A Very Trichy Case

Many of the testimonials and case studies I write about are about very fast results where people suddenly have a complete elimination of the urge to pull within days or weeks of starting balanced amino acid therapy. Truth-be-told, most cases of trichotillomania do resolve within a relatively short period of time, so these case histories and testimonials are representative of what we typically see at the clinic. However, we do have a few cases where things aren’t quite so cut and dry; in these instances, it can take months to get the amino acid dosing right. This obviously requires incredible dedication on the part of the client, as well as their family, as this case history illustrates.

Jenna came to us after her mom had been searching the internet for three years trying to find a solution for her daughter. Jenna had started pulling the hair out of her sheep-skin blanket before progressing to pulling out her eyebrows and then from her head. By the time we spoke with Jenna’s mom, the right side of her head was bald and she didn’t have any eyelashes or eyebrows.

In addition, Jenna had been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), with the onset of symptoms occurring when she was just six years old. Her mother stated that she had a period of several years when she did exhibit any OCD symptoms, but that about three years ago, she started constantly washing her hands (to the point that her hands cracked and bled), “straightening things”, developing extensive bedtime rituals and became very worried about contamination and germs. Jenna had been on Prozac for about a year when we first spoke. Both she and her mom were desperate.

We began by attempting to balance out Jenna’s neurotransmitter levels as we always do. However, it became obvious quite quickly that this was not working, so we ran some testing to help guide her care. Jenna’s body was requiring incredibly high levels of amino acids to show any kind of change and the testing was extremely valuable to help make sure we were on the right track.

It took 12 tests and 10 months until she got the result she was looking for. The dedication and support exhibited by Jenna and her parents was incredible over this time period, especially considering that Jenna did not experience any relief of symptoms for the first 10 months we worked together. However, her diligence, and her parents dedication paid off. Like flipping a switch, everything changed.

I spoke with Jenna recently and she told me it was suddenly “easy to control my trich and OCD” and that she “didn’t need reassurance as much”. She was sleeping well, eating normally and doing well in school. Her mom was ecstatic. She said both she and Jenna were realizing most of the repetitive actions were now only habits versus being due to OCD or anxiety and that Ana was now able to differentiate between them and stop when she wanted to. This was a HUGE improvement according to her mom; “We have a life again, and we have our daughter back!” said mom. Now, Jenna’s work is awareness; becoming aware of when she is doing something mindlessly and asking herself if she wants to continue. Now she has control.

Everybody wants instant gratification – and why wouldn’t we? Getting something for less or little effort is always preferable, especially when we are talking about ending what could be a debilitating condition such as trich or OCD. However, when things don’t happen right away and our resolve is tested, then we find out how badly we want a solution. In this instance, desperation was the key to sticking with the program until we achieved the desired result. This means preparing for the long-haul knowing that a resolution will come when we determine exactly what your body needs to achieve balance. We will help you reach your goals, but it is your resolve and dedication that will matter most if and when the going gets tough or the journey grows long.

Trichotillomania Help – Denise’s Story

Denise came to us to try and stop her hair pulling and eliminate the need for a medication she was given (Zoloft) for trichotillomania. She said, “I have always pulled my hair, even as a kid but it was very minor then. I have mostly puled some eye brows and eye lashes occasionally. In the 1990’s hair pulling was confined to the top of my head and there was a small bald spot. Since I moved to Houston in 1997, my hair pulling has become extreme and I now wear a wig all the time; I was prescribed Zoloft for trichotillomania at that time. My hair pulling is mostly at home and is minimal at work.” Denise was now 64 years old.

“I don’t even think about hair pulling.”

We started Denise on amino acid therapy, but she didn’t feel great right off the bat; in fact, she said, “I felt ‘foggy’ at first, but that cleared up. I always felt a little off after taking the amino acids, so I spread them out more throughout the day.” Her hair pulling had improved at this point, but was not eliminated so we adjusted her dosing.

