Ending Antihistamine Diet

 Day 28: ending two weeks of the antihistamine diet

It's been about two weeks since I started the anti histamine diet and I am so ready to come off of it. As I predicted, it didn't make much of an impact because I was ALREADY eating really low in triggers. I knew going into this that alcohol and sugar are the WORST for my skin. Stress and dry air (winter in particular) also don't help. Here is my skin at the two week mark: this is my usual "resting" state. 

I remained at 142 pounds, and I felt more bloated overall thanks to the evening primrose/OMEGA pills I had to start taking. I played with when I took them and I think they are best taken with dinner, as taken with lunch I rarely felt hungry for dinner 4-5 hours later. 

Cutting out gluten was the WORST. I have a few friends that are gluten free and I have to say I'm so sorry, the impact gluten has on my routine for quick satisfying foods is really incompatible. Granted, a lot of people pity me my lack of dairy but that I never seem to miss. 

I think I will carry forward less soy milk products; not a huge difference in my blemishes and redness, but enough to continue to minimize it and not drink it in my coffee/tea/cereal/as a milk substitute. I like having both almond and oatmilk options in my fridge as it depends on what I want to do with it IE cook with oatmilk, drink almond milk.

I did have a two drink night with dinner after a stressful day of finding out my grandparents are not doing well and I have to make an emergency trip out east - and that night I had a hard time staying asleep with a 4 am panic attack. For me it seems one drink is fine, as long as it's not red wine. But if I have red wine or more than one = 4 AM wide awake sore stomach and panic. *sigh the joys of sipping red wine with my fiancé are pretty much gone :(

And on that note - I am flying off to the Maritimes to be with my Grandparents for a time and I won't be able to keep this up so the ending will be abrupt and I'm sure to get a scolding from the doctors when I return for my visit in two weeks time. Oh well. Life, rather, death, happens. 

Day 18: on the anti-histamine diet

 Day 18: on the anti-histamine diet

I hate it. Not being able to have peanut butter and kombucha, who knew that I was so attached to certain foods. So far I am eating like a horse, as my best friend Val pointed out: oatmeal, oat milk, apples, apple butter, fresh salads... Ya. I don't like this horse diet. So I decided to check pinterest for anti-histamine recipes...

I tried this one and even my fiancé ate it with me, and we laughed that it was very thanksgiving in flavour: https://drbeckycampbell.com/anti-histamine-turkey-kale-sweet-potato-skillet/ (I added rosemary and mushrooms though...)

After taking the omega and primrose with lunch, I feel bloated around 3 pm and not so hungry for dinner.

I found sweet treats to eat on this diet! ShaSha Spelt Ginger Snaps 

(all the other flavours don't pass the test)

And a check in: light pink dots, not itchy, this is the best I can hope for on the regular. But I'm daring to dream CLEAR skin so here's hoping this diet and these new supplements can do that (and be ready in time for my wedding and the low back dress I have for October 2022!

Starting Over... Kinda.

Day 3: April 6 2022

So I'm back to the naturopathic doctor that I started with in 2009! He is still practising! And my new intern, as it's a Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) Robert Schad https://www.rsnc.ca/ is nice too.

The onboarding is a deep dive into who I am and what I do and what I eat is time consuming but helpful. My homework over the next two weeks until next check up are a weekly diet diary, an in depth lifestyle profile of environment, exercise, job... so they get a better picture of what stressors and triggers and level of activity I am at. 

Diet Diary

My "reunion" with Dr Hall made me laugh because he suggested the same thing he did to me in 2009: fish oil! Why did I ever stop taking fish oil...? 

