diff --git a/packages/react-components/src/Dropdown.tsx b/packages/react-components/src/Dropdown.tsx
index 73bc455d0f06..1ba674d8ccf9 100644
--- a/packages/react-components/src/Dropdown.tsx
+++ b/packages/react-components/src/Dropdown.tsx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 import { BareProps } from './types';
 
-import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
+import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 import styled from 'styled-components';
 import SUIButton from 'semantic-ui-react/dist/commonjs/elements/Button/Button';
 import SUIDropdown, { DropdownProps } from 'semantic-ui-react/dist/commonjs/modules/Dropdown/Dropdown';
@@ -40,31 +40,33 @@ interface Props<Option> extends BareProps {
 }
 
 function Dropdown<Option> ({ allowAdd = false, className, defaultValue, dropdownClassName, help, isButton, isDisabled, isError, isMultiple, label, labelExtra, onAdd, onBlur, onChange, onClose, onSearch, options, placeholder, renderLabel, searchInput, style, transform, withEllipsis, withLabel, value }: Props<Option>): React.ReactElement<Props<Option>> {
-  const [stateValue, setStateValue] = useState<any>();
+  const lastUpdate = useRef<string>('');
+  const [stored, setStored] = useState<any>();
 
-  const _onAdd = (_: React.SyntheticEvent<HTMLElement>, { value }: DropdownProps): void =>
-    onAdd && onAdd(value);
+  const _setStored = (value: any): void => {
+    const json = JSON.stringify({ v: value });
 
-  const _onChange = (_: React.SyntheticEvent<HTMLElement> | null, { value }: DropdownProps): void => {
-    setStateValue(value);
+    if (lastUpdate.current !== json) {
+      lastUpdate.current = json;
 
-    onChange && onChange(
-      transform
-        ? transform(value)
-        : value
-    );
+      setStored(value);
+      onChange && onChange(
+        transform
+          ? transform(value)
+          : value
+      );
+    }
   };
 
   useEffect((): void => {
-    const newValue = isUndefined(value)
-      ? defaultValue
-      : value;
+    _setStored(isUndefined(value) ? defaultValue : value);
+  }, [defaultValue, value]);
 
-    // only update parent if we have had something changed
-    if (JSON.stringify({ v: newValue }) !== JSON.stringify({ v: stateValue })) {
-      _onChange(null, { value: newValue });
-    }
-  }, [defaultValue, stateValue, value]);
+  const _onAdd = (_: React.SyntheticEvent<HTMLElement>, { value }: DropdownProps): void =>
+    onAdd && onAdd(value);
+
+  const _onChange = (_: React.SyntheticEvent<HTMLElement> | null, { value }: DropdownProps): void =>
+    _setStored(value);
 
   const dropdown = (
     <SUIDropdown
@@ -86,7 +88,7 @@ function Dropdown<Option> ({ allowAdd = false, className, defaultValue, dropdown
       search={onSearch || allowAdd}
       searchInput={searchInput}
       selection
-      value={stateValue}
+      value={stored}
     />
   );