for those with lichen sclerosis -

Kate0129 · Post by **Kate0129** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 12:54 pm

Tex when i take the Vit D i take 1000 mgs. And i take it after a meal so i don't know what the problem is. I will try again, once i'm able to eat a meal. Right now, i don't feel like any solid food can go into my stomach. I am really at a loss.....i'm starving, i know that much. So frustrating.

I totally agree with you about sugar/yeast causing leaky gut.....it only makes sense.

What do you advise i eat right now? Other than broth? I know it's what you can tolerate really, but ugh, nothing sounds like i can handle it right now. What do most people eat for breakfast? I will read through the threads b/c i know i will find some answers in there. I know you have other things to do besides answer ? after ?. I do appreciate your time that you put into helping all of us on here begging for help. You are a great wise person, so thank you.

Hopefully Gabes will see this and chime in on some of my ?'s...... :)

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:24 pm

To expand on what Tex has said, I agree totally about leaky gut, inflammation and immune system etc.
do what you can to get off the pepsi. there are stevia based safe flavourings that you can put into water while you are transitioning off the pepsi.

things like the pepsi will trigger the immune system and make the LS worse. While the immune system is trigger the scope for your body to heal is seriously compromised and the LS will keep flaring.
the leaky gut / immune system issues will deplete other nutrients that the body needs to heal.

Mag Spray - depending on the product and how much elemental magnesium you are getting per 5ml of spray. you need to aim to get about 500mg ELEMENTAL magnesium minimum per day. for my product I have it in small spray bottles around the house. I spray various parts of my body about 8-10 times a day and this gives me about 600mg elemental magnesium per day. A good way to get a 200mg hit is to do a epsom salt foot soak or bath. cup of epsom salts.

Vit D3 - what product are you using? when are you taking it? are you spreading the dose through the day?

Bone broth
here is a recent discussion that answers your question on how to make it
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=23117

if you have whole foods near to you - they have good products with meat on the bone.
the other option is yes, find butcher and make contact OR there are online places that you can order and get items delivered if there is nothing within reasonable drive.

back to the sugar - sugar is more addictive than hard drugs like cocaine. I am a former sugar addict/emotional eater. habit from when i was baby my mother dunked my dummy in honey to pacify me! it was hard to change a 40 year habit. I have used podcasts/guided audio etc to do this. It takes 21 days minimum to adopt a new habit.
Robert Lustig has some great ted talks about Sugar addiction
when every you feel hungry drink water and eat protein - a good replacement is a MC safe protein shake with some low GI coconut sugar and cocao

this link has some great articles and ted talks etc
https://growinghumankindness.com/sugar-support/

although my LS is not as bad as yours i do have other health issues that are just as challenging and impacting on my day to day life and relationships. being realistic we cant fix and heal everything, but with effort, patience, tenacity we can halt further damage and improve things. sucks that we have a high maintenance lifestyle, each day has symptoms and intensities. but life with minimal symptoms is worth the effort.

hope this helpful.

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:37 pm

i am still digging around trying to find links/resources that i used.

this is a good article and why it is so hard to get off sugar -
http://www.thealternativedaily.com/new- ... n-cocaine/

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:51 pm

this is the resource i have been trying locate for you Kate
i heard about this gent on a podcast (either bulletproof or not just paleo podcast) his ted talks and info on website etc is very helpful
https://www.ted.com/talks/judson_brewer ... _bad_habit

Dr. Brewer founded Claritas MindSciences to move his discoveries of clinical evidence behind mindfulness for eating, smoking and other behavior change into the marketplace. His forthcoming book is The Craving Mind: from cigarettes to smartphones to love, why we get hooked and how we can break bad habits (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2017).

https://www.judsonbrewer.com/

do up a big sign - Progress not perfection. take it a day at a time.

Post by **tex** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:01 pm

Kate,

My breakfast during recovery depended on how I felt. If I had nausea, I ate chicken soup. If I felt like eating a real meal, I ate eggs and bacon or sausage. But I am not sensitive to either eggs or pork. Sometimes I ate steak of fish for breakfast because protein is important for healing and I believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You should feel better and be able to eat more solid food as you are able to reduce your Pepsi intake.

