Hi- this e-mail is quite long and indulgent, but I feel I must share my experience with the KP community because I am both scared and hopeful about the new treatment I will begin tomorrow. This will be the first of a weekly entry I will write.

The idea for going to an herbalist began the day I finally broke down to my mother about this wretched KP (which she does not have a speck of, although all my siblings do). Of course, she started with, “Oh, it just looks like a sunburn, no one will notice.” But when she realized how much distress it causes me, she said, “You know who I bet will be able to help?” And she mentioned a woman in our neighborhood who does acupuncture. I am as Western as everybody else, meaning that to believe something, I must see proof for it, and Eastern medicine is notorious for not documenting its successes and failures. But when you’re desperate , you’ll try anything, so I gave this woman a call. She said that acupuncture would not help the condition (although I hear differently from some people) but that herbal medicine might. Right away I went on to the web to look up this herbal medicine and what I found encouraged me. While MD’s reject disciplines like homeopathy and crystal therapy as flights of fancy, no one will deny that Chinese Herbal Medicine can often have a profound effect on the body by way of unknown biochemical reactions (in fact, the NIH is currently studying many herbs to see their effects on diseases which have proved difficult to treat with western medicine). I also read many accounts of people who suffer from excema and find that Chinese herbs greatly ameliorates the condition, more than the steroids they are so often prescribed. However, I also learned that one must be lucky enough to find a good knowledgeable practitioner. So with this knowledge, I went ahead and called Youngja You who practices down in NYC’s Chinatown. She was very certain that she would be able to help and I scheduled an appointment with her.

The first visit made me skeptical because the office was at the back of a store filled with many Eastern religious icons and boxes of herbs. But we spoke for a while and I actually cried right there in her office. She did not want me to start the treatment right away but wanted me first to start a special diet which cut out wheat, cheese, sugar and fried foods. Yum! Now, I have been following this diet (except for around the holidays) for about a month, and except for the health benefits, I am not sure it has made an impact on the KP. Although I will say that it appears less red, but this might just be because I stopped using the retina. It has also been nice to become very conscious of the food I am eating- I cook all my own food now and have to be creative with what I make. I am also drinking a glass of rice milk in which I have steeped 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds.

Yesterday, I went to see Youngja at another office, this one also in the back of an herbal shop, but decorated like a modern-day spa (they know the expectations of American clients . . . ). In the waiting room, I met a girl who had suffered from a chronic digestion problem for years until she started Chinese herbs. She claimed that she was doing much better. When I met with Youngja, she checked my pulse as well as my tongue and asked me questions about my general health. She was not interested in the name, “keratosis pilaris” because Chinese medicine looks at underlying causes. And my cause was something very mystical-sounding like “damp-heat” or something like that. After the interview, she took out a piece of paper and wrote down around 12 different herbs that the store was to put together in little bags. The tea supposedly tastes like a combination of soil and garbage, which sounds very appetizing- I am looking forward to drinking it. I am to pick it up tomorrow and drink two pouches a day, one in the morning and one in the evening before bed. The awful part of this is that the KP is supposed to get worse before it gets better (as the skin "bleeds" it out)- this scares me, but I have faith that in the long term, I will see positive results. But good results might be 2 to 3 months away, so patience, that characteristic that those of us with KP have had to develop anyway, is very necessary.

I am very excited about this treatment and feel that I am being good to my body doing it, rather than slathering it with retinoids and acids. I will keep everyone posted as changes (hopefully) occur. I am dreaming about the day that I go on to this site and write that my KP has drastically improved.

Nancyk~
What a wonderful post this was. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us. I wish you the best of luck, and definitely keep us updated on your progress! Also, youre very brave for beginning this treatment. Did you ask the lady if she has ever treated anyone for this kind of condition before? That might be interesting to know if she's had success with other skin issues.

Good luck again,

Shannon

Hi Shay- she's never treated KP before, but she's treated excema and psoriasis, which I belive are more virulent than KP.

