Hair Loss & Fibromyalgia

I’ve had quite a bit of hair loss, but then, I also have hypothyroidism.

It’s important, if you have FMS, to have your thyroid checked, as many of the symptoms overlap. If you go to drlowe.com, he’s got some good research there about using thyroid to treat fibromyalgia. It made a huge difference in the severity of my sypmptoms. What I think is that some folks have untreated hypothyroidism, and recover fully with thyroid treatment. Some have both hypothyroidism and FMS, and so symptoms are better with the thyroid treatment. Others just have fms, and the thyroid doesn’t help.

Hair loss (especially thinning eyebrows) is a big sign of hypothyroidism, as is dry skin, menstrual disturbance, pain, tiredness, temperature intolerance, depression, and bowel problems. Which, as you’ve noted, are also common symptoms of FMS.

So, that’s my soap box for the day. If you have FMS, make sure you get your thyroid tested to make sure you don’t have concommittant hypothyroidism.

I also have hashimotos for many years and take synthroid daily. For 2 and 1/2 years, I have pain and tenderness in my scalp. My doctor prescribed a pill for nerve pain to take at bedtime. I really need that medicine and never miss. The pain seems worse as it gets later in the day and evening. No real diagnosis on the scalp pain.

I have been sick the last few years and recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia. My hair started falling out about 2 years ago. It is not THINNING – I have HUGE bald spots. I was sent to the dermatologist, they said it was alopecia. I get steroid shots in my head, some of the hair grows back, it takes a few mths. But it seems as soon as it starts growing back I get another big bald spot somewhere else.
I also have hypothyroidism, and several other autoimmune diseases. Is anyone else experiencing big bald spots, and not just thinning, and are you getting steroid shots, or what has worked for you? Thanks

Why are my comments not showing on here? I have left 5 now, and not one has showed up.

Jodith,

Thanks for bringing up this point! I had hypothyroidism for several years before fibro hit, and when the first fibro symptoms cropped up (fatigue, mental fog, hair loss), I went to my doctor certain that I needed to up my thyroid hormone. The symptoms are extremely similar.

You’re right that everyone with fibro should get their thyroid tested, and probably re-tested every year or so.

My hair comes out in handfuls! All I have to do is touch it and it falls out! It’s the pain and the fatigue that is unbearable and so invisible that I cannot stand it any more!

mine definately thyroid. make sure test is thermometer under arm in morning as only test that works. also suggest using thyroid supplement instead of drug as drug will make thyroid weaker and weaker.

I had Graves disease and had radio-iodine for that. So now I’m hypo. I have had hair loss for years before the Fibro hit. There was no solution for it. Tweaking the thyroid up or down didn’t seem to help. The only thing that helps is minoxidyl. The stuff really helps. I no longer have to part carefully and fear a windy day. I don’t know if the stuff will do any harm but what the heck. It’s a personal thing. If it is important enough to you, you might want to try it. If the thinning hair doesn’t bother you then why take a chance that this stuff might not be good for us Fibro people?

I have both Fibro and lupus. I lost all my hair for about 20 years. When I stopped working and I was less stressed, my fibro got better and the hair grew back.

I have had the same thing happen, nothing is wrong with my thyroid. Its been tested. I do have fibro. I pull all my hair back in to a pony tail and I have all these little whisps of hair sticking up all over my head. I smooth them down spray them in place and hope they stay down.

This makes me think that I have had FM for much longer than I thought. I went through a period of time, before getting diagnosed with FM/CF, where my hair fell out, leaving bald spots on my head. Many times I could cover the bald spots with my hair, which is very thick, and still is. One time the hair fell out at the front of my head and I had to wear a wig. Weeks, sometimes months would go by before the hair would grow back in. I still worried that it would not. I thought it was stress, and it may have been but now I think it may have had something to do with the FM. I do know that the doctors could not give me a satisfactory answer about the hair loss and its causes. We FM/CFers sure have a multitude of odd symptoms.

I have the exact same problem… every month or so my hair falls out and then I have this crazy little halo of fuzzies till it grows back out

I can’t tell you how happy I am to see these comments about hair loss. Thank you so much for having these available. I don’t know what I’d do without knowing there are others that are going through the same thing.
I have severe & what I call “full blown fibro”. I have many symptoms and they’re severe. I swear the older I get the more the symptoms pile up! I’m 54 and have had fibro for 15 yrs now. It’s a terrible way to have to live, okay I’m getting off track here~
My hair has been falling out for months!
I’ve gone through periods of hair loss in my lifetime but never has it lasted this long. 6-9 months now! It’s got me so worried that I’ll be bald, great!broken & bald!
My hair is noticably thinner to me especially on top it’s very thin to start with. I do see some of those tiny hairs starting stick up so that’s a good sign you say? I will probably calm down now knowing that my hair loss is temp & it will come back. I sure hope so!
My doctors haven’t any help for me except to use that OTC hair regrowth crap! I dont want to use that unless absolutely necessary. Thank you all so very much! God Bless

Add me to the list. I was hoping that starting medication for my hypothyroidism would help the hair grow back, but it hasn’t. My hair has always been thin, so losing some, especially on top, is noticeable. At least, it is to me. I’m using volumizing conditioner, and it helps a little. Just one more hassle for FMers.

Here’s a fun one…

Periods of high stress trigger significant flares, right? And one thing known for high stress is planning a wedding. Yep, you guessed it, months before my wedding I started finding lots and lots of hair in the shower… and I PANICKED!!! I thought I was allergic to the shampoo, but even after I switched shampoos my hair kept falling out. Before long, I was convinced that I’d have bald patches on the one day my hair actually mattered!! Thankfully, I had a lot of hair to start with and a brilliant friend doing my hair. And I never developed any bald patches. Looking back, it’s kind of funny…

Thanks for bringing up the hair loss up! My hair was falling out when I was first ill. One of the first doctors who diagnoised me CFS had not seen this symptom before. After listing all of my many symptoms I was already feeling embarrassed when he said “well, I did read about hair loss in a book…” That didn’t make me feel any better! Fortunately it has improved from 5 years ago;)

My hair is so thin in front it looks horrible! i have stubbles of new hair but they don’t grow! the hair on the back of my head is full and will grow but it won’t grow very long. I was hyper and now hypo after I had 2 of the nuclear med to kill off my thyroid. The only thing that helps me not to be completely bald is Proscar a fifth of the tab daily. I know it is a mens’ med but cant remeber for what. What is minoxydl? I noticed someone mentioned that. I thought of taking the rogain for women, although even the generic is too much to buy because once you start you have to continue to do use or lose your hair again. oh i do also have FMS. So what is the answer to this dilemma?

Thank you so much for the hair loss article!! I was told six years ago I had alopecia and looking back now it co-incides with the onset of my FMS. I have spent years trying to get a proper diagnosis & finally 6 months ago someone actually listened to me & I was diagnosed with FMS. My hair fell out completely at the back at the start but now I have thin hair on the top of my hair, thick at the back (where it first fell out) and bald patches above my ears. I’m always conscious of these patches & constantly asking everyone whether they can be seen. Its very frustrating. But NOW I realise after your article its my FMS and I’m going to be much more relaxed now I know the hair follicles arent going to be damaged & I have to hope that one day it’ll all come back. All these symptoms are so annoying. I get very down & feel like nobody understands and if I ever say its because of my fibro I feel like I’m moaning and they feel like I’m after sympathy. Sometimes I just want to hide away at home all the time. Please can anyone help me come to terms with FMS because I’m finding it very hard. Thanks xxx

Thank you so much for this article. I have FM/CFS, and recently my thyroid became a little low–just a little, not enough though to explain the severe hair loss I have experienced. In the past year, I have lost at least half my hair–and I didn’t have much to begin with. I also have that fuzzy halo of either broken hair or new hair growing in.

