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.
