hEY guys:

There's so many people who aven't gotten this yet. there's craig, lonewolf, accordue, mikemc, aqarius, all those who i havent mentioned....i read your post an think about you guys...you should know. Please try beta carotene. mikemc, you mentioned somewhere that you tried vita a, i did too and didn't see results....till i switched to beta carotene form of vita a.

I recommend this.....don't shock your body with beta carotene overload.....start with one beta carotene pill a day and work up to two. Don't take more than two a day, cause too much might be bad.

kp is totally linked to a vita a deficiency. Mikemc, I was on accutane too years ago and it made my kp a lot worst...i had the mild arms and thigh things before. accutane is a lot of vita a ...A LOT! When you're on it, your kp symtoms actually start to get better. the problem is that when you get off of it, your body senses this as a vita a deficiency even greater than before you touched accutane and it flares up with kp. Get it?


i take 1-2 25, 000 IU tablets a day. that is alot and i think you start with like 1 10, 000 tablet and increase to two and take it slow...increasing dosage as necessary. Remember, treat this with care like you would a prescription drug.


It doen't make it disappear instantly..but it prevents new bumps and slowly starts drying on the existing ones when using a scrub like st. ives apricot scrub.

please send me a private email thru this by right clicking on my name in blue....i'm here for you guys...

daze

p.s. you have to stick with it though....if you stop taking, the kp will probably come back

Daisy, I am VERY hesistant about the beta carotene. I was taking Vitamin A for a few weeks, and as a result I had terrible acne breakouts on my face. One thing I pride myself on is my face, because I never, ever had pimples growing up, and as a woman had perfect skin on my face. My skin has only cleared up since I stopped taking the Vitamin A. How has it affected the skin on your face?

hey there,

well...thank God, it hasn't done anything in that department....no acne or anything..thank God. Again, it's not regular vita a ....there are different forms of vita a. When i tried a vita a and vita d supplement it didn't seem to do anything. Try carrot juice, or spirulina which are high in beta carotene. Start with one cup and slowly work up to two cups a day. see what happens....if it starts to make the acne come back, then you know this is not for you. But it's worth a shot in my opinion. carrot juice should be pretty mild and harmless.....but the progress is slow...give it about 2-3 weeks and again, doesn't make it disappear, but slowly regress.

Ok, it's worth a try....

Thought you all might find this link about Vitamin A helpful:

http://home.caregroup.org/clinical/a.../Vitamin_A.htm

It goes through most everything about it: how it is metabolized, good sources of ti, interactions with medications, possible toxcicity, etc.

Thanks Daisy for the info. and website. I haven't written in awhile b/c I have been doing so much research/studying lately on this subject and agree with you on the vitamin a deficiency theory. I emailed a naturopath (who also has his PhD--Dr. Wilson) that I highly esteem who emailed me back with a "suggested treatment" including very high doses of vitamin a (500,000 IU x 2 mo. then 200,000IU x 2 mo then 50,000IU x 6 mo). He also recommended zinc, copper, fish oils, vit D (50,000IU/day), and some dietary recommendations. I haven't begun to start the "treatment" and since have contacted a M.D. who also practices naturopathic medicine (per Dr. Wilson's request) and have an appt. in May. I am also going to ask about detoxification, hormone regulation, vitamin/mineral deficiencies, etc. I think I would feel more comfortable actually visiting a respected practice and sitting down with a physician and being able to ask questions before starting such a stringent regimen of vitamin supplements.

I also was on Accutane during pharmacy school after BEGGING my dermatologist to help me with the KP. For about 1 year, my KP was completely gone but then came back with a vengence. A couple years later I became pregnant and my KP spread like wildfire. My son is now 9 months old and although it has "mildly" improved since his birth; it is nowhere near where it once was before pregnancy (before pregnancy it was isolated to my upper arms, now I have it all over my upper and lower arms, upper thighs, buttocks, etc).

I have also been reading some material from Dr. Weil-- a book I highly recommend called Healthy Aging. He goes into some detail about the importance of "correct" vitamin supplementation, especially when it comes to vitamin a. He recommends supplementing with beta-carotene in addition to other mixed-carotenoids (alpha-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, astaxantin, lycopene, etc.) His website is drweil.com. I hope my visit in May (which by the way is going to cost me an arm and a leg) will give me renewed insight into this unsightly condition and hopefully provide me with some answers that I can share with everyone! My feeling though is that vitamin a (specifically, beta-carotene) is going to be their primary recommendation. I will keep you posted--

just make sure you talk to a physician and not take too much vita a . there are differnt forms of vita a though...some maybe more hazardous then others.

too much vita a can have really bad effects, especially on your baby if you want to get pregnant again. i think beta carotene if ok though..but ask an MD.

hmmm.....I'm so scared of gettign pregnant...it already spread like wildfire after accutane....i can't imagine.

If possible, please ask an MD what happens when we get pregnant and have a baby in terms of vita a ..........do we experience an enhhanced vita a deficiency...thus the spread in kp...???


thanx

daze

there are different causes for hyperkeratosis as well. This is why some regimen will work for one but not another. For example some people have hyperkeratosis from vitamin A/beta carotine deficiency while others might be effected because their diet is just overall bad, lots of sugars etc, others maybe from vitamin D deficiency, still others from arsenic exposure (arsenic trioxide is eliminated from the body with keratonized cells, hair, and nails) or under sebum production (accutane causes this), Or a mixture of the above