photo credit: e-MagineArt.com
Many people with trichotillomania have tried various medications to help eliminate the urge to pull, including anti-depressants (SSRIs/SNRIs, tricyclics), anti-psychotics (thienobenzodiazepines (i.e. Zyprexa)), anti-anxiety (benzodiazepines), and others. Most the time, these medications are not successful at helping people to stop pulling hair out (data shows that they work for about 10% of people that try them at most), although some people do have success for periods of time.
Almost all of the medications used to treat trichotillomania work to either (1) shuffle neurotransmitters around, (2) mimic specific neurotransmitters or (3) antagonize specific neurotransmitters. You can quickly see that what these drugs are trying to do is manipulate neurotransmission in one way or another. However, because these medications do nothing to help correct the underlying issue of neurotransmitter imbalance (and most cause further depletion of many neurotransmitters over time), they will only work for a short period of time if at all.
One of the main underlying causes of trichotillomania for many people is an imbalance in one or more neurotransmitters. The ONLY way to correct this for the long term is to supply the body the amino acids and co-factors it needs to restore proper neurotransmitter balance, which will eliminate the urge to pull, allowing you to stop pulling hair out.
Medications can sometimes be used to trick the body into believing proper balance has been restored. However, that trick can only last so long and symptoms will return. However, if we provide the body the nutrients it needs, proper neurotransmitter balance can be restored and you can eliminate the urge to pull. The science is there, the clinical proof is there (we’ve worked with people from 7-65 years old); the question is, are you ready to eliminate the urge to pull once and for all?!
If so let’s Get Started!
What has been your experience with medications with trich?