I also started to think it was lupus, even tonight as I was doing searches online…until reading this. I’ve had FM/CFS for almost ten years, with light hair shedding every now and then, but recently and quite suddenly I have lost so much it became a crisis.

I lost too much hair. I was diagnosed with anemia by a doctor. I ended up with fibroids and had surgery since it was just huge and caused bulging on one side of my lower abdomen. I thought that surgery would for sure solve my problems and I would be somewhat normal again as ever since I became a teen, I’ve never been 100% well. I’ve always felt a bit ill and chronically fatigued. I thought I was just lazy and if everyone else could wake up early and not be depressed then damn it, so could I. After a few years from the surgery though, I didn’t get any better and I was still feeling ill. I’m at my worst now with fatigue as I can sleep forever with no problem. My knees pop all the time now as I’m in my early 30s. That should not be happening. I’ve actually had those chest pains they talk about. I had them when I was a teenager and no doctor would listen to teenager on public medical. I had to leave with those chest pains and learn how to manage them. I learned that when I was highly stressed they would happen. So much so that one day, I almost didn’t make it out of one episode alive. I was on the floor and I knew I had to get into a sitting position and lean forward to relieve the pain. Not just shart shooting pain, but pressure on my heart. I almost didn’t make it from a lying position on the floor to sitting up. All the while I was hoping the pressure wouldn’t just stop my heart or the sharp shooting pain would be the one to make it stop. I eventually made it grimacing all the way as I eased my way up clutching my chest. You see, when the pain first started, I was immobilized. I couldn’t move at first. I also became aware that I must move and found it difficult to do so. Anyways, after that surgery on my fibroid and doing follow-ups, doctor bills were overwhelming even after my work insurance paid. I had a specialist that was only focused in gyno of course and she promised I would get better if I stuck with her. I knew that wasn’t true and felt she was just greedy for money in some aspects as her office was always packed. So, I had to figure this out on my own or I would end up in the poor house or just continue to be dismissed by doctors not really listening to me. I did eventually find a natural remedy to keep the fibroids away. One battle I won. However, I went from diagnosing myself with PCOS, to diagnosing myself with hypothyroidism. The other gyno felt I was wasting her time with the PCOS deal despite the fact I had the symptoms and told me to go to an endocrinologist for the Hypothyroidism. The endocrinologist wants to retest me in September since they hypothyroidism turned up negative. Although, I did tell him I think I had lupus as it would explain the inflammed pancreas the doctor told me I had at the hospital. Of course those docs at the hospital thought I was an alcoholic and needed AA because of course they didn’t see any other way I could have possibly had an inflammed pancreas. Before that of course, I landed in the hospital with an awful ulcer. I totally forgot about that since I seemed to get something all the time. I was even prescribed medicine for it. Thank God that cleared up. The lupus deal would also explained the chest pains as the lining around my heart was most likely inflammed. The lupus deal would explain the tendonitis I once developed and had to wear a wrist brace for weeks. Thank goodness our computers were down for a week or so that allowed it to clear up along with some home treatment of hot water on my wrist area. I thought lupus also explained the feeling I had for a couple of days that I was drowning internally. See, it didn’t feel like asthma that I experienced as a child. I felt my lungs filling and I felt like I was going under water and I was breathless walking down the street. I found out that it’s called Pleurisy. I thought lupus explained my hair loss. My hair went from being sooo pretty, long and thick like it was when I was a child to being dull, brittle, barely growing and falling out at a rapid pace. There was this residue in my hair follicles. It was a clear liquid that was attached to the roots of my hair. If my hair fell out, I could pulls this frozen thin liquid attached to that hair strand right off. I thought lupus explained my dry skin and my nails that had the vertical ridges in which I was also embarrassed of. I didn’t know if lupus would explain my eye sight going from 20/20 when I was a teenager to can’t barely see a person’s face in front of me. And wearing contacts, my eyes would be so dry that they would just pop right out. I wasn’t sure if lupus explained why I was sooo sleepy all the time. I didn’t have energy for anything. I started exercising and actually forced myself through some excruciating workouts. Sometimes I had energy where I could run at least 30 mins. Other times, I could barely run 5 mins. And that’s on a treadmill. I can’t run on solid ground. Does lupus explain why I had headaches as a child though? Does it explain those slicing pains in my groin area right in the joint area of my thigh that I had when I was a teenager? Does lupus explain the vulvodynia? Of course I learned that’s what it was as of recently and not a yeast infection. Since my last doctor’s visit, I’ve been doing more research. Would lupus explain why I couldn’t concentrate or focus? Why my skin didn’t heal well. Why I couldn’t remember people. Why I was missing pieces of memories out of my life. I was always in a fog. Even as a child. I was smart, but I was slow to the answer. Always feeling like I’m going in slowmo.Did lupus explain my IBS? In which recently I found that ibprofen helps to dissipate IBS not caused by food reactions but moreso caused simply from a tightening pressure placed on your colon and stomach. Why did I have all these symptoms associated with these various disorders? Why did I lose all my hair? It’s been over 10 years now since this has started with my hair and I lost all my youth to this problem. My teenage years. My 20s. I’m now in my early 30s. Now I do know and I’m angry for so much wasted time. I’m sure so many women would mistaken it for PCOS like many doctors would. But it’s not. It’s Fibromyalgia. A simple thickening of the serous fluids which disallows the fluid to continously move around your vital organs. Now, I wonder if my vegetarianism made it worse since I did not eat meat. Your body needs hyaluronaise enzyme to break down the hyaluronan. If your body doesn’t have enough of the hyaluronaise enzyme to break down the hyaluronan which thickens the serous fluid in your body then you began to experience Fibromylagia one symptom at a time. Hyaluronaise enzyme is found in great quantities in bovine testes as I learned. Now I’m just wondering if taking the bovine testes extract in a powder form would help my body to create more of the hyaluronaise enzyme to break down the hyaluronan. I wonder if taking cough or nasal suppressant medicinces when I was sick made my condition worse? I wonder what it could have been? But I can’t dwell too much on that now. I’m going to concentrate on taking a little sea salt every day to loosen the thick serous fluid. That sea salt really does give you energy again. I suppose that’s what made my serous fluid move around before giving me alert energy I never really had before. I might start myself on drinking a lot more water and cutting out caffeine. Maybe laying off the corn syrup found in so many of our foods. I’m sure there won’t be a magic pill to make this neck pain go away, but I’ll continue to take over the counter ibuprofen when I feel like the pain is unbearable and taking salt to get the acid levels down and loosening the serous fluid. I’ll definitely start taking more protein supplements too. I’ll definitely have to be brave to take the bovine supplement that’s for sure.

i’m only 23 years old, but i got diagnosed with fibro when i was 16. last night after i got out of the shower, i noticed that my hair seemed a little thinner on top. i freaked, and my roommate assured me that my hair was just falling into place differently (a few weeks ago i got bangs cut in, and so my part is different). but i got on here and did some research, and i’m praying more doesn’t fall out. thank you for this article and these comments. it makes me feel a lot better, because i know i’m not alone.

The scalp condition you mention is something I was just diagnosed with last month. It is seborrheic dermatitis (sp?) and can affect the sides of a person’s nose, the inside corners of their eyebrows, and along the front edge and temples of the scalp, along with the back of the scalp. I have had it for years but was too embarrassed to seek treatment and didn’t know it could be treated with a prescription cream. I had such a bad flare up last month when my children started school that I had to finally seek treatment. I have to wash daily with Head and Shoulders to keep my scalp from breaking out. It is stress related for me.

