trichotillomania?

Question

has anyone heard of trichotillomania? no listing sources please, only personal experience.

Answer 1

Hey, I've suffered from Trichotillomania (TTM) for nearly seven years in which I was contstantly searching for a "cure" for me and my younger siblings who also carry the disorder. Many books will tell you that there is "cure" for this disorder. I believe that I have found significant evidence!!

Many of the books you can buy say that there is "no way to stamp out the disorder 100%" and that even when a patient reaches "a state of recovery"-meaning you reach a point in your life where you can resist the urge to pull but still do it on very rare occasions. My research says that it will flare up every now and again.

Those who suffer from trich will commonly "Trance out" and so they are not even aware that they are pulling thier hair. This ritualistic behavior classifies Trichotillomania as an "Obsessive compulsive disorder." It is believed that the best form of treatment forTrich is a combination of behavioral therapy and medication. Prozac is a commonly used medication, which is a serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) that helps alleviate the urge to pull. HOWEVER! I went through months of therapy and behavior conditioning and it didnt do a damn thing. This does not necessarily mean that it wont work for you. Some people are different.

Trich can be found in young children but it is much more common in teenagers. It is also noted that those who pull from eyelashes and eyebrows are more likely to reach "recovery" than those who pull from the scalp.

After years of reading all this different stuff, I finally stumbled across a woman whos son had TTM and she took him to an allergist. After being tested, she found out that he was allergic to peanut butter and nuts. A food allergy that he consumed regularly. Well, once they removed the peanuts from his diet, his trich began to slow and finally faded.

I knew that there were certain foods that I would eat that would cause certain reactions in my body but I never thought anything of it until I talked to her. I found out that I have Celiacs Disease, which is also a food allergy to gluten. Let me tell you that I pulled my hair CONSTANTLY everyday, every minute for many months with only few intermissions of control. After removing gluten from my diet, I lost all desire to pull my hair. (alot of books will tell you that there are areas in your home where you will pull more often than others.) For me, the computer chair is the biggest one because it is easy to "trance out" while at the computer. Let me tell you that when I removed my food allergy, I could sit at my computer for hours without pulling a single hair. After removing gluten from my diet, my hair also grew back much faster!!

On a whim I decided to search for others who had food allergies that also had trich and the result was incredible! Those who didnt know they had allergies soon discovered the same results. Most of the Trich pullers I have located seem to have allergies to oils, fats, sugars or yeasts. Once I told my family members about my discovery, we found that the majority of us also had celiacs disease. Including my great grandmother (who we assume is the one we all got it from). Of course old timers never had ways to test for food allergies so it went unnoticed for generations!
You most likely have a food sensitivity or an intolerance and you havent picked up on it yet!

Alright, so I managed to stop pulling. HOWEVER! There was a downside to this good news. When I had trich, I was always a scalp puller and sometimes when I would pull, these red bumps would appear and they would drive my scalp crazy! Sometimes my hair would feel alive, like there were little bugs walking through my hair. Well, even though I removed my food allergy, these bumps seemed to appear on occasion, usually after eating something greasy. Well, knowing I had a food allergy I did more research on trich and I was able to locate this article that helped "finish off" what few urges I had left. Thus ending my Trich so to speak.

This article,

http://www.geocities.com/ttmlarchive/research-foodandskincare.html

was written by two private researchers who studied different forms of Trich for 12 years and discovered that not only is the disorder food related, but skin related as well. Of course it is only a "Theory" but so far I know 12 people who suffer from Trich that were able to "stamp out" the disorder following strict diet and using special skin treatments. In the article Mike recomends some creams that help "alleviate" the urges to pull but I found most of them only lasted a couple of hours for severe pullers.

This is my recomendation, straight from me. Instead of using some of the creams that Mike listed, I want you to try "Dial Antibacterial Hand santizer with moisturizer." Its cheaper and easy to obtain for any age! I use "spring scent" because it makes your hair smell nice. This is non damaging to your hair and evaporates pretty quickly after detoxing your skin. If you are nervous about it affecting your hair you can wash your scalp right after application. It is just to kill the parasites in your skin.

For me, one application of hand sanitizer lasts half a day of relief. Mikes suggestion didnt last 15 minutes for me. I guess it all depends on how severe your pulling is.

ANYWAY! This is all the information I have based on my Trichotillomania. After spending thousands of dollars on therapy and conditioning, who would have thought I could be rid of this curse in only a few months of new lifestyle changes.

Im not sure if this is the case for everybody, nor will I say that this is "the cure." But it was "my cure" and I have a haunch that most people out there will find similar results. Be the detective when analyzing the things you eat. Even if its just bad gas, it could mean something. ALSO, if there are any family illnesses that your parents have, it might be a clue to food allergy. For example, my mother had diverticulitis (that should have been a red flag) and I always assumed I had it too. However, if I had looked up the disease, I would have found that some cases of Diverticulitis occur because of Celiacs Disease and its tendency to weaken the intestines.

So this is my advice, Get tested for allergies and eat alot of whatever you think your allergic to before you go!! Sometimes allergy tests dont respond if you have been avoiding the food that bothers you. OH AND READ THE ARTICLE. IT MIGHT HELP YOU!! and if it doesnt???

