We talk a lot about using amino acid therapy to help correct underlying neurotransmitter imbalances to help people overcome trichotillomania and other disorders related to neurotransmitter imbalance, such as depression, anxiety, OCD, ADD/ADHD, migraines, obesity, fibromyalgia and insomnia. However, recent research has shown that you may be able to fine-tune your neurotransmitter levels by using the right combination of probiotics.
Probiotics – good for your (brain) health
Probiotics are the “good” bacteria that normally reside in your gut. It is known that if these bacteria become imbalanced in some way (due to illness, improper diet or toxin exposure), a condition called “dysbiosis” results, which can have many dire consequences including decreased immunity, improper immune function, food allergies, inflammation, indigestion and numerous other physical disorders. However, until recently it was not known that these bacteria can also generate neurotransmitters that can also affect your brain, impacting your mental and emotional states.
Researchers at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center found that the following bacteria can produce neurotransmitters in the gut:
| Bacteria | Neurotransmitter |
| Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium | GABA |
| Escherichia, Bacillus, Saccharomyces | Norepinephrine |
| Candida, Streptococcus, Escherichia, Enterococcus | Serotonin |
| Bacillus, Serratia | Dopamine |
| Lactobacillus | Acetylcholine |
This could mean that the microbial balance in your gut could be a key player in improving and maintaining your neurotransmitter levels, and therefore alleviating the urge to pull. It also provides more scientific evidence for something that we routinely see in the clinic – that many people with gastrointestinal disorders develop or have one or more disorders related to neurotransmitter imbalance and that correctly the underlying gastrointestinal disorder is imperative to long-term recovery. Think of it like this – the gastrointestinal disorder (like IBS, Crohn’s disease, food allergies or Celiac’s disease) is like a hole in a bucket, causing neurotransmitter levels to decline (or become imbalanced). In order to fill the bucket back up (using amino acid therapy) over time, you have to first fix the whole.
Certain gastrointestinal disorders create neurotransmitter imbalances through inflammatory, immune or genetic influences. This research provides another potential way to explain, and address, the resulting neurotransmitter dysfunction. Obviously, more research needs to be done to define just how this can be useful in real life, but for now, it seems logical that anyone that suffers from trich or other disorders associated with neurotransmitter imbalance must heal any underlying gut issues while restoring proper neurotransmitter balance using amino acid therapy to achieve long term success.
HI!! Just wanted to add support to this post! Although, I see this is dated 5 years ago. But, I suffered extreme hair-pulling for 35 years! Started when I was 12… I am now 47 years old and just this year was freed from the disorder! I attribute it to probiotics. I have also been practicing yoga, which has helped me in numerous ways. But my pulling AND my urge to pull have completely vanished. This seems so hard to fathom after so so many years of UNCONTROLLABLE pulling. I just couldn’t stop. And now, like a miracle, it’s gone. I want the whole community of sufferers to become aware of the probiotics!! So many people could find quick relief. Thank you for continuing to spread the word! Much love, Rebecca
how many days until you noticed they were working? how many mg?
Hi! Thanks for this post! I suffered from trichotillomania for 35 years…ages 12-47. It was pretty severe. I wore hats, wigs, weaves, shaved my head bald several times. I saw doctors and therapists and allergists and dietitians and quacks. Tried drugs and hypnosis and diets, etc. etc.
Last year I started taking probiotics daily and 5 months later I was completely healed. No urge, no tingling, no pulling, period. And everything that came with it… the anxiety, mood imbalance, picking, depression, etc. is GONE!! I am free and now totally sold out on the gut-brain connection. I hope many other sufferers will find this info!
Hi Rebecca – thanks for sharing your experience. While we rarely see complete resolution with probiotics alone, it is certainly nice to hear of experiences like yours!! AND, probiotics are a great addition to any health-care plan, especially for those that suffer from neurotransmitter-related disorders such as trichotillomania.
I am very happy to hear you found a natural solution that worked wonderfully for you!
Sincerely,
Dr. Chad
Hello Rebecca. Just looking into probiotics to help with beating trich. Going to try it but there are so many different kinds and strengths of probiotics. What is the name and brand of the probiotics you use,and how many billion ? Did you take them twice a day? Are you going to continue taking them for life?
Thank you
Hi Marianne –
Normally, you would want to get a stool culture completed to determine your flora balance in order to determine the best probiotic to use. For general use, we have found Ultra Flora Spectrum (by Metagenics) to be a good place to start – 1 capsule 1-2x/day on an empty stomach.
Good luck!
Hi Marianne,
I have been taking Probiotics too, and they have been helping me. I haven’t pulled my hair in two weeks now. I was a daily puller for over 30 years.
Congratulations on your success! Which probiotics are you taking and what dose? My 20 yr old has been pulling (seasonally) since she was in the second grade. College in very stressful for her and it seems to be worse now then when she was younger.
Hi Rebecca,
My daughter started a probiotic two days ago after reading about your success. When did you notice that it was starting to work? Our bottle says 1 per day. What dose do you take?
Thanks!
Hi Amy,
Normally, you would want to get a stool culture completed to determine your daughter’s flora balance to determine the best probiotic for her. For general use, we have found Ultra Flora Spectrum (by Metagenics) to be a good place to start – 1 capsule 1-2x/day on an empty stomach.
Good luck!
Dr Chad
How many should my daughter take? She is taking 50bill 1x a day!
Amy How is your daughter doing with the probiotics ?
I haven’t noticed much of a difference. She says urges are less?
I hope that it works for her !
Just wanted to add to this thread because I too seen to have been cured and I really do think it’s from the probiotics. It was hel at first (diarrhea, cramping, bloating, even vomiting) but now I take them consistently at a good dosage for me and I feel great. The urges only come once in a while (which is a huuuuuuge improvement) and when they do come, they are resistable. I’m so so so happy. I hope others will try this and stick with it for a while!
Thanks for the comment Layna! I’m very curious – what strains of probiotics did you take and how many CFUs of each?
Dr Chad
My daughter is taking a treatment with a functional doctor, she took a huge blood test and found gut dysfunction, thyroid dysfunction, resistance to insulin, inflammation, deficiency of vitamin D.
She is taking supplements to fix all that, special diet for almost 6 weeks and 2 weeks ago he added probiotics to her supplements.
But she doesn’t pull her hair everyday, sometimes she is good for so many weeks and for some reason she been pulling now 🙁
The treatment is 12 weeks so she has 6 more weeks and after that she has to take her blood work again.
I hope we can find a cure.
Hi Mindy,
Thanks for the comment; if she goes long stretches without pulling, be sure to look for other triggers that may predate her urges to pull.
Please keep me updated – I wish you the best –
Sincerely,
Dr Chad
Mindy- Would you mind updating on your daughter’s progress now that more time has passed? I ask because on Monday I am taking my daughter to an environmental/integrative/internal medicine MD to get bloodwork. It seems we are on a similar path for a cure. I hope that maybe the increased pulling was just a detox thing for her body? What all supplements was she put on?
I been taking the Renew Life probiotics and I upped the CFU to 100 billion. No urges to pull after almost a week. I will keep taking these probiotics and amount for months and see the results.