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...

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............

I have just had a weekend away in Brighton and my hair pulling was minimal, I may have pulled 1 or 2 hairs by accident but I never consciously got an urge and had to do it! It was a busy weekend which mainly involved shopping, eating and drinking :) I love Brighton, there is always something new to discover or someone odd to look at! Before the weekend I was doing a bit more research into the supplement NAC that I am taking and apparently if you take it along with vitamin C and B1 it can 'prevent and relieve symptoms of veisalgia (hangover following ethanol (alcohol) consumption).' What a brilliant extra plus side to it!! :) No hangover and no hair pulling!

To help stop the pulling urges I am trying the latest suggestion for helping with trich which is an amino acid called N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). A trial was held where 56% of people saw an improvement after 9 weeks. The BBC wrote an article about it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8132387.stm I have been taking 1200mg a day for the past 5 weeks and so fingers crossed I will see an improvement soon. If the urges are not as strong then hopefully I will be able to control myself more. I'm not betting on it but anything is worth a try! :)