Maggies Hair Pulling Blog

As the end of 2009 comes creeping, I need to decide what my hair plan will be for next year. In 2009 I managed to find a new hair place to do my volumiser which was great! And I also managed to experiment with an amino acid supplement called N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). At first I thought NAC was good but now I don't believe that it is a miracle cure. My pulling urges are the same as they ever were. Maybe next year I should go down the behavioural therapy route. The trouble is it costs so much. I once saw someone on the NHS but had to wait for 6 months and she wasn't very good. Private practices are better but they normally only work on weekdays and its tricky to find someone who has dealt with trich before. Often it is new for them and I end up being a bit of an experiment! I will need some kind of plan though as I don't want to give up. I have been trying to beat it for the last 4 years but so far no real joy. I know that I might not ever be able to stop but it seems so silly...

Just washed my hair. I never pull my hair when it's wet and I know that this is the same for most people with tric . You can't get hold of the strands properly and your hair goes like elastic. It's feels nice to have a clean non-itchy head! I am home alone tonight so must be careful not to pull any while sitting on the sofa! It's much easier to control when other people are around as I am aware that they might see me do it! I live with my boyfriend and although he knows all about my hair pulling problem we don't often talk about it. I think I prefer it that way as it makes me feel more normal! I would really like to get rid of the volumiser now and have my normal hair back but unfortunately until I can stop pulling for good I don't think that will happen! I currently drive about 200 miles to get to the volumiser salon, however the man who owns it is planning to open more branches and so hopefully one will pop up near me!! It would be great to save the time and...

I haven't written for a while because I have been busy and my hair pulling has gone back to how it was! NAC is not a miracle cure :( I don't remember the day that the pulling started again, but it was at least a couple of weeks ago. I had the volumiser tightened and then drove for 4 hours back home. It was tight and started to annoy me and I know I pulled a few then! I have also had lots on at work which has made me slightly anxious! Anxiety doesn't help the urges either. I know that I must try harder........... I'm still taking NAC and will continue to do so for now, but I know that willpower is also needed in this battle!! Time to do some housework now! At least it keeps my hands busy........

I have been very good for the past few weeks! Only pulled the odd hair here and there but yesteray was a bad day and I pulled about 30! I knew I was doing it so not sure why I didn't try harder to stop myself. It was a stressful day at work and pulling helps calm me. It feels satisfying when I pull and so I guess this is why I did it!! I will try hard not to have a bad day again because afterwards it always makes me feel sad. Better keep my hands busy and do some housework! :)

Over the last few years I have been using a hair forum to keep up to date with what's going on in the trich world: http://trich.co.uk/cgi-bin/uk-ttm-mb/discus.cgi The lady who runs it is called Louise, there is plenty of useful advice on it and I have made a few hair friends who I also now keep in contact with via text and the mighty facebook!! Forums are a good place to rant! If I ever feel like pulling then it helps to log on and have a little look around. Some people suffer a lot more than I do and so it's also nice to offer a few words of encouragement. Trich mentally drains you and although it doesn't stop me from having a relatively normal life, some people turn in to hermits and isolate themselves. This forum is for people in the UK and has different areas for different types of pulling. As well as hair pulling there is also eyebrow, eyelash, beard pulling etc. People pluck from all sorts of places!! The majority of pullers are female but you do get the odd man tha...

It is now Wednesday and I haven't pulled a single hair in the past week!! I was out of the office today and had yesterday afternoon off work and so the routine of sitting at a desk all day has been slightly broken which helps. I have been determined this last week but I haven't had to fight off any really strong urges! Perhaps it really is the NAC (N-acetyl-cysteine) that is helping! I am taking 1200mg a day along with some vitamins, if I don't pull for a month then I KNOW it is this that is helping because in 20+ years I have never managed to not pull for that long. People with trich can often have good periods, but relapses are also common! Something will trigger a pulling session and then you could spend a good couple of hours plucking! Afterwards you always feel guilty and ashamed and know that you shouldn't have done it. The trouble with trich is that although you know you shouldn't, you really do have to pull!! It's very odd. Time for bed now, tiredness ma...

Amazing! For the past 2 days I haven't pulled one hair, today is my third day of trying! I decided to try really hard a couple of days ago and I have been taking NAC for 10 weeks and so maybe it's a combination of these that is helping. I have managed pull free days before and so I am not over excited yet! It still feels good though. Last night I did have a couple of glasses of wine which has made me a it tired this morning! Tiredness is not good when you have trich so I will see how it makes me feel today. I am determined to keep going, grow hair grow............