Aldactone / Spironolactone and Hair Loss

[LynnieB]

Hi there,

I am a new user to this board and I wanted to know if anyone else out there has the same problem as me...

I have been suffering gradual hair loss over many years ( I am a female, aged 38). I went to my doctor who diagnosed a hormone deficiency as the reason for the hair loss, and referred me to a dermatologist. I started seeing the dermatologist about 6 months ago and she has put me on Aldactone / Spironolactone to treat it. I started off taking 25mg, gradually increasing the dosage by 25mg each month, plus having regular blood tests to make sure that my kidney function, etc, was not being affected too much. I have recently increased my dose from 150mg to 175mg, but since the increase I seem to be having side effects (or what I believe to be side effects) such as nausea, diahorrea, tiredness / drowsiness, some mild lightheadedness. I am going to knock the dose back to 150mg to see if that relieves the side effects.

I would like to know if anyone else who is on this medication is suffering the same things? I guess I just want to know that these things I am experiencing ARE side effects from the medication or whether they are totally unrelated.

Oh, and for the record, the medication seems to be helping my hair loss. I have quite a bit of new regrowth at the front, plus sporadic regrowth on my scalp with minimal shedding.

[Susannah]

Hi, I don't take that drug, but rest assured, those are side effects. Go to Google and search for "aldactone side effects" (minus the quotes), and click on the first thing that comes up. All of the things you mentioned are listed. As well as down-regulating the amount of testosterone you produce (which is why Aldactone's good for female hair loss, and interestingly, hirsutism, which means it can prevent hair in places you don't want it like on your face), aldactone is also an antifungal. So, since some hair loss can at times be due to a fungal infection (this was actually my husband's case), it's like a double-whammy for your problem. I really think it's a good drug. The only drawback (and this is the same with most antifungals, and heck, let's admit it with most pharmaceuticals) is that it can cause liver damage.

So, since some of the problems you are describing can indicate liver damage, make sure that when you go to your doctor to have him/her lower your dosage, that you also get them to run a complete metabolic panel blood test, to make sure all of your liver markers look okay. Just tell your doctor that you are concerned about possible liver damage from having taken the drug, and I am sure they will run it for you (if not, then just kick and scream ).

Susannah