From now on-

I know I haven't posted in forever. I'm just not finding the time unfortunately. :/ It's just too much up-keep right now. I may or may not return to this. But for now I'm trying something new (which, who knows if I'll continue). But check it out if you'd like (it's under construction at the time of this post). atrichylife.tumblr.com.



My e-mail for this website is checked daily. And I will continue to do so. If you would like to speak with me privately, please contact atrichylife@yahoo.com and I will be glad to speak with you there. :) 

I'm really sorry to anyone who found this helpful, I will probably post occasional updates on here if anything of importance comes up. But it's good-bye for now.

Thank you to everyone who showed support for the short time this was up. Keep doing your best, we'll all beat this someday.

xoxoxo
Savannah
A Trichy Life

Hmm..

I've gone yet another couple days without posting.. I've had so much planned for this site but it's honestly very emotionally difficult to get myself to do it. Along with all the other things going on in my life it's just something I'm struggling to do. I won't give up on it, though. I promised myself success and I'm trying to make it happen. I keep going through this process of 5 days progress, ruining it. 3 more days progress, ruining it. 2 days progress, ruining it. 2 MORE days progress.. you get the idea. Last night I did quite a decent amount of damage. I currently haven't pulled in oh, let's say.. eighteen hours, fifteen..er.. sixteen minutes. (thank you stop watch for that information.) Anyway, we shall see how that goes. I am still taking the NAC, and I do notice a large amount of improvement in my urges still. It could be in my mind, but irregardless I'm still happy with it.

I've felt such a strange amount of stress surrounding my life recently that it's making it harder to tackle Trich. It's pretty well known that people with Trich are more likely to have things like depression, social issues, body issues, ect. I have all of those, specifically body issues. I've always been quite self-conscious due to my Trich, and thanks to that I've developed a lovely little eating habit that has progressively made me significantly overweight. It's mainly been to soothe myself when I'm feeling down, but I think it's also a mechanism of keeping people from getting close enough to notice my eyelashes. I mean, who wants face to face contact with someone who is overweight? It's silly, I know. This just goes to prove that Trich has invaded every corner of my life.

I'm very overwhelmed at the moment. If you have a few minutes, check out this girls video. She also has another one regarding Trich. This video is basically expressing her struggle with pulling out her hair. I may not pull from the same place as her, but it was very emotional for me to watch this since I feel a lot of the times the same struggle.

I think that's all for tonight.

Savannah
A Trichy Life

Back to square one.. again.

Sorry AGAIN for the lack of posts. Still feeling awful lately. Bleh.

Well I'd made it 5 days pull-free, then messed up a little, then made it two days, then messed up a little again, then made it almost a day.. and pulled out 85-90% of my progress. Big UGH! I'm trying to not let it get me down, through. I know it's just another hurdle in my path, and I know that I CAN do this. I still think that the NAC is helping. Though my urges aren't gone, they are surely not as strong as usual and I'm finding it much easier to go longer amounts of time without pulling. Unfortunately, once I start stopping is nearly impossible. I had some fantastic progress growing, my boyfriend was starting to notice them. I hate the fact that I can't just have my eyelashes and not want to tear them out. It's really just not fair.

I can understand that it isn't my fault, and I accept that. But I still sometimes (just like many of you'd, I'd guess) like to throw myself a little pity party and say I don't deserve this. It could be worse. It could be a terminal illness, it could be a severe physical disability. I get that. It doesn't make it any easier to have Trichotillomania. I am open about it here and with my boyfriend to an extent. Other than that, I am very private about it. It's mine, something that I don't want people involved in. But it feels good to write it out, in a sense. Mostly because I don't fear judgment here. And reading e-mails from people who say I am touching their lives in a small way is more gratifying than I can explain. It makes me want to strive to do better. And I will.

Goodnight guys, I'll be posting soon.

Savannah
A Trichy Life

Back to square one.

So, after five full days pull free I messed up and pulled some lashes out. Minimal damage, but still! I'm still hopeful that the NAC is working though. My urges have been almost non-existent, but everyone has set-backs. I guess I couldn't expect a miracle. As everyone knows as soon as you give into one pull you can't just do it once. So I kept going. But like I said it isn't THAT bad and I still have plenty of lashes coming in. It's just depressing. Seeing the days go by was nice.

