How I healed my Psoriasis

[Ask-Seek-Knock]

Hi Ask-Seek-Knock, I'm glad you managed to treat your psoriasis, I don't suffer from it myself but know of someone who suffers dreadfully with it...

Have you read Gabor Mates book- 'When the body says no" ?

Hi Thorn. Not yet but it is on my list to read. Thanks!

 

[Lys]

Hi everyone!

It's been a long time since this thread started but as I know what it is to have psoriasis, I am really happy to hear that people can get rid of it!
I had guttate psoriasis which is a bit different from the plaque psoriasis, more like small drops all over the chest, belly, arms and scalp.
The first big flare up happened 8 years ago and it has been a long journey to heal. It started because of a streptococcal throat infection.
I used cortisone ointment for 5 years day after day but after experiencing a lot of side effects I decided to stop it.
Fortunately I was in Australia at this time and the sun helped a lot. In the meantime I tried to apply iodine tincture over the lesions for a few days and it went away totally after this but it doesn't last for long and it is a very uncomfortable and painful treatment as your skin get super itchy and irritated. At the end of the week, my skin burned so much that I didn't have the courage to start another week of treatment. But still, it had been helpful at that time as the psoriasis didn't returned as much as before using it.

Back in France after a visit to the dentist, some tiny particles of my dental amalgam were released in my mouth and caused another throat infection, probably the worst I have never had. The flare up was very hard but I tried to not follow the easy way and didn't use any cortisone as the skin get addicted very easily.

Today I am almost free of it, some drops appear when I am stressed or when I have cheat meals for a few days (Christmas time doesn't help as I am weak in front of good meals and desserts ). I eat mostly paleo and this is the most important part of my healing. Sport and breathing helps me a lot to stay calm and keep my skin healthy too.
I use asses'milk soap and moisturise my skin with coconut oil, I keep it very simple in order to avoid any skin reaction.
I need to be very careful with my immune system as the psoriasis always flares up because of an infection so I use regularly multivitamin capsules and I have cold showers.
Hopefully I will have my amalgam removed as soon as I can afford it.

Now to the details of what works for me:

Eating Plan
I follow the Eat for your Bloodtype diet - I am O+
This is what I attribute the most to my healing. Can not stress that enough! Any time I stray off of it for a long period of time I get a tiny flare up and I start to gain weight. Now that I am pushing 40 the gaining weight part is a new challenge. Just another reason for me to stick to my eating plan. ;) I use the term eating plan because it is not a "diet". I eat like this ALL the time. With the occasional cheat meal to keep me sane.

Skincare
I use Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Shampoo and Conditioner
I can only find it at the Vitamin Shoppe. It is the only brand I can use that won't flare up my scalp. Seriously the only!

I am O- and I can attest the results of removing gluten and dairy from my eating plan as you say Ask-Seek-Knock :)
I'll try to find this shampoo as I still have a bit of psoriasis on my scalp even if noticed some improvement since I've been rinsing my hair with some drops of Lugol diluted in water.

Hope this will help some of you having the same health issue.

Thanks for your testimony, it is really comforting!

 

[Ask-Seek-Knock]

Hey Lys,

Thanks for sharing and the reminder. I need to update my product list because Aubrey Organics was bought out recently. They were a locally owned/operated company here in Tampa, FL. The new owners changed the formula for the Honeysuckle Rose conditioner and it's terrible. It has absolutely NO conditioning properties in it what so ever! I couldn't get a comb through my hair. I am so bummed. The shampoo is still okay. I'm now using Desert Essence fragrance free conditioner and I'm experiencing minimal flare up. Back to the drawing board! Let me know how the shampoo works for you. Fingers crossed!

Also, two weeks ago, I stopped using the Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil soap and I swapped out the Thayers Lavender Witch Hazel (Alcohol-free toner) with the Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel (Alcohol-free toner). I had a couple patches around my eyebrows that would not go away. I thought my styling cream was the culprit because I have bangs. Then I discovered lavender and tea tree oil have phytoestrogens, substances that mimic the hormone estrogen and I stopped using them both. The patches on my eyebrows are all gone! YAY! :thus:

I was mainly concerned with the phytoestrogens because my mother's sister died at 40 from inflammatory breast cancer (rare and fast spreading) and my mom was diagnosed in her 50's with estrogen dependent breast cancer/inflammatory breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. Needless to say, I stay away from anything that can effect my estrogen levels.

I also started supplementing with Lugol's Iodine drops (10 drops = 25mg a day) a little over a month now and I feel amazing! I'm hoping it will help my skin as well.

Even with all this I still get a few spots popping up now and then. In fact, this afternoon I laid out in my backyard because a patch of spots appeared on my rib cage. Its allergy season in Florida now so that's probably the cause. Psoriasis is certainly something that keeps you on your toes although its manageable if you stick with a regime that works for you.

I wish you all the best with your healing. Take care!

 

[Lys]

Hi Ask-Seek-Knock

The new owners changed the formula for the Honeysuckle Rose conditioner and it's terrible. It has absolutely NO conditioning properties in it what so ever! I couldn't get a comb through my hair. I am so bummed. The shampoo is still okay.

Thanks for the update! I am lucky, I don't really need a conditioner and when it is the case, the cheapest one is already good enough. But being a hairdresser I really understand your issue! It is hard to find the most natural way to take care of curly hair. I've read that broccoli's oil is a good one for curly hair. Other than that, the most magical conditioner I know is Kerastase.

Then I discovered lavender and tea tree oil have phytoestrogens, substances that mimic the hormone estrogen and I stopped using them both. The patches on my eyebrows are all gone! YAY! :thus:

I didn't know that, I am going to have a look on this phytoestrogen as I use regularly tea tree oil. I have no particular reaction with it but I understand that you need to be cautious about that.
Have you thought of the fact that may be you were using this soap too much and as tea tree is a powerful antiseptic, it could be a bit irritating for your skin?
Just a thought, I may be wrong.

Psoriasis is certainly something that keeps you on your toes although its manageable if you stick with a regime that works for you.

I agree with you, psoriasis is like the barometer of my mood, my diet and obviously of the weather. I am happy that summer is coming!

Take care of yourself too.