Tired of Skulking ... My Two Cents

[Guest guest]

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I probably will be dropping off the rosacea list for several reasons. In

addition to the fact that I won't have consistent access to my e-mail in

another month or so, I feel that I've gotten everything I could possibly

derive from this list that I'm ever going to get (which really wasn't a lot

because I do not believe there is any value in conventional Western medicine

except for the treatment of trauma).

But I did want to share my personal experience, my two cents you might say.

My skin is normal again, not 100% but that is an unreasonable wish after the

horrible mess it's been for 4 years. I'm stuck with scars and marks that are

permanent but I can wait. I know about how long and how well facial skin can

recover from pretty severe damage so I'm willing to be patient for several

months.

I actually wasn't going to bother y'all with this information. In the first

place I knew it would be very long and I'd be leaving myself wide open to

criticism (which I'm in no mood for since I'm feeling very vulnerable these

days) I was just going to skulk quietly off and live the rest of my life but

I just can't. It wouldn't be fair. I would have been saved FOUR YEARS of

MISERY if someone had told me this. Remember that there is ALWAY more than

one solution to a problem, and there are plenty of times when what the M.D.

says is NOT the solution. So if my suggestions, observations and lifestyle

approaches rattle your cage, fine. If this could save even one person facial

scars and depression then it's an okay thing that I flooded out everyone's

mailbox.

My FOUR causes of " cea " :

1. Allergic (contact) dermatitis. Cure: Live Green. Eliminate the maximum

number of potential allergens, emphasis on those coming into direct contact

with YOU, this means you must simplify (or eliminate whereever possible in

the case of cologne's, perfumes, excess haircare products, etc.) your own

(and your spouses) soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant,

cosmetics, laundry detergent, laundry softener, hair care products, perfumes,

colognes, etc. You want products that are as simple as humanly possible with

a minimal amount of ingredients (try this, buy only stuff with ingredients

that you can PRONOUNCE, contrary to what several people on this board have

said, natural IS better. That doesn't make it safer, but you're able to say,

" I'm allergic to apples, " An apple, you know what that is, you know what you

can make out of it, hence you know WHAT ELSE to avoid. Try saying, " I'm

allergic to Carbomer 940, " Will someone tell me what Carbomer 940 is? Where

does it come from, what else does it get turned into? Use the brains the

good lord gave you people!) Go to the health food store, buy a big bar of

Kiss My Face Olive Oil soap (approx. $3.50 retail) use that exclusively on

your skin and hair. Buy a bottle of Sals Suds (approx. $10.50 retail), use

that for dishes and laundry soap. Buy a tube of Tom's of Maine Toothpaste

(without fluoride, approx. $3.75 retail) and a new toothbrush. Buy a

deodorant crystal (approx. $8.00 retail). The rest of the stuff (makeup,

perfumes, etc.) you can do without until you pinpoint (or eliminate as a

cause) your allergens. Stop with your routines of putting this on, wait 20

minutes, rinse, apply this, wait 5 minutes, rinse, rinse again with cool

water at exactly 88.6 degree f., chant briefly to the saint of bad skin, pat,

do not rub, dry with a white, 100% cotton, Turkish towel. Apply medicine #1,

allow that to soak in for precisely 2.5 minute before lightly applying lotion

#2 all the while facing the direction of the rising sun ... etc., etc. ...

Here's one I missed for a good year or so ... for those who have regular

break outs on the bridge of your nose and upper cheekbones ... Do you wear

glasses or sunglasses? Guess what, you CAN be allergic to the frames of your

eyewear because I was. Go to the drugstore, buy a product called Moleskin

(in the footcare section!). Clean your frames with alcohol super thoroughly

where ever they contact your face to remove oils. Apply the moleskin to the

frames where you've just cleaned and trim to size. Bye bye breakouts (at the

very least I BET you get a dramatic reduction).

2. Food allergies. Cure: Give up Processed Foods for at least one Month!

(preferably for life, but that's asking too much of most people) If something

is pre-made don't eat it and don't eat at fast food places. Eat real, whole

food for all three meals for AT LEAST one month. Put a strong emphasis on

fruits and vegetables, play down grains and breads, steer clear of sugar, CUT

OUT margarine and hydrogenated fats/oils. ELIMINATE ALL ARTIFICIAL COLORS,

FLAVORS and PRESERVATIVES. Cooking and eating all your own food WILL NOT

KILL YOU, I assure you. So you have to spend a little extra time cooking,

you'd rather take a pill with unknown side effects that could be doing untold

damage to your body? Fine, go back to the doctor and lay off the griping,

face it, you don't really want to find answers, you want things easy. The

reason you go onto whole foods is to limit your potential allergens and

permit you to rule foods out (gee, my skin is clearer ever since I gave up

....). BTW, I don't care what any M.D. says, if you suffer from ANY type of

low grade digestive/stomach/intestinal disorders that had no direct cause,

maybe its something you or your doctor attributed to stress (particularly if

you have something like IBS) you've got a food allergy, it just hasn't been

diagnosed.