I am also losing my hair (have been for almost 3 yrs). I have asked all my Drs. about it and nobody can give me an answer. They all say it’s hereditary ( it isn’t – not one female in my family has had thinning hair) and it is Androgenic Alopecia (which means they don’t know what is causing it). Fortunately, I started off with extremely thick hair, but now it is getting pretty thin on top and I’ve noticed a slight receding of the hairline in front. I am so frustrated over my Doctor’s lack of knowledge and willingness to research it. I even went to a Dermatologist about it. They all just say if it bothers me to start using Minoxidil, but that is a lifelong commitment and I’m only 55 (just turned).

I had to badger my Doctor for months to test my thyroid level and, as I thought, it was low, so I have been on meds for about a year now and that hasn’t made any difference in the hair loss.

I also developed seborrheic dermatitis on my scalp and the sides of my nose.

Like many of you, I have had major and minor hair loss. I also have hypothyroidism. The more stressed I am, the more I lose, so I try to work on the stress. Thankfully I was blessed with too much hair to begin with. Yet everyone comnments on the shine and health of my hair! Sometimes you just have to strategically fix your hair and move on, but to fix and prevent more loss, I take biotin (a whopping dose too 2500-5000 mg/day) which is good for hair, skin and nails. I also take a multi-vitamin with extra E. I use Nioxin (shampoo and cond.) for thinning hair when it gets bad. Expensive, but I don’t use it often. Use volumizing shampoos (Aveda is great and made from plants) which plumps up the hair that you do have. I am gentle with my hair. I massage my scalp in the shower every day with fingertips only, use quality hair products and exercise and eat a healthy diet. Since I have had to stop working, a lot of stress has been eliminated, but other stress has taken its place. Still have lots of flares–in one now with lots of chest pain (costochondritis) and horrible neck and back pain. Hope it moves on quickly. Wishing all a painless day!

YES !!! My husband lost his job about a month ago and I was panic stricken. I noticed my hair was falling out all over the place and didn’t know why. The stress has been awful with this job loss and the additional expenses. I never linked the stress and my FMS with a hair loss connection. I feel so much better now with the hope that it will go back to it’s original thickness.

I am Black female and have noticed over the last few weeks that everytime I brush or comb my hair, there is a lot of it in the brush, comb or on top of the counter top. This is definitely different from breakage that I used to experience when I used to color treat my hair, so I became a little concerned, especially after it had been growing so well. I tend to shed a bit in the winter months, but it has not been cold yet! I too, was, may still be, a bitconvinced that I may have Lupus. Prior tests have been negative, but I’ve just been retested, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

What kind of meds are you guys currently taking to manage your pain and other symptoms?

I’ve not talked to a doctor about this yet… Ever since I was a kid I had weird tenderness and spot skin and joint sensitivity but never knew what to make of it. I’ve experienced weird hair loss and regrowth my whole life as well — so much so that every stylist who’s seen it remarks on my huge abundance of “baby hairs”.

Often freshly-sprouted hairs that follow a mass-shedding come off as well, appearing under my fingernails as teeny pinhead-sized sprouts. These hairs (whether they stay or fall out) are different than the ones that grow in more naturally: They have thin, wispy ends followed by a thick bulge before the hair begins to grow normally. If I don’t trim the ends of the ones that stay they look like tiny hooks and tend to “fly-away” more than the rest of my hair.

Despite the weird way my hair grows and falls out I keep my hair as long as it will grow. It’s so many different layers that when I pull it back into a ponytail my whole head looks a bit like a length of fuzzy yarn. I gave up on hair styles and trendy cuts years ago. I wear hats when I go out which stops me feeling self-conscious.

Hi everyone! I recently stumbled across an article that I thought was really encouraging for people going thru the same stuff like us. I can’t remember exactly what the article was but the name of the site is myhairregrowth.com. I think it’s sort of new but they had a really encouraging article and video about a 26 yr old lady who was experiencing a lot of hair loss and didn’t know how to stop it. The encouragement and hope she received was really upbuilding. I just thought I’d share!

I’ve had ME/CFS for just over 8 years but a year-and-a-half ago I began to experience hair loss identical to male pattern baldness (which wouldn’t be such a surprise, as I’m a man and 36 yrs of age). This was during a period of extreme stress as I was having a benefits review and had just gotten a house to rent, but the funny thing is, my hair has now begun to grow back.

While it’s not completely 100% regrown it’s about 65-70% there and I can tell the difference when washing my hair as there is noticeably ‘more’ there and I don’t feel the top of my scalp as much, if it all. So, to any guys out there who might read this – if hair loss is bothering you and you have ME/CFS try not to get too down as it may well regrow.

I personally think that what helped for me was taking vitamin D at 30,000 iu (controversial subject is vitamin D I know) and high-strength vitamins from Holland & Barrett.

Good luck, and don’t give up hope for treatment of ME/CFS or the hair loss either.

Dear Adrienna,
First I would like to Thank You for all of your post’s. They are wonderful. I use a lot of them at my support meetings that I have for chronic fatigue,fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and the other invisible diseases that go hand in hand. You are so informative, I look at so many other sites but yours is the most informative. I had no idea until today about the thinning hair, Thank You. My hair tends to get thinner and thinner I figured it was my medication, Thanky You for setting me straight. Also Thank You for all of your recent articles on fibromyalgia,chronic fatigue ms,myofacial disease and all of the other ones. Please keep up the good work it really is appreciative.

I’ve had fibro symptoms since I was ten. Since then, I’ve had everything from the aches and pains, to tendonitis, bursitis, intertitial cystitis, ibs, ulcerative colitis, asthma, high eye pressure, itching, allergies…and yes, the hair shedding. Believe it or not — I’m in my 50s — look 15 years younger, live a great life, and manage to overcome all of this (it is a day by day battle…but it is comforting to know I’m not the only one) It seems like it is always something…and many people and doctors don’t connect that it is “all connected” and not in our minds. It isn’t easy to deal with all this…and the unknown of what’s next…but you can live through it…and enjoy a normal life. I have certainly been down about it it….and I am currently sweeping my clean white tiles of my long hair…but, what can you do? Lots of people have it worse…so if you have fibromyalgia…know that all of your symptoms are real…but they come and go…lots of remissions on all of the associated disorders…and you just have to try to take it day to day and focus on what’s good in your life.

I have had fibro symtems since I was a young girl but never knew what it was. There were those who thought I was looking for attention and now I hear I am not alone. I can live with the pain and the feeling of wanting to jump out of my own skin because I find a place to meditate and quiet down. I recently found out that my hair loss also has to do with my fibro and all the while I thought it started with the stress of my divorce from my first husband. I have found that using Main and Tail shampoo, the same shampoo used for horses, helps with new hair growth. You can get it in any supermarket and it works. No gimmick, no paying someone for promise of hair growth. I have been using it for the last 14 years and I promise you it will help, at least it has for me. As for the rest of it, when tired all we can do is rest, when stressed find a place to center yourself. People around you don’t always understand but it’s up to us to educate them, especially those we love so they can better understand us.

I have fibromyalgia and hair loss. I have had hair loss now for about 5 years. My hair loss covers my head, my armpits, and even my legs. When I lose hair in my head, it is not in patches, instead it is evenly distributed. I used to have a huge pony tail when I would put my pony tail up. Now it is much thinner. This posting is great for people dealing with hair loss and fibromyalgia because it is the first one I have seen.

Yes, I have lost lots of hair with my fibro. Just like you I did notice the hair loss and was tested for lupus because of it. My hair has improved a bit since I started focusing more on relaxing my muscles. I also started on hair vitamins and saw an improvement on hair loss and texture. Thanks for all the info that your blog generates.

I was diagnosed with FMS 13 years ago. After leaving a very stressful job, my symptoms have not been as severe the past 18 months. However, two weeks ago I started 24/7 care for an elderly relative and am now having a major flare. She rarely sleeps so neither do I and every waking minute is filled with stress. I have not had a flare this painful in years and never had hair loss. Last night while shampooing I noticed hair loss by the handfuls. So I am wondering if it is common to acquire a new symptom with the onset of a severe flare?

