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Andrew's Progress Log
Thanks @jiri
@Christian - haha when you put it like that, that's funny! 🙂 I didn't mean it to sound insignificant, but tbh my OCD was already considerably better than it was at its worst point anyway. Not sure if I got my point across in my word salad but:
(1) I am 32 now. I had extremely bad OCD age 19 (same time I was diagnosed with vitiligo) to c. 23/24 - approx 5 years of it, it was brutal.
(2) At age 23-24 (2014) I went 'paleo' and quit all grains. I actually did this to lose fat & get "ripped", and to get my acne under control. Within the next couple of months, an unexpected benefit was a HUGE reduction in OCD symptoms, like 90-95%. This was in 2014. I have never eaten grains since then. This made me realize, for the first time, that what I am eating can truly impact my health.
(3) My OCD remained at 5-10% of it's original strength for the next 8-9 years to today. Sometimes worse than others, but usually just some mild obsessive anxiety about things (intrusive thoughts), preference for order, symmetry and discipline (OCPD), and my checking / counting ritual at the front door. As I say, this only really took about a minute or so at the very maximum. My rituals have taken up less than 5 minutes out of my day since 2014 when I went paleo. I began to look at it as a character quirk, and it was no longer so bothersome.
(4) Nevertheless, upon a vA-restricted diet for 6 weeks (beef, chicken, rice, beans, apples, bananas, apple juice, some cola, honey), it appears that I no longer have the compulsion to check and re-check my front door before leaving. It *seems* as though that last 5-10% of OCD has all-but vanished.
I suppose this could be viewed as a HUGE benefit, but my OCD was no where near as bothersome as: hair loss, sexual function issues, low energy, general malaise (not depression, I have a positive disposition, just exhausted 24/7), hypothyroidism, circulation issues, vitiligo, digestive problems. None of which have improved at all yet. But obviously, very early days.
Another word salad.
BEFORE PHOTOS - Eye Veins (& Hypothyroid Puffiness)
I noticed recently that my eye whites are not as "white" as they should be. I noticed my baby niece has beautiful, perfect white eye-whites, and that healthy adults also have this too. Whereas mine are often inflamed, with some minor redness, and lots of capillary lines. I know this can happen anyway when someone is tired, but after @ggenereux2014 's post on spider veins, and his picture of the lipofuscin accumulation in the eye in his 8 year update, I thought this could make for an interesting before-and-after evidence if this improves for me.
Also notice the general puffiness and dark circles (not too bad, since I have been on thyroid meds for 6 months now - this has improved a little bit).
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BEFORE PHOTOS - Hair Greying
I started noticing grey hairs on the sides of my head at around age 26 (c. 2016). A friend of mine at work made a joke about it, and I laughed it off "yeh man, silver fox! Haha I must be getting old." Now, in 2023, the greying on the sides has accelerated, but nothing too much really. It is not a cosmetic bother for me at all. It would be nice to have my old colour back, but not the end of the world.
Even so, after Grant wrote about vA causing bleaching / peroxidation of the follicle, and mentioned that his greys had returned to black, I thought this could make for an interesting before and after too.
Side note - notice the hypothyroid "straw-like" texture to the hair. It is wispy, lifeless and brittle compared to how it was c. 5 years ago at age 27. It's not too bad, but could be much better...
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BEFORE PHOTOS - Hair Loss
Now, I am not going to make out that my hair loss is catastrophic or Norwood 5+. However, a shorter-than-usual hair cut in 2021 (I was 30) led me to noticing gaps / thinning in my vertex. This was a huge shock to me, and quite distressing. Not because it was that bad yet, but because if it continued on that trajectory then it would be very noticeable after 5 years or so. For me, I really didn't want to have a bald patch in my 30s if I could help it.
Hopefully these photos will show the thinning around the crown as "before" evidence. I am fortunate that I can still "comb over" the vertex, and no one has ever noticed (to my knowledge) - see the last image for what it looks like hidden.
Obviously very early days compared to what it could be. But it is definitely something I would like to nip in the bud ASAP (it was hair loss prevention exploration that led me to my hypothyroidism diagnosis, so that's good I guess).
(Theoretical) Action of Restoration: I would assume that vA itself causes early / premature death of hair follicles (retinoic acid) - like with eczema, it will literally burn the hair follicles themselves if it gets concentrated there. Additionally, if vA is the cause of autoimmunity in general, then it likely leads to thyroid autoimmunity (see post #27 for my bloods), leading to hypothyroidism, leading to poor cellular metabolism and glucose oxidation, leading to hair struggling to grow.
