ambien!
Good luck guys! I’ll keep you posted if I notice new growth :)
Hi Megan,
Did your hair grow back??
I took ambien for 7 weeks straight and my hair thinned noticeably. no one had ever heard of it but I’m very glad I found this site. after reading all these post I decided to stop and I too noticed the shed slow down. it still is but no where near as much. as a woman it’s devastating to lose her hair but hair can always grow back. I just wanted to share this with someone who is hurting the way I was and still am. yeah the ambien causes allot of damage but there are people who lose houses or a spouse or even a child these things in life can’t just get grown back the way hair can. you can clearly see my scalp it’s very upsetting but hey who cares? hair grows back don’t let this steal your life and happiness.
Monica that was so sweet. Your right there are people with significant losses on a much higher level.
I am a physician and have been using zolpidem/Ambien for sleep the night before big procedures for several years. This past year I liked it more after having several major surgeries myself since I didn’t have to use so much pain medicine to fall asleep and awoke with more alertness. The past 2 months I have experienced nearly a 50 per cent hair loss. I have stopped using the drug and find hair loss decreasing. Thanks to everyone for sharing
My whole life I had a huge head of hair. I started taking Ambien on a nightly basis in January, 2014, because it was “so safe.” One day in March, I experienced a sudden, massive hair loss (it came out in handfuls), and I was “diagnosed” as having sudden onset telogen effluvium … supposedly triggered by stress. Since then, my hair has continued to shed (over 50% hair loss) and my scalp would tingle. A few days ago. my scalp started to itch and burn.
Determined to figure out the real trigger of the TE and the scalp pain, I had the “ahah” moment this morning .. it all started after I was prescribed Ambien. After the epiphany, I googled online and found out I wasn’t alone.
PS: Since starting Ambien I also have been experiencing “allergies” (that I never had before) as well as ear aches, ear infections, sinus infections and drippy nose bleeds.
After going through breast cancer, and losing all my hair during chemo I was given zolpidem for sleep. I had my hAir grew back, become thick and was back to normal, up until a few months ago. I’ve been on ambien for at least 6 years. Never ever thought it was this making my hair fall out, as I have other health issues. The is CRAP!!! Someone start a class action lawsuit. I already lost my hair once.
As I explained in a lengthy response which the computer chose to eat the first time: Ambien is a poison. The body goes to sleep in order to deal with the effects of the poison. If your sleep time is spent trying to negate the damage done by poison to your body, your body never gets a chance to refresh itself and repair daily wear and tear. This means your body stops worrying about growing hair properly, generating moisturizing oils for your hair, emptying metabolites from your eyeball (thus you get blurry vision), or upping your levels of thinking brain chemicals and immune function. Additionally, in many large urban areas of the world (like Los Angeles, California) there is now major aerial spraying for mosquito control. The new “green” pesticides contain genetically manufactured manmade organisms. These organisms infect the scalp and skin and can cause hair loss and horrible itching. Depending on your DNA, the parasitic infection then enters your bloodstream and begins attacking organs. People start dying mysteriously and developing odd skin problems (e.g. actress Britney Murphy). Additionally, since RNA was used to construct these GMO pesticides, the special RNA gets into one’s body and works epigenetically to reconstruct dangerous pathogens already in your body. Your body neutralized the DNA of these pathogens by knocking out part of their DNA chain structure. The RNA comes in and kindly patches the missing DNA gap so the pathogen gets new life. All these restarted pathogens keep your immune system very busy. Net result, body stops worrying about hair health. A full head of glossy hair only occurs on healthy bodies.
HAS ANYONE EXPERIENCED A FULL HAIR REGROWTH??? There really hasn’t been much response to those who said they would repost this info. If anyone has, how long did it take? Does Ambien damage the hair follicle permanently??
I’m experiencing almost exactly what most of the previous postsers have said. I started Ambien around 3-4 months ago and recently I haven’t been able to figure out why my normally very thick hair has thinned sooooo much. The only thing different that I’ve not taken on a regular basis in terms of supplements or medicine is the Ambien. I stopped taking the Ambien several days ago once I made the hair loss connection. I’ve birthed 4 children and NEVER lost hair post pardum either. I’m very upset, about this, my hair is falling out at the roots and you can see the bulb on the tip where it came out, it’s not breaking off. PLEASE, ANYONE with good news??? Is my hair going to continue to fall out for a while?
Hi, I too lost more that half my hair on zolpidem. It really excelerated in the last year. The doctors could give me no answers and finally my dermatologist said it looked like hair loss from a medication. The beginning of February I quit the medication. Now its been almost 3 months and my hair loss is extremely less. I also have lots of new hair growth. After washing my hair it looks like a dandelion gone to seed there is so much new hair sticking out. As of two weeks ago I have no more itching and tingling. I don’t know if my hair will ever be what it was but I am so happy to finally figure out what was causing it. And also feel so much better. More energy and no depression which I feel like the Ambien caused. From reading other blogs it looks like Lunesta also causes hair loss.
I have been taking Zolpidem, the generic Ambiem for a couple years and wondered why my hair was dry and thinning and finally decided to blog this. The itching also got worse. What is a good alternative to this med? Would like to get off of this.
Thank you Jesus!! I’m so happy to find this site ,Ambien is the reason I have been losing my hair also I have been on Ambien for years and year and never thought Ambien was the problem as my doctor, dermatologist, never thought to look in to this drug.
I’m relieved to find others with the problem of hair loss or thinning after taking Ambien. I was beginning to think it was all in my head. I asked my doctor office about this and they said they couldnt really say they had heard of such before. However I stopped taking Ambien on my own. It’s been just a month and I still can’t tell my hair is coming back? I decided last night to take an Ambien just to get some good rest and already today I had the tingly scalp and itch to come back and my scalp is sore. Needless to say NO MORE AMBIEN. Just wondering if I can look forward to new hair growth??? Please someone give me something to look forward to!!