From Your Guide: It’s not that unusual to have new symptoms develop like that. Stress and lack of sleep can make your hair fall out as well. However, just to be sure, you should bring it up with your doctor. ~Adrienne

I’m glad to say now that my hair is growing back! It’s still thin, and I’m still missing a lot of it, but I have hair growth in spots that was missing hair. It was soy that caused my hair loss and most of the Fibromyalgia symptoms. The soy blocks the vitamins and nutrients from being absorbed into your body. I also cut out a lot of caffeine in which I drank coffee daily to about drinking a small cup three times out of a week. The coffee was washing and pulling what little vitamins and nutrients out of my body. My IBS symptoms cleared up a lot when I took some probiotic pills and stopped eating tomato based foods. You see, tomatoes can eat through aluminum foil. So, when you make it concentrated into a sauce an paste, it can be too much for your stomach if you do not have a daily intake of olive oil or any other healthy oil (that’s not soybean based). I also stopped eating almonds and other hard nuts and peanut butter because my stomach couldn’t break it down since it was in such a delicate condition from being ruined by soy. I don’t know if I’ve done enough damage where parts of my colon would have to be removed as I’ve heard some have gone through that. Almonds was making my stomach sound like a demon. I don’t eat dried sugary fruits like raisins either. I still have the creaking and cracking in my neck and legs. Hopefully with time that will get better with calcium and vitamin D and other supplements I take. I have to watch everything I eat now because they put soy in so many shakes and food and supplements. I was sleepy all the time, but that’s getting better. I still plan to cut out coffee altogether, but it’s been my friend for so many years. I did stop the sea salt remedy because my nasal cavaties was starting to burn. I start taking in extra water to reverse the damage of possibly drying out organs with drinking coffee since it is a diruetic. A multi-vitamin, a separate zinc pill with amino acid supplement (non-soy) and I’m getting better little by little. It’s going to take time for the damage to be reversed I know. It’s been 12 years of soy and coffee afterall. I’m just having problems mostly with muscle pain instead of joint now and still struggling with energy. When I cross that bridge of defeating those issues, I will update again. Also, I’m looking to get rid of some extra weight too so we’ll see what affect my program has in a few more months. And I’ll outline it better and make it more simple to follow.

try zinc
i have taken it for ages now after watching Gillian mckeith and my hair is so much better.
i also have hair ext at the side…just a few, maybe 5 each side and i look to have a regular head of hair
please try it – ZINC ZINC ZINC
good luck everyone

Me too! Me too! I had tried everything to fix my hair loss. I used the special shampoos that cost an arm and a leg, the dermatologist prescribed shampoos and creams. Nothing seemed to help. I hadn’t noticed that it seemed to ebb and flow with the fibro flares. Then I went into menopause… and I was miserable with these flooding hot flashes. My GYN and Endocrinologist didn’t want me taking hormones (why, I have no idea since there is no breast, uterine, cervical or ovarian cancer in the family), but I finally bought some Estroven Plus. Besides minimizing the hot flashes (unfortunately, nothing stops them), suddenly my hair is thick and full again. WTH? The only thing I can figure out is that I have always been low in female hormones, and the natural estrogen is key to women’s hair. Makes sense when you think about how thick your hair gets while pregnant.

I’ve been dealing with the realization of Fibromyalgia over the last 6 months or so, though I’ve been dealing with what I now realize are symptoms of it for most of my life. Lately I’ve been having a particularly bad set of pain – just the act of walk hurts – but with that I’ve noticed a considerable amount of hair loss. Has anybody tracked their progression of fibromyalgia and the increase in symptoms? I’m 23 and this disease seems to be getting worse by the minute at times. Right now it’s livable but I worry that at the rate it’s progressing life will continue to get more and more difficult… would love to hear other people’s track records with this!

I am in the middle of having a severe episode of hair loss. It started about 3 months ago. It came out whenever I touched my hair, it came out in the shower, on my pillow, I could feel hairs falling on my arms all day long. It is now at the point that I can see pink scalp all over my head and it is very very thin now. I started using a zinc preparation shampoo a week ago, and that might be helping some, hard to say, because there isn’t much left. I am going to try the zinc pills. I am also going to try Nizoral (ketoconazole) shampoo mentioned in several on line sites. It seems this may prevent the hair root shrinkage/hair loss that is caused by certain hormonal activity. I am very glad to hear that the hair grew back for most people after some time.

Oops, I didn’t mean that I am glad that others experienced hair loss. Just relieved to find out that it is just another symptom of fibro.

I have been experiencing increased hair loss and I have just had a chronic fatigue “episode.” Episode meaning that I wore myself down to zero energy after my mother’s death and am just crawling back to “normal energy” for a person with CFS. Hopefully it is a temporary setback. Thanks, for this article.

@ (30) Toni

“As for the rest of it, when tired all we can do is rest, when stressed find a place to center yourself. People around you don’t always understand but it’s up to us to educate them, especially those we love so they can better understand us.”

Beautiful!

Wow… I am not crazy! I wish everyone I know could read all of your posts. Often, I feel I am all alone in a sea of healthy people. My hair has been a nightmare as of late. I actually went out and purchased a wig last week. I always know when it’s going to start falling out because if just feels thinner and drier. I have been diagnosed with FM 10 years or so ago… take no meds for it. Last week I got diagnosed with Lupus. My bloodwork came back that I am in the midst of a flare up, doc says. Not sure what to make of this Lupus… but I know that I am afraid my hair will never be the same again. For years it’s fallen out, some years it comes out a lot, other years just a little but I’ve always complained about my hair to others. No one understands and claims “It’s all in your head”. Um… no it’s not on my head, it’s in the shower, on the floor, on my shirt, in the car… I can’t stand it anymore. Yesterday, I had it all cut off. I can’t bare to see it come out anymore. A girl at the wig store asked me if I was going through Chemo. We can put a man on the moon, yet we can’t make hair grow? I have tried EVERYTHING, vitamins, rogaine, minoxidil, massage, conditioners… you name it, I’ve tried it. My demotologist has me taking some mix of liquid that I put on my scalp every night. Nothing. No hair growth. I’m at my roots end here… Today, I bought hats.

I was diagnosed with fibro and chronic fatigue Nov 09 but about November 08 my hair started falling out so bad. They ran all kinds of blood test and everything was fine. I’ve never had thick hair but I had a lot and it was half way down my back. It got so thin that you could see my shirt through my hair up to my shoulders. I had to cut it all off. My hair loss has slowed down some but I have noticed like you that sometimes I can have a lot more loss than other times. I was noticing yesterday that it seems to be getting thin again in the same area. Here we go again I thought. I’m vain when it comes to my hair as I think most women are. My hair has never been the same. I’ve tried vitamins and special shampoo’s and nothing really has helped. I’ve had to buy a hair catcher for the tub I lose so much. It”s really scary.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences.

I’ve had the dreaded FMS for 13 yrs. now. About 2 1/2 yrs. ago my hairdresser noticed a bald spot on the hairline in the back. I was going through a good deal of stress on the job, teaching behavior-disordered students who liked to call people “bald-headed bitches.” Well, a couple months later, I went on a medical leave (eventually retiring). I wasn’t about to become one of those bald-headed b’s! Still, the hair loss continued.

Hair is very thin now and still falling out. During the summer I’ve been wearing hats. I purchased two wigs at the breast cancer boutique, but have yet to wear either. It’s just too hot here right now. I will do so when the weather cools down, though.

Dermatologist gave me Rogaine a couple years ago, but I just couldn’t stand the feeling on my scalp. I told her and she got short with me, and said to get my thyroid checked. I’d been on synthroid for a number of years for hypo. So, I muddle on…Can’t believe I have to do these weird comb-overs to cover the scalp. Now it’s thinning in the front, so I’ll have to pull out the wigs. My eyebrows are very sparse as well.