If your current blood level is 23 ng/mL, You will never be able to get your blood level of vitamin D above 30 ng/mL by taking only 1,000 IU per day. It will take at least an additional 3,000–4,000 IU per day (in addition to the 1,000 IU that you are currently taking) to boost your blood level into the 30–40 ng/mL range, and it will probably take at least 3–6 months or more to do that.

If taking vitamin D continues to make you nauseated, you may need to increase your blood level by soaking up sunlight for at least several hours each week. But don't do that in one session, to prevent sunburn. Use shorter sessions of say, 20–30 minutes per day, so that the total amount adds up to several hours per week.

You're very welcome,
Tex

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:11 pm

my breakfast is savoury stew made with home made bone broth, safe proteins and safe veges (cauliflower, sweet pot, parsnip) well cooked. I make big batches on the weekend and freeze into portions, i just have to reheat for breakfast. having a high protein good meal at the beginning of the day helps with sugar cravings etc

Kate0129 · Post by **Kate0129** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 8:40 am

Gabes~

thanks for all that info.......for the Vit D i take Woman's Day Vitamin's.....it has 1000 IU of Vit D in it. I normally take it in the evening after supper. I also have to take a potassium supplement give to me by my gyno doc. I have to supplement with that one daily for the past year b/c i was hospitalized twice for being so low in potassium from all the diarrhea i was having. I know i need to up my Vit D~ but i was just so worried about taking it when i can eat such small amounts of food,and was worried about the nausea i might get doing that. For the Mag Spry i ordered off amazon it's called Life-Flo Pure Magnesium Oil......i would spray 5 sprays a day. Is that enough? I also have soaked in an epsom salt bath, or soak my feel in epsom salts for about 30 mins......thank you for all those links you gave me....i will def check them out. I'm sure they will be helpful.

Tex~ i live at the beach~ so getting sunlight should not be too much of a problem for me. I adore going out there and sitting in the sun and reading. I of course wear my sunscreen, and get under an umbrella after a bit b/c i cannot stand the heat for a long period of time. But I have been a beach bum now for 2 years, and love it. So the ocean, sand, & sun are my best friend :) One of the reason's we moved here was for me to relax and i haven't had to work for 2 years now. I thought getting rid of all the stress would help my illness~ and it comes and goes, but it's still there :( I have other stress's though, so i guess that's part of it. And then it just is what it is.....I thought i was going to end up in the hospital this wknd b/c of so much diarrhea. I was finally able to eat some plain chicken saturday am and take my potassium. Twice a day for 2 days now, and i'm feeling some better. Still having the water diarrhea/ or extra lose bm's, with urgency.

I will make some of the stew today and try to stay on that for a while......the noise in my gut is driving me mad. Sounds like a drain pipe, or something in there fighting trying to get out, LOL Not fun.

Oh~ something else.....i have taken Prilosec for so long i can't even remember when i started. I know that is not good.........i stopped taking it 4 days ago. I am in agony with heartburn and reflux.....i bought some Zantac, is that safe to take?

Gabes~ we do not have a Whole Foods anywhere near me, i live in a very small beach town with only Walmart, Food Lion, Lowe's Food, and Harris Teeter. But now they are building a new store called Lidl....it's something like an Aldi, if you've ever heard of that. I hear they have a very good gluten free section with lots of foods to choose from. So that is good news for me i guess!

Thanks again to you both for all your input and advice!!!!!!! :):):)

Post by **tex** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:21 am

Kate wrote: I of course wear my sunscreen

That's why your vitamin D level is 23. Sunscreen should not be used if you intend to get any vitamin D from sunlight. You should not apply the sunscreen until after you have soaked up some direct sunlight (during the middle of the day) for roughly 10 minutes. After you smear on the sunscreen you will not be able to make any more vitamin D.

According to the experts, about 10 minutes of skin exposure to the sun (without sunscreen) should give the average fair-skinned person up to 10,000 IU of vitamin D. However, note that you cannot wash the oil film off your skin because if you do you will be washing off the vitamin D before your body is able to finish processing it. It can take up to 48 hours to complete the process and to absorb all the vitamin D that's formed on the surface of the skin. I'm not sure what smearing sunscreen onto and into that film on your skin will do, but I doubt that it will help the vitamin D making process.

