Patients using the blockbuster weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy say their hair started falling out in clumps.
An American TikToker who lost 60lbs while on Ozempic is among those who have revealed that her hairline has receded, which she now covers with makeup.
Another patient was very scared after he suffered hair loss he would rather be ‘fat and hide behind my hair than thin and bald’.
Hair loss is not listed as a side effect of Ozempic. For Wegovy, the side effect showed up in clinical trials in three percent of patients on the drug compared to one percent on the placebo.
Ozempic and Wegovy have been linked to many other adverse effects, including Oprah Winfrey’s vivid dream of riding a go-kart, being suddenly rejected by a ground beef and losing muscle at an ‘alarming rate’.
An American woman in Mounjaro, who calls herself ‘thegeriatricmillennial’ on TikTok, says her hair falls out in clumps when she brushes or takes a shower.
Both Wegovy and Ozempic use the same drug, semaglutide, which suppresses appetite to trigger weight loss. Wegovy, however, uses a higher dose than Ozempic.
Doctors are not clear exactly what causes hair loss, but some medics say it can be triggered after rapid weight loss.
A temporary thinning of the hair — called telogen effluvium — can be triggered by rapid weight loss that disrupts hormones or leads to resources being directed away from the hair, they say.
This causes hair follicles to suddenly shift into the resting, or telogen, phase of their growth cycle – causing hair to fall out.
But doctors point out that the loss is temporary, adding that new hairs will start growing later.
Temporary hair loss can appear about three months after rapid weight loss, medics say, and can take up to six months to resolve.
Novo Nordisk, behind Ozempic and Wegovy, did not respond to requests for comment.
Hair loss has also been reported in patients receiving another drug, Mounjaro, to help them lose weight.
It uses a different drug, tirzepatide, which acts on the same receptors as semaglutide as well as on a separate group. It also suppresses the feeling of hunger to help patients lose weight.
Eli Lilly, which is behind the drug, says that hair loss has been reported in clinical trials of this drug but is generally short-term.
Among patients who have reported hair loss on Ozempic is Becca, from the US, who lost 40lbs while on the drug.
She said in a TikTok video: ‘I feel like my hairline has definitely receded a little bit or it’s kind of receded a little bit.’
She says she now fills in her hairline before going out to cover up the fact that it’s receding slightly.
Other patients affected include a woman in Mounjaro who uses the moniker ‘thegeriatricmillennial’ and is based in the US.
In a TikTok video, she said: ‘We need to talk about hair loss.
‘All my life, I’ve had thick, luxurious hair.
‘[But over] last month I lost a lot of hair.’
She added: ‘I know it’s to be expected when you have rapid weight loss… um… but the rate at which it’s falling off is scary.’
‘I’d rather be fat and hide my beautiful hair than skinny and bald.’
Another patient called Becca, from the US, shared on TikTok that she lost 60lbs while on Ozempic.
Amanda Staffor, from Kentucky, who also uses Mounjaro, posted a video online where she grabbed a clump of hair saying it fell out of her hair while she was in the shower. He said it was happening constantly, ‘adding up’ over time
Becca, from the US, also said she suffered hair loss after losing 60lbs while on Ozempic. He said it caused his hairline to recede
Amanda Staffor, from Kentucky, who also uses Mounjaro, also posted photos of herself online holding clumps of her own hair.
He says: ‘But, this, yes, I lose a lot of hair every time I take a shower, and you can think that adds up.
‘I need to know, does anyone else have this problem? Do you have any supplements for this? Do you have any suggestions? Somebody help me, I don’t wanna lose all my hair.’
More than five million Americans received a prescription for Ozempic in 2022, according to the data, compared to 230,000 in 2019.
And the number is only growing, with more than 373,000 prescriptions filed in the last week of February alone, double the number from the same time last year. Analysts say more than half of these are new.
Texas, Florida, California, New York and Georgia are the states where it is most common for patients to receive new prescription drugs.
In clinical trials for Wegovy, results showed that about three percent of patients said they experienced hair loss.
For comparison, in the group receiving the placebo, it was as low as one percent.
Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company behind Mounjaro, said in a statement to NBC News that hair loss has been reported in clinical trials of Mounjaro but is generally short-lived.
‘Hair loss has been a side effect associated with significant weight loss in many previous clinical trials for the treatment of obesity,’ said a spokesperson.
Novo Nordisk, behind Ozempic and Wegovy, did not respond to requests for comment.
Dr Susan Massick, a dermatologist at Ohio State University who prescribes the drugs to patients, said: ‘What’s really striking for people is that there are no scalp symptoms.
It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t itch, but you can run your hands through your hair and there will be a handful of hair. It was really disconcerting to see that.’