Hmmm, that sounds very interesting. Please keep us updated with your results. I believe that in order to fight KP, we must do it from the inside since lotion does nothing for most of us, so this might work. Best of luck with your treatment.

Thank you all for your support- wouldn' it be wonderful if this works? It might open up a whole new avenue of treatment . . . butwe have to wait at least 3 months to see!

NancyK-

I've noticed a nice change in my KP after taking herbs a couple of months ago. Nothing else I've tried has ever made a dent in my KP. I'll preface this by saying that I"m currently an Oriental Medicine grad. student (1.5 years off the books, 2.5 more to go to get certified, so I still have a lot to learn). Although I'm of Asian descent, I was born and raised here, and came from a family full of Western medical doctors, so I was as skeptical as I think most Americans were of Oriental Medicine until I had some bad GI problems a few years ago (as well as bad insomnia and dizzy spells) and acupuncture and herbs really helped.

However, I will say it is hit and miss, depending upon who you see and which herbs they give you. No two acupuncture (or herbal) treatments are the same, so your results can vary greatly. I saw an herbalist in Chinatown who didn't practice acupuncture a couple of years ago and it didn't help my KP (or my hyperhidrosis, the 2 things that were my chief complaints) at all, which disappointed me, and my wallet, a lot . It did really help my emotional state a lot, though.

Most recently, a couple of months ago, I was receiving acupuncture primarily for car accident rehabilation from an acupuncturist/herbalist that I know and respect a lot. I didn't start taking herbs until 5 weeks in, but I noticed changes in my KP after only about a week or so, and it seems to be gradually improving although I haven't taken the herbs in about a month or so (although I'm planning on taking them again soon.) Though acupuncture is better suited for such things as physical trauma, joint/muscle pain, etc., there are acupoints that are indicated for almost anything, including skin conditions.

If you can somehow get acupuncture too w/out blowing your budget, 2 acupoints, SP-10 (Spleen-10) and LI-11 (Large Intestine-10) are particularly indicated for skin conditions, and my acupuncturist needled those on me throughout my 2 month treatment. Perhaps as important, getting acupuncture in conjunction w/ herbs increases the efficacy of the herbs, as getting needled opens the channels and allows the herbs (as well as qi and blood) to course through.

Although my KP is still very noticeable (it was pretty bad before), for the first time in 20 years I see some light at the end of the tunnel. I still have guarded optimism thought, I guess after so many disappointments and frustrations with my KP. In any case, best of luck with your treatments.

What a wonderful post (have you noticed that people on this website seem to be particularly articulate? Must be some correlation between KP and intelligence!)

One of the things you said in your e-mail resonated with me - about the eastern treatment doing wonders for your emotional state. I know what you mean- as I said in m e-mail, the first time I went to see the herbalist (who is Korean), I cried, namely because she was so gentle and caring and just the antithesis of the sterils atmosphere one encounters in derms' offices ("what's your problem? here's a tubeof chemicals. Show them your insurance card on the way out"). I imagine that sinc you are studying this, you might have more insight into how doctors can "heal" the soul and not only the body- unfortunately, western GP's have let go of this tradition (and iti not really their faults- they are often so effective at what they do- i.e. surgery- that they just need to simply heal the body).

I am on this special diet she prescribed, and here too, I am not sure I am seeing results, but just knowing that I am following the words of a wise woman is very healing- the old placebo effect (and I will say that my KP does appear less red . . . .)

You know- I was thinking about KP and how everyne writes that somethng different works for them (for example, my KP flares in summer and does not like to be scrubbed) and how that jives with the eastern outlook on medication- that medication must be tailored to the individual because veryone's body is different.

As far as the woman I am going to, she was referred to me by an herbalist who is so reknown and popular that he can no longer take new patients. I trust that he guided me in the right direction. She is an herbslist as well as an accupuncturist, but she belives that the skin conditin (which she does not call KP, which is nice!) can be trated by herbs. I would also like to do accupuncture for my general well-being, but right now do not have the finances.

