Reduction in dose because of shedding

[Superstar22]

I’ve been on 2.5mg (from a 5mg pen) since 1st July. I have x3 pens in the fridge. So that’s about 6 months worth of 2.5mg. I’ve had no side effects at all. I’ve concentrated on protein every meal since I started, ate super healthy, id given up drinking earlier in the year, and weight train every week anyway.

I had 2-3 stone to lose (bmi was 29) & I’ve lost 18lb/ 9kg and I’m delighted. I’m not in normal BMI range, I’m about 26.5.

Yesterday, my hair started shedding. Every time I touched it I had 10 strands of hair on my hand. This happened about 5 times & again this morning. I brushed my hair a lot this afternoon & whilst more came out than a usual good brush, I wasn’t alarmed and felt better.

My questions are will this stop? Does it happen in a concerted burst then just stop falling out? Does it get worse? Should I reduce to 2mg / go cold turkey? Does that make a difference at this point or I have already “caused” whatever’s going to happen to happen? I have lots of hair but it’s thin. I really don’t want to lose any hair at all.

I would never of increased on the dose anyway. I’m happy to drop to 2mg or even lower to extremely gradually get another 1/2 stone shifted. I’m equally happy (if told any more MJ will make more shedding more likely ) to stop completely and take the win for what it is.

advice appreciated, thanks

I think it’s the weight loss not the MJ. There is loads about it online.

I’ve had a good 6 months of pretty intense shedding. I’ve lost what feels like half my original volume of hair. I’m very thankful that I had incredibly thick hair and lots of it and now I just have a regular head of hair. But it was quite alarming. Every time I think it’s slowing down it isn’t - no advice here really. I’ve also prioritised eating well and across all the food groups, have always exercised and been active, the only thing is I’m not eating any crap so my calories massively decreased.

Thanks for your replies. Is there anyone else who has experienced hair loss and what did you go next if on MJ?

Watching with interest. I’ve had exactly the same and my weight loss of two stone has been slow and steady at 1lbs/1.5lbs per week max. I’ve not gone up beyond 7.5mg and now dropped down and considering stopping now as the hair loss is so frightening. But I don’t want to as WLI/MJ has been great for me in all sorts of ways.

I also have/had very thick hair so it’s not noticeable yet but hairdresser has confirmed loss of density.

i may be eating less but im eating well and lots of protein as I work with a PT AND nutritionist. So I don’t buy the idea it’s the weight loss and seeing more that it’s a side effect of the medication. Any good news stories welcome before I stop in desperation as it seems a choice between hair or weight!!

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/weight-loss-and-hair-loss

I'm almost at my 1 year anniversary of starting MJ on 2nd October and probably been shedding for 9 months non stop. It is slightly less when I eat more calories but last week I was away with work and ate a lot more and I shed a lot of hair! I've gone all the way up to the top dose 15mg and tapering down to 7.5mg and still get just as much hair loss or even more than the early days.
I do often have low calories because I am small and only started at 13 stones so need to go low to lose weight so I'm wondering if this is why I've lost so much hair. I've had collagen throughout and also strong vitamins incl biotin on and off so i don't think it's a deficiency but probably the medication itself. Hair loss has been recently added as an official side effect of MJ. I have 2 x 10mg pens left in my fridge to do 7.5mg or continue lower down if appetite isn't too bad and will then switch to wegovy to maintain for a while as I have also been exhausted on mounjaro and hope wegovy resolves these issues. I am now at bmi 23.8, down from 32.4.

I started shedding 3 months in. It was pretty intense and I did lose alot of thickness but I had my hair cut shorter which helped. I was also getting alot of regrowth at the same time as my head was full of baby hairs. It stopped once I was in maintenence and no longer eating in a deficit. All my baby hairs are catching up now and hoping it will be thicker again soon. It didn't bother me that much honestly, as the MJ was helping with weight loss and was the only sustainable way to manage a calorie deficit.

I’ve been off for 2/3 months and have been shedding loads, can’t remember when I started though. I had telogen effluvium before from stress from a break up, it’s horrible, but my hair did all come back. Think I lost half of it that time.

I lose hair whenever I diet, I am on MJ but have experienced it before, especially with low carb.

It comes back when you stop losing weight.

Try to take some good supplements and consider whether your age and hormones might also be a factor. HRT might help, I am trying pumpkin seed oil for now as I don't have enough peri symptoms to want to try HRT yet.

The hair loss is one of the worst side effects, luckily I also started with thick / dense hair so others don’t notice. I take biotin, iron, b vitamins and collagen amongst other things. It does seem to come and go. I’m hoping when I go on to maintenance it will stop.

The side effects list hair loss when MJ is used for weight loss. Its been awful for me and my hair was already thin. That's the only side effect I have had though and have lost 4 stones at average 2 pounds per week. Just started pumpkin seed oil capsules today but have been using collagen powder for ages. My nails are growing quickly but my hair is terrible. I do still think its worth it though. My prediabetes has gone and cholesterol more normal. I went to 12.5mg (just gone back down to 10mg after 5 doses of 12.5 because supression was too high). My worst doses for hairloss were the lower doses and that was when I was losing the least weight. Im assuming it will calm down once I increase calories to maintenance

Thanks for all replying. I’m sorry many of you have lost a lot of hair.
i already take collagen & some supplements. vit c & magnesium but ill go back to Vit D too. I might decrease the dose to 2mg and see how that goes. I’ve never tracked calories and definitely eat less but do eat x3 meals a day, every day.

It’s the weight loss not the medication. It’s happened to me before when I’ve lost weight through calorie restriction. I’m five months in on mounjaro and have had a big shedding. I was expecting it at some point and the weight loss is worth it for me. Once you are maintaining it should stop and as pp have said, you will have regrowth at the same time.