Hi, Ive Been Taking St Johns Wort (1200mg/day) For Anxiety

Posted on Tue, 12 Nov 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : Hi,
Ive been taking St Johns Wort (1200mg/day) for anxiety and i've noticed as months pass by my hair gets thinner and thinner and i have excessive hair loss. This has never happened to me before. I've been through stressful periods in my life without such excessive hair loss taking place. It's been 6 months since i first started St. John's Wort and have noticed excessive hair loss and thinning. Could it be related? Please help and thank in advance for your time.

Answered by Dr. Asmeet Kaur Sawhney (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Hair loss could be associated with St Johns wort

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service
I have gone through your query and understand your concern.

Hair loss could be associated with St John’s wort intake.

I would recommend you to stop its intake for sometime and continue with biotin supplements.
Also, get your haemoglobin, serum ferritin levels, serum vitamin D levels, serum vitamin B 12 levels and thyroid function tests done as anemia, vitamin deficiencies and thyroid dysfunction are common causes of hair loss.

Regards
Dr Asmeet

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee