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.