But back to day one again starting now I guess. :/ Bleh, oh well I'll just have to keep trying.

Sorry for the short posts and my lack of them lately, I'm still feeling really bad. I'm getting a gallbladder scan this week to see if it's functioning properly, so we'll see how that goes.

Have a great night/day tomorrow everyone!


Savannah
A Trichy Life

Video on Trichotillomania on ABC

Hey guys, this is going to be a short one tonight but I want you to check this out!



http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=4524355


I think ABC showed Trich in a better life in 4 minutes than TLC did in 15.. but that's just my opinion.


Anyway, I started NAC (see my last post for info) today. I got it at GNC for $13 (so it's sort of affordable. I got 60 600mg capsules, and I take two a day. So basically it's $13 a month. But if it helps my Trich, it's worth it for me. We'll see how that works, and I'll obviously keep you all updated! I have been pull-free for almost 48 hrs.



More to come soon!

Savannah
A Trichy Life

N-Acetyl-Cysteine for Trich Treatment

Alright guys, N-Acetyl-Cysteine or NAC is one of the Trich treatment trends going on lately, so I decided to do some research!


"So.. what is it?" 
Well, here's the fancy definition: (from Wikipedia)

Acetylcysteine (rINN; ), also known as N-acetylcysteine or N-acetyl-L-cysteine (abbreviated NAC), is a pharmaceutical drug used mainly as a mucolytic agent and in the management of paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose.

"Okay.. so what did that mean.. and why doesn't it mention Trich?"
Basically this means that NAC is an amino acid that is used both as a pharmaceutical and a nutritional supplement to treat/assist with quite a few different ailments. Regarding Trichotillomania, NAC has been shown in certain studies to greatly reduce the desires we have to pull. This supplement was NOT intended to be used for Trich, but it has shown promise that it can help with it as well as the many other conditions it can be used to treat.

According to the July 2009 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, after 12 weeks, patients taking the active agent (NAC) had significantly greater reductions in hair-pulling symptoms than those taking placebo. “Fifty-six percent of patients ‘much or very much improved’ with N-acetylcysteine use compared with 16 percent taking placebo,” the authors write. “Significant improvement was initially noted after nine weeks of treatment.” None of the participants reported adverse effects from NAC.

This sounds like real promising information for a lot of us. I have gotten several e-mails from people saying it worked for them, but a few people have also said the effects for them were not long-term. There aren't any real long-term studies yet, so while it won't hurt to try it, I don't suggest thinking it will be a miracle for you. Also, many sites suggest that NAC be used as an addition to any treatment you are already recieving (like therapy), not just as your main treatment. I really don't think that there will ever be a magic pill to get rid of Trichotillomania. I have always been a believer that Trich is a disorder in it's own right, but also a symptom of some type of pain that has happened in our lives. That pain needs to be dealt with, not just medicated.


I hope this info was beneficial to someone, and please let me know if you try NAC. It should be available at most health food stores. I'd love to hear your expierence.


Oh and just to let you guys know, 27 hours and eighteen minutes pull-free for me! (I'm running my stop-watch on my phone, started after the last lash I pulled). I'm still feeling cruddy though. :( My specialist appointment is Thursday for all the gastrointestinal issues I've been having. I'll be trying to make my posts more regular (as in every 1-3 days).


Thanks for hangin' in there for me!

Savannah
A Trichy Life

Just an update-

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I've been feeling awful lately.
I've been having random digestive problems (I think it's my gallbladder), and I'm waiting to see a specialist. I haven't had much motivation to blog since it's been particularly bad lately. :/ I promise I will be getting back to it and doing that NAC article very soon! I still want to hear from all of you as well- ideas for articles are always welcome!

As for my eyelashes, last night I did a little damage again, but I maintained a bit of control and didn't pull them all. I feel like my puling is leaps and bounds better in the past weeks, I'm crossing my fingers that it says that way!

Thank you for bearing with me, and please look back within the next day or two for the NAC article. :)

Savannah
A Trichy Life