Sub-acute food allergies may not show up in traditional allergy testing. It

may be something that causes a mild skin reaction ONLY when you eat it (bear

in mind that it could be a very mild reaction and still look like the very

devil if it's only appearing on your face). Case in point, I am gluten

intolerant, I have two reactions to eating gluten, one involves my digestive

tract but the other one involves breaking out in very large bumps ONLY on my

chin. I only get these bumps when I consume gluten and they only appear in

an area of approximately 4 " square, maximum. But it was damn difficult to

figure out the connection to gluten until I had simplified my diet

dramatically and was able to correlate food/reactions. Keeping a food diary

could save you months of misery.

3. Hormonal imbalance/adrenal insufficiency. Cure: Rebalance Your Body.

Don't even try to figure this one out however, unless you're at least 95%

sure that you've found and eliminated all food/contact/environmental

allergens. Are you a woman? Do you have a serious increase of skin problems

before your period? You probably have a hormonal imbalance. Are you on

birth control pills or an implant? You've got a hormonal imbalance because

the way hormonal birth control works is by getting your hormones OUT of

balance. Do your skin problems start about TWO WEEKS before your period is

due? So did mine. You can try this, it helped me tremendously: go to the

health food store, buy a bottle of Pregnenolone (25 or 50 mg.) For the two

weeks before your period is due take one tablet once a day, in the morning,

with food, unless your face looks its best when you wake up, in which case

hold off for 4 or 6 hours and take the Preg with your midday meal. (NOTE:

You can't take this if your on hormonal birth control). Discontinue the

Preg. the day your period starts. Is your skin better? Do you feel better?

I was able to answer yes to both those questions. The stuff is harmless

according to everything I've found and trying it is definately better than

doing nothing. If there is no benefit after a month or so you discontinue

and return the bottle to the store for a refund.

BTW, are you eating enough? By that I mean are you eating AT LEAST 3 meals a

day, at LEAST 12 calories per body pound? Are you getting AT LEAST 1

tablespoon of fat (butter, virgin olive oil, etc. NOT margarine or other

hydrogenated fat) with every meal? People, try and remember YOU NEED

cholesterol. Your brain functions on it, your hormones are MADE from it!

Reducing the fat in your diet is fine but ELIMINATING it totally, however, is

really BAD! That's one of the big problems, in my humble opinion, in

America! We've eliminated the healthy fats and replaced them with total

garbage reduced calorie sham fats that are actually destructive to our health

(question, why do SO MANY people eat LOW FAT food and yet we have the FATTEST

nation in the world?)

At the end of this long letter you will find a comprehensive list of symptoms

that are strongly indicative of hormonal imbalance. I was able to identify

20 symptoms in myself, at least 15 of them being nearly constant. I think if

you are a woman in your reproductive years and can identify 10 symptoms as

being HIGHLY FREQUENT (occurring at least once or twice every week), then you

can safely suspect a hormonal imbalance. I realize the list is directed

slightly more towards women but many items apply to both sexes. If you are a

man or a post menopausal woman and can check five items off that list that

occur on a weekly basis to you, then you have a hormone imbalance problem.

Even if you are a post menopausal woman on HRT, if you have several symptoms

regularly from this list TELL YOUR DOCTOR! If your doctor says " Deal with

it, it's par for the course " FIND A NEW DOCTOR!

Why am I telling you to take Pregnenolone? ly I'd rather you not

blindly go out and buy a hormonal precursor without researching it yourself.

Go to your favorite search engine and look up the following terms: " Hormonal

Imbalance " " Adrenal Insufficiency " " Adrenal Exhaustion " and " Pregnenolone "

(oh, come on, you belong to this list you most likely have some internet

access, if not go to the library, even the tiniest library has one computer

that can surf the net).

