Trichotillomania in Children

Trichotillomania, or ‘trich’, often shows its first signs in childhood. In fact, we see trichotillomania in children as much as in adults, and the majority of the adults we work with had their first symptoms of trich as children.

It is not uncommon for trichotillomania in children to start right around puberty. I haven’t seen any data to give concrete rationale why this is, however, it would not be a stretch to say that there are obviously a lot of hormonal changes going on during this period as well as elevated stress due to social pressures, body changes and self-awareness. These coupled together could cause or exacerbate the neurotransmitter changes that often lead to trichotillomania in children and the urge to pull.

However, it is interesting that we see many children, mostly girls, that exhibit trichotillomania symptoms well before puberty. We have a large number of girls that are between 7-11 years old that have been diagnosed with trichotillomania or have been referred to us by their parents after they have done their own searching on the internet to try and determine what is happening with their kids.

The great news is that children often respond very quickly with amino acid therapy. In fact, we’ve only had a couple cases where amino acid therapy hasn’t completely eliminated the urge to pull in these kids.

For parents, seeing their kids pulling, or the effects of their pulling – such as missing eyebrows or eyelashes, bald spots on their head or other part of their bodies or bald spots on pets – can be a traumatic experience. However, it is often not until the parent sees the shame or despair in their child’s eyes when they talk about pulling or not being able to stop or help themselves that the true tragedy of this condition hits home.

Trichotillomania in children is reversible with amino acid therapy. Once your child experiences this relief, you will be able to look into your child’s eyes and see not shame, fear or despair, but the joy of being a kid free from the burden of trich.

Drugs That Are Useful for Trich

‘Trichy’ Drugs

The Clinician’s Guide to the Treatment of Trichotillomania available through the Trichotillomania Learning Center website (www.trich.org) lists several potential medications that have been found useful for some people with trich.

These include clomipramine (trade name Anafranil) which has the capacity to block the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, which are two key neurotransmitters in the brain and venlafaxine (Effexor), which shares similar chemical properties as clomipramine and also has documented benefits in trichotillomania. In addition, several studies using antidepressant medications that block the reuptake of serotonin alone, called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s), including fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), and sertraline (Zoloft), have shown mixed results.

The problem is, as the TLC site points out, that even though individuals often have a reduction in hair pulling in response to the above medications,” improvement is often modest and rarely complete. Some individuals experience initial improvement but find that the effect wears off with time.” In addition, these drugs also often create many unwanted side effects that cause people to discontinue using them.

The reason for the lackluster success of these medications is that although they are targeting one of the key reasons people experience trich – namely, neurotransmitter imbalance – they do nothing to actually restore proper neurotransmitter function in the body. They are simply shuffling the neurotransmitters around in an attempt to trick the body into thinking there is more of a given neurotransmitter than there actually is. They do nothing to actually increase the amount of the neurotransmitters present in the brain and do not help improve neurotransmitter imbalance(s) or function. However, they do cause further depletion of neurotransmitters over time, which is why the effects may ‘wear off with time’ and why many people find that their symptoms are worse when they stop taking a drug than before they started.

It is also interesting to note that even though people suffering from trich may not see a decrease in hair pulling, they may experience improvements in other areas of their lives using the drugs above. The TLC Guide states that “many individuals who do not experience much improvement in their hair pulling report improvement in other areas such as reduction of anxiety and improvement of mood.” This is because areas such as depression and anxiety are also under direct influence of neurotransmitters. However, because the drugs are not actually helping address the underlying imbalance(s), these effects will also wear off with time.

So what’s the answer? Give the body the nutrients it needs to restore proper neurotransmitter balance and function. Doing so addresses the underlying cause that creates the urge to pull for most people. It will also improve any other disorders associated with improper neurotransmitter balance, including improvements in depression, anxiety, mood, sleep, migraines and a host of other ailments. The best part is, there are no side effects, as all you are doing is restoring proper neurotransmitter balance. No tricking the body, no artificial chemicals and no urge to pull – that is a great combination for success!

Neurotransmitter Systems Priority

This post has to do with the optimal sequence we follow to help people get to their goals. In regards to neurotransmitter related disorders, there is a definite sequence that works best.