Hope this isn’t too long. Peace to all.

Thank you all for your comments. I am encouraged. I am at the point that I can no longer tolerate feeling bad about the increasing symptoms, including head baldness. That was a new symptom and I kind of thought, “I can’t take any more”. But, I can take it. I am now trying to get back to my baseline of feeling at peace, no matter what. I think about the good things in my life, even if just the pleasure of seeing the sun shine, or a bird flying overhead. And I am now trying to do more of the things that give me “Joy and Meaning”. I am keeping a journal to find out just what those things are. The fibro will continue and I will do what I can, but this is just the way it is, and I am coming to terms with it.

This information is wonderful. I have had to deal with hair loss for the past few years & viewing my genetics I know it will be a bigger issue as I get older.

One thing that I found helped me was sleeping on silk pillowcases it helps prevent hair loss & the thinning of the hair so your hair has a chance to grow longer & stronger while you sleep. http://www.essenceofsilk.com has all the best reasons to sleep on silk. It’s been used for centuries to help people with hair problems & it’s luxuriously soft too.

Since my last comment, I have gone to a dermatologist. That was about 3-1/2 weeks ago. The dermatologist advised that I use Minoxidil 5% twice a day, and continue the ketoconazole shampoo (Nizoral). I am also taking a hair supplement with 3000mcg of biotin a day. I now can see little hairs all along my hairline about 1/2 inch long! He also said, since my hair loss was from a bout of extreme stress, that it was very likely most of my hair would return to the previous thickness. So, I am hopeful. I am not advising anyone to do the same, but it seems to be working for me.
Best Wishes to all-

Oh Thank GOD I found this!!! I haven’t been diagnosed yet but have an apt with an arthritis specialist dec 7th.Hair started falling out in June and the aches and pains have gradually gotten worse.At the end of each day I feel like I have the flu and am in bed by 8pm!!!
The hair loss has really really upset me…everyone looks and sais that they can’t tell but I can.It is about half the thickness it was and the partings are wider.
Does anyone have sleep problems? I never sleep through the night.. extremely restless.

Oh i also forgot to mention in my last post that since June I have been weaning off a horrible drug called “Effexor”..so I originally thought the hair loss was from the stress on my body.It’s been very confusing and frustrating trying to figure out what is causing it!

Hi guys….I’ve been dealing with symptoms of fibromyalgia for years, even though i wasn’t always aware it was fibromyalgia. They have progressively gotten worse and I recently found out I have an immune deficiency. I believe the two go hand in hand, along with chronic fatigue syndrome. Anyways I recently started to experience hair loss. I’ve always had thick hair and one day i looked in the mirror and it was significantly thinner all over, but mostly noticable to me on the sides where i felt i could see more scalp when i pulled my hair back. It was definitly alarming and I started to panic, fearing that it would just keep getting progressively worse. I do have spikey baby hair all over in the front, so i pray that’s a sign that it will slowly grow back in. But with that said I wanted to share some information with those of you with fibromyalgia. There is a doctor in Chorpus Christi, Tx that is doing great things for people with this condition. His name is Dr. Rhodes. I encourage you to google Coastal Bend Chronic Pain center and look into it for yourself=)

Not that this hasn’t been said enough, but thank you so much for posting this article! I have been having back pain for about 5 years now (since 6th grade) and have just recently been diagnosed with FMS. Being a 16 year old girl, it has been extremely difficult to explain all of my symptoms to doctors and friends. I thought maybe I was going crazy and that’s why my hair was falling out! Hair loss is a somewhat new symptom for me and I thought I was the only person who experienced this! It makes me feel so much better to know that other people are dealing with the same issues as I am. I don’t think you will ever know how much y’all have helped me feel so much better about myself just by knowing that I’m not crazy and that other people experience this awful symptom too. Thanks again!!!

Only use a sulfate free shampoo or Co-wash hair, that means wash hair with conditioner. Vitamins with Saw palmetto, melatonin liquid to rub in scalp, Neem oil for hair or Alma Oil for hair. Indians make good products for hair scalp growth and loss. The Estroven Plus seems like a good idea and herb teas like Red Raspberry leaf for hormonal issues. Also take kelp supplments, very good for hair. Spirulina, Wheat Grass Lecthin, Flax seed oil, aloe vera geland Green super powders are good in blender with addeded yogurt, fruit, carrots, avocado, black strap molasses, brewers yeast. Pure argan oil is good for hair. Also use shampoos and conditioners for aging. Massage hair with the oils. Coconut oil is very good because only one to be absorbed by the hair. Indians make a Vatika oil with coconut and amla oil, supposed to be good. Good luck.. I too have problems. Hair grows back and then falls out when I use harsh shampoos and diet gets crummy again. Now I am starting all over again.

Apparently, Hair loss is also a side effect of synthroid, a medication for hypothyroidism..

Yes, my hair has gotten a lot thinner over the past five to eight years. I’ve always had extremely thin and fine hair to begin with, that wouldn’t grow past shoulder-length, now I cannot even grow it that long. If it’s more than about four inches long, it looks really awful, like a rat gnawed on it, so I have to get it cut.

I have been losing hair for quite a while now and also have had very dry skin so it has caused me to search for answers online and I came across your comment. I have those bumps you describe and I lose soooo much hair…I have had fibromyalgia for a few years. This is my first experience with the skin problems and hair loss. Thank you for posting…it helps just to know I am not alone.

hey everyone im new to this site.on april 19 i was told by my rheumatology that i have fibro its really starting to sink in and i now know its real. for a long time i just dealt with the pain and didnt want to say or belive i had something wrong. im 33 years old and i feel like my body is 90 year old. i have a great husband who is very understanding he works hard all day so when he comes home i dont like to bother him with my problems. i feel like now i cant even play with my kids cuz of this everything i do hurts. my kids are in school most days so im alone most of the time so i do get some what of a break. since knowing about this diease its changed everything in my life. im trieing to just deal with it but its so hard. sometime i feel like i could jump off a bridge thats might be less painful i dont know i guess you can say im still ajusting to it. on a good note im glad i found this site i dont feel so alone any more knowing there are others out there dealing with the same thing. so i want to say thank you to everyone on here. i have read most of what people say on here and its helping me little by little to understand thats its not a death sentence.

I have also cut my hair much shorter. I have always had really thick hair till now. I am willing to try anything to get it to stop. I remember when I was about 13 something very stressful happened and I lost all the hair from the back of my head. It grew back in gray and later changed back to my hormal color. So stress could have something to do with it.

I was just diagnosed with fibro last week. And I have terrible hair loss! My husband and I both complain about it all the time. Everytime i take a shower the wall and the floor of the tub have a crazy amount of hair in it! I just thought it was me! So glad to know that im not the only one!

I was just diagnosed with fibromyalgia today. I could have sworn that I had lupus too. I have horrible pain in every joint in my body, am losing tons of hair and having stomach and liver issues as well. It has taken three and a half months to get a diagnosis and my neurologist still isn’t convinced that it is fibromyalgia. I have liver pain even though my enzymes have gone down since my biopsy in March. Has anyone else had stomach or liver or spleen issued with fibromyalgia? I am tired of being in pain all of the time. This is not a fun thing to have.

I’ve had hair loss too – thought it was post-pregnancy but it lasted over a year. Then I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Recently it started up again and baby is 2 1/2, so it isn’t post-pregnancy.
I started taking Savella for my fibro and my hairloss seemed to lessen and be normal. I recently (a month and a half ago)lowered my dose to half and my hair loss is seeming to start again; I am also having a fibro flair up too.
I did find that Min-Chex vitamin complex is helping me sleep, but I also need to take it with a multi vitamin.
I ran out of Min-Chex and that triggered my fibro flare up. I’ve got some more so maybe it will be under control again soon. An interesting thing about Min-Chex is that it has iodine in it which I read is good to take if one is experiencing hypothyroid symptoms. I also read that fibro medicine can affect ones thyroid levels. So those of you that are very tired – take extra iodine and try Min-Chex.
Very interesting website – informative. Thank you.

