So, I’ve been wanting to share this for a while, ’cause it’s something I went through and maybe, just maybe, someone else out there is dealing with the same weird stuff. It all started with these killer migraines. I mean, not just a little headache, but the full-blown, lights-out, can’t-do-anything kind of pain.
The Migraine Nightmare Begins
It was a few years back. At first, it was like once a month, then it ramped up to a few times a week. Talk about disruptive! I couldn’t plan anything. I’d just be going about my day, and bam, it would hit me. I tried all the usual stuff – dark rooms, cold compresses, you name it. Sometimes they helped a tiny bit, sometimes not at all. It was a real battle, and honestly, super frustrating.
Then Came the Hair Thing
Around the same time my migraines got really bad, I started noticing something else. My hair. It was coming out more than usual. In the shower, on my brush, on my pillow. At first, I thought, “Eh, maybe it’s just stress,” ’cause, you know, migraines are stressful! But it kept happening. My ponytail felt thinner, and I could swear I was seeing more scalp than I used to, especially around my temples.
I remember looking in the mirror one day and just feeling so down. First the head pain, now this? It felt like my body was just falling apart on me.
Connecting the Dots (Or Trying To)
I started wondering if these two things were connected. It seemed too much of a coincidence for them to happen at the exact same time. I wasn’t on any new medication at that point, so I couldn’t blame that. I did what everyone does – I poked around online, just reading other people’s stories. Some folks mentioned hair loss with severe stress, and chronic pain is definitely severe stress.
Here’s what I started to track, just for myself:
- How bad were my migraines?
- How much hair did I feel like I was losing that week?
- Was I super stressed out from work or other stuff?
It wasn’t very scientific, you know, just me trying to make sense of it. And it did seem like when my migraines were at their peak, like several days of intense pain, the hair fall would be worse a week or two later. It was like a delayed reaction.
What I Tried to Do About It
So, I figured, if the migraines are making the hair fall out, I gotta get the migraines under control. Easier said than done, right? I did eventually see a doctor about the migraines, and we tried a few things. Some lifestyle changes, trying to identify triggers – for me, it was often lack of sleep and certain foods.
For the hair itself, I tried to be gentler. Less heat styling, looser hairstyles. I even tried some of those over-the-counter hair growth shampoos. Can’t say they did miracles, but they made me feel like I was doing something.
The biggest change, honestly, came when I finally found a routine that helped reduce the frequency and intensity of my migraines. It took a while, a lot of trial and error. I had to get serious about my sleep schedule, really watch what I ate, and manage my stress levels better. I started doing some light yoga, just to calm my system down.
My Takeaway From All This
And you know what? As my migraines started to become less of a daily horror show, the hair loss slowed down. It didn’t stop overnight, but gradually, I noticed less hair in the drain. My hair still isn’t as thick as it was when I was, like, 20, but it’s definitely better than it was during that awful period.
So, for me, there was a link. I’m no doctor, and this is just my story, but the chronic stress and inflammation from those constant migraines really seemed to take a toll on my whole system, including my hair. It was like my body was saying, “Hey, I’m dealing with this massive pain thing, I don’t have energy for robust hair growth right now!”
If you’re going through something similar, my only advice, based on what I went through, is to really focus on managing the migraines first. It’s tough, I know. But when my head felt better, other things, like my hair, seemed to follow. It’s all connected, I guess. It took me a while to figure that out, but hey, better late than never.
