I'm losing hair on the top of my head and the only thing I can attribute it to is a change in my blood pressure meds. Last fall my doctor changed me from Diovan HCT to Losartan 100mg. Has anyone else experienced this side effect?
Has anyone experienced hair loss when taking Losartan?
Question posted by pchris on 15 Feb 2012
Last updated on 21 March 2025
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
103 Answers Page 7
TJJM
17 Nov 2016
Taking Losartan for a couple months. Seeing a significant increased hair loss. Unsure if direct correlation to the medication.
steviemi
11 Sep 2016
in grad school i experience a complete change in the makeup of my hair from lisinopril that made me quit taking BP mediations. the volume of my hair thinned and the texture changes to be more wire like. then when i learned more about hbp and the need to take the medicine,my dr put me on losartan bc i reported lisinopril hairless. after being on it for about 3 months i noticed my hair has thinned quite a bit again. it would be nice to find a BP medicine that doesn't thin hair. i've also recently discovered i am pre diabetic as well.
Beckyjan
17 July 2016
I was switched from lisinopril to losartan and am losing hair at an alarming rate. My doctor doesn't believe it's the losartan but I know it is.
I read all of these comments and they have assured me I am right!
missdollymaelewis
5 Dec 2018
My hair has been falling out at the crown for awhile now.I'm sure the losartan is the cause.wish I had read these comments when I frist suspected
.It was the losartan.I've told my hair loss won't reverse
tthoma10
30 June 2016
My hair has been thinning for years and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. My hair sometimes come out in clumps. My determatologist said it was nothing medical. It is so thin on top and on the sides. After speaking with a coworker about it, she said it was my medication. After reading the comments, I'm convinced the Losartan is thinning my hair. I will be making an appt. with my doctor to get off this medicine.
Nattjenta
5 June 2016
I had no idea what was causing my thinning hair, but I had a hunch it was all the HBP meds I was on. Now I think I know what it is. I take a 50mg Losartan twice a day. I have always had a thick, full head of hair. Now it's thin and more wispy. But my life is more important to me than my hair, so I will just keep taking it.
Champton21
5 June 2016
I've been using losartan at a higher dosage now and have been experiencing hair loss as well. If I am to have my medicine changed does anyone know if the lost hair will grow back on its own? Or will I need to use something to help in come back in?
Tmiller23
19 March 2018
I'm wondering also, if u stop taking Losartan, will your hair grow back on its own or do you have to take something to help it grow back? Will someone please answer before I stop taking Losartan.
BookHappy
30 Aug 2018
Racking my brain trying to figure out why my hair on the top of my head, especially in the front, started thinning & now is coming out by the handfuls. Only change - started Valsartan 4 months ago, switched to Losartan a month ago after Valsartan pulled for potential cancer-causing contaminant. Has to be this drug. Trying to find an alternative anti-hypertensive with fewer side effects. Suggestions?
tllkj
2 Oct 2018
I was on Valsartan for two years and my hair was coming out quite a lot but I never knew why. I thought maybe it could be that i'm postmenopausal but when I saw my cardiologist back in June, I told her my hair is coming out in handfuls. She told me that Valsartan can cause hair loss so she took me off of it and put me on Losartan. My hair was coming out even worse so I called the doctor's office and left a message about it and she called in a prescription called Irbesartan. My hair was STILL coming out. I switched cardiologists and told him about it and he said that ARBS can cause hair loss. I am on Carvedilol which is a beta blocker but since I can no longer take ARBS due to hair loss and cannot take ACE Inhibitors due to cough, he increased my dose of Carvedilol. when I stopped taking the ARBS, my joint pain eased and my hair is falling out a lot less. I stopped the Irbesartan two weeks ago . I will never go back to ARBS again!
Susherrie
31 May 2019
I had to go off losarton it was not lowering my blood pressure, so my doctor upped it to 100 mgs. My long hair was falling out and getting thin. So I changed to Telmisartan.
A friend of mine lost all her hair and she has had many health problems caused by losarton. Get off it quickly.. There's been a big recall saying it may also cause cancer.
Losartan 21
5 Jan 2016
Yes. I started taking it 3 weeks ago. I never thought it could have been the meds, but now this past week has been alarming. Stopped after I read this!
Fontainebleau77
11 Nov 2015
I have been consuming Losartan with 100mg dose since July 2013 (over 2 years now). I always have natural thick and full hair before and I've never been worried of losing my hair. But recently I realised my hair is thinning at the top of my head. I do not take any other medication apart from Losartan so I think this medicine may be the cause. However, I need to get an advice from my GP doctor before I decide to stop taking Losartan.