Denise said she “instantly felt so much better – like somebody flipped a switch. I’m more motivated and have a lot more energy. I haven’t felt this good in decades!” She wanted to try and eliminate the Zoloft at this time, so we consulted with her prescribing physician and they came up with a tapering plan.

As Denise continued to taper off the Zoloft, she experienced waves of nausea and occasional depression. We checked her vitamin D levels and found them to be extremely low; once we added in the appropriate amount of vitamin D, the depression disappeared. She also noted that she would occasionally pull her hair out of habit, but that the urges were gone. Denise said, “I don’t pull if I don’t want to.” We recommended she seek out behavior therapy assistance to help her establish new habits instead of pulling.

Once she completed the taper off the Zoloft, the nausea subsided and she said, “I feel darn good – I have forgotten about pulling my hair! I don’t even think about hair pulling!” She continued to have a lot of energy and felt very focused. She also noticed that her appetite had decreased and that her sleep was improving. Most important to Denise, her hair was now growing back and she had absolutely no desire to pull it out, even when she was under stress.

Denise’s story exhibits many facets associated with amino acid therapy. It often takes some individualized tweaking to help restore proper neurotransmitter status; this could mean adjusting the dosing schedule or the amounts of certain amino acids. It usually means adapting the dosing schedule to accommodate each person’s needs.

In addition, as we continued to work with Denise, we also uncovered some other imbalances that we then needed to correct; this too is common. It is a rare occurrence that a single deficiency or imbalance is responsible for the totality of a person’s symptoms. However, by addressing each imbalance as it surfaces, we can continue to peel away the proverbial onion until we’ve gotten to and addressed the appropriate issues. At that time, just like with Denise, many aspects of one’s health will improve; and they will stop pulling their hair.

A Touching Story

Lacey was at wit’s end with trichotillomania. She had pulled for 28 years, with no end in sight. She had constant, uncontrollable urges and could not stop pulling hair out. She thought she was mentally ill, and worse, she feared that she’d pass along trich to her 4 year-old son.

Then she met Dr. Chad Oler, and everything changed. Listen to her story, and find out how she learned to stop pulling hair out.

Lacy’s Podcast

When Lacey found Dr. Chad, she discovered a way to stop pulling hair out that’s surprisingly easy, has produced dramatic results, and is ready for you to start IMMEDIATELY.

Trichotillomania Help – Tina’s Story

Tina came to us after her parents found this site on the internet and were intrigued by our success with trichotillomania. Tina was 11 years old and had been suffering from trich for about a year when we first met. She had been on Zoloft during that time, but as her dad stated, “it has done nothing to discourage her urge to pull.” Tina was also developing a lot of anxiety around her pulling, as she didn’t want others to know that that she was doing it. She pulled her eyebrows and eyelashes as well as the hair on her legs in addition to pulling hair out of their pet dog.

We started Tina on a very low level of amino acids, as she was a very small girl. However, as the weeks went by we continually ratcheted up her dosing, as the urge to pull was not changing. After about two months, Tina said, “I’m still pulling the hair on my legs and occasionally my eyebrows, but my eyelashes have almost completely grown back in. However, a whole lot of other things have changed. My anxiety is much better and I am not ‘tensing’ as much anymore.”

A couple weeks later, Tina’s parents were ecstatic. Tina’s mom said, “Tina is doing really well! Her eyebrows and eyelashes are mostly grown in and she’s (Tina’s) really proud they are. She will still occasionally pull when she gets really angry, but later she’ll tell us that she just did it because she was mad, not because she felt the urge to pull. In addition, she is not pulling from the dog anymore and all the dog’s bald spots are filling back in. Her anxiety is much better.”

Her dad continued, “A lot of other things have markedly improved. In softball, Tina used to be so scared of the pitch that she would continually jump away from the plate with every pitch. Now, she’s not afraid to stand in there and swing the bat. She even got hit by a pitch last week, and she got right up and got a hit the very next pitch! She also complains a lot less than she used to and is hanging out with her friends a lot more. She also seems to have a better relationship with her friends.”