I too had hair loss. Mostly around the front of my hair line. I started using minoxdil twice a day. In a few months I noticed fuss growing. It kept getting longer until it blended in my other hair. I am forgetting to put it on everyday. But I guess forgetfulness goes along with fibro. I am going to have to get back on tract here. I really don’t know if you have to keep using it all the time. Because I forget to check that too. It isn’t expensive. I paid $600 dollars for 2fl.oz.

Nice article.
Learned allot form it
For other readers: Check this Ultimate Hair Loss Solution

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia over 16 yrs ago and over the yrs it progressivly became worse. Even to the point I was in so much pain and couldn’t not find any relief from all the meds that were tried I honestly wanted to die. A friend of mine that has Lupus and FMS suggested a medication she was on. I told the doctor and it helps more than anything I have tried so far. Thank goodness she told me about Tramadol. It doesn’t relieve all my pain by any means but it helps me want to live! I suffered hair loss also. It was right in the front above my forehead and was completly bald! I had to comb my hair over to cover it I was in my thirties at the time. It still gets thin there but not as terrible as the first time. I have every symptom listed and now recently found out I have six uterine fibroid tumors that need to be removed. They are pressing on my nerves in my legs and making it extreamly difficult to walk for over an hour at a time. Fibromyalgia is horrible, I hate it! I have a bumper sticker that say Fibromyalgia sucks! That says it all!

juanita, how many tramadols do you take a day? I’ve got some here. I’m trying to get off gabapentin right now…I took a tramadol yesterday morning and it kinda helped…

did your hair grow back from when you were doing the comb-over? I’ve got bald patches on the sides and have to do some flip-flopping of the hair to cover it somewhat…I have 2 wigs, but in the heat I can’t wear them.

Yes, this totally SUCKS!!! Where did you get that bumper sticker?

I’ve had hair loss since my first perm at the age of 12. Luckily I have thick hair. I thought perms were causing it since I had a sensitive scalp. Five years ago I stopped perming my hair because the burning, sores, and severe pain became intolerable. I tried several different products, but every time my scalp would be on fire! I decided to loc my hair, thinking that would be the end of hair loss. Well it wasn’t! I continue to shed. Now my hair always looks frizzy. After reading this site I feel much better. I will embrace my frizzy locs!
Thank you so much!!!

I am wondering if anyone’s hair is just breaking off instead of falling out at the root.

This is what’s happening to mine..for over a year now and I have lost half the thickness of hair.I took hair vitamins etc but nothing worked.

I’ve had fibro for about a year and also was in a panic when tons of hair was falling out….so much that my bangs are thinning except grey hair is replacing them, even worse, lol….I guess one of the symptoms to endure…..

Thanks to the author and to all who have posted! Feeling alone with fibro is sometimes most painful, though I know I am one of many. My hair loss has been gradual over the past three or so years. I have had fibro symptoms since childhood (stomachaches, bone pain, very sensitive skin, depression, etc). The symptoms have come and gone with stressors and flares. Post diagnosis 9/09 my hair’s texture has thinned and become dry. My skin overall is drier, I have night sweats, and other perimenopause symptoms. In the past year (just turned 40) I have lost a lot of hair in my brush as well as with each shower. The “shedding” has sped up in the past weeks, and I can now see some shiny pink scalp just behind my widows’ peak. I have lots of fine baby hairs in the front, so it may be regrowing a bit. Some days I am in acceptance, and others I push back against – what? – my own body? How can you hate the enemy when it’s in you? Take care…

I have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. As the years were stealing my energy and my life was being robbed of joy I started to take my life in my hands and one by one relieved myself of all stressors. I am blessed to have an amazing husband who came along side me and supported me and even made it so I did not have to work. I am losing hair so rapidly that it will be a few weeks … a month at most and I will have patches of no hair. I am not convinced this is related to stress. I wonder if there is another explanation why women with fibromyalgia lose hair.

I am undiagnosed, but I suspect (strongly) that I have fibro. About a year ago a bunch of my hair fell out randomly for about a week. buckets of hair. It was everywhere. And then it all grew back and I had this “baby hair” syndrome people are talking about – where my hair looked like a crazy bush on top. Now it’s happening again and with this suspected Fibro diagnoses it all makes sense. Glad that it grows back – a huge pain that it falls out though.

My hair loss began nearly 30 years ago with a bout of mono which morphed into CFS two years after that. I thought for sure I’d have no hair left in ten years but here it is, 30 years later and I probably have about 50% of my hair left, enough to cover the top of my head on a windless day. Eventually, I’ll buy a wig. I do not feel stressed about it any more. I take low dose 25 mg of Sinequin every day which helps my CFS considerably and evens out my mood. I also take Levothyroxine and a multi vitamin. Not much helps the hair loss although my doc has lessened the thyroid med so seems like hair loss is worse again. I use every trick I can to make my hair look thicker, so most people don’t realize the hairloss I’ve suffered.

Hello, Im 27. I was just recently diagnosed with Graves and ha RAI. My mother has FM and her mother has RA who also had thyroid problems when younger, none now supposedily not sure if hypo or hyper. I also have an aunt on my fathers side with FM. I am a nurse so I always assumed my pain was from working or standing or lifting, and stress. ive been rear ended twice and in a air bag deploy collision within the past 3 year when all the pain in my joints and muscles began. before i was diagnosed with Graves i had blown up from weighing around 165 to 240 in about a year and was diagnosed with “anxiety”. when the graves symptoms began my thought process and grades in college significant dropped. spelling and words are still eh..lol. Also interesting to mention before any of these symptoms began I was diagnosed with hemiplegic migraines ( i thought i was having a stroke at 23 :O! ) and started on topamax…every since then after taking about a year the graves symptoms became more apparent. i know it cause weight loss so does graves. Also my TSI anitbodies are 255. anyone else with this weirdness?

I am 63 years old and was diagnosed with Fibro. around 1993. Over the past year or so, I noticed hair coming out when I shampooed. Just lately, I’ve noticed a lot of thinning at the crown. All the women in my family had thinning hair when they aged, so I figured it was just hereditary, which it might be. I have noticed however, that after having my hair up in curlers for a while, my head starts hurting so bad I get a terrible headache and I have to dry my hair and get those curlers out before I go crazy! Also, I had naturally curly (and frizzy) hair all my life, but now it it straight and limp. I asked my doctor about it and he suggested Minoxodil. He says he has had other women patients who have had success with it. I bought a box and I have been staring at it now and then, half afraid to begin something that has to be kept up every month, but I think I will go ahead and try it.
Like someone else said, what the heck–with all that Fibro. has taken from me, why not fight to keep my hair? I have always colored my own hair and continue to do so because it actually gives hair more body. Right now I have a lot of gray showing because I have to wait until a day comes along when I feel I have enough energy to handle it. It was good to hear from all of you–I don’t feel so crazy now.

I was diagnosed with Fibro 3 years ago but I know I have had it longer. I always had thin hair but it has really gotten thinner. My hair falls out every time I brush and I get to the point where I am afraid to brush it. It is getting really thing and getting to look as if I have cancer. My thyroid has has been tested and it is not that. I was told that fibro has nothing to do with thinning hair but am so relieved to finally find out that it does. Now if we could only find out how to stop it or what to do for it. I put conditioning treatments on my hair weekly and use a good conditioner my stylist recommends daily. My scalp is also very tender at times. Dont you just love this goold ole fibro! NOT!