Kris3752
25 Oct 2015
Yes. I have been taking it for one month and my hair is falling out. I'm getting off it tomorrow.
candy66
24 Jan 2019
I am on losartan and my hair is falling out to . I am getting off it to. what I want to know from you is since you got off the losartan has your hair been growing.
Toughsweet
6 Aug 2015
Yes, it. does.cause hair loss. Call your side effects.into the FDA so other people.will know.to watch out.for. I.DARESAY THIS NOT A RARE SIDE EFFECT BUT RATHER A VERY, VERY COMMON ONE. AlSo be sure to drink fresh spring.water and NOT purified water, and do use and change your water filters of.any and all shapes and kinds very vvery frequently.
Jane49505
5 Feb 2015
Yes, I have experienced hair loss while taking Losartan. In 2011, I was put on 25mg and didn't notice anything. But then my doctor upped my dose to 50mg a day in early 2013. Soon after I started noticing significant hair loss on the crown of my head, top and sides. What causes this? Is it the potassium in the drug?
mimi4
14 June 2012
I have been on Losartan for about two weeks now and the last week I've noticed quite a lot of loose hair in my hands after washing my hair. I didn't think too much about it as we can lose more hair than normal at times. Yesterday while washing my hair a clump came out, the hair looked like a very little pony tail. My doctor said she didn't think it was from the Losartan, but since this is the only new med I'm on, I asked to go off.
Co1
27 Jan 2014
I have been on the meds a few months and i'm experiencing a lot of hair loss in the front of my head. The only thing I can attribute the loss to is the Losartan. I'm going to ask the doctor to switch my prescription.
Janie1042
23 Sep 2015
I've been on Losartan for 3 months now and am noticing substantial hair loss. Ugh!!
Lincoln mks
5 Oct 2015
Yes, started taking losartan about 3 months ago and now I have a bald spot on the crown of my head. This is the only change I had with my medication. I do believe it's from the medication losartan.
dpsall
30 Dec 2015
I have been taking Losartan for over two years and have a considerable amount of hair loss at the front and crown. Losartan information, provided by Micromedex, listed hair loss or thining of the hair to be one of Losartan's Rare side effects. After reading all the comments, it seems to be much more common...
carolj1
11 Jan 2016
Can anyone say if your hair grew back when you stopped the medication?
Only1ofMe80
8 April 2016
I've been on atenolol for over 15 years then last May my doctor added losartan 25mg. Bp still wasn't controlled so after about 2 months my doctor increased my dose to 50mg. My hair has been coming out in handfulls ever since. I'd never considered it being caused from the medication, and then something told me to google it, and I'm amazed to see I'm not the only one in distressed. I'm definitely bringing this to my doctors attention next appointment.
BubbieG
23 April 2016
I agree with you. I have been on Losartan for 3 years and lost all the hair on the top of my head. I went to one of the top hair loss doctors in the country and she said, in part, my hair loss was from a reaction to a drug I was taking. I stopped Losartan the very next day. After I reviewed the list of side effects, it was obvious Losartan was having a big impact on me in a numbers of different ways. I will never take it again.
Kwilson62
5 June 2017
Been on Losartan now for nearly 3 months and have noticeable hair in the shower drain like never before. I do have male-pattern baldness but this has accelerated noticeable recently since beginning the drug (25 mg). I can only contribute this to the change in meds, my only medication. I'll be talking to my doctor about this in about a month. Hope I still have hair by then.
Joy Beach
6 Sep 2017
I have actually been on Losartan for a few years now, but originally attributed my hair loss to stress, but now I'm certain that is not the case as my stress levels have dropped considerably but my hair loss issue has increased alarmingly. My hair loss is also on the front top of my head. When I wash my hair, I can feel very little hair in that area and yet it's fuller everywhere else. When I look in the mirror, I can see my scalp half way to the back of the crown of my head. Time to talk to my doctor!
candy66
24 Jan 2019
hello I am also taking losartan. my hair is starting to come out and its getting thin very thin . some times i dont want to look at my hair because of the loss it makes me want to cry . my hair use to be so pretty and now its not.
Kris3752
16 Feb 2019
I dont know why the doctors dont listen to us, it is so frustrating. Mine didnt believe me either but about 2 weeks after stopping Losartan, my hair stopped falling out. I went the the website when you can post your side effects with the Pharmaceutical company and if everyone dies that maybe they will list it is a side effect and then the doctors might believe us.
Kris3752
16 Feb 2019
I dont know why the doctors dont listen to us, it is so frustrating. Mine didnt believe me either but about 2 weeks after stopping Losartan, my hair stopped falling out. I went the the website when you can post your side effects with the Pharmaceutical company and if everyone dies that maybe they will list it is a side effect and then the doctors might believe us.