“I’m 100 times better!”

I just spoke with Tina and her parents and she is continuing to do well as we work with her physician to decrease and eliminate the Zoloft. She’s already cut the dose in half with no negative changes. Tina told me, “I feel 100 times better than I did before. My eyebrows and eyelashes have completely grown back in and I’m not afraid anymore. I have gone swimming a few times with my friends and it feels great.”

Tina came to us when she was still young and hadn’t been pulling for very long. Luckily, her parents took a very active role in her care and didn’t shame or blame Tina for pulling her hair out. Tina’s case was somewhat unique in that she required much higher doses of amino acids than was originally expected. However, with patience, persistence and testing, we were able to determine the correct dosing to get Tina symptom free so she can enjoy being a kid.

Stephanie’s Story

We just did a post on Stephanie’s story with trich and how amino acid therapy helped her ‘beat trich’ in her words. I wanted to follow up with a couple points regarding Stephanie’s story to point out a few things that we see often when working with people with trich.

First, many people see results in just a month or two, just as Stephanie did. In fact, about 80% of people can completely eliminate the urge to pull in that time frame. For those 20% that don’t, additional testing is used to help them eliminate the urge to pull.

Second, once we find the right dose of amino acids that a person needs, they need to take them about 6-9 months before we can start tapering the dose without the recurrence of symptoms. If a person misses a dose or multiple doses, the urge to pull will often return within a few days and will persist until a person gets back on the recommended supplements for about 3-5 days. This means that the person continues to need the amino acids to eliminate the urge to pull.

Third, eliminating the urge to pull does not mean that a person automatically stops pulling. We’ve talked in other posts about the difference between the urge to pull (the compulsion) and the behavior of pulling. Once the urge is gone, a person can still find themselves pulling when they get triggered by certain events (the most common one is stress). When this happens, they may find their hands playing with or pulling their hair before they even realize what is happening. The difference is that once they become conscious of it, a person on the proper dose of amino acids and stop pulling and not think about it anymore. This is where other therapies, such as stress reduction, exercise and Cognitive Behavioral therapies can be a big help.

Fourth, exercise, lifestyle and dietary recommendations can often decrease the need for amino acids. If a person addresses the day-to-day reasons for neurotransmitter imbalance, they can often substantially reduce the amount of amino acids they need over time to eliminate the urge to pull.

And finally, just like Stephanie, many people can reduce and eliminate the need for the amino acids and still have no urge to pull. Most of the time, these people have taken the amino acids as recommended for at least 6-9 months and have incorporated other strategies to help deal with the behavioral and environmental component of pulling (we help guide them through this process as well). This provides them the life skills that they need to function as they want to without the need for the amino acids. This doesn’t always happen, but it happens a great deal of the time, and it’s so wonderful to see the confidence, the pride and the relief in the people that ‘beat trich’ as Stephanie did.

Image: scottchan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Urge, Drug, and Supplement Free!

The following is a compelling story from one of our clients:

“I was diagnosed with trich in 1^st grade and I’ve pulled every 1-3 days since then. By the time I found Dr. Oler I was 17 years old and had pulled out all my eyebrows, eyelashes and about 50% of the hair on my head. My dad’s a doctor, so I’ve tried pretty much every possible medical treatment and drug for trich out there. They didn’t help me get rid of the urge and I usually felt awful when I took them.

Within a month of starting the amino acid therapy my urge to pull was completely gone! It was great! And unbelievable! Dr. Oler told me to continue my current dosing for 2 months and follow up. Over those 2 months, I pulled a couple times, but it wasn’t an urge; it felt more like the hairs weren’t growing right and I just pulled those and left everything else alone. My eyelashes, eyebrows and hair on my head all started growing back. During this time, I stopped taking the amino acids a couple times, but noticed the urge to pull increased, so I went back to Dr. Oler’s recommendations.

