Friday, October 10, 2008 Hope asks

Q: I take methaltrexate and double doses of enbrel, my hair is falling out, which med is doing this?

The pharmicist says that neither of them have that side affect,but other women have been calling with same concern.  Please if someone knows the answer let me know so I can adjust my meds.

Answer This
Answers (16)
10/11/08 2:18pm

It's the Enbrel that is making your hair fall out. Nethaltrexate can cause this also but it's not as common as hair loss from Enbrel. Most of the biologic drugs make your hair fall out.

Reply
10/10/08 7:08pm

Hi my doctor told me that the methaltrexate could cause hair loss that it was rare but it was on of the side effects.

Reply
10/11/08 12:36pm

Are you takin folic acid?  I take methatrexate and my doctor prescribed folic acid with it. 

Reply
10/11/08 7:57pm

My Dr. just put me on Methaltrexate yesterday. He told me he has a few people loose their hair. He told me if this happens he would take me off.

Reply
10/18/08 7:40am

while i am not a doctor i have been on both medications and the one i believe may be doing it is the methotrexate, because it is actualy used for cancer patients in many cases.  i am no longer on the methotrexate but still the enbrel and can say i have noticed no significant hair loss, so my best guess would be the metho.

Reply
2/ 6/09 12:39pm

From my experience, it is the methaltrexate taking your hair out.  I hate loosing mine. 

 

Reply
2/ 6/09 12:41pm

From my experience, it is the methaltrexate taking your hair out.  I hate loosing mine. 

 

Reply
2/ 6/09 12:41pm

From my experience, it is the methaltrexate taking your hair out.  I hate loosing mine. 

 

Reply
2/16/09 2:03pm

I take folic with the methaltrexate and though my hair is thinning I haven't had a lot of loss. My RA doctor says that methaltrexate has resulted in hair loss in some patients and so I have to throw in with the other eight who have answered.  Methaltrexate does give me a slight headache.  Thanks to all that suffer this condition and take time to share.  I am a 59 year old male and RA has made it necessary to come up with a plan B for my future.

Reply
4/13/09 8:22pm

In the information sheet that comes with the prescription it says, mild hair loss.

Reply
5/19/09 8:55am

I am having the same problem with double Enbrel injections per week.  hair just comes right out when washing it all over my fingers.  it has to be the enbrel.  the only other thing that is new for me is prednisone.

Reply
5/20/09 7:25am

I happen to agree with you.  I stopped taking the meth months ago and am still losing hair all the time.  Enough so that I clog the drain in the tub twice a week.  Thank  you for your reply.

Hope

Reply
12/13/09 9:57pm

its definitely the pred.  when i was on it i would literally just shake my head and head would fall on the table....horrible, horrible,  not taking any longer, but still have thin hair..on enbrel and ultram- no hair loss whatsoever

Reply
9/10/09 9:31am

I have been taking methotrexate for rheumatoid arthritis since 2003 with no hair loss. My doctor prescribed folic acid along with it. In June 2009, my doctor added Enbrel. I started losing my hair. I have a lot of hair so it was only noticable to me. Four weeks ago I stopped the Enbrel because of an unexplained fever. My hair loss virtually stopped after a couple weeks being off it. Too much of a coincidence for it not to be the Enbrel. The doctor told me to restart it and if it happens again she'll switch me to humira.

Reply
9/10/09 9:35am

One more thing... I have come across many articles about Enbrel causing Lupus-like syndrome. The unexplained fever and the hair loss I experienced could actually fall under that category, which I will mention to my doctor.

Reply
5/30/10 4:08pm

It is definately the methotrexate.  I started at 4 pills a week 2.5 mg and it started falling out, then it was increased to 5 and OMG all over the place.  Now Im at 2 and its still coming out slowly.  My RA is putting me on Enbrel alone so my hair can start to grow back.  I only have mild RA so this seems extreme!  Good luck with MTX its brutal on the hair.

Reply
10/19/10 1:09am

This is my third year on Enbrel. I have just noticed hair loss in the last few months. I'm not taking any other meds (and had my thyroid checked, normal) so I think it's Enbrel.

Reply
1/18/11 3:55pm

I just switched from Humira to Enbrel about a month ago and noticed about two weeks after my first Enbrel dose that my hair was coming out in handfulls!  With the Humira, after about 5 months, I had a bad reaction with my psoriasis and it really aggrivated it.  I am thinking about going off of all of it at this point.

Reply
Answer This

Important:
We hope you find this general health information helpful. Please note however, that this Q&A is meant to support not replace the professional medical advice you receive from your doctor. No information in the Answers above is intended to diagnose or treat any condition. The views expressed in the Answers above belong to the individuals who posted them and do not necessarily reflect the views of Remedy Health Media. Remedy Health Media does not review or edit content posted by our community members, but reserves the right to remove any material it deems inappropriate.

Ask a Question

Get answers from our experts and community members.

Btn_ask_question_med
View all questions (3514) >
By Hope— Last Modified: 04/04/12, First Published: 10/10/08