woah no phg4pb18 (haha random name) you should not be taking that much vitamin A do you mean beta carotene? I'm thinking about deleting this thread and focusing more on diet and the cause to the deficiencies

Hi Rachel,
I am new to the forum. I really appreciate all your info,it is very insightful. I found this site around midnight and have literally been up reading all night. I have very severe KP on my arms,due partially in part to picking at it. I hate it and I have been plagued by this terrible affliction since I was 12, I am 27 now. I have been to dermatologists and plastic surgeons, all of them giving me different topical creams that have not made a bit of difference. My arms are bumpy, scabbed, and scarred. I don't even know what I look like in a sleeveless shirt. Sometimes I just want to cut the skin off my arms so they will have to graft on new skin. Just start all over. I know this will never happen. I think that one big scar will look better than all the **** all over my arms. You seem to have a lot of potential solutions. I am a little confused about the whole Vit A or Beta C dispute, can you clarify which one would be better. I will try anything, I miss tanning and tubing and anything else that requires exposure of my upper arms. GOD, WHY IS THERE NO CURE?????? I am going to try Lizzie's oil bath/ s****e technique tomorrow, but I am also going to go shopping for supplements. So, please advise. Thanks

Laura

yeah if ya wanna do one rachel, i dont mind at all, just i think its a good idea to allow everyone to suggest questions, then compile the survey. But i still dont know of anywhere we could put the survery that we could also get totals!!

I think that's a really good idea! I've been following your posts for a while now and I just wish that people would try a bit harder to understand the cause of malabsorption.I personally enjoy reading your posts a lot and I hope you'll continue with your work since you're really into this and know what you're talking about.Go girl!

Hi all. New to this group. Rachael this is excellent info. I am not a sufferer of KP but my GF is. We have been together for 6 years and I really want to help her. Has anyone ever been to get rid of the scars so that the arm looks smooth? She just has on her arms. There is a pic that can be found via the following link. This is exactly how here arms look.Thankfully this is the only place. My e-mail is rocky1977_98@yahoo.com. Rachael and others appreciate if I could have ur e-mail addresses if it is ok with you. She knows of no one else that suffers with this and I know would love to chat with you. How have your results been Rachael?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...&ct=image&cd=2

I really appreciate all the assistance

Hi Rachel,
I just believe KP is genetic. It wasn't an attack on you or your opinions. Everyone I know who has KP also has family members with it. Of all the things I've read about KP some of the information has been different but the most common thread I've noticed is that KP runs in families. I absolutely agree that eating right and getting the proper amount of vitamins and minerals will make our skin look better (in general) I just don't think it will cure KP. I wish that I could just take some vitamins and have my KP disappear - I just don't think it's going to happen. I eat pretty healthy as it is, take multi vitamins, fish oils, and calcium and I have KP. I just don't think it is possible that I am malnourished, vit def., of have utilization problems. I'm healthy, just have KP. Also, I've read that chemotherapy has cleared KP. I don't think anyone going through chemo has the best nutrients in their bodies at that time. I don't know, I'm no doctor.
To answer your question, no my mother is not healthier than my father. A lot of kids eat junk food and **** and don't develop KP. I know everyone is different...this just my opinion.
I was actually looking for some info on KP today and came across this article about what happens to our bodies during sleep. For me, I've noticed KP is least noticeable first thing in the morning. Take a look at the article...it mentions certain hormonal changes that occur during sleep and what happens with our skin cells. Just thought it was interesting. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1799

You are right, everyone's ideas could hopefully lead to better treatments for KP!

As far as the survey: I just ran across a few studies that found that being overweight makes KP worse, so I'd add questions about whether you notice if the KP gets better/worse when you lose/gain weight.

Also, I'd add one about whether you have any hormonal problems. I was talking to a friend earlier, and she mentioned she had KP when she was younger, but it went away when she started taking birth control pills. And I just did a search & ran across a few articles about androgens & KP. So now I'm really wondering if the hormonal problems are linked. But I guess taking birth control wouldn't be much of a solution for the guys.

SurveyMonkey has some basic free survey stuff, I've never used it but the price is right! http://www.surveymonkey.com/Pricing.asp

Hey guys, when you mention 3,000mg what do you exactly mean? I have
http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp...entPage=family

and

http://www.gnc.com/product/index.jsp...entPage=family

The first product adds up to 300mg worth of EPA and DHA per capsule.
The one in the second link adds up to 600mg per capsule.

I'm sorry for the ignorance but, how many should I be taking?

Hello everyone, I believe that there is valuable info from everyone here. Wether it be old or new, as Kp sufferers we need it all.

Jonas24 you are correct... Kp is genetic. I am living proof... My mother grew up with the most beautiful skin, hair, and nails as anyone could have. Then in her 40s she began to get Kp on the back of her arms. But wait, not before me at the age of 16. Now, my daughter has it since the age of 6 months old. I have relatives that have a very mild case of Kp as well, but only on my mothers side. My dad does not have it nor do any of my relatives that I have met on his side.
I read a post not too long ago somewhere (travel all around these boards to read updates) that a gal began taking some kind of hormone pill, and hers cleared up completely so she said. I have had Kp since I was 16 (as I mentioned) with the exception of a 3 year period when I decided to try something new. It is a type of cortisone cream that is called lotrison, and as we know cortisone is a hormone produced by the adrenal gland or produced synthetically. Let me say for a moment that I have trouble understanding this to be a dry skin condition when the things that have worked best for me through the years have included drying out my skin before moisturizing it. Anyhow, what I did was... every day about 2 times a day I used alcohol pads or alcohol with a cotton ball (I know there are younger people on here so I want to note to be careful using alcohol as with other highly flamable products.) and rapidly but not hard went over my arms, and quickly as my arms were still damp from the alcohol I vigorously applied the Lotrison cream. Anyhow, that's all I did for a few days before I began to see the Kp go completely away as though I never had a case of it before. No scaring, no nothing. It remained gone for 3 years until I moved to Oregon (were it is more moist than the desert where I am used to living, it rains a lot). Well it didn't bother me because I thought I had the answer and I could just do that again. Well it didn't work the years later but I do believe our bodies build up a resistance to things, like taking Advil so much that you may need something stronger later. I'm not sure why, though. But let me say, I have always had very nice skin. No eczema or anything here except Kp on my are. I even have people compliment my skin when I'm out places, of course the back of my arms are covered. I'm leaning toward a hormonal thing, but I'm too scared to try it. And, I certainly do not want to give my daughter who is now 16 anything like that.

I have taken vitamins most of the time for 16 years now. I like to feel good. And they do work for that. Vitamins are so important. I feel a good multi vitamin and maybe if you need a little extra of others is sufficient. But do be careful, please. Fish oil supplements contain high levels of cholesterol, as well as vitamins A ,D, and K which can accumulate to toxic levels when high doses are taken for a long time. Instead, eat fish 3 times a week. That is plenty. We can get most of the vitamins we need in the foods we eat if we choose our food right. But do research on what fruits and veggies are high in what it is that you are looking for. I once found a list of most fruits and veggies with all the nutritional info for each. I wish I still had it, I can check and post it if I still do. I grow a lot of my own veggies because I like them organic and they are expensive to buy. I believe our health is effected by the environment and everything they do to our food. Try to eat foods that are less processed than others. The more you eat something from it's naturally grown state the more nutrients you will get out of it. Like instead of a can of beans, buy whole beans and cook them. I know not everyone has the time to eat as healthy as we should but maybe little by little the changes can come. There is a cure (notice I say cure not treatment) for Kp, as I believe there is for everything, but we need to find it and it definitely lies in nature, and I believe that's what rachel18 is saying.

There is something natural for everything but a lot of the world isn’t like that anymore. Vitamins are a good thing! But in moderation. Like I said before, find out what foods are high in the vitamins you wish to take more of. And, I believe everyone should take a good multi vitamin. And, also research what is needed to absorb each kind of vitamin and mineral. For example beta carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, and a type of cholesterol in the skin that, after exposure to the suns ultraviolet rays, is used by the body to make vitamin D. If you want to take vitamin A it is safer to take it as beta carotene. Fish oils contain Omega 3 fatty acids, the full benefit of the oils are obtained from eating fish a few times a week. You can also try Evening Primrose Oil to get your Omega 3.

Well, I have chatted long enough. Sorry to make this so long. Lets keep sharing info and see what we come up with.

i have it all over my upper arms, my bum, my lower back, sides of my torso and some on my thighs. No one else in my immediate family has it, No uncles or aunts have it. I dont know if there are any cousins that have it and they have not said they do.
Seems the whole genetics thing doesnt make sense in my case as it seems pretty random genetics.

Hello,

Personally, I have noticed that increasing my intake of Omega-3 FAs does wonders. My skin looks much better, it glows and looks smoother, although I have not noticed any effects on my KP.

I have had this condition since I was around 15 (I am now 26), and have gone through several treatment options (retinoic acid, glycolic acid, vitamin A supplements) with null or moderate success (Only a french cream named Depi-4 greatly improved my skin, but its was discontinued). Since I live in Mexico, I do not have many products available to try.

Recently, a dermatologist suggested that I started with Accutane, since it delays keratinization. He said I should try it for 6-8 months, and then start with a topical treatment. I am not sure about this, given all the side effects of this medication. Has any of you tried it and noticed any improvement?

The worst part about my KP is that it makes my skin look darker in all affected areas (shoulders, back and buttocks). It really bothers me because I can never go to the beach. I would really like to have normal skin as most people around me.

Anyway, for now, I will start to work on my diet, and eliminate some foods (wheat, dairy), that trigger problems (I also suffer with IBS). Also, I will continue eating lots of sardines and taking EPA/DHA caps. There is another essential fatty acid named GLA (Omega-6) that helps with dry skin, eczema and other conditions. Have you or anyone you meet tried this?

I am glad to find this forum to share my thoughts/ideas/research with other people.

I hope to read or find something that could be helpful for me and others.

Regards.

BTW, I suppose you mean 3 g of fish oils. Having 3000 gr would require to take like 3000 pills or eating thousands of pounds of salmon/sardines or other fish.

Hey alglez,

I would not recommend taking accutane to get rid of KP. It is a generic of Roaccutane, a very powerful and expensive drug used to eliminate acne. It works very well but has several side effects (you cant go into the sun without sunscreen for more than 15minutes; your skins dries out big-time; your skin breaks out; some people get back pain; depression-the list is endless). I am currently taking another generic of Roaccutane called Orotane and have been taking it for 2 months and there has been absolutely no improvement with regards to my KP. This is also not the first time I am taking it, and it didn't have any impact then either. sorry

Hope your diet plan works!

Thanks jess_SA, I also believed it would not be very helpful. I spent some time searching for success cases with isotretinoin (I believe that is the component of all these medications), and found nothing. It is nice to hear it from someone who has actually gone through this treatment.

I really do not have acne, my skin is a bit oily, but I do not have any pimples. Does isotretinoin work on oily skins?
Also, I am afraid that my KP could get worse, as it happened to some people I have read of.

I will continue with the Omega-3 supplementation, and will post here my results.

Regards.