After 2 more months, all my hair was grown back and I wasn’t having any urges anymore. However, I forgot to take my supplements with me when I went away from Christmas and New Years and the urges came back BIG TIME and I pulled everything out again in about 5 days. As soon as I got home, I started the supplements again and didn’t have any urge to pull after about 5 days.

I continued at this dose for 6 months. I wasn’t pulling, my energy levels were great, I slept well, my cravings were gone and I started playing rugby again. I also noticed that my focus, concentration and memory had improved and I was doing better in my classes. I was very content.

After a couple more months, Dr. Oler recommended that we start to decrease the amino acids, as by this time, my neurotransmitter stores should be back to where they belong. I was apprehensive, but reassured that I could always go back to taking what I was currently taking and get the same results within a few days even if the urge to pull returned. I had a little bit of an increased urge to pull after changing the dose, but it only lasted a few days and it wasn’t too bad, but no urges after that.

We continued to decrease the amino acid dosing over time, adjusting as needed if I had an increased urge to pull or stress triggered me to pull. I also started learning some other ways to manage stress, like deep breathing, taking a quick walk around the block and aerobic exercise which helped.

It’s now been two years since I started working with Dr. Oler and I (1) don’t have any urges to pull, (2) am no longer taking medications for trich, and (3) haven’t taken any of the amino acid supplements for over 3 months. All my hair is grown back and I have absolutely no urge to pull anymore unless there is a lot of stress in my life. Even then, I can get through it without pulling very much. I am very content where I am at. Thank you for helping me beat trich!”

-Stephanie, 08/02/11

Image: Graeme Weatherston / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

No Urge to Pull After 24 Years

I had a follow up the other day with a client that came to us with trich. She had been pulling since she was 13 years old (she was now 37) and had tried numerous techniques and treatments over those 24 years to stop pulling, including numerous medications. Here is her story and experience with amino acid therapy.

“I started pulling when I was 13 years old. At first it was more of a nervous habit, but pretty soon, I couldn’t help myself. I lived with it until I was an adult, then I began trying medications; none of them helped, and many of them made my symptoms worse or made me feel horrible. Over this time, I also started to developed terrible anxiety which got worse and worse with each pregnancy (she has 3 kids).  I also started to gain weight. The worst part is that I am starting to see signs of trich in my kids.

When I first started working with Dr. Chad, I immediately started to feel better, with some decrease in anxiety and a substantial increase in energy. I also started to work with my doctor to decrease the Wellbutrin that I was taking by 50%. The trich wasn’t doing so great, as I still had urges, but I didn’t pull.

Dr. Chad adjusted the amino acid therapy and within 3 weeks my urge to pull was gone, my anxiety was doing really well and my appetite had gone down, so I was starting to lose weight. I was also able to completely get off my Wellbutrin with no increase in symptoms. Now I am going to try and get off the amitriptyline that I am taking for anxiety as well.

I am so grateful to Dr. Chad for helping me get my life back. I can now enjoy my time with my kids because I’m not so stressed out and not thinking constantly about pulling. I’ve started to go out socially again and it feels wonderful. Thank you Dr. Chad for all you do and for helping me get rid of trich!”

Margaret’s story goes to show that no matter how long you may have suffered from trich, you can still get your life back and eliminate the urge to pull. Now we are working with Margaret’s kids to help them eliminate the urge to pull and stop the trich before it starts.

“Miraculous” – A Client Testimonial

This was a direct quote from a woman that I met with last week in regards to her experience with amino acid therapy in regards to her trichotillomania. Betty (her name has been changed at her request) had a history of other illnesses, including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, osteoarthritis and most recently Crohn’s disease in addition to trichotillomania and was on a mountain of medications to deal with her pain. She also reported extreme sugar cravings and sleep problems. She was diagnosed with trichotillomania in 2004 and “started to pull a lot from the under region of the head”.