I started noticing severe hair loss about 6 months before I was finally diagnosed with Fibro. Being a bit Native Indian, as you know, we tend to have thick full hair, which until that date, I had plenty of. My husband kept asking me why there was so much hair on the floor, in the shower, in the sink. I was embarrassed and would just say, “oh you know how Indian hair is, some has to fall out so the new can come in.” But I knew something was wrong. I asked the Dr’s, they acted like I had lost my brain instead of my hair. Two years after being diagnosed, I had to have Cranial Surgery and at the time was excited thinking that with my head being shaved, I would grown a brand new “full” head of hair. NOT…. Now, I have a new Doctor who has given me Rogain for women and says that he heard it has been successful for some people with Fibro. Maybe it’s my imagination, but after 4 nights, it actually looks like hair may be starting to grow back. Can’t hurt to try it folks.

I have been diagnosed with FMS for about 6 or 7 years now. I am now experiencing my second round of major hair loss. Whenever I flare, even a tiny bit, the condition of my hair — and the loss of it — is a symptom. My hair gets dull despite using good shampoos and switching them up, plus using conditioners, argan oil, etc. It tends to look frazzled and has more breakage. Lately, I have to clean large clumps of hair from the drain every time I wash my hair (every other day). I am blessed with LOTS of hair, but it is amazingly thin now. I also know that the thyroid, lack of vitamin D, B vitamins, etc. can also enhance the horrible symptoms of FMS. I’m always low on all of them. I had to have my thyroid removed because of tumors & am on thyroid replacement therapy. It changes from time to time & you either feel like you are walking in deep sand when you are low or you are burning but on empty when you are too high. Keeping a balance is helpful but doesn’t rid me of my FMS symptoms completely. Stress is a big factor. The more stress I feel at work or home, the more aggressive my symptoms become. Coping and managing stress the best I can is extremely important. Resting on Shabbat helps me personally. …It is a struggle, but listening to our bodies closely and making some necessary adjustments here and there can help. If someone finds a key to stop the hair loss, please share! I look forward to all the contributors’ feedback! ~Thanks!

I have been dx’d with Fibro for 6 yrs now. I have told and retold every doctor for the last 7 yrs. about my hair loss–and nobody knows what it is. So thanks for the article. My hair comes out in about a handful each time I shower. Then when I comb it I still loose more. I had my hair cut short last November (2011)…as it is thinning very badly that I think I will be balder than my hubby. It is so thin that I try combing it to one side like those men who try to hide how bald they are–well that’s me and I’m a woman. Now I know I am not alone in this area. I have had my thyroid tested every year when I have a physical-and it’s normal. Thanks again.

I also have Lupus, so I have lost a lot of hair. I always know a flare is coming when my hair starts coming out more than usual. I use X Fusion, which really makes it look like I have more hair.

I have had extreme hair loss for years and can only wear my hair one way or it shows. I’ve also had CFS for years and believe I have had hypothyroid for years too. I was put on thyroid meds in ’96 but was unable to increase them fast enough and it actually casued a new thyroid issue with hypothyroid as a result. However, it was not diagnosed until recently.

I firmly believe MANY people are hypothyroid and undiagnosed because they have the same problem as me. It is called too much reverse T3. You can read all about it and what to do on the Stop TheThyroid Madness site like I did.

It’s a terrible disservice that very few endocrinologists even acknowledge this problem nor test for it. I have started just a low dosage of meds and it’s helped my energy immensely already.
It’s a crime to have women suffer the devastation of extreme hair loss in addition to such horrible fatiigue unnecessarily because they can’t get a diagnosis.

My hair is also coming back a little but there is a point at which it will not come back and I think I’m past that in some areas of my scalp.
I’ve had to wear wigs at times but I don’t wear them at home just when I dress up.

I have also had the little white pieces Karen mentions falling out of empty hair follicles.

YES THINK THIS RIGHT SINCE HAVING FIBRO MY HAIR IS COMING OUT GOT TO WASH IT TONIGHT AND HATE TO DO THIS AS IT COMES OUT WHEN WASH IT SO PLUGS GET BLOCKED UP DONT KNOW ANY ONE ELSE HAS THIS PROBLEM SINK BLOCKS WHEN YOU WASHED HAIR MY HEAD IS ITCHY ALL THE TIME IF GOT ANY HELP LIKE TO KNOW
ONE THING LIKE TO KNOW IS HOW DO KNOW IF GOT LUPUS AS WELL ASS FIBRO ?????

ONE THING MY UP AND GO WHEN USED TO DO THINGS I CANT SO MUCH NOW WITH FIBRO
BY THE WAY NOT SHOUTING THIS DUE TO ME TAKING 54 PILLS DAY DIDNT PUT THEN NUMBER IN WRONG THAT AS MANY PILLS AS I TAKE IF CAN BE HELP TO YOU LOVE TO BE AM FED UP FIBRO WISH ALL OF YOU LOVE HUGS AND GOD BLESSING WE ARE BEING TEST BEYOND BELEIFE

YES THINK THIS RIGHT SINCE HAVING FIBRO MY HAIR IS COMING OUT GOT TO WASH IT TONIGHT AND HATE TO DO THIS AS IT COMES OUT WHEN WASH IT SO PLUGS GET BLOCKED UP DONT KNOW ANY ONE ELSE HAS THIS PROBLEM SINK BLOCKS WHEN YOU WASHED HAIR MY HEAD IS ITCHY ALL THE TIME IF GOT ANY HELP LIKE TO KNOW
ONE THING LIKE TO KNOW IS HOW DO KNOW IF GOT LUPUS AS WELL ASS FIBRO ?????

ONE THING MY UP AND GO WHEN USED TO DO THINGS I CANT SO MUCH NOW WITH FIBRO
BY THE WAY NOT SHOUTING THIS DUE TO ME TAKING 54 PILLS DAY DIDNT PUT THEN NUMBER IN WRONG THAT AS MANY PILLS AS I TAKE IF CAN BE HELP TO YOU LOVE TO BE AM FED UP FIBRO WISH ALL OF YOU LOVE HUGS AND GOD BLESSING WE ARE BEING TEST BEYOND BELEIFE

With this hair loss deal we all have – has anyone also have the blessing of no growth of hair on their legs and armpits? I rarely have to shave – every few months if that

Had Epstein Bar when 17 then FMS or CFS, actually both, somethings I changed that helped me get better, do things in moderation, re-evaluated my foods and eat simpler, check our Dr. Fred Bisci, nutritionist on-line, never use TUMS or Calcium carbonate, according to the FDA it coats your stomach and keeps you from absorbing nutrients, God only knows why they are dumping it in lots of fooods like cereals for kids. Anyway, I have found a variety of vitamins rotated has helped along with trying to eat something organic if you can not find or afford all organic. As for my hair it has been slowly thinning since getting sick at age 31 and now at 51 I have less than half my hair. I used to be really thick, many symptoms are better. I have decided to dump anything to do with coffee and go back to tea, everyone I know who has great hair is a tea drinker(women wise anyhow) and that is what I used to drink when my hair was super great and I had lots of energy, so I will try that. Also use gentler or natural shampoos, even just apple cider vinegar, it fixes the ph of your skin and scalp. Also good to drink with water for many things, you can look it up on-line http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/acvinegar.html , works great for dogs too. Check with your nature food store too, any changes you should check with your doc along with blood tests to check for deficiencies. Acidic foods will stress your thyroid and there is natural support from the nature food store that can help and not give symptoms. Helped me. Also just use hair conditioner as a shampoo, it is safer and gentler. You can check some neat videos on youtube, just search some of these terms here and watch. Cool stuff. I feel better and use airborne when sick so I don’t get bed ridden, I even can out do the kids some days. Hope you all start to feel better. Never give up and I pray daily for all of you, may God provide. Peace!

