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.

“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

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.

“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.

photo credit: rachaelshapiro

Mothers today have access to a lot of medical information, thanks to the Internet.  Yet even with ubiquity of material on the web, sometimes there can be a surprising scarcity of resources.  Especially with a condition like trichotillomania.

Trichotillomania is a disorder in which people compulsively pick, often targeting eyelashes, eyebrows or the hair on their head.  It affects 3 – 5 percent of the population, yet there isn’t an abundance of good scientific information available on the subject.

Okay, mom, since you’re searching, we won’t disappoint.  Here are 5 things mothers don’t know about trichotillomania.

1. Trichotillomania is often caused by a neurotransmitter imbalance. The underlying cause of trich is often an imbalance between the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters.  Neurotransmitters are the little chemical messengers on nerve endings.  They’re ultimately what causes the urge to pull.  You can read about it in more detail in our free report “Why You Can’t Stop Pulling Out Hair.”

2. Most medications will help trichotillomania – but only for a short time. The most common treatment for trich is to prescribe antidepressant drugs.  These will trick the body into believing there is proper neurotransmitter balance, but eventually the trick will backfire and the overall supply of neurotransmitters will actually decrease.

3. Cognitive behavior therapy will work, but it usually needs some help.  Once the urge to pull is reduced, cognitive behavior therapy can be most effective.  It faces an uphill battle if you try and use it without addressing the underlying neurotransmitter imbalance.

4. Sometimes you can overcome the urge to pull quickly. Parents bracing for a long, grueling recovery with trich can take some comfort in the fact that many people who restore proper neurotransmitter balance actually find the urge to pull goes away rather quickly – sometimes in a matter of weeks.

5. You need to beat the urge to pull and the habit that goes with it. Restoring the balance to your neurotransmitters can reduce the urge to pull, but the recovery doesn’t end there for trich sufferers.  For many, pulling hair out has become a  habit, and usually it requires some form of cognitive behavior modification to help you break it.

The abundance of medical information on the Internet is one of the blessings of the digital age.  It can also be one of the curses.  You’ve just learned a few facts that might not have been easily discovered only five or ten years ago.

photo credit: gcfairch

We visit a lot of different trich blogs.  As we try and educate people about why they can’t stop pulling hair out, we see a common theme:

People just blame themselves for trich.

We don’t think that’s fair, and we know it’s not right.  Because the simple fact is that anyone suffering from trich would stop pulling hair out immediately if it was as simple as saying, “That’s it.  I quit.”

But it’s not.  Because with trich sufferers, there is another culprit who should be blamed.  We encourage you to read on, and find out how the blame game should be played with trichotillomania.

Why pointing fingers will help you stop pulling hair out

We are definitely a culture of finger-pointers.  Just look at our political system for a perfect example.  It’s easy to pass the buck and blame the other guy for your problems.

In this case, however, it’s warranted.  Because you’re not the problem.  You’re not the only one who is telling yourself to pull.

It’s your body.  More accurately, it’s the neurotransmitters in your body.  Of the two main types of neurotransmitters (excitatory and inhibitory), one is significantly off-balance.  And because they’re out of whack, a chemical imbalance is making you want to pull your hair out.

So don’t go dumping on yourself.  You didn’t ask for a neurotransmitter imbalance.  These were the cards you were dealt – so don’t drown in negativity.  You can’t; not if you’re going to get better.

And just how exactly will you get better?

Stop pulling hair out by getting your body in line

Okay, you understand the problem. The underlying cause for trichotillomania is a neurotransmitter imbalance in your body.

But now the onus is on you.

Now is it’s up to you to take the steps necessary to get your body in line.  What will that involve?  It’s simple.  It starts with setting up a phone consultation with Dr. Chad Oler of the Natural Path Health Center.

During the 30 minute phone consultation, you’ll review your history and your goals, and then Dr. Chad will set up a specialized program designed just for you.

What’s included in that program?  That really depends.  Generally it involves taking supplements, which are part of the amino acid therapy to help rebalance your neurotransmitters.  You may also need to make some dietary modifications.

In every case, the exact program is different.  That’s a big reason why we’ve been so successful.

So now the ball is in your court.  We’ve identified the culprit behind your inability to stop pulling hair out – your body and its neurotransmitter imbalance.  Now it’s up to you to take the next step and correct the problem.

photo credit: John Mee

We like to publish our success stories, not only to prove the efficacy of our approach, but also to offer hope to trich sufferers.

The following comes from C.P.  We helped C.P. overcome her inability to stop pulling hair out, as we do with all our trichotillomania cases, by restoring balance to her neurotransmitter levels, thus reducing the urge to pull.

Unable to stop pulling hair out since she was in 1^st grade

C.P. writes:

I’ve been on a program with the Natural Path Health Center for almost a year. After following Dr. Oler’s recommendations, I have almost no urges to pull and my hair has almost all grown back; the only urges I have are when stress gets really high, but I can deal with those.

I was diagnosed with trich in 1^st grade (I am 17 now) and I had extreme urges to pull every 1-3 days. At any given time, I had pulled out about 50% of my hair, and my eyebrows and eyelashes were gone. It was really hard because at times it felt like trich dictated my daily routine.

Now I feel more confidence on a daily basis. I am also less self-conscious. I am more confident when speaking to others and am playing sports again that I love and participating in other physical and social activities.

-          C.P. 06/13/10

A winning approach to trichotillomania

When you peruse the internet, it’s amazing how many people are suffering from trich.  There are so many people that feel like they have no hope, and nowhere to turn.  That’s a natural reaction. When most conventional approaches don’t work, you lose hope.

It’s very rewarding to get a message like this from C.P.  It reinforces our resolve, and makes us determined to find any way possible to spread the message about our success.  Please help us in any way.  And if you currently suffer from trichotillomania, here is more information about how our approach helps you stop pulling hair out.

This is a great news story about Valerie Vanone, who talks about her struggles with trichotillomania.  Her most important message is at the end of the video, “You are not alone.”  Click on the picture to watch the video.