Skin picking

LizzieCherry

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I've struggled with picking at my skin—mostly my scalp—for as long as I can remember, and Reta has made a real difference. Anyone else experiencing the same? On top of that, I've noticed less urge to drink and less compulsive spending.

My weight is already where I want it, so I'm weighing whether to keep my dose at 2mg or drop it slightly, purely to hold onto these other effects.
 
it looks like it curbs every kind of compulsive behavior. during 63 days on Reta i've had alcohol just 1 time. zero craving. the only reason i did was my month in Costa Rica, where my favorite beer is from, so on my final day i had 1 beer. i wouldn't call myself a big drinker, but usually if i'm out and others are drinking, i'll join in. this time i simply couldn't.

on top of that, my masturbation addiction has dropped a huge amount.
 
I used to struggle with hair-pulling... Strange, I'm aware. I would remove my beard hairs individually, and even from my scalp. Your post just made me notice that I've stopped doing it.
 
LizzieCherry said:

I've struggled with picking at my skin—mostly my scalp—for as long as I can remember, and Reta has made a real difference. Anyone else experiencing the same? On top of that, I've noticed less urge to drink and less compulsive spending.

My weight is already where I want it, so I'm weighing whether to keep my dose at 2mg or drop it slightly, purely to hold onto these other effects.
Research is being done on glp's as a treatment for addictions, so this tracks. At least in my view
 
Yes, that's exactly how it is for me. My overall anxiety has gotten much better, and the anxious habits and compulsions have too.
 
LizzieCherry said:

I've struggled with picking at my skin—mostly my scalp—for as long as I can remember, and Reta has made a real difference. Anyone else experiencing the same? On top of that, I've noticed less urge to drink and less compulsive spending.

My weight is already where I want it, so I'm weighing whether to keep my dose at 2mg or drop it slightly, purely to hold onto these other effects.
I went through a comparable thing. What I dealt with wasn't dandruff—it was closer to pimples, I'd say. My KLOW and GLP routines both kicked off around the same point, so I assumed KLOW alone was behind the improvements to my skin and hair. That said, reta could be contributing as well.
 
After getting sober close to 2 years back, I was putting away a lot of soda and going through a huge amount of nicotine (bringing this up since once you're clean, sometimes it feels like there's a void that needs filling).

Since I began Reta, drinking a Coke Zero hasn't even crossed my mind (before, it was around 2-3 daily), and the urge to grab a nicotine pouch has dropped very very significantly.

It's not that I'm actively fighting it — I just sort of never think about it. I'm sure there are other compulsive habits that have eased up without me even realizing. It feels pretty wonderful!!
 
Ahobo1 said:

I used to struggle with hair-pulling... Strange, I'm aware. I would remove my beard hairs individually, and even from my scalp. Your post just made me notice that I've stopped doing it.
That isn't odd at all — it's called trichotillomania! Most of my life I've lived with it, and I've yanked hair from pretty much every part of my body. At one point I had zero eyelashes since I'd pulled every one of them out. With age I've become more able to manage it (or could the Reta be responsible?!), yet stress still triggers it; these days I can mostly keep it to my legs, and since both of my legs are 100% tattooed, whether hair is there or missing doesn't stand out much. Perhaps I ought to raise the reta dose and find out whether I can quit entirely 🤔
 
LizzieCherry said:

I've struggled with picking at my skin—mostly my scalp—for as long as I can remember, and Reta has made a real difference. Anyone else experiencing the same? On top of that, I've noticed less urge to drink and less compulsive spending.

My weight is already where I want it, so I'm weighing whether to keep my dose at 2mg or drop it slightly, purely to hold onto these other effects.
For as long as I can remember, I've been a picker. Every method I've attempted has failed. If GLP1's worked that way for me, I'd never stop taking them.
 
Ahobo1 said:

I used to struggle with hair-pulling... Strange, I'm aware. I would remove my beard hairs individually, and even from my scalp. Your post just made me notice that I've stopped doing it.
Is that trichotillomania? It falls under the anxiety spectrum, which covers both hair pulling and skin picking. Great job on getting past it!
 
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