Posted by Ritch on January 24, 2003, at 9:15:27
In reply to Tegretol and Trichotillomania, posted by TS on January 24, 2003, at 2:40:34
> Hi,
>
> I am new to the forum and was wondering if anyone here had heard of treating trich with tegretol. If so, please be kind enough to tell me more. I'd particularly like to hear about the subject's age, duration of trich, age of onset, other meds tried, efficacy, dosage, etc.
>
> I have had trich since age 9, as well as clinical depression. Am currently taking Celexa 20 mg which does nothing whatsoever to alleviate my trich. Have also tried Prozac, Serzone, Wellbutrin, Paxil, Zoloft.
>
> It has been suggested to me by a doctor and friend that because of the link between trich and tourettes/impulse control disorders that trich may in fact be the result of small frontal lobe seizures. Accordingly, he feels that tegretol may be a viable choice.
>
> Would love to hear any and all input.
>
> Thanks,
>
> TracyTrich is where you actually pull the hair out right? I used to take my fingers and coil hair around my fingers when I was a kid (especially while I was sitting in class and wasn't paying attention very well. I couldn't seem to stop it-but nobody was bugging me to stop it either. I don't know if that is related to trich. or not. From what I can recall I was doing that sort of thing from about age 8-11, then it stopped. But then, I had scale illusions and sensations of flying for a couple of more years then that diminished (but not entirely). The neuro I saw once told me that some of my symptoms could be frontal and/or temporal lobe seizure activity (but they couldn't find it with a standard EEG). The EEG did show a "flat spot" in the left frontal lobe (which he said might be from an old head injury). I did get knocked unconscious (from a bicycle accident on the street) when I was 8. I take AED's now for bipolar. They do help a lot. Tegretol is a first-line anti-seizure med. I think your doctor might be on the right track. If you have the resources and patience you might want to get all of the EEG stuff done. I haven't gotten the full workout in that department, but perhaps it needs to be done. good luck..
poster:Ritch
thread:137290
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030119/msgs/137308.html