I'm new and I live in Australia

I’m 57: a daughter, a mother, a wife and a nanna – and I eat my hair. I have trichophagia. I didn’t even realise there was a name for this madness let alone forums until I started searching the internet.

I eat the root first and then the entire hair bitten into small pieces. When I do it, it’s kind of like being in a trance but it feels good. It’s only when I snap out of it, with hair stuck in my teeth that reality sets in. Now I’m appalled to learn about Trichobezoars because I’ve been eating my hair since I was about 9 years old. The hair ball, if I have one, would be kilos in weight.

I can remember the first time at my grandmother’s house. She was telling me about my uncle pulling his hair out and making bald patches. Almost like an auto-suggestion, but I started and it’s been my torment all these years. For some reason, I pick the sides at the back and the crown but leave a curtain of hair to cover the bald spots. I look for the course hairs, the crinkly ones and the grey ones. I’m saddened by the effect it’s had on my life – how many times I’ve freaked out when the wind blew and how I’ve avoided the beach and swimming for obvious reasons (very hard when you live in Australia). I wore wigs when I was a kid but now I just use lots of hairspray (cement). It’s affected my life, even when I was in childbirth, I worried if the patches were showing. It’s like a living nightmare.

In the 1980s, I sought medical treatment after reading an article about it in a Sydney newspaper. I took the clipping with me to show the doctor. And the doctor laughed his head off and gave me mind-numbing tranquillizers. Naturally, I didn’t last long on them because I couldn't do my job and I never sought medical help again. When I had my appendix out when I was in my late 30s, when I was coming out of anaesthetic, I remember hearing one of the nurses saying something about ‘it had hair in it’. I now realize that the hair had invaded my appendix.

The only other two people in the world who know my terrible secret are my daughter (although I suspect my son also knows) and now, my hypnotherapist. I’ve been living a lie all these years and feel guilty about the sympathy I’ve been given, knowing it was me who was doing the damage to myself. In desperation, I went to the hypnotherapist for help 6 months ago. She’s also a psychic and without knowing anything about the condition, she honed in on the problem and described what I had been doing. I’ve now sent her information about Trichophagia and she’s now researching it to see if she can help others in Australia. She really was the first person to help me.

After the visit, I stopped overnight and grew the best head of hair I’ve ever had. Going to the hairdressers was a dream come true and I was doing well. I even got 3 different coloured foils and a funky new hair do. I was looking at a trip to the barrier reef, diving with my husband. Then, for some inexplicable reason when I started a new job 3 weeks ago, I started again. Now I’ve got the patches again at the back. I’m going to have to go back to the hypnotherapist for a top up and I’m hoping this site will also help. I know the fear that I could have or be developing a Trichobezoar is definitely a deterrent - I feel sick thinking about it. There’s nothing like this forum in Australia, although I know we're not alone.

There are thousands of sufferers and it appears this is related to skin picking and biting the nails. My daughter picks her skin and my grandaughter chews the ends of her hair and I believe it runs in families. I read a US article on the weekend that some foods also contribute to this condition:

Sugars plus sweeteners
Glucose
Egg Yolk
Caffeine
Chocolate
Popcorn and corn
Tomato seeds
Nuts, especially peanuts
MSG
Alfalfa sprouts
Apartate/asparagines
Crustaceans (lobsters, prawns, crabs)
Soy products
Legumes
Butterfat
Fatty fish, including tuna and herring
Sardines, salmon and mackerel
Most shellfish, including mussels, shrimp, prawns
Nitrites
Peas
Beans of any sort
HAIR ROOTS

The good foods were:
Citrus fruit, including Limes, Oranges and lemons
Apples
Fructose
Red wine
Cherries
Beef
Garlic
Onions
Kiwifruit
Ripening bananas
Decaffeinated tea
Ginger root
Papaya
Guava
Kefir with yoghurt
Pineapple
Mustard
Cabbage
Unsweetened live yoghurt
Brussel Sprouts

It seems in front of the computer is a danger spot, plus watching TV or in the car in traffic - anywhere concentration can lapse and boredom starts. Last week, I cut out some shockingly horrid photos from a website of hairballs being removed from stomachs and I haven't eaten any since. I did pick out a few hairs today and made myself throw them in the bin. I'm getting my hair cut again this week as regular trips to the hairdresser also helps.