Rajive Goel
16 Feb 2012
Hair loss appears to be a rare complaint in people taking Losartan potassium. In clinical studies, hair loss was reported in less than 1% of people who took the medicine. However, given how common hair loss is in the general population and how rare a complaint it is in people taking Losartan, it is difficult to say whether hair loss is actually caused by the medicine, genetics, other factors, or a combination of these things.
If you experience hair loss while taking Losartan, talk with your doc. Depending on how severe the hair loss is, there are things that he/she may be able to do. If your symptoms continue to be bothersome or if your doc believes the medicine is causing your hair loss, he/she may recommend trying another medicine for your high blood pressure or diabetic nephropathy.
Take care, best wishes!
Susan_Lee
24 July 2017
In all due respect, and genuine kindness, I would like to suggest that, unfortunately, someone has to be part of the 1%. ;-) It reminds me of a time when I had to have a medical procedure. I am allergic to every pain medication. Itching, hives, breathing issues. The nurse was going to administer a newer pain medication and I told her to watch me closely - she sniffed and said, "Less than 2% people who receive this drug have an allergic response." Well, guess what? I am part of the 2%. I had an immediate reaction and became a priority in minutes. I have since wondered if, after going through the experience with me, that nurse will ever use the statistics assurance on another patient.
Magoomus
29 July 2017
I see this thread is years old... but I recently (May of 2017) started taking Losartan and have noticed my hair thinning as well. This is my first (and only) HBP medicine and the only med I've added in the last 6 months. Did you speak with your doctor about it and if so what were the results?
Good luck!
Magoo
Magoomus
29 July 2017
Susan Lee... what is it with this doctors and nurses NOT listening? I'm VERY sensitive to meds of any kind (only 'allergic' to sulpha/sulfur drugs) and when having knee surgery I told the nurse who would be my recovery nurse to give me 1/4 dose of the pain med that they give a regular person. They all laughed at me! Sure enough... they gave me too much and had to slap the oxygen on and administer something else to counter act it. I've been in this body for 53 years... I think I know what's going to happen in certain situations. UGH! Thanks for posting your story... at least I know I'm not alone LOL!
BiankaKrzy
9 Aug 2017
In February I got pneumonia and ended up in the hospital for 4 days. During that time the doc. put me on 2 different blood pressure meds. By the time I got home my feet had swollen so badly I couldn't even put my shoes on. When I did my research for the side effects for both Amlopidine Besylate and Losartan only the Amlopidine Besylate had a reference to swelling of the feet. So my doctor took me off that one and increased my dosage of Losartan to 50 mg once a day. I had notice some hair loss at the beginning (that would have been in March) and it got worse - much worse. I have very long hair and it was very thick because it was mostly grey. Now I think it's thinned down to about half of what it used to be - it's very distressful but I couldn't find hair loss as a side effect from Losartan. So I guess this makes at least 3 of us that are experiencing it. I plan to discuss this with my doctor on my next visit next month. If anyone else has any comments I'd appreciate know your experience with this issue.
gennieroots
6 Sep 2017
I am suppose start taking Losartan tonight. Reading the hair loss, I cannot afford this. I already have thinning hair. My old blood pressure med Amodl/Benzap causes my eye lid to involuntarily close. I have walked into a person in the hallway, I have walked into objects, I have veered out of my lane several times. I drive with one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding my eyelid up. I stopped taking Amodl/Benzap for 10 days and my eye lid is fine. My blood pressure was 189/100 at 9:30 pm and I took the Amodl/Benzap and my eyelid began to close again.
Do not know what to do. This is my 5th med in 20 years.
Drstocks1
8 Oct 2017
I have been taking Losartan for several years now. I always had a thick head of rich hair. It might be that I am getting older but my I have noticed that in the last year my hair has thinned noticeably. I also feel that I have lost more hair in the last few years. So yes this could be the reason. I wonder if I stop it if my hair might get thicker?
Kaceymi21
17 Dec 2018
I, too, am finding the same thing since going on Losartan a few months ago which is the only medication I am. I noticed globs of hair in my drain and this was not happening when taking Valsartan. So I have done what you recommended which is to call my physician and start looking into it. Don't wait if you see this happening. Fortunately, I have a ton of hair.
Kris3752
28 Jan 2019
I know mine was from the drug 100%. I too seem to always be the 1 or 2% of people that get side effects from all medications. I also cannot take opioids.
Related topics
diovan hct, high blood pressure, losartan
Further information
Similar questions
Search for questions
Still looking for answers? Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question.