Skip to main content

Does Fetzima cause hair loss?

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Aug 15, 2023.

Official answer

by Drugs.com

Hair loss is not a common side effect of Fetzima and is not listed in the product information but post-marketing reports indicate hair loss has been reported in approximately 1.2% of people who reported side effects while taking Fetzima. Hair loss is more likely to occur in women, with 54% of cases documented in those aged 50 to 59.

50% of the reports of hair loss occurred in people who had been taking Fetzima for 1 to 6 months and 50% occurred in those who had been on Fetzima for 1 to 2 years. Hair loss was also reported in 2 men who had taken Fetzima.

If you are concerned about hair loss with Fetzima, talk to your doctor.

Fetzima is an oral, extended-release capsule that may be used to treat moderate-to-severe depression in adults.

References
  • Fetzima (levomilnacipran hydrochloride) Updated 10/2019. Allergan, Inc. https://www.drugs.com/pro/fetzima.html
  • Fetzima side effects. Fetzima.com. 2021 Fetzima.com/about/antidepressant-side-effects
  • Fetzima and Hair loss - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data eHealthMe Jun 27, 2021. https://www.ehealthme.com/ds/fetzima/hair-loss/

Read next

Although Fetzima is not FDA approved to treat anxiety, it is sometimes used off-label for this condition. Research has suggested that Fetzima does appear to help with anxiety because an improvement was seen in anxiety symptoms monitored in tools such as the MADRS for inner tension and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD17) that were used in several clinical trials for depression. Unfortunately, most trials of Fetzima excluded people from participating if they had a comorbid anxiety disorder unless it was social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or a specific phobia, but even then the effect of Fetzima on allowable anxiety disorders was never analyzed. Continue reading

Fetzima takes approximately 60 hours or 2.5 days to leave your system following the last dose. Experts calculate this period using the half-life of a drug. The half-life of Fetzima is about 12 hours and experts agree that it takes up to 5 half-lives for a drug without active metabolites to be completely removed from the body. This calculates out to 60 hours for Fetzima. Continue reading

Research has shown that Fetzima has no overall effect on weight and does not cause weight gain or loss in studies that followed people for up to one year. Data pooled from short-term trials show an average overall weight loss of 0.59kg with Fetzima and a weight gain of 0.02kg with placebo. The number of patients who reported a more than 7% increase in their weight was 0.6% with Fetzima and 0.9% with placebo. The number of patients reporting a weight loss of more than 7% was 1.6% with Fetzima and 1% with placebo. In a 1-year, unblinded safety study, an average weight loss of 0.55kg was reported with Fetzima. Generally, there was a trend towards weight loss with Fetzima but this was not considered significant. Continue reading

Related medical questions

Drug information

Related support groups

Medical Disclaimer