The serotonin and/or catecholamine system has a role, either directly or indirectly, in controlling most of the other systems and functions in the body. For example, cortisol synthesis is controlled in part by norepinephrine. Hormone synthesis is dependent on norepinephrine. The sympathetic nervous system is controlled by norepinephrine.

We have noted previously that neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in the body that control bodily functions. There are many other chemical messages as well, including hormones. With hormones in particular, we have found that if we balance the primary neurotransmitters as a first course of action (i.e., serotonin and dopamine), many symptoms associated with hormone imbalance (e.g., hot flashes, mood swings, irregular menses, etc.) often resolve. Therefore, it is our assertion that in most cases, the primary neurotransmitters need to be balanced first (or at the very least in concert with hormones) in order to properly manage symptoms of hormone imbalance.

In addition, other neurotransmitter systems are partially controlled by the serotonin and/or catecholamine systems. For example, the GABA neurotransmitter system is associated with control of anxiety and panic attacks. Yet when the serotonin and/or catecholamine neurotransmitter levels are brought to proper levels, as confirmed by lab testing, these diseases may be fully under control. This would indicate control of GABA by the serotonin / catecholamine system even though at this time we have been unable to identify a chemical pathway for such in the literature. Therefore, it is also are assertion that we need to rebalance the primary neurotransmitters first (i.e, serotonin and/or dopamine) before moving onto to secondary neurotransmitters (i.e., GABA, glutamate, etc.).

We have shared a lot of information in various posts on the science of amino acid therapy and we hope that it provides you a more thorough understanding about how and why amino acid therapy is a very viable and effective therapy to use with trichotillomania and why we have had such great success eliminating the urge to pull.

Trichotillomania and Stress

Here is a story that sounds so familiar that I wanted to share it:
Trichotillomania Story

In it, Michelle explains that her pulling started after a severe amount of stress and that she often pulls more when she is stressed out. This is very, very common as stress is one of the key reasons neurotransmitter imbalances develop (see our latest post on 2 Major Causes of Neurotransmitter Imbalance).

Even though you can rebalance your neurotransmitter levels through proper amino acid therapy, properly addressing chronic stress involves a lot more than taking pills. As Michelle points out, she feels she could deal with this much better with a strong support network; this is, in fact, exactly what we have found in our clinic as well. Luckily, that support network can be made up of not only people you can see day-to-day, but also those who you can interact with via social networks and online forums. The key is to feel and be connected – to others and often to whatever higher power you believe in.

Outside of staying connected and feeling supported, many people need to implement specific daily strategies to help them management stress. This may include psychotherapy, EMDR, meditation, yoga, deep breathing, exercise and any number of other daily or regular therapies to help them lessen the impact stress has on their lives.

It may not seem easy, but getting the pieces in place certainly raises the potential for eliminating the urge to pull. Once more, it also sets the stage for long term health and healing on many levels.

Amino Acid Therapy: The What’s, How’s and Who Cares: Part 2

Once your neurotransmitter levels are rebalanced, your symptoms will disappear. This is like a ‘light-switch’; you either have enough or you don’t. When you do, you will wake up one day and your symptoms will be gone. It often seems miraculous, but it is actually just a sign of balanced brain chemistry. You will be back in control and able to function optimally.

Once this happens, you will stay on that dose of amino acids for 6-9 months while your body replenishes its stores of neurotransmitters. After that time, we will work with you to steadily decrease the amino acids to the minimum dose necessary to keep your symptoms under control. Many people can eliminate the need for the amino acids altogether with the proper dietary and lifestyle adjustments.

There are four reasons why someone would need to take amino acid products ongoing in order to control their symptoms:

1. Head trauma – this can cause permanent nerve damage and the need for continual amino acid therapy
2. Neurotoxicity – this is caused by environmental and/or other toxic exposure that permanently damages neurons
3. Genetics – a person can have impaired ability to create or maintain proper neurotransmitter imbalance from birth
4. Continuation of dietary or lifestyle habits that cause neurotransmitter imbalances

The first three are permanent states and people with these impairments will need some amount of amino acid therapy to remain symptom free. However, the amount needed long-term is often much less than the amount needed to establish proper neurotransmitter balance. The fourth cause is completely correctable and we will work with you to establish the dietary and lifestyle habits to help you maintain neurotransmitter balance.