Well, then you are only out $1.98 that you spent on a bottle of hand sanitizer.

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU! Have faith and stick together, thats all the Trich community can do to figure this mystery out.

Answer 2

Trichotillomania Cover Up

Answer 3

Trichotillomania..or Trich is an impulse control disorder in which an individual pulls their hair.
Yes, I've had it since I was 11 I'm 17 now....it went away but now it's back.It's terrible, it's a struggle everyday, especially at my age...Instead of thinking of new ideas to fix my hair...I have to find new ideas to cover up the new bald spot I made. I can't go swimming or else people will see the bald spots, I used to cover them with eyeliner and black eyeshadow...I got desperate...but now I use some product call X-Fusion works great but takes quite a while to put on. So what does this do to a person??? Lowers their self-esteem bigtime...but it also has had some positive effects on me...I'm not a shallow person, I'm very kind to others...I think it's made me a better person having to deal with this disorder.

Answer 4

I know this question was posted a long time ago, but I wanted to say, I've suffered with Trichotillomania my entire life. I'm currently 14 and I've had it since I was a very young toddler. I was prescribed Zoloft and it has massively helped me. I pull my hair (eyebrows & eyelashes) when I am overwhelmed with stress.

Helpful things: asking your parents/friends to remind you when you lift your hand to pull, have a ball or some sort of thing to fiddle with in your hands at all times, get formerly diagnosed and get on medication, and bandage your fingers to prevent pulling if you really can't control it (generally in the beginning of treatment).

Also, if you can, try and cover up your bald spots. I know first hand how embarrassing it is to be inevitably bullied due to this disorder. Especially since it is so rare.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Hi

I have it, and I have suffered with it for over 10 years. It's a form of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), and it's very hard to control on your own, but most likely impossible. It is also categorized as an impulse control disorder. It is a disorder that makes people pull their hair out. It's in the same category as pyromania (starting fires) and kleptomania (stealing). You will need medication and/or behavioral modification to treat it. I'm in college and I have no idea how to pay for treatment right now, so I'm just dealing with it until I graduate and start working. I mostly pull out my eyelashes and hair on my scalp. Try to treat it as soon as possible, because the longer you wait, the harder it will be to treat. It mostly occurs when I'm stressed or depressed.

Answer 6

Hello,
There are many factors that can attribute to hair recession or massive hair fall and you need to find out which one exactly is responsible for the problem you are having now. Of course male pattern baldness is still the most common cause, but, for instance, if you are a woman things are deinitely different! This is the reason why you will need to really dig down and see the source of your problem.

Other causes of hair loss may include (both in men and women): severe mental or emotional stress, excessive use of coloring or bleaching agents, traction alopecia or excessive strain on the scalp due to braiding or corn rowing, hormonal changes, alopecia areata or hair loss due to autoimmune diseases, and many more. Each of these conditions will require a different approach in order to achieve success regardless of whether you're going to be using conventional or natural methods.

In my opinion it's much better to use natural methods as opposed to conventional ones, they're cheaper, have less to no side effects, and often more effective.

A good way of regaining your full head of healthy natural hair is well described on this guide: http://hairagain.toptips.org
I hope it helps

Answer 7

My sister suffers from this disease. Trichotillomania means that you pull your hair out for gratification. Sometimes its for the pain, sometimes the pleasure. She has told me that she almost pulled a litlle girls hair out. There is medicine and there are support groups. Check hospitals for support groups. The medicine will likely be an anti-deppressant like Zoloft or Paxil. Good luck

Answer 8

Yes. What do you need to know? It is an obsessive compulsive disorder, where the sufferer has the tendency to pluck his/her own hairs from the roots. They do it constantly, and can end up by losing a lot of hair (from the scalp, eyebrows, etc) due to constant pulling. The result is a bald spot in the scalp.

The sufferers have the need to pluck their hair because the feel extremely tense and, somehow, yanking their hairs, one by one, releases tension and stress. It is not known why it happens. It is, of course, linked to the genes, but it is not known to which ones.
The disease it´s similar to the ones that cannot stop cleaning. Somehow, their brains keep continuously telling them that a spot is dirty, even though it's clean.

Just let me know if this is enough, or you need me to add anything else!

Answer 9

first, its not an OCD, second it is not always for pleasure or gratification of some kind. it is uncontrollable. it can sometimes be treated with medication but that doesn't work for everybody. some treat it with a special diet, again it works for some but not all and still others have tried behavior modification therapy. it is hair pulling that cannot be controlled and is sometimes done without the puller even realizing they are doing it.

and just a side note, its not always done because the person is tense. sometimes my wife is very relaxed and reading and that is when she pulls the most.

Answer 10

Yes, it's a form of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) in which people pull out their hair. It's treatable with medication and therapy and the sufferer should see a doctor.

Answer 11

Hair loss affects both men and women. Here are some natural remedies that can help boost hair growth: https://tr.im/TMS15
While genetics plays a role, there are other factors, including: hormonal imbalances, an underactive thyroid gland, nutrient deficiencies and insufficient scalp circulation.