I am greatly encouraged by what you said about your 20-year KP being helped my herbs. And after a week! Wouldn't that be nice if I could say the same for myself . . .

Hi! As the day gets closer to when I pick up my bags of tea, I am getting worried about possible side effects from the herbs.

Do you think I should be concerned? Did you suffer any side effects?

this will be the LAST post for today!

Moonlight- I do not suffer from excessive sweating, byt my hands are always clammy and extremes of heat and humidity make me feel horrible, horribel. According to my herbalist, this is all a problm of the blood not flowing the way it should.

who knew I would end up dappling in eastern thought!

nancyk-

1st of all, thanks for the kind words, and ditto for yourself, too. In Eastern Medicine, the body, mind and emotions are all linked, both pathologically and causally. So a person who's prone to anger or depression might find themselves also prone to sighing, pain in the hypochondriac region or heart palpitations, and someone who's prone to overpensiveness will probably be prone to fatigue and lethargy. I probably overstated my disappointment w/ my herbalist a couple of years ago, as, I didn't realize it at the time, but my emotional health was much more in need that anything having to do w/ my body.

Speaking of the body, here's more detalis about my KP: while the redness only decreased slightly if at all, the roughness and bumpiness on certain parts of my body improved significantly, most noticeably on my upper arms (where my KP first started lo these many decades ago). As far as your dampness and heat and extreme aversion to humidity, I have that same problem too. Big time. When I lived in NoCal a few years ago my hyperhidrosis would be so out of control that I would practically sweat for hours at a time, even just sitting at a cubicle in an air conditioned office. And believe it or not, as embarassing and distasteful as I found my KP to be, my hyperhidrosis was even worse. My sweat is relegated from the armpits up, mostly from my forehead. The recent acupuncture and herbal treatments I had have improved my sweating significantly too, although I still sweat more than most people. I also believe KP and sweat are linked somehow, at least in me.

(Incidentally, I've also suffered from severe insomnia for the last 20 years - I got the trifecta! - and this is always the first thing to improve after I get acupuncture and/or herbs, as well as the first thing to worsen once I stop the treatments).

As far as side effects.... first, as I'm sure your herbalist has told you, the herbs will most likely smell and taste awful, and take some time to prepare. But nothing beats the efficacy of raw herbs (powder is 2nd best, then granules, then pills), and believe it or not, you get used to the taste and smell after awhile. As far as your body, it of course varies with each pathology, herbal formula and person, but they shouldn't be too drastic or life-disrupting, and if they are your herbalist will probably tell you beforehand. As far as my experiences - here's a warning, if anyone doesn't want to hear somewhat disgusting and private snippets concering our bodily functions - my bowel movements became much more pronounced for the first week one time, and I did experience enuresis and spermatorrhea once during the first couple of weeks of each of my herbal treatments (for the record, haven't had enuresis since I was like 3 or 4, if ever). Both occurred during sleep. It was very odd to me at first, as the herbs' functions were to astringe and keep in the fluids, but makes sense when you think about the significant changes your body has to undergo and how your body is trying to adapt.

Also, during my most recent treatment, after drinking my raw herbs, I experienced a sensation that I could only compare to being slightly high. Or like being a little buzzed. Not so I couldn't perform my daily functions - I drove, studied, etc. - but more the sensation in your head of neurons firing and what not. That's when I knew the herbs were going to have some kind of profound effect. You should consult with your herbalist about any concerns you have, any from your description of her almost any concern you have will be met with consideration and not be ridiculous (and believe me, I've heard a lot of stories of weird patients with weird concerns from my teachers, so whatever you ask her won't be anything she hasn't heard before).

Well, gotta sleep now (if I can rein in my insomnia). Feel free to ask more question if you have them, and good luck!

How funny! I am so used to all alternative health being female that I just assumed you were!