How I kind of healed but lost a lot of weight

Posted Fri 22 Mar 2019 05.21 by chiangmelo (edited Fri 22 Mar 2019 05.31 by chiangmelo)

Hi friends, My name is Pedro I am from Chile and I am 29. Let me warn this message is long but may interest you. I have suffered chronic psoriasis for the last 4 years more or less and at some point I gave up treating it because cortison and vitamin D analogues were not working that much anymore and my patch was there no matter what I put. I just admitted it could not get healed so I was just very depressed but went on somehow. I was super ashamed of showing my arms basically. I have been leaving abroad for a while and after going to the South East of Asia for more than 2 months and eating asian food my psoriasis got much worse. I normally had psoriasis in my arms (big spots), relatively spots on my legs, under my hair I used to get a patch every 3-4 weeks, sometimes in my genitals and around my ass some spots. My diet used to include a lot of pasta, bread and cheese / milk, legumes but also vegetables and fruit even though not as much as now (see later). While eating street food (mostly fried) in the south east of Asia my psoriasis literally went crazy. I just got psoriasis in my hands (palms and fingers) and in the skin near my cuticles in my nails, in my neck I got a very red spot, my genital psoriasis got much worse close to bleeding and I got a few more spots on my legs and on my feet. At some point I said I had to do something because I was ashamed to even go to the street so I started reading a lot online. I tried fasting for nearly 10 days and eating healthier vegetarian meals in the south east of Asia but it was useless. It is true that these countries were super polluted so that didn't help a lot I guess. I also went to a dermatologist and gave me Protopic (Tacrolimus) which really helped but like always temporarily. It worked really well for me in my neck spot and in my genitals. After going back to Australia, I decided to change my diet and go on a full vegetables + fruit + nuts + healthy oils and fats diet just to try. Doctors always told me that this could not get healed but I felt like trying that. I bought a lot of supplements on iHerb: - Vitamin D 10000 IU - Turmeric veggie caps - Probiotics - Omega3 fish oil 180-120 EPA-DHA - Astaxanthin 12mg I started only with 1 Vitamin D a day for 2 weeks and then I added the rest. One of each and 2 of Omega3. To be honest, in the 1st month and a half I was not feeling a big change so I also bought: - Glutamine 1 KG - Vitamin K - Milk thistle I increased my vitamin D intake to 20.000 IU and I added vitamin K because I read it is the way to be done and milk thistle. I take the glutamine at night with empty stomach maybe a tablespoon and a half or so. I started doing intermitent fasting and eating only in a 6-hour window gap and after a while I just realized that my psoriasis was disappearing. I only had a strange appearance of thicker skin in my face than went super red but at some point after washing with chamomile they are not red anymore. I do not know if it is psoriasis under my eyes skin, rosacea or acne. I hope my doctor will tell me when I am back to my country. Right now, my big patches in my arms are almost white, my legs too, my hands too and my neck literally disappeared (by now) for the last 3-4 weeks. My genital psoriasis has only appeared once and much weaker than ever. I have never felt such a big improvement in 4 years and I have been like this for nearly 2 weeks and hopefully it keeps this way. It is true that I applied a bit of cortison and Vitamin D analog at some point to help it but now I am just using moisture cream for the last week and a half or two. My big problem is that I have always been quite skinny and my weight went from 60 to 53. I am 177cm more or less so basically right now I am in the upper limit below the recommended Body Mass Index. My fat index is quite low but now is at 11% (a friend helped me measure that). I am so scared about that and I am willing to see a doctor as soon as I go back to my country. My food is mainly a smoothie in the morning consiting of any kind of fruit, I always add avocado for absorving better the pills, pumpkin seeds or nuts and I also add chia or flaxseeds. This with coconut milk (sometimes oats). My lunch is vegetables of any kind (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, zucchini ...) and I also add a bit of nuts for the fast issue for absorving pills. I add antinflamatory species like thyme, coriander ... I haven't eaten lately, but I also ate a piece of 100gr of salmon for at least a month. I am planning to leave turmeric, astaxanthin and probiotics now really soon as they are gone and continue with the rest. To be honest this routine is not the best ever but something helped me and I have no idea what: if the milk thistle for the liver, glutamine for IBS, omega3, the higher dose of Vitamin D or a bit of all. I have no idea about how to proceed right now or how to figure out what helps me. Should I start getting rid of this supplements slowly one by one maybe to know it? I am planning to get a full blood analysis soon when I get home to make sure I am healthy and my weight loss is not bad. Any idea about how can I avoid losing weight? All psoriasis diets are low on calories. I guess I will not lose more weight at some point but hopefully my doctor will help me with it. Quite long but I hope my experience may be useful for anyone. This is not medical advise because I am not a doctor and all I did was my myself without medical supervision and what may have been good for me maybe it's not good for any other person. The truth is I feel well but a doctor will let me know if this is feasible long-term. Thanks for reading and I am looking forward for your questions, opinions or help if you are willing to. Pedro.

Posted Fri 22 Mar 2019 07.04 by victoria

Hi Pedro My you have been through the bad times, yes do what I did go back to basics stop everything just try vitamin D and carry on healthy eating. One thing you can not do is starv yourself this is an awful thing this psoriasis makes one feel down. At the moment my flare ups are stress related, trying not to claw my scalp and try and occupy myself and not to think about it. Stress controls the body and we don't realise apparently there are creams when you had water soap up no chemicals most of creams and positions contain chemicals with preservatives in them and are no good. I will update you all with cream name when I speak to my brother the dermatologist prescribed it for him instead of soap and shampoos, I have yet to try it. Cupboards full of different creams and shampoos all no good I am sticking with simple shampoo and conditioner at moment plus lanes teangi tea tree & witch Hazel cream which is helping all from home bargains shampoo and conditioner are 99p from there so not bad prices this is .uk tho. Keep of spicy food at the end of the day what us left. Hope you get home soon and see a doctor maybe one were you are will see you and help sorry for the pain you are suffering Victoria

Posted Fri 22 Mar 2019 15.27 by Shakil

Hey Pedro, I've had the same experience with psoriasis diets, lost so much weight at first, but then incorporated new workouts to my routine and started lifting some weights, so far gained about 6kg. Things that really helped me gain weight: 1. Schedule your meals (at least 5 meals a day). 2. Eat more protein (seafood, beans etc). 3. Weight lifting/workouts. Avoid any sort of Cardio Question: Do you eat any diary products or eggs?

Posted Sat 23 Mar 2019 11.39 by raja123

Hi Pedro , Thanks for sharing your experience and congratulations on treating your Psoriasis. I hope you gain weight . I would like to know , how long did it take for you to heal your psoriasis. If you could provide a time line that will be helpful. Thanks Raja

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