Acne and Psoriasis overturned: how Alice broke free from medication and reclaimed her life

‍Editor's Note: This story is kindly contributed by Alice, a fellow chronic disease patient of acne and psoriasis who, with plenty of similarities with our eczema friends, experienced a rollercoaster ride from once relying heavily on medication to now a primarily natural lifestyle-driven approach to live life with minimal symptoms. Enjoy her story and hope it can inspire you to live life to the fullest.

Why don't you join this clinical trial?

This is the newest medication and will be good for you…

Having used conventional medications like steroids to suppress psoriasis for decades, Alice did not let the opportunity pass when her doctor recommended she participate in a clinical trial to try advanced medications.

Since she was 10, psoriasis has plagued her body, arms and legs, and has become her life and seeped into her conversations with friends, family and co-workers.

Alice did not have psoriasis when she was born, nor did her family have such a history.

It is not clear why Alice developed psoriasis. 

But we can observe:

• Genetic predisposition may not be Alice’s primary root cause.
• Lifestyle and environmental factors may be the biggest area for disease control besides medication.
• If she developed psoriasis out of nowhere one day, then it is probable she can also reverse it to the fullest extent up to sustainable remission.

Today we will learn from Alice's inspirational story of overcoming such a lifelong chronic disease: 

• The origins of Alice’s psoriasis and her previous lifestyle
• Her discovery of lifestyle medicine
• Alice’s exact dietary protocol to control her flare-ups, and current diet
• The critical aspects of mental health and fitness that determined her recovery
• Grounded tips to help fellow patients to take reference and recover

Health and wellness has become a core part of Alice’s life and became her passion in supporting others. 

Do check out Alice’s YouTube channel and Instagram and follow her fitness journey (scroll to the end).

“I'm not sure why your medication stopped working after 3 years, maybe some toxins in your body…?”

That was the doctor’s explanation when the clinical trial medication failed to deliver its promise sustainably.

Alice responded well to the advanced psoriasis medication for the first 3 years, until it stopped working.

Psoriasis patches returned with frenzy all over the body, the arms, the legs.

There was nowhere to hide.

Left with no option from the conventional system, Alice was forced to search for alternatives.

She stumbled upon natural healing, and met a homeopath who preached the importance of nutrition and wellness.

Discovering the power of lifestyle medicine

With initial suspicion, Alice approached a local homeopath who later identified her with mercury contamination.

The practitioner suggested that her organs cannot process these toxins efficiently, and suggested she avoid seafood which is often laden with mercury.

Alice also did a food test, both the IgE test for acute allergies, and the IgG delayed sensitivity food test. 

IgE Blood Test (2019)

Hair Analysis Report Aug 2022 vs May 2023

Her report showed severe reactions to dairy, some spices, and fermented foods like kimchi.

With the combined information available, Alice and embarked on a strict protocol of the following, which later became a bit more relaxed into the maintenance phase.

Simple healthy meal ~ carrot celery soup. Loaded with vitamin A and fibre. Vegan option without bone broth.

Breakfast

• Boiled chicken, vegetables, sweet potatoes
• Black sesame powder w grounded oatmeal

Lunch/Dinner

• Homemade broth (pork bone), rice, meat, vegetables
• Salad, meat, rice

Beverages

• No canned drink, mostly warm water, fresh juice/smoothie at store
• Sparkling water (no sweetened sodas)
• No coffee and chocolate (all types including vegan)
• Blended smoothie (e.g., blend with kale, celery, banana, blueberries)

Supplements

• Fish oil (prescribed by homeopath without mercury)
• Multi-green powder (e..g, kale, arugula)

Alice did not invent the protocol from scratch - but gradually refined it as she combined online research and personal experimentation with symptom improvement. 

She also tried having an initially clean diet, to a vegan diet, to a ketogenic diet and also an elimination diet.

To her surprise, upon removing dairy she noticed the diet cleared up both her psoriasis AND acne!

It confirmed that the dietary protocol was working to reverse the body’s inflammation!

“Don't be someone else's emotional trash can!”

An indispensable part of Alice’s recovery: it is NOT just about proper nutrition.

Energy is something physical and emotional – which we process and “digest” every day.

Constantly in a positive circle of friends? You will be energized and uplifted. Better mood, better recovery.

But if you are in a negative circle, then you are doing yourself a disservice and it will weigh you down so much so your psoriasis will consume you.

