So I have been on citalopram, a basic antidepressant, for about a year? I was on 20mg dosages but after about half a year I started having crying spells and anxiety attacks again, so he upped my dosage to a still regular 40mg. I have been on it for about 3 months and I have been noticing my hair coming out in the shower more (ill find hair in between my legs after I shower, my girlfriend has even noticed) and significant hair coming out in my hairbrush and so much so it has been causing drainage problems in my shower and I want to cry when I pull the hair out. I can't go to the doctor until the 22nd(I live out of state from my doctor because of university), and don't want to just stop because last time I did it was almost catastrophic. BUT I also don't want to keep losing hair. What should I do?
Hair loss (alopecia) isn't listed as an adverse reaction to anti-depressants, particularly SSRIs, but there have been a few studies of women who reported hair loss while on certain SSRIs. Even though your physician is out-of-town, you need to call. Anytime you expect that you are having an adverse reaction to any medication, you need to notify your physician. Your physician may want to change your medication and you should not wait until your office visit to mention it.
I should have mentioned that I looked it up online and while it isn't listed as a side effect, I have found several women experiencing the same thing as me.
The manufacturer is only required to list adverse reactions that were observed during clinical trials. The rare adverse reactions don't get listed. Here's an swedish study that documents that it is a rare, but acknowledged, reaction: Alopecia associated with treatmen... [Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2006] - PubMed - NCBI