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Lupus, MS, Alzheimer’s, ALS, VA
Does anyone on this forum have Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis , ALS , Alzheimer’s and did they or you benefit from a low Vit A diet? I’m asking because I never really see anyone mention they have these diseases on here so was just curious to know.
There was a woman here with MS for a short time, I believe, but she stopped posting before getting too far along. I hope she didn't react badly.
@puddleduck Yeah because my general impression here is that most have unspecified autoimmune disease, or less severe autoimmune conditions like RA, for all the ones who answered Low Vit A improved their autoimmune disease in the latest GG website poll.
I’ve heard people on here saying Lupus is definitely a Vit A issue on here but then never seen anyone here with lupus, likewise with MS and Alzheimer’s.
Anyway the word autoimmune is a lie, the body is not attacking itself for no reason. People have unresolved low grade infections that don’t get resolved and continue to linger eventually ending up in the lymphatic system and liver.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190219080742.htm
When I did a gut test in 2021 I had high amounts of the R Gnavus bacteria they mention is linked to Lupus. I also had very high ANA levels years ago which are a sign of necrosis and used to partly to diagnose lupus.
I have sometimes thought that lupus might be a diagnosis that could be pinned on me, my rosacea is in the lupus butterfly pattern. I also have suggested in my musings here that lupus is VA toxicity which is why it's so broadly defined and mysterious.
I also agree with @alexm that autoimmune is a word that just confuses the issue. Interesting that just today I was starting to wonder if I might harbor a staph infection in my nose leading to occasional bouts with impetigo. I also think that my receding gums might harbor some nasties.
Perhaps the two things together (VA plus germs) result in what we call lupus.
I developed that rosacea butterfly pattern on my face at the height of my vA overload in 2018/19. It’s gone now. For me I’d say it was vA toxicity induced.
@jaj I have recently developed exactly that red facial pattern and it must be to do with my detoxing process... Can I ask ow long did it take to go, what diet were you following?
I honestly can't cope with the burning it's quite ridiculous!
@andrew So sorry to hear this, my husband seems to have come out with this too. When I first lowered VA it felt as if bugs were crawling across my face.
Re: how long... hmmm.
My cheeks are so much better now, but I still have an area in the middle forehead that is still making papules (at 3.5 years). Now, that sounds bad but NOTHING had ever helped my long-standing rosacea at all, so for the cheeks to be better is a miracle. I actually think my forehead started to be bad 50 years ago! The cheeks are maybe 20 years. I once read that there are 3 stages of rosacea that people move through. I was in the 3rd stage in which you have papules and the eyes are involved. My right eye is fine, the left has an area that one might call "surfer's eye" and it is about half way better, and will redden sometimes especially at night or when not sleeping well. I'd say husband's rosacea is actually worse than mine now, but neither one of us is very strict. We are both on the slow boat. His vice is veggies and mine is dairy.
My current experiment is to see if lymphatic skin brushing helps move the baddies along and I swear it has helped already. You could use burning, itching as a trigger for you to do a bit of gentle swiping across the area toward lymph nodes. I would not be surprised if, in helping, this stirs things up.
I want to say a bit about the so-called asian alcohol flushing reaction. IMO this is part of rosacea for me, and I wonder what can be done about it. Those alcohol dehydrogenase thingies are definitely low, perhaps getting used up by VA detox. It doesn't help that I have one drink per night. But rosacea affects even those who don't drink, like my husband. I've always been a blusher/flusher and still am. A hot drink or a half an hour in the wind and forgetaboutit.
I think a bit of sun is both good and stirs things up.
I use very little on my skin. Soap, water, tad bits of vaseline for chapping. There are really two ways to look at this. My idea is that soap gets rid of body oils which may be contaminated with VA. Which are then replenished from below, probably with more oils that are contaminated. I can see another point of view where perhaps lotions might stop the detox flow of VA contaminated oils through the skin. I had a family member who told me that she thought lotions helped. I'm more of a stoic though and want this stuff out of me. And it is hard for me to trust "products" at this point!
Another interesting thing I have noticed is that when I have a fever the face goes very pale, and I wonder if that is because the VA is getting mobilized to fight the infection. Or maybe the dehydrogenase enzymes work better at that temperature.
I may not ever have perfect skin again because there may be some scarring involved in my case, as the problem is so long-term. (actual damage vs temporary inflammation). But there is always hope. Grant says his skin gets better and better.
@lil-chick I am in agreement with you about the oils - I cannot see what else it could be. When I first had this problem it was mild, and began about a year ago, always producing what seemed like a sort of fatty deposit. I though it was a fungal infection or something similar, but it was somehow only recently that I discovered a bit still attached to me and that it was skin! It was absolutely stuck in a cycle of trying to repair but degrading too fast.
Recently I did in fact plumb for some lotion in the form of moisturiser, and this initially helped quite a lot - so much so that I thought my trouble were over. The reason I did this, is because initially my forehead was really bad also. But I happened to let a fringe grow, and the problem there completely ceased. Ergo, a barrier from sunlight and elements and just generally to protect seemed potentially helpful. Anyhow I stopped using the moisturiser after getting overconfident and within a week it had returned. And the problem was beyond worse - but different: oily and not flaky.
My suspicion is that the oil glands are essentially destroyed by acid - retinol can be the only conclusion, and my girlfriend who used retinol in the past remarked that the symptoms were almost identical to her side effects (including dry lips).
As such, face skin is in a permanent struggle to thrive. Today, just this afternoon as the burning problem has started to ease, lo and behold the flakiness returns but the oiliness is gone...
A workable salve might include some sort of very light alkaline moisturiser or substance to neutralise the acidity in the sebum (which is supposed to be acidic, but not this much!) - at least, there is a reason why my forehead recovered. Maybe I should grow my hair down over my face 😂