Well the realization hit me again today that perhaps my Trich and Fibromyalgia are related...they are both Central Nervious System issues. I know I'm not crazy, and pulling out your hair "has" to be crazy, right? Nope -- Not if it's a central nervous system issue, and so if it is, I should consider myself "crazy" for having Fibromyalgia then. Of course I haven't...but what if they are both caused by central nervous system issues? Then I have been right to never consider myself crazy for hair pulling. I've always looked at it this way -- the act of the hair pulling IS crazy, but the person pulling is not.
So now I'm researching the connection a little further than before...
ScienceDaily (Feb. 17, 2009) — Widespread body pain in fibromyalgia patients is associated with specific brain metabolite abnormalities, according to research in The Journal of Pain. Scientists at Louisiana State University examined 16 fibromyalgia patients to assess the role in fibromyalgia pain played by metabolite abnormalities in the hippocampal region of the brain.
The hippocampus is sensitive to the effects of stress exposure and can be affected in a variety of disorders, like fibromyalgia, which are associated with stressful experiences.
Fibromyalgia is considered a stress-related disorder because of the frequent onset and exacerbation of pain symptoms. Brain imaging studies have shown there are central nervous system disturbances that occur in response to pain stimulation. more>>
...brain metabolite abnormalities in premenopausal fibromyalgia patients can disrupt the hippocampus region and inhibit brain activity required for modulating stress responses.
i came across your blog after running a google search for trichotillomania and fibromyalgia. (as i was sitting on my couch slowly pulling.) i've been recently diagnosed with fibro so i'm still in the early stages of learning about it, and i've been trying to figure out what other symptoms/conditions i have that might actually be all related... which brings me back to my google search. anyway, i just wanted to stop by and say that i think you're right, that they are related. both are separately linked to ADHD, which is something else that i have, and it makes sense that they do all track together. so, thanks for writing your blog. i'll check it out more later (when i have some energy). but it's nice to know that i'm not alone, that other people can relate to what i'm going through.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comment. If Trichotillomania for 30 years means I'm crazy, then I should have been put into a strait jacket or taken to a mental facility long ago. But I don't seem to have many issues other than how to deal with stress and pain. I pulled from my left eye 2 days ago and I am so regretful of that now. I wasn't able to get myself aware enough to stop myself in the moment, but once it passed, I was able to think about what I was feeling or experiencing right before the pulling session, and it was that the credit card company was calling and showing on my phone's caller ID & I knew they wanted to know where there money was, or where I am so they can come and break my legs! (No, not really that bad, but I know they want their money) and that stressed me. I would like to become aware, and I think what I will do next time is not be quiet about being upset, but I will speak out loud: "They want money I don't have and that makes me feel very scared and nervous, but I do not have to pull my hair. I can go for a walk." (or something like that) But to put it out there VERBALLY ALOUD so that I will make myself face the reality of what scares me. What do you think?
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