I was diagnosed with cfs about 10 years ago but suspect id had it since childhood as have had symptoms come and go and change as long as i can remember…i manage my symptoms as they appear and can live a reasonably normal life even if im feeling like a walking medical encyclopedia most of the time, at present i have gastro probs and back pain…my reason for posting is that i suffer hairloss, which is accompanied by a burning scalp and sometimes feelings of anxiety for no reason, last year i had to take antidepresssants, after a relationship breakdown, the result is that my hair stopped falling out and has regrown….after stopping for 6 mths the problem has returned and so i have started them again and thankfully my hairloss is once again halted…this is the one symptom i cant hide, and my heart goes out to all fellow sufferers…

Lisa,
What anti-depressant are you taking?

I’m 26 black and I relax my hair. My 1st hair loss was when I was in grade school had about 5 bold spots around hair line after a relaxer. The next major that I can remember was about 2 years ago, I lost all of my hair line so I had to wear my hair down. and just 5 months ago I lost more than 50% of my hair just to picture it put just one hand on the back of your head. I still had that in the beginning (still slowly falling) and the hair line that grew back but everything in between was lost all the way to less than half an inch other than one spot behind where the soft spot once was when we were babies. There it’s long as the back but it only goes for about half an inch. I now have a little over an inch (of the part the feel out) but I am afraid to cut the rest of my hair that short. the long parts of my hair are about an inch or so past my shoulders. I no longer go outside w/ out my hair covered. I wear bandanas everywhere. I have not seen a doctor or asked anyone why this has happened I just thought it was do to my weight gain. My hair is very dry can’t hold oils longer than 2 days. Once I tried to grease/oil my hair every other day for 2 weeks all that did was put grease everywhere else. Right now I am just waiting for the small hair to get long enough to get braided

Right now I am just waiting for the small hair to get long enough to get braided that way I won’t have to look or deal w/ my rain of hair that falls when I go to fix it. The way things look the next part that goes is the back I just hope the top will be long enough to cover it and after that I guess it will be the hold head I just hope that one never happens. Since the fall out I have only relaxed once just to see how long its grown. Right now I have about 1 1/2 inches of new growth in the back and about half an inch where the hair fall out. I don’t know what to do. If I do go to a doctor and they say something is wrong they will give me something to take that I won’t be able to afford to get filled. but it may just be my hard water, that and a relaxer on the hair both leave stuff behind maybe that’s my problem but on the other hand I also have chest pains, can be sitting not moving then my heart beats fast as if I just finished a workout, I don’t sleep much, have knee pain was given meds by doctor for pain but the didn’t work so I just took the pain (now days I can’t bend it to far or stand on it to long because its inflamed), lower back pain always which makes it hard to give kids baths, right side of spine always hurts on upper back, feel burning in knee, both knees crunch when I bend and unbend them, BAD headaches, some days when i look up I get dizzy and it last a few days, last month my period ended 2 days early and 2 days later I started to get labor pain cramps that lasted a whole minute went on for 2 weeks and right when I couldn’t take it anymore told husband I need to go to doctor the next day the pain was gone so I never went. Not to forget I wake up with very dry eyes every morning. these are just some of the stuff I deal with everyday.

I’ve noticed my hair thinning a lot lately. I seem to clean out my brush every day. I was wondering why until I saw this article. Now it I understand why..

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 3 months ago. I get the pin and needle effects in my hands and feet and I find myself getting tired by around 2pm everyday regardless of what I’m doing or eating, but the worst symptom is my hair loss and the pain my scalp is always in. It always feel like the whole top of my scalp is bruised and I have sores that come and go all the time that are really painful. i have tried over the counter medication, prescription and now I recently tried a handful of all natural shampoo and conditioner and nothing seems to help. Can someone PLEASE give me any suggestions. Thank You.

It is very very interesting, thank you for sharing, it will help. The persons who suffer from Sympathic Reflexe Dystrophy could have hair loss, but is it a symptom ? Due to medication in general or one or more medication, and/or due to stress ? Hopefully, the Fybromyagia will cease to exist.
Good luck to all.

More online resource:

Hi everyone, Deciding whether or not a hair transplant is right for me was difficult. You may not only be dealing with your own feelings about it but also those of your family and friends. I’ve come across many articles just like this one on the internet and found ten good reasons why a hair transplant may be just what the doctor ordered for you on a site named pertes de cheveux by norgil If I think

Hi, I have recently been semi diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I struggle daily with my wide spread pain, migraines, ibs, tingling, aching and burning. It feels like I always have the flu. My concentration and word memory recall is very poor. My HAIR has been falling out too. I have been to nervous to ask my Dr about it because it always seems like I always have another complaint when I see her. I started using rogane for woman can only get in states. I just bought the generic brand. I always thought the new short hairs were from the Rogane. But after reading your posting I realize it is just prob new hairs growing back and would do so without the rogane. One thing I found seriously that has helped my hair to not fall out is Biotin 1000mg a day, I also take b vit , sink, and omega 3and 6 fish oils.but I do believe it is the biotin that helped the most. Hope this can help a bit.

Hair loss is linked with masturbation. Check this website:

sharetruthonline.com

The first couple years after I got diagnosed, I never had any problems with my hair … In the last few months I realized that I have a big bald spot on the back my head. To say I’m devestated is as huge understatement. I hadn’t even known losing hair can be a symptom of my fibro until I researched it. I have no idea what I can try to help my hair grow back. If anyone knows something I can try pleaseee share

Thank you so much for the “check list” it brought so much light to my fibro!!! I am on a heart monitor trying to figure out my flutter’s, tachycardia, palpitations ext. I have had hair loss like crazy for years now. I am only 26 and have been told they have never seen firo so bad in someone my age. But I keep fighting. I have every symptom you listed and then some. But it made so much sense!! So I thank you for this info!! Also thank you for all the tips as well, very helpful! I really want to grow out my hair but I think I may just go get it cut shorter so I don’t have to fight the “fuzziness.” Thanks so much again as I am new to the fibro world!!

Thanks for sharing your story. Thanks God i never had that kind of problem. I have loss hair but not totally the same as yours. I just never heard that Fibromyalgia is actually the hair loss now i know. It’s quite hard to prounounce. but anways i learned something from your post.

I live in Wynne Arkansas. I have lupus,fibromyalgia, and thyroid disease. I found out I had thyroid disease at 18. When I found out I had lupus at 46. I was misdiagnosed for probably all most year. When I finally found out I had no body hair at all. I am completely bald no eyelashes or eye brows. I found out I had fibromyalgia at 48 . I am no 51. It is a struggle most days . It has been hard to realize I can’t do everything I use too but I still do what ever I want. I still work full time and I have my eye brows tattooed on. I will never get my hair back. I had a very hard time with this at first but now it doesn’t bother me. I do not like the wigs I wear them maybe 10 times a year. I wear hats and scarves. But it doesn’t both me me to go bald in front of anyone. I have learned that looks doesn’t matter. That I can still make a difference in people’s life. I would like to meet someone else who has lost all their hair

I have both Fibro and Thyroid and Stress from work. The stress will make my hair fall out more.
My hair first started falling out a year before I was diagnosed with thyroid and 10 years after I was diagnosed with Fibro.
I look terrible with short stringy hair—
So I have to spend my hard earned money on extensions.
I leave them in for four months instead of the recomended 3 months.
My hair now looks normal.
I teach High School–Kids can be brutal—-most of them are good, Some would make such a big deal over my hair it would be a distraction.

I have had fibromyalgia for over a year and thought I just had really bad dandruff and recently have had clumps off hair falling out. I used different dandruff shampoos and conditioning treatments, keratin and the like. I am 22 and it really is starting to scare me,.because I end up itching too hard and my head bleeds. Any useful tips would be much appreciated.

I have been suffering with the hair loss for years now. I have Fibro and hypothyrodism, I have gone online and bought the shampoo Ovation it is for hair loss and chemo patients and been using it now for just over a month and it is working. Its costly $100 for three bottles but its all natural too and is suppose to last for 3 months.