Note: you cannot substantially increase your neurotransmitter levels through diet or lifestyle alone, but you can maintain your neurotransmitter levels using diet and lifestyle. This is because in order to achieve proper neurotransmitter balance, you need specific doses of specific nutrients at specific times to maximize absorption and conversion of the raw materials into neurotransmitters. Even though the raw materials used are normal components of food, they are administered in much higher amounts and in different combination than those found in food.

Also note: many medications can cause depletion of neurotransmitters, including all anti-depression, anti-anxiety, migraine and sleep medications. If you have taken or are currently taking medications that deplete neurotransmitter levels (including all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) medications), you may want to consider taking the following to restore proper nutritional status:

CoQ10 (100 mg) – 1 gelcap daily with food

Glycogenics – 1 tablet twice daily with food

In addition, taking a low level of amino acid therapy along with these medications will help stop further depletion of neurotransmitters and will help improve the effectiveness of anti-depression, anti-anxiety, migraine and sleep medications (including all SSRI and SNRI) medications.

For more information, please visit our websites (www.naturalpathhealthcenter.com, www.optimalbodybalance.com or www.stoppullinghairout.com ) or www.neuroassist.com.

Amino Acid Therapy: The What’s, How’s and Who Cares: Part 1

Neurotransmitter imbalances have been associated with many conditions, including food cravings, increased appetite, binging, addictions (food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc.), trichotillomania, obsessive-compulsive tendencies and disorders, depression, anxiety, insomnia, migraines, fibromyalgia and other chronic pain syndromes and obesity. Restoring proper neurotransmitter balance is essential to managing, eliminating and overcoming these conditions.

Amino acid therapy involves giving the body the nutrients it needs to rebalance neurotransmitters. This begins with using two formulas NeuroReplete or D5, and CysReplete (depending upon your condition). These formulas provide the necessary amino acids and cofactors the body needs to bring up the two primary neurotransmitter systems (serotonin and the catecholamines (which include dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine)) in a balanced manner.

It takes 3-5 days for the body to reestablish its new level of neurotransmitters. Therefore, after 7 days of taking your recommended supplements exactly as directed, if you are still experiencing symptoms, your amino acid dosing needs to be adjusted. Your new dosing level will be determined at your next appointment. If need be, a simple urine test can be run to help determine the proper amino acid dosage.

In order to eliminate your symptoms as quickly as possible, it is imperative that you take the amino acid products as recommended and follow up after being on a new dose for 7 days if you are not where you want to be. There is no point in waiting longer to see if they will ‘kick-in’; this just delays you reaching your goals.

There is only one known side effect when beginning amino acid therapy and that is nausea. This occurs when a person’s serotonin levels are exceptionally low. If this happens, it is a sign that a person needs the amino acids, but we must slow down the dosing schedule to allow the body to adapt to the increased neurotransmitter levels. When serotonin levels are very low, taking the amino acids cause nausea because the body converts the 5-HTP in the supplements into serotonin immediately in the gut, which you experience as nausea. The solution is to discontinue taking the amino acids during the daytime and follow a protocol (that we will provide to you) where you slowly introduce the amino acids, beginning with just one pill before bed.

It is very important that you take the recommended doses of each supplement every day. If you miss a dose, you need to take it as soon as possible to avoid fluctuations in neurotransmitter levels. Missing even a single dose of amino acids will cause your neurotransmitter levels to drop and it will take 3-5 days to get back to the level you were at before missing the dose. This means that you will have a higher probability of experiencing symptoms during that time.

You can quickly see that missing doses regularly will mean that you will never be able to rebalance your neurotransmitter levels, so establish a routine and stick to it. If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible. One good trick is to always have a small bottle of whatever supplements you are taking with you at all times (or keep the bottles in your purse, at work, at home and/or where ever you regularly find yourself) so you are never in a situation where you miss a dose.

Better Sleep and No Compulsion to Pull!

I just got off the phone with another client that has had fantastic results using amino acid therapy to address her trichotillomania. This client’s experience provides a great illustration of the far reaching effects of neurotransmitter imbalances and how quickly a person can find relief once they are rebalanced.

