Post by ¤prettyinside¤ on Sept 5, 2002 2:58:15 GMT -5
NOTE: I hope you don't mind that I'm posting this on all three sections of the message board. If it's against the rules, feel free to delete it and reprimand me. 
It's just that I wanted everyone to be able to read this, because I've seen so few success stories on the boards. Here's my story...
I just wanted to log in tonight and post a message here for the first time. I discovered this website about a month ago and was so relieved to know that I'm not alone in this terrible habit. I don't pick my face or arms like the majority of you -- I pick my scalp and (I'm ashamed to admit this) I eat the flakes. It is absolutely compulsive, there is no better word to describe it, and I feel that if I keep picking at it I will be flake-free and have a smooth normal scalp. I don't know why I eat the flakes, I can't possibly explain that in any rational terms. But it seems to soothe my depression and anxiety when I do it. It's only afterward that I realize I'm hurting myself even more by doing it.
Anyhow, I have been virtually pick-free for the last three weeks. I wish I could credit this website exclusively for it, but unfortunately will power alone has never been able to solve this problem for me, and it didn't this time either. But it was on this website and others for compulsive skin picking that I read about taking the vitamin called inositol. I was told that it reduces the urge to pick by regulating the chemicals in your brain.
Well... I certainly had my doubts. Reduce the urge to pick? Yeah right. But I have been taking this for the last three weeks and I can't tell you how much it has helped me. Not just with picking, but with my entire attitude. I feel human again. I feel capable of achieving my dreams. I'm not depressed. Oh sure, I have bad days along with the good. I said I feel *human* -- not perfect. I don't strive for perfect anymore. Just healthy. And I have had days where I pick my scalp for a couple of hours or so and then feel just horrible about it. But I pick myself up, dust myself off, and try again. And every day it gets a little easier.
I've listed a link for all the information on inositol, but here is the way you begin and increase your dosage in case you are impatient like me and don't want to read all the info (I'm on Week 3, by the way):
Week 1 - 1 tsp. 2x per day
Week 2 - 1 tsp. 3x per day
Week 3 - 1.5 tsp. 3x per day
Week 4 - 2 tsp. 3x per day
Week 5 - 2.5 tsp. 3x per day
Week 6 - 3 tsp. 3x per day
You just mix it in water and stir it well (the brand Solaray works the best, others taste funny and don't dissolve well). I let it sit for fifteen minutes so that it dissolves fully, and then I mix it once again and drink it down. It tastes just like sugar.
In addition to taking the inositol, I'm taking a multivitamin every morning. I'm also taking a vitamin called biotin, which promotes healthy skin, nails, hair, and scalp, and grapeseed extract because I figured the antioxidants would help me in more ways than one. I swear to God, if I could just get all of you to take vitamins too, I know that we could get rid of this horrible habit that rules our lives. It's helped me to improve at least 75% so far, and I'm not even taking the full dosage yet. If you haven't tried it yet, please do it. I'm so grateful to all of you for posting your experiences here, good and bad, so in return I wanted to tell you everything about this. I'll be back to update you later as well, after I'm at the full dosage. I know I can do this. We all can.
The information about inositol is at this link:
www.trichotillomania.co.uk/Inositol.htm
www.healthrising.com/stories/trich.htm
The first is a site about trich (hair pulling), but it applies to all of us too. The second speaks directly about compulsive skin picking, but does not give the detailed instructions on taking it. I also suffer from compulsive nail biting, and this has nearly rid me of that habit too. I encourage you to try this, because it's the only thing that has worked for me, and I've been doing this for eight long years. I wish you all lots of luck on your journey, and I have faith that each and every one of us who has the courage to come to this site will recover fully and kick this habit.
Thank you for the support, your words have been my lifeline.
It's just that I wanted everyone to be able to read this, because I've seen so few success stories on the boards. Here's my story...I just wanted to log in tonight and post a message here for the first time. I discovered this website about a month ago and was so relieved to know that I'm not alone in this terrible habit. I don't pick my face or arms like the majority of you -- I pick my scalp and (I'm ashamed to admit this) I eat the flakes. It is absolutely compulsive, there is no better word to describe it, and I feel that if I keep picking at it I will be flake-free and have a smooth normal scalp. I don't know why I eat the flakes, I can't possibly explain that in any rational terms. But it seems to soothe my depression and anxiety when I do it. It's only afterward that I realize I'm hurting myself even more by doing it.
Anyhow, I have been virtually pick-free for the last three weeks. I wish I could credit this website exclusively for it, but unfortunately will power alone has never been able to solve this problem for me, and it didn't this time either. But it was on this website and others for compulsive skin picking that I read about taking the vitamin called inositol. I was told that it reduces the urge to pick by regulating the chemicals in your brain.
Well... I certainly had my doubts. Reduce the urge to pick? Yeah right. But I have been taking this for the last three weeks and I can't tell you how much it has helped me. Not just with picking, but with my entire attitude. I feel human again. I feel capable of achieving my dreams. I'm not depressed. Oh sure, I have bad days along with the good. I said I feel *human* -- not perfect. I don't strive for perfect anymore. Just healthy. And I have had days where I pick my scalp for a couple of hours or so and then feel just horrible about it. But I pick myself up, dust myself off, and try again. And every day it gets a little easier.
I've listed a link for all the information on inositol, but here is the way you begin and increase your dosage in case you are impatient like me and don't want to read all the info (I'm on Week 3, by the way):
Week 1 - 1 tsp. 2x per day
Week 2 - 1 tsp. 3x per day
Week 3 - 1.5 tsp. 3x per day
Week 4 - 2 tsp. 3x per day
Week 5 - 2.5 tsp. 3x per day
Week 6 - 3 tsp. 3x per day
You just mix it in water and stir it well (the brand Solaray works the best, others taste funny and don't dissolve well). I let it sit for fifteen minutes so that it dissolves fully, and then I mix it once again and drink it down. It tastes just like sugar.
In addition to taking the inositol, I'm taking a multivitamin every morning. I'm also taking a vitamin called biotin, which promotes healthy skin, nails, hair, and scalp, and grapeseed extract because I figured the antioxidants would help me in more ways than one. I swear to God, if I could just get all of you to take vitamins too, I know that we could get rid of this horrible habit that rules our lives. It's helped me to improve at least 75% so far, and I'm not even taking the full dosage yet. If you haven't tried it yet, please do it. I'm so grateful to all of you for posting your experiences here, good and bad, so in return I wanted to tell you everything about this. I'll be back to update you later as well, after I'm at the full dosage. I know I can do this. We all can.
The information about inositol is at this link:
www.trichotillomania.co.uk/Inositol.htm
www.healthrising.com/stories/trich.htm
The first is a site about trich (hair pulling), but it applies to all of us too. The second speaks directly about compulsive skin picking, but does not give the detailed instructions on taking it. I also suffer from compulsive nail biting, and this has nearly rid me of that habit too. I encourage you to try this, because it's the only thing that has worked for me, and I've been doing this for eight long years. I wish you all lots of luck on your journey, and I have faith that each and every one of us who has the courage to come to this site will recover fully and kick this habit.
Thank you for the support, your words have been my lifeline.
I thought I was going crazy for a minute there.