An overview of what I am taking currently:

Pine Bark Extract pills 50mg/day

High Potency B Complex pill 100mg/day

D3 1000 IU/day

Magnesium 500 mg/day (for migraine prevention)

*sometimes Zinc 25 mg

*sometimes Valerian in my tea for sleep aid

 

And I just ran out of my CBD 15 mg oil that I used to take daily for the past 2 years that was helping me with my anxiety and insomnia. I'm taking some time off to see if is hindering more than helping as I get congested and itchy from it. Marijuana is legal here in Ontario Canada, and since legalisation I have been enjoying CDB as a way to combat my stress and General Anxiety Disorder, which was pushed into full swing since the pandemic, my friend Roberta Died, and well... the general dystopia that the world is in :P 

Immediately I am reminded of how much sugar has crept into my diet: in my peanut butter, in my soy milk, and elsewhere. I am also reminded that even though I am not gluten intolerant I do consume a lot of wheat products that can also irritate skin. 

Sigh. 

They are talking about a hypoallergenic diet. UGH. I knew this was coming. I remember the elimination diet back in 2009 when I lost 15 pounds from just not being able to eat anything FUN. 

I am asking my GP Doctor for an allergy test too; the one where you get a million needle pricks to see what you react to. I haven't had that since 2009 too. Could I be allergic to more or less over the past 13 years?

I should do a weigh in... I never weigh myself... but I know I lost weight last time and since the pandemic I have been moving less. 141 pounds. Ok. Did that. Hate that.

 

So the next two weeks will just be observation (and me judging myself in the process!) and my "team" at the clinic will be researching my skin disorder to follow up with me soon. 

Do you have monster nails?

Warning, I don't holdback and talk about how gross my nails can get because of DWD...

I have always had terrible nails. I have never not picked at my nails and throughout my life they look like raw meat: red, chapped, falling apart... I rarely have anything that goes past my finger to form a "nail" as in they never grow that far. I always thought it was my anxiety, as a coping method I pick my nails, especially if there is any hangnails and that happens ALL the time.

I recently saw in the Facebook Group that nails get the Darier's White Disorder treatment, meaning they get messed up. Now my thin, brittle, red, chapped fingernails make more sense. And my toes, oh dear, it's like a Victorian monster down there! Frankenstein's toenails! They grow weirdly, like on angles, split, ingrown... it's just, gross. And so my anxiety sets to work and I usually pick them down to the quick/cuticle. I used to paint my fingernails to give them more structure, but working at a historic museum I can't have painted nails as it's not exactly accurate :P But my toenails are ALWAYS painted so they don't look so gross, though it is weird to paint toenails that grow every which way - I usually trim my toenails down as far as I can to avoid splitting and showcasing those weird Franken-Nails. 

I have found that with the supplements I take to combat DWD it does end up helping my nails, (and hair!), as things like omega fats and zinc are good for that. My love of eating fish (hello sushi) helps too. But then I did a google search and found this:

Biotin (a.k.a. vitamin H) can improve hair that is splitting or thinning as well as strengthen weakened nails. Taken with zinc and the corticosteroid clobetasol propionate, biotin has even been used to treat alopecia, an autoimmune skin disease marked by the loss of hair.

Has anyone ever tried using Vitamin H as a supplement? I think I may have to ask my doctor about this! 

I also read somewhere that DWD nails are also susceptible to build up under their non existent nails and I have to say I believe it - I mean look at mine: I barely HAVE nails and I am typing all day so how do I get gross stuff under there?!

These are actually quite healthy for me with little to no splits and hangnails. I guess putting the zinc back in daily really helps. 

Do you have really sore or gross nails too? What do you use to help it?

What Works vs What Doesn't

What Works vs. What Doesn't  (...for me anyways)

So I saw Bio Oil on sale at Shoppers Drugmart and decided this was the say I try it. It was hyped a few years ago as "the thing" for skin ailments such as scars, stretch marks and dark spots and some skin issues.

BAD IDEA

I have never felt my skin on fire or itchy as much as I have on Bio Oil

I took pictures of how it got worse and worse but instead of posting that, which isn't helpful, I decided to do a round up of what IS WORKING for me..



