Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by star on November 30, 2018 at 2:29pm

Thanks for sharing your post, and yes i'm sure that is the case......ALL diseases start in the gut.

I congratulate you for having the discipline to start on this road, and i'd really appreciate the feedback on how you get along with it!!

Could you kindly let me know which supplements your taking please?

Personally speaking i haven't got the staying power of a rigorous diet, although i know it would be beneficial not only for this but everything heath wise......its a balance like everything....please keep in touch and let us know how you get on x

Permalink Reply by Diart on November 30, 2018 at 2:53pm

Hi Sha, My dermatologist diagnosed FFA a year ago when I went for a skin check (new town, new doctor). She will be the first to admit she didn't learn anything in med school about diet. She uses the pharmaceutical approach, yet is conservative with drug treatment. I like to treat the root cause so I found the autoimmune protocol on my own and did a 30 day elimination diet. I have been gluten free about 10 years and dairy free almost 20 years anyway. Eliminating all grains and yogurt (which I digested ok but was inflammatory) helped me a lot. In the reintroduction phase (reintroduce 1 food 3x/day for 3 days, then 3 days off) I reacted to corn, oats and quinoa - all thing I had been eating due to gluten sensitivity. I also eliminated coffee because it mimics gluten in the gut) It's been a year and I feel better, lost weight & bloat and have less inflammation. I read The Autoimmune Solution by Amy Myers, MD for the diet and inspiration. I take collagen daily to help heal my leaky gut. You can also search for AIP recipes on Pinterest and you will find a variety of sources to help you maintain the 'diet' as a healthy life style. I now feel in control of my digestion instead of my digestion always being a problem. Good luck!

Permalink Reply by Toby on November 30, 2018 at 7:49pm

Good for you for going to see her.  I have FFA also. I went gluten free including soy and milk free about 6 weeks ago. Also limit processed foods. I have read that gluten contains a protein that the body may mistake for another protein the body attacks.  My body actually started feeling betters after a few days. I like this for how much better my body feels.  I do have gluten free bread, pasta, cereal. You can find all this, it is just switching products. Pamela,s brand has excellent chocolate chip cookies.  I ask myself if prehistoric man would have eaten a particular food and if not, it is not really a true food but a corporate money maker food. 

There me is an EWG website that rates harmful chemicals in make up, moisturizer, sunscreen, soap, shampoo etc. switching away from harmful chemicals is the first change I made since being diagnosed. I did give up some of my favorite make up but I decided I do not need to be the beautiful if I can just keep my hair. So I am okay with using less make up. I check this website and only get products rated “1” which is the safest. I do still color my hair but switched to a scalp sensitive developer and light color shade. 

 I believe in these changes. 

Permalink Reply by Sha on January 16, 2019 at 5:07pm

Hi,

Sorry for the delayed response! It got crazy busy around the holiday's, then had some catching up to do at work but wanted to follow up on how things are going since I incorporated the suggestions from my autoimmune Dr. I followed her detox diet to a T for 3 days. I enjoyed the food, didn't get hungry, the objective was to eat as much as I could with no in-between snacks, and I never felt better!! I'm 54 and literally felt like I was in my 20's for about 2 weeks. It was amazing. I'm not sure if it's because I"m not in my 20's or this disease, but for the most part I do feel better than I before. I've been caffeine free since November and love it! Also have avoided gluten and dairy the best I can and eat as much organic food as possible. My blood work showed I needed more vitamin D and that I had some kind of infection in my gut. (I'm traveling so don't have my Dr notes with me.) So I'm continuing to work on my gut. 

As far as the supplements, I'm taking lots of them. You can find most of them on Dr Ann Myers store website. I'm taking most of the supplements in the Leaky Gut kit and autoimmune kit. (All thought may not be her brand.) In addition, my autoimmune Dr added coconut charcoal (to continue detox) and lavender (she said it was clinically proven to help with stress.) She also referred me to an app that I love, Head Space. I got it for 40% off and for 1 year have access to things such as meditating, reducing stress and anxiety. I love the meditating and can choose 3, 5 or 10 minutes. 

Since all of this my stomach feels better. (I honestly didn't realize it felt that bad.) Sometimes some mild IBS, nothing I thought much about. My hair is so much healthier! Stronger and shiner. I'm also seeing some small hair growth around certain parts of my hairline. I'm also on plaquenil, doxycycline, dutasteride, niacinamide and rogaine each evening. With this said, it has "awoken" twice and I feel like I am still losing, or shedding some hair. I know one of the "awakenings" was due to stress as I was under a lot at work. My autoimmune Dr confirmed stress can be a trigger and it was for me. I also recently started experiencing some tingling again..... I haven't had an steroid injections since October and only had them once, so not sure if I had any, if that would help. 

I guess the good news is I feel better and my hair is stronger and healthier, but all of this has not been a cure. I"m going to continue to this path because of these things and will defiantly follow up should anything remarkable, such as remission happen! 

Best to everyone!