First, some background. This is a woman in her mid-40s, we’ll call her Tracie; she had pulled off and on for many years, but started pulling uncontrollably in 2004 when she was finally diagnosed with trichotillomania. However, she had a number of prior imbalances that most likely led to, or at least exacerbated the neurotransmitter imbalances that led to the compulsive urge to pull.  Tracie was diagnosed with depression in the mid-80s and started medication to address it. About 10 years later, she was diagnosed with major depression and fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and put on more medications. She was also experiencing extreme pain, diagnosed with arthritis and given heavy doses of pain killers. Finally, just last year, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. Just today Tracie confided in me that she has experienced gastrointestinal (GI) distress since she was a child. She also mentioned that she was a very restless sleeper and never slept through the night or felt rested.

The reason all this matters is that every one of these conditions and treatments has an adverse effect on neurotransmitter levels. Most people know that depression is thought to be due to imbalances with a neurotransmitter called serotonin. What most people don’t know is that the medications used to treat depression actually make the underlying neurotransmitter imbalances worse over time. This makes it nearly impossible for people taking these medications to get off of them and they may feel worse and worse – unless they begin a program using amino acid therapy to address the underlying neurotransmitter imbalances.

Once more, FMS and pain are also related to neurotransmission. In our clinic, we have seen remarkable remissions of FMS and dramatically increased pain tolerance and reductions in perceived pain with properly balanced amino acid therapy. It has been shown in the literature that chronic pain often induces depression; this is due, at least in part, to the neurotransmitter imbalances that occur due to chronic pain, which then lower the pain tolerance, exacerbating pain, thus creating a vicious cycle pain inducing more pain.

Furthermore, chronic gastrointestinal disorders often cause neurotransmitter imbalance. This is thought to be for two reasons: 1) malabsorption of nutrients and 2) exaggerated loss of serotonin due to inflammation of the GI tract. The GI tract is where about 90-95% of the body’s serotonin is stored. Chronic GI distress can cause the body to ‘dump’ these stores, creating imbalance; GI imbalances can also be caused by neurotransmitter imbalances. In particular, recent research is suggesting that Crohn’s disease may be due to serotonin toxicity due to defects in neurotransmitter transporters in the gut. What’s exciting about this is that clinical experience also shows that reestablishing proper neurotransmitter imbalance using amino acid therapy can cause a complete remission of the symptoms of Crohn’s disease.

Lastly, one of the latter stages of neurotransmitter imbalance is sleep disturbance and insomnia. The sleep cycle is regulated by melatonin. This compound is created from serotonin, a process which is regulated by another neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. Again, you can see that imbalances in these neurotransmitters will lead to sleep issues over time.

So what did Tracie experience? Well, she had quite a bit of nausea when she first started on the amino acids. This is very common in people when their serotonin levels are very low. This is because the gut is so depleted of serotonin that it converts the amino acids into neurotransmitters right there in the gut rather than putting them into the circulation where they can reach the brain, which creates the experience of nausea. The solution – go slower. So, we adjusted her dosages to allow her body the time it needed to absorb and utilize the amino acids properly.

The result: as soon as Tracie got up to the original recommended starting dosage, she noticed she was much less restless while sleeping and that she actually slept through the night a few times. Her husband also noticed, as he too was now able to sleep through the nightJ. And what about the trich? Tracie stated that after about 2-3 days on the recommended dosage she had absolutely no compulsion to pull, although she did catch herself pulling a few times out of habit. However, unlike before, she could now catch herself and stop pulling and not think about it (or obsess over it) again.

What can we learn from Tracie’s story – lots of bodily and mental functions are impacted by neurotransmitter balance. However, the solution is quite simple: reestablish proper balance. Tracie did it and has eliminated the compulsion to pull with the ‘side benefit’ of better sleep. She’s so happy that we are now going to work on her other health imbalances to reestablish optimal health and function.

Tracie’s story is not uncommon – reestablishing proper neurotransmitter balance can cause dramatic positive changes in your life, and quick. We have helped 1000s of people regain their health and their lives using amino acid therapy and we’d love the opportunity to help you.

Neurotransmitter Imbalances Often Cause Trichotillomania

Imbalances in Neurotransmitters Often Cause Trichotillomania

We have a novel approach to help those with trichotillomania eliminate the urge to pull which allows them to stop pulling their hair out.  It is based on underlying biochemical imbalances in brain chemistry, and it works.