I had been taking ambien every night since 2007 up until this past August 2015. I weaned my self off of the pills after reading some of these forums with many people asking the same question I was asking myself.. “Is my hair loss, due to taking ambien.” The answer for me was, “YES”!! I was losing soo much hair for the past few years to the point I had to use hair root cover spray. I would literally paint my scalp with that to hide all the bare scalp areas. It was so hard to comb, due to dry and brittle hair. I would see handfuls of hair falling out in shower whenever I washed my hair, which I would only wash 2-3 times a week or else I felt I would have gone completely bald!! I was depressed, embarrassed, I just thought maybe I would take after my grandfather and become bald like he was.. I figured maybe it skipped a generation and I am destined to be one of those weird bald women :( But I started looking up this question and came across so many people having this same issue. So I decided to wean off the ambien and about 1 month later I parted the hair on my scalp and saw tiny baby hairs sprouting here & there. My heart was overjoyed. I noticed drastic hair change by December 2015. What a relief!! My suggestion is to please speak to your doctor about switching your medication before just getting off of it. Very important! Get your blood tested to rule out any thyroid issues, iron deficiency etc.. Eat healthier, drink lots of water, I take a multivitamin and additional vitamin for hair skin & nails daily. I massage my scalp to stimulate hair growth and I haven’t been this happy in a LONG time. My scalp is almost completely covered again. My hair is so much healthier now, it has bounce and shine. So hope this helps someone out there realize, your not crazy, it’s not just you!! Good Luck!
Best wishes, Deb
This gives me hope.
Wishing you the best!
Shouldn’t someone be contacting a lawyer?
AMAZING.I couldn’t understand why my hair, almost”suddenly” became so thin, brittle and a lot lot of empty areas where hair used to be. I had done nothing differently. Yesterday I asked myself if it might be…mayyybe, the Ambien I have been on every night now for five months. So, like others, evidently as concerned as I became, I googled hair loss and ambien and am incredulous that this side effect is ommitted. It is OBVIOUSLY not a rare side effect but a common one. It’s very easy to become dependent on Ambien for sleep. But I am absolutely stopping taking this crap and hope my hair comes back. It just shows, again, how greedy and deceptive drug companies are.
I have been taking ambien for years and changed to zolpeden for cost reasons. I didn’t notice the hair loss at first but when it began I attributed it to age and heritage. After reading these bloods I realize what the culprit is. Sleeping pills! This will be a real battle but I must get off of this drug. Agree w/ Kimberly
I guess I can be added to the growing list. My hair, normally quite thick, has been shedding for 2 1/2 months at an alarming rate. I had blood tests done and everything is normal, including my thyroid. I did have a brief period of stress around the time the shedding began, but not since. A few weeks ago I began noticing the itching; just this past week the tingling and pain began. Since ambien is the only drug I take (been taking 5 mg for about 3 1/2 years) I googled ambien hair loss. What a shock–every comment pretty much describes what I have experienced. Interesting thing is that the hair loss did not begin until now, even though I had been taking ambien for so long. But after reading this, I’m convinced! Although I was coping well with the hair loss, it really is nice to have this information–it has been such a mystery. Thank you to all who shared their stories!
well, my hair has also been falling/ thining out and I take Ambien x 3 years, but I also take cozar x 3 years. I wont say its stress because I have had stress for years (teens) and always had thick hair. Its got to be one of those meds. It also is and has been itchy x 3 years ,yet I have no flakes or sores. So ii will stop the ambien and then cozar if I can.
My husband and I started this a week ago, we both noticed itching and burning on our scalp, at first we thought we caught headlice from our friends children.. wrong, the only thing that was different was we were taking that drug. Goodbye Ambien, I’d rather deal with insomnia than a bald hea
Yes! Ambien must be the problem. I have been taking Ambien/Zolpedim for years now. Have had hair loss regularly but not as bad as now. I did not connect the 2. I am now 60 and still taking lots of Ambien.(every night) My hair is falling out like Crazy!! Maybe because I’m older. Ichy Dry scalp. which I never had before. I am addicted to Ambien. I must stop it. It is very bad for a lot of things. One Dr. told me it can cause 40% higher mortality rate. There are a lot of things bad about Ambien. Sleepiness in day time, no energy, can’t concentrate. Coffee doesn’t wake me up anymore. Now I have to stop, and never sleep. I do drink alcohol but not that much. My husband is fine and does not have these problems because he doesn’t take it.
I have been taking Ambien for about 5 months and over the past 5 months my hair has receeded almost 2 inches from hair line. I could not figure out why until my husband advised me to google the medicine I was taking. It’s such a relief to see that I am not alone and I have the same symptoms with the tingling sometimes itchy scalp. Please tell me that the hair will grow back??
Thank you all for sharing!
There are no reports indicating that Ambien causes hair loss. Many people taking Ambien may be stressed or have other conditions of which any of these can cause hair loss
William Rassman, M.D.
The submitted comments above indeed report a very strong indication that Ambien causes excessive hair loss with scalp irritation. I don’t believe my alarming hair fall out from root to end and tingly, itchy scalp problems which began precisely at the same time I started taking Ambien is just a coincidence. The shedding slowed dramatically after I stopped the Ambien as did the scalp discomfort. If this is a generic drug issue versus brand we’ll never know but I’m willing to bet it is not the later given it’s unaffordable cost for most of us and the 0% coverage with even the priciest of insurance plans. Try stopping for a week. You have nothing to lose except your hair.
Yes, Ambien is known to cause hair loss and your stopping it seems to prove the cause and effect.