Finding clumps of hair in my shower drain 4 months into Ozempic. There is no ‘just’ about losing your hair.
I’ve been on Ozempic 0.5mg for about 4 months now and the weight loss has been good (down 28 lbs) but the last few weeks I’m finding SO much hair in my shower drain. Like clumps. And when I brush my hair, my brush is just filled with it.
My doctor kind of brushed it off (no pun intended) and said hair loss can happen with rapid weight loss and it’s ‘just’ telogen effluvium that will grow back. But there’s no ‘just’ about this when you’re watching your hair fall out every single day. It’s genuinely distressing and I feel like people don’t take it seriously because the weight loss is supposed to be the ‘good’ part.
I’m 38F and never had hair issues before this. My diet is pretty good, I’m hitting my protein goals (about 90g per day), taking biotin and a multivitamin. I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do here.
Has anyone else dealt with this? Did it eventually stop? Did your hair actually grow back? I’m trying to decide if I should lower my dose or just stop completely because I honestly don’t know if the weight loss is worth feeling like this every morning.
I went through this exact same thing around month 5 on Wegovy. It was really scary and I cried more than once about it. My doctor had me get my iron and ferritin levels checked and my ferritin was super low even though my iron was technically in range. Started taking iron supplements and upped my protein even more (I thought I was eating enough but I really wasn’t). It did eventually stop around month 8 and I can see little baby hairs growing back now at month 11. I stayed on the medication but I also slowed down my dose increases. Just wanted you to know you’re not alone and it CAN get better.
The telogen effluvium thing is real but yeah it absolutely sucks and doctors can be so dismissive about it. Basically what happens is rapid weight loss or any major stress to your body can shock your hair follicles into the resting phase all at once. Then 2-3 months later they all fall out together. The timeline matches up with your experience.
What MountainGirl said about ferritin is spot on – get a full iron panel done. Also check your thyroid while you’re at it, zinc, vitamin D. Sometimes the restrictive eating on these meds creates deficiencies we don’t realize. Are you eating enough calories overall? Sometimes people cut too much while on GLP-1s.
this happened to my wife and she ended up pausing her tirzepatide for about 6 weeks. The hair loss slowed down pretty quick after that. She restarted at a lower dose and has been fine since. I know everyone wants to push through but sometimes your body is telling you something, you know? The weight will still come off at a lower dose, just maybe a bit slower. Her doctor actually supported the break which surprised us both.
I’m dealing with this RIGHT NOW at month 3 on Mounjaro and it’s honestly making me so anxious. I keep telling myself it’s temporary but when you see it happening it’s hard to believe it’ll stop. I’ve ordered some hair skin and nails vitamins and trying to up my collagen intake too. My coworker noticed my hair looked thinner last week and I wanted to crawl under my desk tbh. Anyway no helpful advice just solidarity because you’re right, there’s nothing ‘just’ about it when it’s happening to you.