I also have fallen in love with my oil diffuser and essential oil therapy... I have been chatting with a friend who does oil mixology and the top skin soothers are frankincense and lavender. I have those oils 7 drops each in coconut oil applied by a roller vial like this:

So far it's not making it worse nor making it better but I like the way it makes me smell and feel so I will keep on trying it on my pulse points and behind my ears instead of perfumes.

So there's my overview, combine the above with low sugar intake, no dairy, low red meat, low/no cured meats. I do eat gluten and I do like wine and cider every now and then, but no beer, when considering my diet with all the above.

And I have to mention that I am on a low hormone IUD for the first time in my life and it is making my skin FREAK OUT so that is why I am trying all these things because I'm impatient and want a fix NOW instead of waiting out the hormonal flux that is happening now that I am off birth control and with that the regular hormones that came with it from the pill...

I also joined a group on facebook!  Maybe it's for you too? They talk a lot about the medical side of Darier's which I soon might have to look into as I age and deal with a loss of supplementary hormones.

Tell me what is working for you!

Living with flare ups.

So my January and February were both nuts. Seriously. I don't think I managed any downtime until this past weekend, the last weekend of February. I had a major major audition that made me live on edge for a week and then a final term paper due the day after. It was a stressful time.

So I needed to unwind! I went to a friend's cottage and kicked back a few beers and eat vacation food (read: sugar and fats) for 48 hours. Guess what happened?

This:

Yup. Sad Panda. 

A flare up so bad that it hurt to wear clothes. The camera doesn't capture just how raw it is (because it's still flaring!) and how much it has grown. It has turned up along my neck again and all down my back. Does your DD move around your body too? Mine used to be thighs and neck. Now it's mainly neck and back? 

I am trying to eat clean: lots of veggies, oatmeal for breakfast, no processed/added sugar, a hault on all things alcohol. It feels like I'm back in detox. I haven't started the food journal but if it doesn't get better in a week's time I think I will have to start one up again - and that means really detoxing. I cycled in Vit E cream but I find it greasy and not as good as Vit A cream but I am hitting Desperate Levels at this point!

I need to remind myself that there is no overnight treatment, that it is every action I take - I need to meditate, eat clean, and drink lots of water. I need to make sure I don't skip vitamins and pine bark. This seems so simple but then a friend's birthday is here and the party is at a bar - pop and booze = ugh. You know this story. It's hard to always stay true to your DD. 

5 Things I Will Do For My Skin

1. Drink Water like I'm a camel

2. Keep up on my pill therapy: pine bark, Vit B, D, Multi, Probiotics, *Zinc and *Omegas (which I am bad at remembering)

3. Lots of clean eating, meaning easily digested and without a lot of sugar and fat (like brown rice, green leafy veggies, oatmeal)

4. Go back to taking my tea and coffee back (sad sigh)

5. Yoga and quiet times. Gotta get that stress down!

What do you do when you flare up?

Pine Bark = my best friend

This whole journey started way back when I was working at Davids Tea and a woman scoffed (rather loudly) at a book we had on our shelf beside the teas. It was a book about what you can eat to defeat cancer. She was very audible about hating the notion that cancer could be cured by just eating more leafy greens.  I stepped up to serve her and, seeing she clearly wanted to rant about healthcare, I asked her how one should attack something like cancer which led to a conversation about my skin disorder.

She grabbed the receipt tape and jotted down some things for me to take. The thing that I latched on to was the maritime pine bark pills. And I still take them to this day. It's been about 5 years since this chance encounter with "Nadine" and I am so happy that we happened to chat that day.

Here is a visual of what I'm taking now: 5 years later.

Internal:

Vitamin B 1xday
Maritime Pine Bark 1xday
Greens+ 2xweek
Vitamin D  1xday
Probiotics 2-4xweek

And a multi-vitamin geared towards woman's health 1xday

Topical:

Fragrance free moisturizer
gentle/fragrance free foam cleanser
FX make up
gentle Toner
Tea Tree Oil (spot treatment)
Vitamin A cream