hair and liver problems
 

I have been on Neurontin for about 5 years for peripheral neuropathy in my feet. has anybody experienced hair loss or liver problems after long term use of this drug? I can find nothing associated with these two problems in the drug "side effects" info. Anybody else?

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

Neurontin is excreted whole and not metabolized by the liver.
So liver damage is not reported for it.

Many anti-seizure drugs do affect the hair, and typically the recommendation is to use zinc for that.
One OptiZinc a day should do the trick.

Also some people find MSM (a source of sulfur) helps.

Some women lose hair when taking birth control pills or hormone replacement drugs.

Poor protein intake can also lead to hair loss.

Sometimes the pituitary can malfunction as well, but a doctor would have to evaluate that. Hair loss is pretty common in stress situations, and prolonged illness.

I really appreciate the information. I will try zinc. I think being so uncomfortable 24-7 leads to lots of stress. Sleep is interrupted nightly and you can never get away from the pain. I take 1600mg of Neurontin daily.....at first I was taking 3200mg and one day I was driving around looking for a place to shoot myself. Quit that doseage real fast.

one of my toenails had lost it color turning yellowish and still continues to grow but is thicker. Its on the the toe that is the numbest. What may be causing that?

Are you on any other meds then neurontin or do you take over the counter ones like tylenol etc? I think those can be hard on the liver so why I ask. Have you had recent blood work to rule out anything else that can be causing hair and liver problems? How is your diet?
Hope you feel better

I am 58 years old and usually eat on the run like a teenager. Sometimes I am ashamed of how I take care of myself....like every other woman...everybody else comes first. I run my own business and am constantly on the go. I think I just need to get my priorities in order. Horrible diet could be part of this.

julu im a man and have been having liver problems the last two years without knowing it. I cut out the amitriptylene and am taking some additional supplements such as milk thistle to help my liver heal. I will get retested in October and hopefully will be doing better liver wise. i dont drink, or smoke, but it could be medication related from asthma meds and amitriptylene. My hair is doing ok .....still .....not bad for 54 ha!

Did you have blood work recently and was any other nutrition or levels off? Could you see a dietician or try to slowly change your diet? I am not saying it will help this as I don't know but it could not hurt and may make you stronger to fight. Some nutrition issues though can also impact liver and hair loss. I remember with my liver issues I was put on a special diet to put less stress on the liver

Is the amitriptylene for neuropathy? If it is do you find that it helps?

yes it helped m ewith pain at night and let me sleep through the night once i got to sleep, but its not easy on the liver and so i cut it out when i got the report about my deteriorating liver from a pulmonary cat scan.