Hair Loss

I have no idea if it is fibro related but I too have had periods of hair loss (plus crazy growth then loss pre/post partum). The first time was from rapid weight loss due to stress, and was back in my early 20s.

Since my last baby, my hair seems to be very different - it is drier, my scalp is very tender (esp the crown of the head) most of the time, and my hair is rather thin. When fibro started 2 yrs ago, I cut my long-ish hair into a pixie cut to minimize stress on the hair and to mask any thinning.

Have you seen a dermatologist?

My hair has been falling out off and on for about 3 years now. My scalp usually becomes very sore and just starts burning right before my hair starts falling out. I hate it, hate it, hate it!!!! I usually end up with a very noticeable bald spot in the back of my head. Nothing I have ever tried has helped in any way. I have always blamed it on fibro.

Wish I knew something that could help all of us. I usually just buy myself a wig and wear it til my hair starts getting thicker. :)

Tara,

I know exactly what you're feeling and going through. My hair is just growing back now and I never got a "real" answer as to why it fell out to begin with.

Last August I had an severe allergic reaction to antibiotics. After about a month of LOTS of prednisone and allergy drugs I got through it. While that was happening I also supposedly had viral pharyngitis which took forever to go away. Supposedly all the stress that my body went through trying to keep me alive throughout the allergic reaction (med reactions can take up to a month to fully get out of your system) and the energy it took to fight the viral pharyngitis at the same time my body basically was spent. Soon after I came off the prednisone it seemed like my body was shutting down. I couldn't eat, was exhausted, got Costochondritis and Burning Mouth Syndrome. One symptom, after another, after another. My body was going haywire! One of the last symptoms was my hair was falling out. We're talking handfuls of hair daily. Thankfully I had very thick hair to begin with. It was horrible to experience that at 28 years old! I was tested for everything, all vitamins, autoimmune diseases and thyroid multiple times. No answers. I made an appointment with a women's hairloss specialist and I had to wait 4 months to see her. I was sure I would be bald by the time my appointment came. I started to go to therapy to help me deal with everything that was happening, but what really drove me there was my hair loss. After dealing with an invisible condition for so long to have something that would physically show that something was wrong with me was a horrible and frightening thing.

After a few months my hair loss began to slow down. By the time I had the appointment with the hair loss specialist it had stopped completely. I still saw her to see if she had any ideas as to what happened. She also believes it was due to the "trauma" and "stress" my body went through. When my Fibro kicked in after the allergic reaction it made things so bad that my body began to pull back energy from areas it didn't see necessary. My hair, my heart rate slowed down, it was a really horrible time.

Now I am in the phase of my hair beginning to grow back. I was so happy when it happened, but it's coming back completely different hair! And it is growing at different rates! Until yesterday I basically had a 4 inch gap in my long hair because some of it wasn't growing in quickly at all. So I finally threw in the towel. It was looking ridiculous. It wasn't so noticeable for a long time because my hair was so thin all the way around but as some began to grow back it was very noticeable. Yesterday I went to my hair dresser and gave her full discretion. I now have the shortest hair cut I have ever had. It's to my mid neck, very layered/choppy look and I don't love it. She obviously did the best she could with the situation, my hair is a disaster with a million different lengths right now, but she did what she could with what she had. Everyone says it looks cute, it's just going to take some getting used to. Hopefully it will continue to grow back and I will have a full head of hair again.

I am anxious about it happening again, but at the end of the day I have to remember it is just hair and if my body wants to stop my hair from growing to take care of the rest of me then that's ok

Just popped in to say sorry for the hair loss problem, I loose hair when I am super stressed. I hope you get this resolved soon.

tara, I'm sorry you are going through this. My sister had hair loss due to a hormonal imbalance. She has a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) that basically results in high androgen levels. For her birth control pills were not enough, she also used a medication called spirinolactone to help with the hormonal imbalance.

The fact that it grew back and is now falling out again makes me think is it somehow stress related.

I just want to also mention that I get cysts (a few at a time) on my scalp when the hair loss happens. I also get them on my gums. From what I read, thats consistent with inflamed skin?? Does anyone know anything about this?

A friend of mine who has Lupus said the first symptom she noticed was losing hair in spots.

Maybe you should get your hormone levels checked.

I can relate. I had long hair (to my waist) . My doctor said it was stress related and medication related (pain meds)...I decided to cut my pain meds in half and decided to cut my hair...it was so bad looking that it didnt even qualify for Locks of Love. Before I cut it, the top of my head was getting so thin and very noticeable ...When I brushed it, the sink was full of hair. The hair stylist recommended a vitamin for hair, nails and skin. I think it is working (maybe its mental)...she even showed me several ways to style my hair to where the thinning was not very noticeable...just in time for my sons wedding. My labs that I had done checked out good, so it wasnt my thyroid or my hormone levels.

gentle hugs!

A lot of people lose hair when they lose a lot of weight quickly because they aren't getting the proper amount of protein. Do you get enough protein? After I had weight loss surgery and lost 90 pounds, I was devastated because my normally very thick and long hair got so thin. I have gained some of the weight back and it has gotten thick again, but it is still not as thick as it was before, which makes me sad...I always felt it was one of my best physical attributes.