Trichophagia eating hair

[shinymegami]

I think I suffer from trichophagia... I remember when I was little I was pulling my hair out and just nibbling on it, breaking the hair in little pieces and swallowing. Can that really give me hair balls if it's broken into tiny pieces? I have no idea why I did it or why 2 years ago I picked back up on that nasty habit! I'm 17 now, the obsession for chewing on it then kind of went to just feeling my scalp excessively but I still pull my hair out n'all that stuff. It's really annoying, I've tried chewing gum but whenever I'm not occupied I just feel the need to pull/touch at my hair/scalp when I'm bored/reading/on the computer. I've told my doctor but he just tried to put me on lexapro, which made me feel realllly funny. The firs time I took it I felt like I was just existing...not really doing anything and the back of my head felt numb, so I didn't take it anymore :/ I really don't know what to do and it's so frustrating!

[mammo]

You need to seek the help of a good therapist, as eating your hair can, and does result in hair balls in your intestine, among other things.  It's a real disorder and I'm sure any therapist is aware of it and can help you.  Even though the Lexapro didn't help, there are other medications for obcessive behavior such as this.  Take care....

[RubyWitch]

Well, this is a new one for me! If you just twiddled your hair or sort of pulled on it, I think we just could put that down to a wee nervous habit, but actually eating it has stumped this panel.
You say your doctor put you on Lexapro, which was a bust due to side effects, but unless it was determined that your trichopagia was due to depression, I really don't know what an SSRI would do to help you stop this particular behavior. But then, you notice there is no "MD" after MY name.
I think the best thing you could do is to get hooked up with a therapist to help you figure out why you do this and how to stop.
I wish you the best
Peace
Greenlydia