In reverse: vA becomes depleted, autoimmunity comes down, thyroid function and metabolism improve efficiency, hairs are allowed to flourish again.
Not sure if this would even be possible, but let's see in the coming few years / months.
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BEFORE PHOTOS - Gynecomastia
Sorry if these photos are too graphic. But after Ourania on her log mentioned that her husband's gynecomastia tissue had completely disappeared, I wanted to put this out there too. Gyno first occurred in me around age 23, and was incredibly tender. The tenderness disappeared after c. 6 months, but the small lumps remained.
I have an approximately "grape-sized" lump behind each nipple (especially noticeable on the right side). It's not that bad, but if I were to wear a slim t-shirt, you could really see the lumps poking through. I have worked pretty hard on my physique to try and look decent, but the gyno can make my pecs look like breasts when the nipples are soft. I have been in a few photo-shoots before, and always had to "flick" my nipples to harden them up, which reduces the "puffy nipple" appearance temporarily. I know that sounds ridiculous, but you'll see what I mean in the black and white photo below (taken 2017) vs the colour ones (taken this week). the glandular lump is exactly the same back then as it is now - if you look closely at the shadows, you can still see it in the black and white one surrounding the nipple.
Proposed Mechanism of Action: vA may lead to autoimmune markers rising, leading to hypothyroidism, leading to inefficient metabolism, which results in elevated cortisol, prolactin and estrogen in response to the stressed state. Prolactin and estrogen being feminizing hormones responsible for breast growth could lead to gyno if they go unopposed for long enough.
And then, for reversal, same thing in reverse -> reduced vA, leads to reduced autoimmunity, improved thyroid function, hormone level resolution etc. etc., leads to tissue normalization.
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BEFORE PHOTOS - Varicose Veins & Spider Veins
I first noticed spider veins on my ankles, my thighs by the knee, and my ribs around 2018. They have gotten gradually worse but aren't too bad. These pictures are from this month.
I also have what looks to be some varicose veins beginning on the backs of my knees - difficult to get a good photo though. None are too bad, but they definitely don't feel healthy to me.
Possible mechanism of action: vA burns epithelial tissue. Also, liver damage leads to back flow of blood and congestion down the body (poor circulation). Eventually, if there is enough of a "traffic jam", a valve can blow out, and the vein becomes varicose.
I spoke with Grant about this in another interaction, and read in his 8 year update, that he had similar veins on his ankles that completely disappeared, so I thought this would be good for me to show too - would make for a nice before-and-after.
EDIT: adding one last photo of my cracked heel as a miscellaneous add-on to this one. I noticed this around 2018 - funnily enough, a few months after starting carnivore with liver consumption... not a huge bother to me, but definitely not a good sign.
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Once I've found a way to photograph a decent portion of my skin to show vitiligo evidence (might use a dark light), I think that will be all for the before photos. Hopefully the after photos will be sooner rather than later. I'm hoping most of these can improve within 2-5 years (apart from the vitiligo - I'm not hopeful about that).
If this blog is still up and running, I will post the "afters" as they happen. I also plan to check in regularly to provide 'symptom improvement' reports (of those that cannot be visualized) as and when they happen too - *if* they happen.
Just in anticipation of some comments - I know most of these visual symptoms are not that bad (*yet!*), and I shouldn't be so vain. But as mentioned in my original post, I did want to add to the data pool in any way that I can - and I think that blood test numbers and before-and-after photos are the best way I can do that, on top of any anecdotal reports I can leave.
Damn dude, you look like a Greek demigod in that black and white picture. Nice work! When I was a teenager, there was a time when I would lift, go to the gym a little bit, but I never got results like this. Nowadays, I don't care about that anymore. All I want is to be able to enjoy life, to have enough stamina to go hiking, to play with my niece and nephews. You could say I've lowered my standards or become more realistic about what's possible.
@christian - ah thanks man, I really appreciate that. Truth be told, the lighting hit just right on that one - I was only about 175lbs (c. 80kg) at 6 ft 1 (still am today actually). That photo was taken around the same time as the one in my avatar on the bike. It's amazing what a couple of days of salt / water manipulation and a high contrast light studio can do (stupid really, very unhealthy).
But that's awesome man. I have a young niece too (18 months!) - playing with her is more rewarding than any workout routine I've ever done, that's for sure.