If your gut is still reacting, replace the chicken in your diet with turkey. That should put a stop to the noise in your gut and most of the trips to the bathroom.

And yes, Zantac is much, much safer to use than Prilosec.

Tex

Kate0129 · Post by **Kate0129** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 11:49 am

Tex~ that makes perfect sense about the sunscreen. I can easily go sit out in my yard in the sun with no sunscreen for a 10-15 mins a day and get it that way. And if i'm on the beach, i can just wait before i put the sunscreen on about the same amount of time i suppose. But i didn't realize that showering afterwards would wash the Vit D off...that is wild! So for instance if i go out on the beach to sit for we'll say 3-4 hrs.....and i wait about 20 mins before applying any sunscreen~ so then after i get back in from the beach, i should not shower for 48 hrs? Am i understanding that right? There is just so much i do not know.

Gosh, i hope i'm not reacting bad to chicken. But if i am, i'll switch to turkey and see if that works better. I had ham today, that says naturally gf on the package from the meat dept. I also boiled squash to very tender and soft mushy and so far i'm ok~ hope that continues. I've taken my potassium today and an allergy pill. My allergies are horrible all year round. I'm hoping that will help some as well.

I will continue with the Zantac then.....i think that prilosec is the devil!!!

Thanks Tex!!! I hope that your heart problems are going to be ok~ i read on another post where you were having some issues! That is scary and no fun. Have you ever heard of Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome? I was diagnosed with that back in 2006. Had a repair done to the heart for that.....still have flutters sometimes and odd sensations.

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 2:00 pm

the prilosec would have been contributing to depleting magnesium,

looking at the Life Flo magnesium bottle via the net - 4 sprays is only giving you 66mg of elemental magnesium.
Right now you need way more than that - 5 times this amount is a good start, up to 8-10 times would be fantastic

based on what you shared above, you are deficient in magnesium then it will take 6-8 weeks of high dose magnesium to start to correct the deficiency - along with what you and tex have discussed about the Vit D3, increasing intake up to 5000iu would be good for now.
spread the dose of the Vit D3 throughout the day - same for applying the magnesium, spread it out through out the day.
I have my mag oil in small spray bottles so i can use it through the day.

epsom salt foot soak every night will be another really good option 20 mins - cup of epsom salts - this will give you up to 200mg of elemental magnesium.

in line with tex discussion about Sun - Vit D3 etc.. when I fixed my magnesium deficiency I was able to reduce Vit D3 intake when I was spending regular time in the sun. I also used pure lanolin as sunscreen (which is a source of Vit D3)

Post by **tex** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 3:53 pm

Kate,

It's OK to lightly shower. Just don't use soap on areas of the skin where you want to make vitamin D. IOW, don't remove the oily film that's on your skin because that's partially-processed vitamin D.

No, I've never heard of Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome. I know little about the digestive system, but I know very little about the heart.

Tex

Kate0129 · Post by **Kate0129** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 4:52 pm

Thanks Gabes~

I will spray throughout the day now! And get in that sun for some time every day. If i get 30 mins or so of sun a day, no sunscreen, do i still need to take the Vit D?

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 4:58 pm

If i get 30 mins or so of sun a day, no sunscreen, do i still need to take the Vit D?

I would for a few months, and then do a test to see what your level is at.
with issues like the LS /GERD etc I would only stop supplementation when your blood levels of Vit D3 are up around the 50-60 mark.

if you have ongoing inflammation you will struggle to get enough Vit D3 that your body needs from sun exposure alone - even me living in sunny Aus, spending time outdoors I need to supplement with Vit D3 at times

Good levels of Vit D3 and magnesium will also help alleviate the gerd symptoms. for me one indicator that my Vit D3 and mag levels are dropping a bit is mild GERD symptoms coming back.

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 4:58 pm

and increasing topical mag and getting good mag levels in your body will help with the sugar cravings as you get off the pepsi.

Kate0129 · Post by **Kate0129** » Mon Mar 27, 2017 5:33 pm

Gabes you are awesome! Thanks for all your knowledge! I appreciate so much your responses. And i'm jealous that you live in such a beautiful place. I live at the beach, but it's not Australia! :) Lucky you!