Briefly, Pregnenolone is not actually a hormone but a hormone-precursor and

is what ALL hormones in our body (cortisol, estrogen, progesterone,

testosterone, etc.) are made from. It can be sold in a health food store

because our body makes it from cholesterol and one of the main producers of

it is our adrenal glands (oddly -- or cooincidentally -- it's also made in

the retina of the eyes, which makes me think this may very well be a good

thing for those of you with ocular symptoms). As long as you take it with a

level of intelligence you cannot overdose on it. No lasting negative side

effects have EVER been attributed to it. Supplementation does not interfere

with your natural production of Pregnenolone and your body will eliminate

what it does not use. However, your body WILL take this basic building block

and turn it INTO whichever components it needs. Research on Pregnenolone was

HIGHLY promising in the 1940's and 1950's and was suspended due to the

discovery of SYNTHETIC hormones (Cortisone, Prednisone, etc.) that provided

INSTANT gratification and could be PATENTED. Pregnenolone is natural, it can

take time to see effects and, since it is natural it CANNOT be patented, ergo

it is not highly profitable for pharmaceutical companies to make.

One other point (and please take this one to heart even if you think I'm nuts

about everything else) IF you suspect a hormonal inbalance then I cannot

strongly enough emphasize you should give up ALL meats and soy products until

you have rebalanced your body. If giving up meat is an excessive hardship

then shell out the money for organic beef and poultry. If your body is

producing wrong or inadequate hormones it will literally take ANY hormones it

finds and utilize them (I don't care what conventional education says, I

observed this phenomenon in myself) The hormones that are fed to production

animals are still in their flesh and your body will use these to plug any of

it's own gaps, even if in the process it screws itself up even more (this is

sort of what happens when you go on HRT that utilizes Premarin instead of

natural progesterone to offset the effects of estrogen. No matter what

anyone try's to tell you, we DO NOT have horse hormones in our body. Nothing

in the human body needs the hormones derived from horse urine. The ONLY

reason that your doctor prescribes Premarin is because natural progesterone

CANNOT be patented, ergo, the drug companies do not bother advertising and

promoting it heavily, it doesn't put money in their pockets. However, you

absolutely need progesterone to oppose estrogen in your body because that's

the way we're designed. You either do the menopause without added hormones

or you balance the two unless you want to ask for cancer. Our bodies were

designed to downregulate both hormones, not just one).

5. Finally, I believe rosacea is caused by any combination of the four items

I've listed above, which COULD include all four items (which is what was

wrong with me).

And NO doctor will ever tell you this. In fact, they probably will never be

able to see this for themselves because this is not the way Western medical

philosophy is taught to approach illness. You have to recognize these

components for yourself, eliminate what proportion you suffer from and deal

with it. Doctors will give you prescriptions for lotions and pills to shut

you up and bilk your insurance companies. They will cut your facial nerves

if you nag them to do it, they will put plugs in your tear ducts, fry your

delicate facial skin with lasers or lights. Why not, you're the one asking

them to do it and you (or your insurance company) are willing to pay big

bucks for these services.

And maybe, if you do enough to your skin, you'll feel better ... or at least

recovering from the last thing you had a doctor do to you will feel so much

better than the treatment itself that you'll finally leave things alone,

which is probably the best thing you can do. Or you'll run out of money or

your insurance will stop paying or you'll just become tired of being obsessed

which will immediately lower your stress levels and your body will be better

able to cope with problems.

I'm telling you the absolute truth here: Doctors cannot cure cea because

doctors DO NOT KNOW what causes rosacea (how can you possibly fix something

when you REALLY don't know what's wrong with it?) Doctors will never know

what causes rosacea because Western doctors are not trained to recognize a

COLLECTION of seemingly unrelated problems as contributing to the overall

wellness or dis-ease of the WHOLE organism. Doctors are trained to view

problems as individual wars and the various body systems as distinctly

separate parts instead of viewing the interconnectedness of the entire

biosystem. So when you get right down to brass tacks, my theory on what

causes rosacea is just as good as somebody with a list of initials after

their name.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Potential Symptoms of Hormonal Problems/Adrenal Insufficiency:

1. Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats

2. Cold flashes, clammy feeling, chills

3. Bouts of rapid heart beat

4. Irritability

5. Mood swings, sudden tears

6. Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)

7. Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding;

phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles

8. Loss of libido, loss of sex drive

9 Dry vagina

10. Atrophic Vaginitis: Symptoms of atrophic vaginitis include vaginal

dryness, vaginal itch or a burning sensation (can radiated from whole area),

painful sexual intercourse, light bleeding after intercourse. Atrophic

vaginitis may often be misdiagnosed as a yeast infection.

11. Color change in vaginal area (color gets darker - Dark Red to Purplish)

12. Crashing Fatigue - Chronic Fatigue (CFS)

13. Anxiety, feeling ill at ease

14. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom

15. Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion

16. Disturbing memory lapses

17. Incontinence Upon sneezing, laughing, coughing, standing; urge

incontinence

18. Prolapse (prolapse sensation) of uterus (due to rapid decrease in

estrogen levels).

