If you've seen TV commercials for prescription medications, you've heard the LONG list of potential side effects. Often, one of them is "possible hair loss." Everyone reacts a little differently to medications, so here's what you need to know if hair loss is a side-effect of YOUR medicine.There are literally DOZENS of medications that can trigger temporary hair loss, usually a type called TELOGEN EFFLUVIUM. Examples include: The acne drug isotretinoin, a derivative of vitamin A and, some blood thinners, cholesterol-lowering drugs, antidepressants, amphetamines, anti-fungal medications, beta blockers, and hormone-related medications such as birth control and performance-enhancing steroids. Before taking a new medication, ask your doctor OR pharmacist about ANY potential side effects. If hair loss is one that concerns you, ask your doctor for an ALTERNATIVE medication that doesn't carry the same risk. So, how DO medications TRIGGER telogen effluvium? They do so by disrupting your NORMAL cycle of hair growth. The drug sends the hair follicles into the telogen-or resting--phase. You won't start to notice thinning until 3 months AFTER this occurs. With certain drugs, hair loss is MUCH more likely. Take, for example, chemotherapywhich can cause a type of hair loss called ANAGEN effluvium. Many forms of chemo are designed to kill off cells in the body that turn over quickly, like cancer cells. But as a side effect they also target the fast growing hair follicle cells.A few weeks after starting treatment your hair may start to thin; many people lose all oftheir hair they are undergoing chemo. So what can you do if you've experienced telogen effluvium from medication? Usually, once you STOP taking a medication, your hair will regrow normally in a few months. If you stop taking medication and your hair DOESN'T come back, you may need to stimulate new growth with Rogaine. For chemo patients, hair often grows back fairly quickly once treatment stops-although it might be a different texture. And in some cases, hair may stay permanently thinner.To learn more about other types of hair loss, check out the rest of the videos in this series.