58 replies to this topic

[bumpinthenight]

Day 13: folliculitis is somehow even worse today. May even have two cysts forming under the skin, but we'll see what comes of them. Trying to see why this time around is so bad. Could be that diet simply isn't a factor. Going to try to eat more salads and leafy greens to see if that was the key though. Jaw is squelchy again.

Today's food:
-gluten free dutch baby with raspberries and honey
-BBQ chicken, bit of pork ribs, and pinto beans with pickles and onions
-about a million different foods at a restaurant. Really. Small portions of antelope, quail, cucumbers, raw scallops, blue cheese grits, tomatoes, arugula, cucumber sherbet, cherries, almonds, pecans, cheese/chocolate/coffee desert that may have had some gluten in it.

[bumpinthenight]

Day 14:
Folliculitis much the same (ie. it sucks). Jaw mostly squelchy today.

Today's food:
-apple
-gluten free cereal with almond milk
-carrots
-huge salad with tons of veggies
-gluten free biscuits and jam
-gluten free biscuits, honey, strawberries

[bumpinthenight]

Day 15:
Folliculitus still sucks, jaw still squelchy.

Food:
-strawberries
-salsa and blue corn chips
-beef jerky
-huge salad
-brown rice farina with brown sugar

[bumpinthenight]

Day 16:
No improvement in folliculitus. Plenty of under skin bumps too. Face is a mess! Jaw was not squelchy until this evening. Ate poorly today, stressed. It is weird going back to how I used to be before Yaz-not feeling like eating when stressed. When I was onYaz, I craved food constantly and would eat a pie all by myself once a week when stressed out!

Food:
-beef jerky
-tuna
-orange chicken (home made, gluten free)

[bumpinthenight]

Day 17:

This folliculitus is really annoying.  Tons of small dots come to little pus-filled heads, with some starting to form under the skin, and it seems to spread from central areas.  I was thinking back to when I had a poison-ivy type maddenly itchy rash on my leg a few months ago.  It caused tons of little spots with pus-filled heads, and when those popped, the rash spread where the fluid touched.  My upper leg had a fainter rash where the original rash on my lower leg pressed against it...like some freaky itchy stamp.  The only thing that finally dried up and cleared the rash was calomine lotion.  So, I looked up calomine lotion for folliculitis.  Couldn't find much on that exactly, but apparently it is a pretty common treatment people use on acne.  So, tonight I have a light calomine mask on (I tested it on my face earlier in a small patch to see if it would cause irritation).  Zinc is supposed to help with folliculitus, so makes sense that between the zinc and drying, maybe I can stop this stuff from continuing to move in and make itself comfortable.  I also started taking a Zyrtec offbrand allergy pill during the day (for years now, I've taken a sleeping aid at night to help with insomnia, and that has an antihistamine in it) to see if the high pollen count is contributing to any of this in a negative way.  We'll see what happens.

 

Jaw again was fine until the evening when it resumed squelching.

 

Food:

-Brown rice cereal, strawberries, almond milk

-banana

-plate of pear, small bit of swiss cheese, small bit of roast beef, carrots, green pepper, home-made sauerkraut (Yay!  It did turn out).

-peppermint tea

-banana

-vanilla coconut icecream

-Leftover orange chicken and brown rice

[bumpinthenight]

Day 20:
Folliculitus appears to be improving slightly. Jw was on and off today.

Food:
-two eggs
-pear
-banana
-green pepper
-two huge bites of burger sans the gluteny buns of deliciousness
-BBQ turkey, beans, carrots
-peppermint tea...which I am finding keeps me up if I drink it a night

[bumpinthenight]

Day21:
Folliculitis has become a permanent roommate that does not pay rent. It also eats m pizza out of the fridge and uses my laundry detergent. Jaw mostly squelchy today. Stress levels pretty high.

Food:
Beef jerky
Tuna with celery and almonds
Banana
Pear
Tacos

[bumpinthenight]

Day 22:
Still have folliculitis, still have a squelchy jaw...this is getting rather repetitive, so I'll put this on hold until I actually see some change.

[bumpinthenight]

Day 25:
Seeing somemprovement finally, so leaving a note to that effect. Folliculitis has mostly been eliminated from the areas it normally is not found on me (cheeks, forehead, etc), and is improving in the areas it loves to roost in (under nose, directly to the side of my nose, chin, jawline). Big, painful under the breakouts came to a head and see to be declining.

I have been eating a lot of homemade sauerkraut and greens like kale. I really do think at this point, that putting things like that into my diet is as helpful or more helpful than taking things out. My jaw has finally started to go down in how often and loudly it squelches. I have also:
-been drinking peppermint tea daily (one cup)
-been alternating between head and shoulders and tea tree oil shampoo
-been taking zinc and magnesium supplements
-been wearing a nightly facial mask of calamine lotion
-been using lots of my medalic acid serum day and night
-have continued to avoid plastic plates and cups
-added a daytime allergy pill (Zyrtec off brand) to the half an antihistamine pill I take every night as a sleep aid

Who knows what is helping and what isn't. For all I know, none of it is, and I will continue to cycle between acne and being clear. We'll see.