19. Itchy, crawly skin

20. Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons

21. Increased tension in muscles, often diagnosed as Fibromyalgia

22. Breast tenderness

23. Decrease in breast mass

24. Decrease in vulva mass, decrease in clitoris size

25. Headache change: increase or decrease

26. Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea

maybe diagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

27. Sudden bouts of bloat

28. Depression

29. Exacerbation of existing conditions

30. Allergies developing or increasing - (Chronic sinusitis).

31. Nasal Infections-necessitating repeated courses of antibiotics

32. Weight gain without changing lifestyle; weight gain only in waist/abdomen

33. Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body

34. Increase in facial hair

35. Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance

36. Changes in body odor

37. Electric shock or stabbing sensation under the skin.

38. Tingling in the extremities (feet, hands, arms, legs)

39. Gum problems, increased bleeding

40. Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth

41. Change in breath odor, bad taste in mouth (if you know your teeth/gums

are in good shape)

42. Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier

The long term effects of the hormonal depleted/imbalanced state:

Osteoporosis: Rapid, accelerated, and greater bone mass loss manifesting as

earlier conditions of osteopenia, and more severe and fatal cases of

osteoporosis later in life.

Heart Disease: Women's risk of heart disease increase after menopause. A

young women in a hormonal depleted state is at higher risk for developing

earlier and more severe, fatal cases of heart disease.

Dental health can be affected do to bone and calcium loss.

Eyesight can be affected due to changes in hormone levels.

Brain Function can be affected due to changes in hormone levels.

[Guest guest]

Grey Owl, I wanted to thank you for your very

interesting post. I'm relatively new here and mostly

lurk and read. My hunch is that you are absolutely

correct in your statements. No disrespect to the

medical profession is intended; I just think that

there's a lot to be learned.

Our bodies are very complex - one body made up of many

parts and each part must work properly and together

for the body to function as it should.

I had a complete hysterectomy 2 1/2 years ago and am

on HRT. I still have, regularly, at least 20 of the

symptoms you listed! In the back of my mind, I've had

the nagging feeling that my hormones are " out of

whack. " The condition of my skin declined rapidly

after the hysterectomy. Before, even with oily skin,

I could wear almost any foundation with no trouble.

Within months, the foundation that I had worn for

years " melted " off my face after just a few hours.

Now, my skin is extremely sensitive and oily and dry

at the same time. I have only found about 3

foundations (none of which are perfect) that I can

tolerate. I work in a busy office 5 days a week. I

feel I must wear makeup.

Sorry, I didn't mean to digress. Just wanted to say

thanks for your post.

Good luck to you.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Grey Owl, I wanted to thank you for your very

interesting post. I'm relatively new here and mostly

lurk and read. My hunch is that you are absolutely

correct in your statements. No disrespect to the

medical profession is intended; I just think that

there's a lot to be learned.

Our bodies are very complex - one body made up of many

parts and each part must work properly and together

for the body to function as it should.

I had a complete hysterectomy 2 1/2 years ago and am

on HRT. I still have, regularly, at least 20 of the

symptoms you listed! In the back of my mind, I've had

the nagging feeling that my hormones are " out of

whack. " The condition of my skin declined rapidly

after the hysterectomy. Before, even with oily skin,

I could wear almost any foundation with no trouble.

Within months, the foundation that I had worn for

years " melted " off my face after just a few hours.

Now, my skin is extremely sensitive and oily and dry

at the same time. I have only found about 3

foundations (none of which are perfect) that I can

tolerate. I work in a busy office 5 days a week. I

feel I must wear makeup.

Sorry, I didn't mean to digress. Just wanted to say

thanks for your post.

Good luck to you.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Grey Owl, I wanted to thank you for your very

interesting post. I'm relatively new here and mostly

lurk and read. My hunch is that you are absolutely

correct in your statements. No disrespect to the

medical profession is intended; I just think that

there's a lot to be learned.

Our bodies are very complex - one body made up of many

parts and each part must work properly and together

for the body to function as it should.

I had a complete hysterectomy 2 1/2 years ago and am

on HRT. I still have, regularly, at least 20 of the

symptoms you listed! In the back of my mind, I've had

the nagging feeling that my hormones are " out of

whack. " The condition of my skin declined rapidly

after the hysterectomy. Before, even with oily skin,

I could wear almost any foundation with no trouble.

Within months, the foundation that I had worn for

years " melted " off my face after just a few hours.

Now, my skin is extremely sensitive and oily and dry

at the same time. I have only found about 3

foundations (none of which are perfect) that I can

tolerate. I work in a busy office 5 days a week. I

feel I must wear makeup.

Sorry, I didn't mean to digress. Just wanted to say

thanks for your post.

Good luck to you.

__________________________________________________