The first few days were the worst for me because the skin areas where I pulled were still sensitive. My eyelids were so itchy that it helped to take an antihistimine! I also bought eyewashes and lubricating eyedrops. They were really helpful in getting me over the hump. I may have even made compresses.

This is just part of the cycle of dealing with trich. You have a great attitude! Time at the computer is a big trigger. Barriers work wonders in those situations, but I find they only work when I put them on before I start my work. If I start pulling, it's too hard to make myself go get a barrier. Your number of good days will continue to increase as you keep trying and keep getting stronger!

Yes yes yes to everything Manda said. Barriers BEFORE trigger times/environments (TV, computer, bed, driving). And stroodle's advice sounds great.

Thank you for the encouragement and good tips. That is a great article and I will try the antihistamine.Today has been another good day. Since my little slip yesterday morning, I have been pull free and continued my diet and other tools. I also made an appointment with a trich specialist in my area. I met with her once a few months ago. At the time, I was very busy with work and didn’t have the time to put my all into recovery. Now, I am no longer teaching and feel this is the time to break free from trich. I have seen many therapists over the years, but this doctor actually had trich and recovered after over 30 years of intense pulling. Living through it changes your perspective and I think she can really help me. If nothing else, it is just nice to talk face to face with someone who gets it, who gets this huge part of me. She fit me right in and I go on Tuesday.

It's wonderful that you found a therapist with a personal, first-hand (<--yes, pun intended!) understanding!

Ooh the therapist sounds great! That's fantastic.

And for carrying on so well after your slip. Hooray!

Awesome, maybe you can share the name of your trich specialist in case she works with clients via phone or skype!

Wow that is amazing that you have a practicing therapist nearby who also has had experience with battling/recovering from trich. Would love to hear about what her advice is!

Go you for bouncing back from your slip up. For me it has been really helpful to try and be happy for my small victories over large periods of time, because (at least in my case) I always inevitably slip up. But I do have the faith that we can all manage this condition someday!!

Thanks for the encouragement. I am feeling good about my progress overall. I did slip yesterday when I saw some tweezers. I regained control after a few minutes and about 20 lashes were gone...This was sad, but is way better than I normally would've done. I would've pulled every lash and eyebrow, then moved to my head. I still have not had an urge to pull from my scalp and am 9 day pf on my scalp...if only hair grew faster.

I was surprised to find there are actually two specialists in my area who treat trich. I chose Paula Christine as she had the personal experience. I had looked for therapist for years who had a least treated trich before and even that I couldn't find. A few months ago I figured I'd look at the treatment providers list again and boom. The list is growing. Its great that there are a growing number of knowledgeable providers.
http://trich.org/treatment/treatment-provider.html
This is the info from the TLC website about my therapists:
Albany Capital District
Paula Christine, M.A., LMFT

Paula has been a hairpuller since she was four years old and knows at a deep level what people are going through who experience this behavior. When traditional therapists were unable to help her she decided to become a therapist herself. After synthesizing and applying everything she's learned and experienced, she has crafted a unique and dynamic offering of treatments. She has achieved recovery for herself as well as her clients. Paula works with all ages individually and creatively. She is committed to providing a safe, non-threatening, positive environment for all her clients and their loved ones.

1583 Union Street
Schenectady, NY 12309
518-348-8378
email: pchristine@earthlink.net

Cool!

And good job managing your slip :) We mustn't expect perfection. You're doing so well.

Awesome! So glad you found a program that you can work with! I know exactly what yo mean about having the time to focus on the inner workings of the project with the doctor. The office visits help you manage the details at home in your normal environment.

I'd suggest docosanol cream (abreva is brand name) for the eyebrows to help you through the painful, annoying, itching, spiking, stabbing sensations of the hair follicules coming through the layers of skin on the eyebrow area. Not good for eyelashes, because it can damage the eye itself. However, as mentioned, cool compresses are great to bring down the swelling (however little the swelling is where the follicule is coming through, it is painful due to the nerve endings setting a new path)of the eyelids.

It took me a long, long time to be able to hold the tweezers without wanting to tweeze. However, we have to have them available to pull wood splinters out, so hiding them is not a safe option for me. What I did, though, was spend the extra money to buy a nice tweezer just for me, and that one is the one I use, I hold, I touch, I feel, and I enjoy. The tweezers have their own container (I first used a snack baggie, now I have an old toothbrush holder) and just the pause it takes to open the container is enough for me to stop most of the time.

You can do this, and good job with your project! It's awesome to find what works to help steady the hands, the thoughts, the moment of truth!

You are not alone in this!

How lucky to have found a trich specialist in your area! Sounds like it will be really helpful for you. You are doing great!

Yestday I was PF and today I pulled 2 eyebrows and quickly gained control. I fel confident that is it for today, so today should be a 1. So my big picture so far is 11 days PF on my scalp and 9/11 good days overall (3 or less). Tomorrow I go see the specialist and I'm really looking forward to it.

*feel