Here we begin a multiple part series describing the science and research behind this approach.  This may not be great bedtime reading, but it does provide the basis behind why this approach works, and explains why most other treatments fall short.

Like so many other disorders, including depression, anxiety, insomnia, fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, ADD/ADHD, Parkinson’s Disease, restless leg syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorders, trichotillomania often results from imbalances in neurotransmitter levels.  Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that control the flow of information (called ‘nerve impulses’) inside the nervous system.  Imbalances in neurotransmitter levels occur for many reasons and set the stage for the disorders listed above.

What causes these imbalances?

The easy answer is that there are a number of factors that can cause neurotransmitter imbalances in any given person; often times, several factors will affect one person. They include:

• Genetics
• Trauma
• Stress
• Dietary deficiency
• Toxic exposure

No matter what the cause, there are two prevailing theories in medicine as to how these imbalances occur: the monoamine theory and the bundle damage theory.  We will delve further into these in our next post.  Stay tuned…

Amino Acid Therapy Safety Profile

We often are asked about the safety profile of amino acids, especially in conjunction with medications. In our clinic, we have seen almost no negative interactions. Marty Hinz, MD, who has an immense collection of data around the use of amino acid therapy in practice, goes even further. He states that “With over 1,000,000 patient days of treatment data based since 1995 from over 500 clinics, I can firmly state that amino acid precursors are safe when used with all drugs, including MAO inhibitors.”

The reasons for this are many, but the simple fact is that all we are doing is supplying the body the building blocks it needs to make the necessary neurotransmitters in a very fundamental form – single amino acids, vitamins and minerals – the same forms that would be found in foods. The difference is that we are supplying them in the right proportions and at the right times to optimize the formation and utilization of the necessary neurotransmitters. There are no herbs, no special concoctions and no unknowns – just basic nutritional components supplied at the appropriate dosages to optimize neurotransmitter function. This makes this an incredibly safe, as well as incredibly effective, therapy.

Image courtesy of jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A Video That Touched My Heart

I’m going to let you all in on a little secret – I’m not very tech savvy. In fact, I’m pretty internet-challenged – I can check my email, post some articles/blogs and find what I need, but aside from that, I don’t spend a lot of time on the web. However, a couple days ago, I thought I’d Google ‘trichotillomania’ and see what came up. I was amazed at what I saw.

After scrolling down through the informational sites, I saw a link to a YouTube video on trichotillomania. It was a video by a 16 year old named Rebecca that has trich; she was describing how she feels, what goes on in her head and how others have reacted to her. Her transparency was palpable and her story touched something in me – I don’t know exactly what it is yet, but something deep. I could connect with her.

Maybe it’s the culmination of working with so many young people with trich. Maybe it was seeing her struggle, right there on my computer screen, trying to explain what is happening within her and how she doesn’t feel she can do anything about it. Maybe it’s because I saw her suffering and watching this incredibly strong and brave soul sharing her personal experience so that others can know they are not alone.

Maybe it’s because I think I can help her eliminate the urge to pull. I know I don’t have all the answers, but I do know we have developed a protocol that is remarkably successful with trich. So much so, that we started this website to get the word out. Like I said, I’m not that tech-savvy, but I am very good at figuring out the underlying imbalances that prevent people from reaching their health goals and addressing them.

I need your help to get the word out. I just completed a very extensive series of posts that details the science behind what we do and how amino acid therapy can help eliminate the urge to pull. They’ll be rolling out this month.

Our protocol won’t get rid of the habit; that’s where other very impactful techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy can play a key role. But it can eliminate the urge to pull 86% of the time – nothing that I know of has this great of an impact on trich. Knowing what I know and seeing these kinds of results in our clinic make watching videos like Rebecca’s even more heart-breaking.

I opened a YouTube account so I could communicate with Rebecca; I sure hope to hear from her. If you have trichotillomania, please read the information on this site and do whatever research you need to do in order to wrap your mind around what we do to help eliminate the urge to pull. When you are ready to give it a try, please contact us – we may not be able to help everybody, but we can help a whole of people.

And if you are tech/internet/web savvy, please share this information with those that can benefit from it. I would love to see 1000s of follow up videos on YouTube about how Rebecca and others that suffer from trichotillomania have eliminated the urge to pull and gone on to fully enjoy every minute of their lives. I know it can happen – I’ve seen it.