After just a week on the full initial dose of amino acids, she reported “much less restless sleep and decreased insomnia”, as well as a decreased compulsion to pull, although she admitted that she still caught herself pulling out of habit 2-3 times/week. However, she said that unlike any time before, she could chose to stop herself from pulling when she noticed she was doing it and not think about it again.

Based on Betty’s progress, we adjusted her amino acid dosing and when we spoke a couple weeks later she reported that she was doing very well. In fact, she said she no longer had any urge to pull and that she even tried pulling to see what would happen; she proudly reported that it “was not as gratifying anymore”.

She also reported that her sugar cravings were much better. She described it like this: “Before I was like an alcoholic looking for a drink. Now, I can say ‘no’ to myself.” She also said she only had desserts 1-2 times a week now, where she would have 1 or more desserts every day before starting the amino acids. She said,” I no longer ‘have to (have a dessert)’, now I do it because I ‘want to’.”

Here are a couple more quotes from Betty’s last visit:

• “I could not believe the change”
• “I thought it would take so much more than this.”
• “This was quick and easy for me!”
• “This change has been miraculous.”

Betty’s experience is typical of many people that we have helped eliminate the urge to pull through amino acid therapy. While not everyone experiences these results this quickly, many do.

Betty now no longer thinks about her trichotillomania. In addition, she no longer feels like a “slave to food/sweets” and she is sleeping better than anytime she can remember. If you’d like to see if amino acid therapy can get you to your goals, please call us. We’d love to help you eliminate the urge to pull and get you on to the rest of your life.

My Own Miracle

We see and hear every week from clients that are having success eliminating the urge to pull and conquering trich using targeted amino acid therapy. Just last week, I spoke with Jessica (name changed); here is her story in her own words:

“I believe I actually started “pulling” to a very minimal extent as a teenager.  I loved to find the really coarse, kinky hairs to pull out, but then I was able to stop.

Around 2005, I had an increased level of stress at my job, so I guess I soothed myself by pulling, but I still had some control over it, so it wasn’t obvious to anyone but my husband.  Just to note, I’ve always, until 2005, thought of my head of thick reddish brown hair as one of my best features.

As my stressors increased (from 2005) so did my pulling.  I had surfed the net long and hard, dismissing some treatments as too involved or difficult to access due to their being in another area of the country, or seeming like a gimmick.  Then, early this year (2011), I found articles about Dr. Chad and amino acid replacement therapy for trich.  I took a few days to read everything about it, also finding other sites to verify it, had my husband read some of the material, checked out Dr. Chad on the Madison BBB (Better Business Bureau), and then made my first phone appointment.

Once I spoke with Dr. Chad the first time, I really allowed myself to have hope that this therapy could work.   After starting the supplements, I noticed within a week that I was much less restless at night, and I was sleeping better.

After my second phone appointment with Dr. Chad, I was noticing that I would start pulling, but it was more out of habit than anything, and I would question myself, “Why am I pulling, I don’t feel the compulsion to pull”  and most importantly, I could stop.  I found that it helped to keep my hands busy during that time, so I did a lot of needlework.

Now that I am a few more weeks into treatment, I can happily report that I no longer have any compulsion to pull, though occasionally I will pull a hair or two out of habit.

My hair is growing back in very nicely; even my husband checked it and seemed pleased.  If you are looking for a wonderful treatment for your trich, you have very little to lose by trying Dr. Chad’s therapy.  It’s easy, based on sound science, and very effective.  Dr. Chad and the amino acid replacement therapy have been a Godsend to me, my own miracle.”

Jessica’s hope turned into her “own miracle”. She wanted to share her story in the hopes that others may benefit from it. If you or someone you know would like to stop pulling once and for all, please look around this site and do whatever research you need to. Once you are ready, give us a call and we’ll get you started; you can eliminate the urge to pull, and we can help you do it.

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.