treatment methods/meds and online help

[kleigh426]

Hi – I recently came across your site, and I am by no means an “expert” in psychology (just a student), but I am a skin picker (for 8 years), and I wanted to share some things that have worked for me, and would like to let you pass my contact info on to anyone that would just like someone who is “in remission” so to speak to talk to and gain info and assurance from. I have had horrible acne in the past, and I’m OCD. Picking became a secretive habit that took up to 4 hours a day of my life, everyday…sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, but it was very detrimental. I was not social b/c I was a mess (I picked face, back, chest, neck, scalp, pubic region, upper thighs and arms). I went for years without being able to wear a tank top, and I’ve had open sores as big as quarters from picking my back. I had cystic acne (huge nodules that audibly popped and spurted on the mirror), and I’ve been a plucker too…pubic hair and eyebrows. I have recently been working from the Habit Change Workbook, and I have found it to be incredibly helpful. I’ve taken the following meds: Celexa, Lexapro, Zyprexa, Prozac, Luvox, Effexor, Risperdal, Abilify, Klonopin, and Geodon. Effexor made things much worse. Zyprexa and Risperdal were bad b/c they increased my appetite, and I have struggled with bulimia in the past. Abilify gave me horrible anxiety. Celexa, Lexapro, and Luvox did nothing for me. Prozac turned me into a walking zombie. I now take 100mg Zoloft with NO side effects (at least none that I could point out to anyone). I have been on it for about one year, and it seems to help the most with the OCD tendencies. Also, I had TREMENDOUS success with Geodon. I mean I COMPLETELY quit picking, biting my nails, plucking, everything! However, a rare but serious side effect is torticullus (I think that’s how you spell it), and I got it BAD. I was on pain killers and muscle relaxers. No one knew what was causing the pain until my psychiatrist decided to take me off the med for a couple of weeks. My neck got better. She put me back on it, my neck got worse again. So I cannot take Geodon b/c the side effect could be long lasting if I continue to take the med. So, now I’m going at it on my own, with the Zoloft of course, and the occasional Klonopin really helps with anxiety. I’m definitely interested in trying hypnosis, but I would like to finish working through the workbook I have first. It really is a wonderful resource. My therapist is going through my work with me to assist me in understanding my behaviors. Like I said, I’d love to be able to email/correspond with others suffering from this problem, and I feel like we could help each other (like AA and NA groups help one another). The group sites I’ve found are not very impressive, and I’m considering starting a forum or a meeting site online for people to chat and talk about their issues. However, right now a few pickers and I are just emailing back and forth. My email that I use for this is [e-mail]

Please consider this, and pass on my info if you feel it could benefit others.

Sincerely,

Kristen