crazyR6girl

First of all I just wanted to say hi since I'm new to this site. I saw some other threads that had similar symptoms to mine, but not exactly. Hence why I thought it would be a good idea to start my own...

Problem:
For the past month or two I've noticed I have been losing a LOT of hair. I have flakey patches of skin on my scalp and when they flake off, I can see hair follicles attached. I'm losing about 5-6 hair follicles with each patch that flakes off. This is occurring on the "equator" of my head... a strip around the back center of my head. I have no idea what to do and have tried seeing my college's student health center, but I'm stuck with a nurse practitioner that doesn't exactly seem like she knows how to handle the problem. She recommended Selsun Blue which I used for about a week straight and, if anything, it's having a horrible reaction to my hair and making the issue worse (not helping with the flaking anyway).

History:
I'm a 26 year-old female and I have never had dandruff in my life. I'm currently a full time college student. Medications I'm on: Kariva (birth control - which I've been on for YEARS without problems), Ultram, and Soma (both are for a work-related back injury). I started taking the Ultram & Soma about 3+ months ago and am starting to wonder if they could be a culprit. I've looked up all possible side effects and interactions and couldn't find anything that would cause the flakey scalp.

I sleep on my side, so I'm ruling out my pillow/sleeping pattern being a potential cause.

I shower daily and almost always blow dry my hair. I only use product on rare occasions since I usually wear my hair down and have had this routine for years.



Please help! I am out of ideas and am desperate!


TIA!