For example:

• Individually and socially, Alice had long since a young age worn long sleeves, and dared NOT to show her skin in public to avoid judgment. But as years passed, she would begin to tell her friends about it and began to accept her skin (and herself for it). It also depends on the community - Canadians, she noted, were more open-minded and willing to discuss health. “Is that psoriasis?” “Oh, I used to have some too!” 
• Among friends, Alice had to make some difficult decisions to identify several friends who were generally negative and became a source of undue stress. She used to be a people pleaser and listener for everyone else’s infinite stream of vents and complaints. She cut them from her life.
• At the workplace, Alice had the pressure to demonstrate herself as a viable worker to her boss. While necessary to a certain extent, Alice began to identify what was considered reasonable, and spoke up more when she felt it was necessary, instead of holding it all in alone. Connecting how your feel and what you say is important in staying true to yourself.
• In the family, Alice grew up with a household culture of little empathetic communication, for example limited to no expression of appreciation for each other. While she cannot remove ties with family, she learned to distance away from certain expectations and minimized unpleasant conversations.

It all adds up, just as everyday the human body has a limit to how much food to process, the mind also has a limit on how much emotional information to process. 

Observe your energy fluctuations as you interact with people in your daily life.

Identify any emotional baggage and find workarounds.

The mind body connection - examples from Alice’s fitness class

Alice’s students during fitness session

Alice by hobby is a fitness instructor and her insight is once again demonstrated.

Some students perform better than the others. 

Not necessarily because they are less capable, but the ones who progress slower in movement and form, are often not fully present during the session.

You can easily tell when and why their shoulders are so tight.

Alice makes a conscious effort to talk to them after class, and learns most of them are too stressed and their mind is not focused on the body during the session. They are often thinking about work and other stresses in life.

But does Alice preach what she says?

4-month massive flare up in 2019: a testament to fall and recovery

As to chronic diseases like eczema, psoriasis and acne are mostly lifelong. Symptoms fluctuate depending on lifestyle.

In 2019, there was a significant period of work stress that came into Alice's life.

She experienced a major breakout of psoriasis patches.

Immediately she implemented a 4-month strict dietary protocol of mostly vegetables, chicken, sweet potatoes and a highly healthy lifestyle.

She also challenged herself into doing CrossFit during this time.

Four months later, her symptoms drastically improved.

Alice’s Final Tips

For diet, Alice believes that the strictness of his diet revolves around your current situation. 

• Going through a major flare-up? Perhaps you can consider a strict protocol as a temporary measure. 
• Maintenance phase? Adopt a generally healthy lifestyle with the occasional relaxed eating out and drinking with friends. It is normal and acceptable.

For mental health, don't be someone else's emotional trash can! Identify the energy with the people around you. Who is overall positive? Who is giving you undue stress?

Learn to love yourself. Accept your condition. Be expressive. Talk about your condition. 

For fitness, “sitting is as bad as smoking” is the old adage so live it. Alice has no couch and TV at home. And she uses a standing desk for work.

Love the work that Alice does? 

Do check out Alice’s YouTube channel and Instagram and follow her fitness journey.

About Alice

My name is Alice. I grew up with a lifelong condition - psoriasis. After spending tons of money on Western medication, Chinese medicine, topical steroid creams without success, I decided to seek natural ways to heal myself in 2019. Encountering many trials and errors over 10 years, I finally found ways to clear and keep psoriasis at bay by incorporating food elimination, healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition intake and emotion detox.    

Now I am a certificated Pilates, Pound, TRX instructor as well as a health influencer to motivate people to get healthy via Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@alicefit_ca) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/alicefit_ca/).

WeDerm’s Final Words

We found it meaningful to feature Alice’s story because it is a transformative story, but also because it is unlike our usual stories of eczema - it is about a similar but distinct condition - psoriasis (with some acne).

It shows that eczema, psoriasis and acne can have a similar treatment regimen, because the body shares a similar system of what provokes inflammation and what can be done.

While “toxicity” is an easily pseudoscientific term, as long as we are clear about exactly what it is referring to, whether in colloquial means (e.g., to detox stressors from life) or semi-casually with scientific basis (e.g., pro-inflammatory foods and lifestyle habits), then we know what can be done as intervention.

In summary: fitness of body and mind are inseparable in one’s recovery journey.

Would you like to ask Alice or WeDerm any follow-up questions or have comments? Drop us a DM on the Instagram post here.

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