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Varicose Veins and Melasma Mustache
Hi All,
So wouldn't you know, the two symptoms that are most annoying to me lately...are matters to do with vanity! 🙂 But hey, if I'm being honest I want to make them go the heck away!
Neither the veins nor the melasma mustache (darkened skin above my upper lip; not so much hair) were much of a problem before this diet, and I can't tell if I'm just plowing right through middle age, and that's why both are happening (I'm nearly 43), or if there is something I might be able to tweak. Multiple sources recommend vitamin A topically for the darkened skin, so I figure there must be some relationship there! And I don't know why the veins (back of my calves; they hurt too) happened with pregnancy #5 (and haven't gone away two years later) and not at all with the other pregnancies...
Would love any ideas if anybody else has successfully made either symptom go to heck away! 🙂
Sarabeth
I think the most common cause of melasma in women is an imbalance in estrogen. Maybe in men as well. Wouldn't be surprised if the vein problems are related to that.
I've tried many times to figure out why I wound up with a few sudden bursts of cherry angiomas, and then started getting "sun spots" (which is basically melasma as far as I can tell), along with some tiny spider veins, and it all seems to revolve around estrogen and copper imbalance, which I assume is somehow related to Vitamin A. My wife got melasma on her face (moustache area/above lip) when she was taking oral contraceptives years ago and it went away when she stopped taking it...most contraceptives for women are sooo bad. Strangely, she got melasma again this summer without taking any hormonal things, but it's mostly below her mouth now. I've got her off most sources of Vitamin A and am wondering if the melasma is related to Vitamin A working its way out of her system. Not sure what else to blame it on in her case.
Yes, I think that must be it - not sure my hormones will ever completely normalize before I hit menopause, but I gotta be grateful for small mercies because I am, at nearly 43, healthier and better in the hormones department than I ever have been. The stupid melasma thing just keeps me humble, right?! 🙂 Or annoyed...
@are,
Thanks, I now see your post, and I do hope that by age fifty, maybe my skin will be a bit better?? Or maybe not... It's these little things.
I just had some labs done and I'm overall quite happy. And now have some ideas about my gums, or at least something to try...
Please do share any ideas/insights about gum problems. I'm still struggling with severe recession and nerve sensitivity. At this point I am betting heavily that it is an unavoidable problem of my own particular case of Vitamin A toxicity, but I would be very excited if there was something I could still do to minimize the damage.
Quote from wavygravygadzooks on August 9, 2022, 9:31 pmI think the most common cause of melasma in women is an imbalance in estrogen. Maybe in men as well. Wouldn't be surprised if the vein problems are related to that.
I've tried many times to figure out why I wound up with a few sudden bursts of cherry angiomas, and then started getting "sun spots" (which is basically melasma as far as I can tell), along with some tiny spider veins, and it all seems to revolve around estrogen and copper imbalance, which I assume is somehow related to Vitamin A. My wife got melasma on her face (moustache area/above lip) when she was taking oral contraceptives years ago and it went away when she stopped taking it...most contraceptives for women are sooo bad. Strangely, she got melasma again this summer without taking any hormonal things, but it's mostly below her mouth now. I've got her off most sources of Vitamin A and am wondering if the melasma is related to Vitamin A working its way out of her system. Not sure what else to blame it on in her case.
I don't know nothing about melasma, but issues with veins like varicose veins are also estrogen/liver related.. So the body has hard time balance hormones/ detox excess of estrogens.. Most females will have issues with mineral imbalance especially low zinc high copper. That alone will increase estrogen.. Another culprit can be iodine deficiency and low B vitamins.. Also higher body fat will increase estrogen production.. Also like you said once female starts taking contraceptives her mineral/hormone balance is out of control and that will start everything from things like mental issues to very aggressive types of cancer..
Amazing interview! Thank you @are. Don't stop after the diet stuff, lots of great ideas to chew on there. So interesting.
That was super interesting, thank you! Very fascinating, actually, because my child is super struggling since she arrived home from a month and a half of visiting/not sleeping enough, eating lots of foods with vitamin A in them, and symptoms now include anxiety, air hunger, actual hunger more than usual, super stuffy nose especially in our house 🙁 🙁 (renewed mold sensitivities??), self-flaggelating/depressive talk....
I'm gonna suggest this child try eating a lot more meat this week and see what happens.
Also interesting, all the comments about hormones: I noticed the melasma mustache is MUCH better during my luteal phase (between ovulation and period). Giving me hope that once my hormones are a big more regulated, it will improve too. 🙂
I have always been slender, so people never thought my symptoms were of ill-health. But my hormones have always been SO WRONG, and only now, at age nearly 43, they are starting to right themselves again. I have sometimes wondered if I am somehow or effectively "deficient" in estrogen. I guess I gotta give it time...
I have talked about this in another thread, but my theory is that leg vein problems are related to acid (VA then!) accumulating in the epithelial layer below the surface of the skin but on top of the veins (this is in harmony with what Grant has said about VA affecting epithelial cells).
My reasoning is that, it makes little sense that a breakdown in vein structure would cause them to protrude - that really doesn't make much sense, given that they are usually concealed behind a strong epidermal layer. Rather, it is this layer that is at fault - it has been eroded because of (I presume) VA toxicity.
When mine first appeared I noted the lack of active hair follicles in those areas. The skin was yellow and the cells were as if scarred. The skin dents when I run my finger over the vein areas, as if it is missing... the sensitivity is mostly gone too. It seems very much like the surface has just been deeply damaged, allowing the veins (which function normally) to protrude. This is likely to continue as long as there is a lot of VA in the liver.
Since dropping my VA intake hair follicles have returned (which I believe also happened to Grant). This is an encouraging sign, but I think more needs to be figured out to determine how it is that the epithelial layer can repair, especially while it is probably under a under a constant low-level acid attack. It will take a lot of time, certainly - it may not even be possible.
It is worth thinking about how the body responds to acidity in that the (very complex) bicarbonate buffering system will adjust pH so that you don't die, and that this involves the respiratory system, kidneys and liver. If you have some existing lung conditions or (like me) a chest deformity which limits your ability to breath and therefore exchange out CO2, this will affect how well your body deals with (potential) acidosis. Likewise, if your liver or kidneys are damaged (which from VA overload is also a possibility) the part they play will also be compromised. I don't think this kind of damage is easy to repair. But, I am looking for ways in which the epithelial skin layers may be encouraged to heal up with some sort of topical application. For example, Epidermal Growth Factor is not found in things you'd be told are 'good for the skin' (usually the line is, vitamin C and E). Have a look.
Maybe milk baths (a la Cleopatra) are the way to go!
In any case there's some food for thought. Interested to experiment and see where this goes.
hi @andrew
Once, way back before I read Grant's information, I did the skin brushing technique for a while. The idea is that it moves "lymph" along. You always brush toward the heart for some reason (I think that direction is the way toward detox). I found that it helped some of my little spider veins. And this was when overloading VA.
My method of skin brushing was to take a washcloth in the shower, start at the extremities, and brush toward the heart.
I haven't been skin brushing, just moderately low VA. I've posted before about my skin in those spider-vein areas becoming more nicely "rubbery" and not "delicate". But this is happening at the speed of glaciers, very slow. Perhaps the skin brushing might speed things up.