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Documenting my experience
I am a 35 year old female suffering with side effects from Accutane for about a year now. After reading Grant's books, I couldn't be more on board with his theory. I began the diet a few days ago and wanted to use this space to document my story and experience.
After a couple months on the drug, my eyes became horribly painful. I stopped the Accutane (despite my dermatologist telling me to "push on!"), and waited for the "side effect" to go away as I was promised. In my heart, I knew the damage was already done. I have been diagnosed with severe meibomian gland dysfunction (meibomian glands are the oil glands in your eyelids). These glands now produce a toxic oil and cause severe dry eye and pain. I have tried every eye treatment and prescription drop with absolutely no improvement. I do not believe that my eyes can be fixed by an ophthalmologist or a man-made chemical - my body is simply no longer working properly. I also have hair loss and joint pain and recently tested positive for ANA/autoimmune (a test which was negative pre-Accutane). Grant's work is the first thing that has made sense to me after a year of utter hopelessness, regret and misery.
I now realize how Vitamin A heavy my diet was even before taking Accutane. I was practically vegan at one point. Green juice and sweet potatoes every day. The stage was set for things to go very wrong.
I am committing to as close to zero Vitamin A as possible per Grant's second book - lean beef, rice, cauliflower, black beans, olive oil, brazil nuts and salt. I am considering adding sunflower lecithin as a supplement - anyone have any experience with this? Also thinking about sauerkraut, but want to kick start this without it (as it does contain some Vitamin A).
I'll document my experience here. Trying my best to be optimistic and manage expectations - I realize this "exorcism" will likely be a long road.
Thank you again to Grant for all of his work.
I think vitamin A might take anywhere between 200-300 days to deplete. And that's not taking into account accutane cycle. Good luck on your journey.
I have had sunflower lecithin but that's only very recent. Try to be very strict on the first 3 months at least.
Thank you Ronnie and Orion!!
I do understand this is not a quick fix and will take a lot of time - first to rid my body of the Vitamin A, and then for my body to heal itself. I just hope I’m not beyond repair...
Orion - did you/do you have any dry eye symptoms from the Accutane?
Quote from michele on April 30, 2019, 6:23 amThank you Ronnie and Orion!!
I do understand this is not a quick fix and will take a lot of time - first to rid my body of the Vitamin A, and then for my body to heal itself. I just hope I’m not beyond repair...
Orion - did you/do you have any dry eye symptoms from the Accutane?
Hi Michele, my eyes were not affected severely, but they produced a white mucus that collects near the tear duct and lacrimal caruncle, so they are not lubricating properly, this has lessened, but waiting for further improvement.
Main symptoms for me post accutane were worsening skin issues, severe dryness and excessively oiliness combined, blepharitis, also trouble with long deep sleep.
Interesting. I know that white mucus you are talking about - I started to get this a few months BEFORE I took Accutane. No dryness, but perhaps a sign that things were already going south with my eyes! Good to hear it has lessened on the diet.
I read your previous posts and I’m encouraged by your success thus far.
Quote from michele on April 30, 2019, 10:54 amInteresting. I know that white mucus you are talking about - I started to get this a few months BEFORE I took Accutane. No dryness, but perhaps a sign that things were already going south with my eyes! Good to hear it has lessened on the diet.
I read your previous posts and I’m encouraged by your success thus far.
Will be following your progress as well.
First 4 months I was getting about ~100IU daily from carotenoids(wheat, oatmeal, some fruits), detox was minor. When I dropped those foods, and went down closer to zero IU, my detox got bad, skin issues flared. But I now seem to be balancing out again. It is a uphill downhill adventure. It is tough to push through mentally. If I could go back I would do zero from day 1.
Michelle, I have that burning irritated eye problem. I never used Accutane but at my age, 64, I have eaten enough vitamin A and carotene to be overloaded. My low A diet for the first couple of months did not produce many detox symptoms but something caused a week of eye problems recently that finally got a little less irritating. I think I am like Orion and wasn’t low enough in carotenoids at first. I would normally attribute it to seasonal allergies but not now. My eyes have always been vascular and irritated and I thought it was normal for my age and living in the Midwest but now I think it is all due to vitamin A and carotene overload. I hope you make lots of improvements with avoiding vitamin A.
Thank Eio!
It’s been 4 weeks now on close to zero Vitamin A, so I figured it was time for an update. 🙂
My diet consists of: lean beef, white rice, black beans, a bit of olive oil and a couple of Brazil nuts each day. I have not cheated once! I do not drink coffee, so just lots of water. I’m also taking Vitamin C and Zinc supplements. The first couple of days on this diet were hell - I was craving fruits and vegetables! Then around day 5 all of the cravings just stopped. Sure, maybe it’s a little boring, but I’m always content. I eat around 2,000 calories a day. I am 5’7 and was 115 lbs when I started and am now down to 108. This is a little concerning but I’m eating more calories than I ever have, so I’m not too worried. I’ve always been on the thin side.
I was not expecting much to happen this month, but I have been pleasantly surprised. While I know I have a long way to go, I am definitely noticing an improvement with my eyes. I used to use eye drops several times an hour - now I’m using them once every 2 or 3 hours. At times, I can feel a bit more moisture in them and the inflammation has subsided somewhat. I saw my eye doctor a few days ago, and he commented that I actually have a (slight) tear film - something I have not had for a year now. I used to wake up and lie in bed for hours in the morning before I could even think about prying my eyes open - no more! I definitely still have bad hours and bad days, but the intensity has decreased.
The one detox (?) symptom I have noticed is extreme back/joint pain. Some days my bones ache so badly that I can barely move. I had slight joint pain prior to starting the diet, but nothing like this.
I will be working with Dr Garrett - still have yet to have my consult as I am awaiting results of my hair analysis. But my blood tests came back - my VA serum level was 38, which is in the “normal” range for someone my age. I know this is not a reliable test, but figured I’d include it.
Will continue to update each month! I know it will be a slow crawl, but I’m committed to sticking to it. 🙂
Hi Michele,
Thanks for sharing your update.
A while ago I was suggesting that Brazil nuts would be safe and beneficial. They are a good source of zinc, vitamin E, and calcium. But, I’m now questioning the safety of them for us. That’s partly based on other people here on this forum reporting that oxalates are causing them trouble. Raw Brazil nuts are high in oxalates. Additionally, I think the science on vitamin E helping detoxify vitamin A is far from being settled. I don’t know if the Brazil nuts are truly a concern or not. Each person’s tolerance for oxalates is probably going to be quite individualistic too. So, I just wanted to give people a heads-up on it so that they can be aware of the potential downside.
Grant