Trichotillomania Treatment

HI I wanted to add something about N-ACETYL CYSTEINE ALSO KNOWN AS NAC (THATS WHAT SUPPLIMENT LABELS WILL ADVERTIZE AS). I HAVE BEEN PULLING OUT MY HAIR SINCE I WAS A KID AND NOW I AM ALMOST 30. I HAVE TRIED DEPPRESSION MEDICINE FROM A DOCTOR, I REALLY DONT THINK APPLE CIDER VINAGER WILL WORK...WHAT A JOKE, I HAVE TRIED NOT PULLING, I HAVE GOTTEN LONG NAILS PUT ON AT THE SALON TO MAKE IT HARD TO PULL, I HAVE TRIED COUNSELING SESSIONS, I HAVE ALSO TRIED A DIET CHANGE. ALSO I HAVE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER WHICH MAKES IT WORSE. ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO I HAVE STARTED TAKING 600 MG OF NAC TWO TIMES A DAY. IT IS FROM THE SUPLIMENT STORE ( COSTS ANYWHERE FROM 8 DOLLARS TO 30 DOLLARS DEPENDING ON WHAT BRAND YOU WANT ). I TAKE IT WHEN I GET UP IN THE MORNING AND I TAKE IT BEFORE I GO TO BED. THE REASON I AM POSTING THIS REPLY IS TO TELL THE DESPERATE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO PULL THEIR HAIR OUT AND CANT STOP THAT THERE IS HOPE. MY CONDITION IS SO BAD THAT I, AN ATTRACTIVE COLLEGE STUDENT, AM ALMOST COMPLETELY BALD AND HAVE BEEN THIS WAY FOR YEARS. I WEAR REALLY EXPENSIVE WIGS THAT I SPEND ALL MY MONEY ON TO COVER UP THIS PROBLEM. MY WIGS LOOK VERY REAL. I HAVE DONE TONS OF RESERCH ON THE NAC SUPPLIMENT AND FOUND OUT THAT THIS SUPPLEMENT IS AMAZING AND EVERYONE IN THIS WORLD SHOULD BE TAKING IT. AT THE END OF THIS POST I WILL INCLUDE A WEBSITE THAT TELLS YOU EVERYTHING NAC IS GOOD FOR. THERE HAD BEEN VERY LITTLE RESERCH ON THIS HAIR PULLING DISORDER AND MOST MEDICAL PERFESSIONALS HAVE BASICALLY LABLED THIS PROBLEM AS UNCURRABLE. IT IS NOT FAIR. AND BECAUSE OF THIS DISORDER I AM AFRAID OF GOING OUT INTO THE WORLD BECAUSE I DONT WANT PEOPLE TO JUDGE ME IF THEY NOTICE MY WIG. ITS REALLY MESSED UP. I STAYED UP ALL NIGHT AND RESERCHED NAC AND FOUND OUT IT HAS BEEN USED TO HELP PEOPLE NOT PULL OUT THEIR HAIR OR AT LEAST DO IT LESS. I HAVE BEEN TAKING THIS SUPPLIMENT FOR TWO WEEKS AND I JUST REALIZED THAT I HAVE BEEN PULLING MY HAIR OUT WAY WAY WAY LESS. AS LONG AS I KEEP MY HAND AWAY FROM MY SCALP I WILL NOT PULL. BUT ONCE I START PULLING IT BECOME HARD TO STOP. BUT WITH TAKING THE NAC I HAVE NOT BEEN PULLING OUT MY HAIR AS MUCH AND I DONT EVEN REALLY THINK ABOUT DOING IT UNLESS I REMIND MYSELF. IT IS AMAZING. I MEAN SOME TIMES I CRY BECAUSE I CATCH MYSELF PULLING MY HAIR OUT FOR HOURS. I WILL UPDATE YOU ALL AND LET YOU KNOW IF I AM PULLING ANYMORE OR NOT. SO FAR WITH ONLY TAKING THIS FOR TWO WEEKS I HAVE PULLED LESS THAN I EVER HAVE. ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS WOW AND MAYBE THERE IS HOPE. AS SUGGESTED ON SOME WEB SITES, I MIGHT GO FROM TAKING 1,200 MG A DAY TO 2,400 A DAY. ONE OF THE WEBSITES YOU CAN READ ABOUT NAC FOR MANY CURES IS:

http://clinicaltrialsfeeds.org/clinical-trials/show/NCT00993265

From http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19581567

Trichotillomania or hair pulling treatment

N-acetylcysteine, a glutamate modulator, in the treatment of trichotillomania: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009 July. Grant JE, Odlaug BL, Kim SW. Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis, MN 55454, USA.

Trichotillomania is characterized by repetitive hair pulling that causes noticeable hair loss. Data on the pharmacologic treatment of trichotillomania are limited to conflicting studies of serotonergic medications. N-acetylcysteine, an amino acid, seems to restore the extracellular glutamate concentration in the nucleus accumbens. Fifty individuals with trichotillomania (45 women and 5 men were tested. Half received 1200-2400 mg/d of the supplement, and the other half placebo for 12 weeks. Patients assigned to receive N-acetylcysteine had significantly greater reductions in hair-pulling symptoms as measured using the Massachusetts General Hospital Hair Pulling Scale and the Psychiatric Institute Trichotillomania Scale. Fifty-six percent of patients "much or very much improved" with N-acetylcysteine use compared with 16% taking placebo. Significant improvement was initially noted after 9 weeks of treatment. This study, the first to our knowledge that examines the efficacy of a glutamatergic agent in the treatment of trichotillomania, found that N-acetylcysteine demonstrated statistically significant reductions in trichotillomania symptoms. No adverse events occurred in the N-acetylcysteine group.

Just wanted to update on my progress with the NAC and Trichotillomania. I have been taking a dose of 1200 mg for just short of four weeks (the studies I read said best results were at 9 weeks). I am obviously not cured and still have some bad episodes of pulling. But it's worked well enough that I finally have some eyelashes growing back- and this is for me BIG progress. It's hard to see progress with this disorder because you can feel like your progress is completely ruined with one bad episode of pulling and you are back to square one- but I'm trying to realize it's not that big of a deal and it's not all ruined. I do have less strong of an urge to pull which is a new feeling and I assume it's the NAC since I haven't changed anything else. For most people this is a lifelong problem, so to see any progress makes me happy- I am going to continue on with the NAC and may even increase the dosage to 2400 mg- depending on progress further along.