[bumpinthenight]

Day 27:
Forgot to take my Zyrtec yesterday and woke up to three very large, painful, red, and maidenly itchy large under the skin cysts. Two old cysts also became inflamed yet again. My jaw is killing me, and I have heard the tendon scraping against the sheath ferociously all day. I do wonder how much my acne/acne type skin issues are related to allergies of perhaps both the food and environmental kind.

Ow dammit. Ow.

[bumpinthenight]

Day 28: remembered my allergy pills, so no new cysts from the pits of the blackened bowels of the earth. Jaw is squelchy, but feels like a dream compared to yesterday.

[bumpinthenight]

Day29: forgot my day-time allergy pill, and jaw is again terribly painful on both sides (usually only right side has tendonitis). Folliculitis is almost completely cleared, but more very painful and itchy cysts have appeared. Apparently can either have folliculitis or cysts, my choice. Gee, what great choices.

[bumpinthenight]

Day 30:
Cysts seem pretty tied to allergies, so I'm focusing on allergies of the food and environmental kind for now. I'll report back as I figure things out. Stopping the day count as it apparently isn't as simple as just cutting gluten out for me.

[bumpinthenight]

Went to a neighbor's drum circle/fire dancing party last night and had a lot of fun despite having to bring all my cyst buddies along with me. Cysts just never take the hint that they aren't welcome. The fact that it was a drum circle probably is a tip off that it was easy to find gluten-free, vegetable-heavy foods to eat. I drank a good ammount of liquor, but no beer. Their version of rum and coke was rum with a tiny drop of Coke, which suited me fine as I dislike commercial sodas these days. I'm pretty shocked that I woke up to no new cysts, as while I knew liquor does not give me cysts like beer, I just kind of assumed I'd at least have one cyst after drinking freely and eating lots of salty corn chips.

I am starting to suspect the large amounts of strawberries I have been eating lately may be behind my recent cystic outbreak. I am starting to come to terms that I can't just cut out gluten or just eat healthy foods to clear up my cysts. Even healthy foods have the potential to break me out, while unhealthy things like drinking liquor leave me with free and clear skin. When I am able, I would like to go on a strict hypoallergenic diet, then slowly introduce foods back in and keep a spreadsheet on what gives me cysts. If my cysts are indeed purely diet related, that is the only way I can really see finding a pattern to and establishing food triggers.

I am extremely pleased to see that I have slowly lost 15 pounds over the last two months, and continue to lose weight at a healthy rate. I have been eating almost entirely healthy foods and am excercising daily and slowly upping the level of activity. Ten more pounds, and I'll be back to my fit and trim college days, and my ideal weight. I do not fiercely crave and visualize food anymore since going off Yaz, nor do I eat pounds and pounds of food daily, nor crave lots of sugar. I was starting to believe the modern US notion that it is normal to pack on the pounds rapidly as you age.

[bumpinthenight]

Had explosion after explosion of cysts yesterday. Very, very large and painful. Hopefully the strawberries will be the culprit. I'm working on looking into histamines and also upping omega threes while lowering omega 6.

Today there are no new cysts, and my jaw tendon is not swollen and squelching. I had corn and molasses cereal today with rice milk, carrots, broccoli, and cucumber, all with no inflamation of the jaw. I just ate a tomato and will be having vegetarian Indian food dishes tonight. We will see if the lowered inflamation continues.

[bumpinthenight]

Indian place has apparently closed down. Had Chinese food instead and my jaw started squelching not long after. It was a mishmash of ingredients, so not sure what or if the food was to blame.

[bumpinthenight]

Face has continued to heal nicely with no new cysts. Jaw has stopped squelching. Certainly wondering if strawberries are a food I have a reaction to, if it was something else that coincided with the strawberries, or if it is just my hormones cycling.

[bumpinthenight]

Jaw squelched all last night and this morning, but has stopped now at 1pm. At noon, I ate corn and molasses cereal with rice milk and a mango. May try Zantac to see if histamine is involved (threads on this forum that explain possible relation), and eventually want to try a hypoallergenic, extremely limited diet that slowly adds foods back in to see if food is even a factor. I have family visiting, and will probably be eating very unhealthily while they are here...but having fun at least!

[bumpinthenight]

Pretty clear today and jaw is not squelching.  Some possible reasons:

1. Zinc and anti-histamines are doing something

2. ?

3. ?

4. Zebras

5. ?

 

Discuss.