My doctor has answered some questions that I asked, I will type word for word. I e-mailed her and left spaces so it would seem more conversational.

If someone has food sensitivites will they go away just by avoiding those food or do they have to fix the gut at the same time? "some food sensitivities will not clear, even by avoiding those foods. These are stronger food sensitivities and usually have a more obvious detrimental effect. Mild food sens. may or may clear without fixing the gut. It is variable."

I am assuming not everyone with Kp has leaky gut? "Not everyone. If someone has Kp due to essential fatty acid defiency or vit A defiency, then they do not necessarily have LGS"

I sthere test besides Vega tests that could give people the results I did? Many people are having a hard time finding them. " There are many ways to check for food sens.. Some people do an elimination-challenge diet, where they eliminate the top 8 food sens. for 2 weeks and then "challenge" them one at a time. I could go into more detail here but there are many ways to do this. Other people do bloodtesting, which is variable accuracy. Some people the Coca pulse test, where they check their heart rate after eating foods and if they are sensitive, their heart rate increases. This is based on the work of Arthur Cocoa (Coca ?) Other people do muscle testing. Many options here with variable sensitivity and specificity.

Can people who do not have LGS still improve their KP? "YES"

A person in the states wants me to ask what NAET test is? "yes I know what NAET ( namboudribod's Allergy Elimination Technique) As I mentioned, this is another way of checking for sensitivities (muscle testing)"

Is there a blood test that can do the same thing? "Blood tests are an option-the challenge is accuracy, in my experience."

What about babies and small children, would they has LGS at that age? or maybe just food senitivites? " YES!!! I see many babies and children with LGS AND food sensititivities. They go togeather."

If Kp is really bad, is that a sign there is something wrong, could it be something other than LGS? "No it is not ever indicitive of anything really bad ( assuming its been properly diagnosed)"

that's it.

I will ask more questions as we go along on this journey.....

I love coming back to this thread and reading what everyone is doing and the progress they are making, its very inspiring. Iv been off wheat and dairy for nearly two weeks with a couple of lapses but my KP is, to me, looking a bit better plus I just feel generally better and healthier.
I have had side effects from cutting out wheat and dairy though I had intense nausea and hunger paisn the first few days but I stuck with it and they are gone now. Did anyone else get any side effects?.

I read all the bad stuff about the Vega tests and agree with Baronster, Im still going through with mine what have any of us got to lose?

Baronster, Thank you for putting up all the infomation and answering all of our questions,you told me the other day that I must have had luck on my side but to be honest the luck started when I found this thread and read your story,I really appreciate how you keep coming back to talk to everyone when your KP is cleared and you could just as easily post your results and go enjoy a KP free life, its awesome.

hey there!^^
i'm glad to tell you, that on april 10th or 11th i finally will see my doctor to make the vega-test. then i will start with the diet and post my results like the other guinea pigs do... i have already made bevore pics of my kp, and i can see a change by now (because of further avoiding milk). at the time i think that improvements of my kp can be seen on pictures (because you can't see smoothness *grin*) i will make a few and then upload them with the before ones. hope this will be soon i read this thread every day, and i'm very happy to see that all of you are getting better day by day... by all means, it seems to me like that^^

I was given the book, The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book as a gift. As I read it, I realized it was exactly what Baronster was doing with the Vega test. Instead of taking the test, I have eliminated certain suspect foods from my diet for 30 days, following the advice of this book.

According to the author, a naturopathic pysician, when we eat foods of low quality, our body tissues will become clogged with "morbid matter", or toxin accumulation. Depending on how each of us reacts to this waste, disease can be manifest in different forms, such as:

headaches
constant clearing of the throat
mucous
bloating, cramping
irritable bowl syndrome
fatigue
migraines
arthritis
eczema
asthma
psoriasis
most skin complaints
acne
mouth ulcers
sinusitis
ear infection
chronic cough
allergies to pollens, molds and other environmental agents
Food allergies also trigger mood changes, depression, anger, hyperactivity and anxiety

Here is a list of the common foods to avoid:

tomatoes
potatoes
all wheat products
tofu for some people
shellfish
non-organic meats
all pork, even organic pork
sugar and artificial sweeteners
citrus fruits
all dairy products
hydrogenated oils
commercial eggs
peanuts and peanut butter
all corn products
coffee, alcohol, soft drinks, juice, teas with caffeine

I have had a lot of throat clearing and mucous for a couple of years, as well as pollen allergies my entire life, plus KP. After only 2 days on this diet, my throat clearing greatly reduced, maybe by 80-90%. I continue to have small amounts of soy milk, and suspect this may be the culprit. I hesitate to remove soy from my diet because I am mostly vegetarian (eating some fish) and rely on soy for protein. Because of this diet, I now know that I am very sensitive to wheat and dairy, and probably corn.

After 30 days, I will follow the author's advice and introduce each item back into my diet, one at a time. That way, I will be able to see (by noticing if my throat clearing returns) which ones I am most sensitive to. Hopefully my remaining bumps will further reduce.

The author, Jessica Black, also says, that insufficient amounts of Omega 3 oil is associated with Keratosis Pilaris, and recommends eating ground flax seeds, cold water fish, walnuts, avocados and other food sources, as well as Omega oil capsules.

If any of you want to follow this diet, instead of doing the Vega test, the book outlines how to do it, plus it has great recipes.

I'm still a great believer in oil pulling, as it cured my mild KP. Oil pulling is removing toxins, but if we are eating poorly and eating foods we are sensitive to, we are possibly producing more "morbid matter" than oil pulling can remove. It is possible that for more severe cases of KP, more than oil pulling is needed. I believe we need to tackle this problem at the source, instead of just treating the outer symptoms on the skin with creams and lotions.

Something deep within us is causing KP. Oil pulling and a carefully managed diet may be the key to control. I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks, Baronster, for starting this forum.

kebod

Thanks for all the info on that book! I just ordered it. On that issue of protein, I've been wondering about whey protein powder. Most pages that come up on searches relate to body building, so I don't have as much info on it as I'd like, but I'm wondering if it's a nutritionally sound thing to eat. It's dairy based, but seems to be OK for lactose intolerant diets. Just a thought, perhaps worth exploring. Here's a link to one that's not flavored and seems to not be full of junk: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/e...jsp?id=XN-1006
Couldn't find any during my dash into the health food store today...

pepper7.....I look forward to seeing your postings, I can't wait for your test results....I suspect you have gut issues too, because of all of the antibiotics you took in university.

My mom reminded me the other day that I had a hideous eye infection when I was in grade 12, and took antibitoics for about 6 months, my Kp showed up shortly after that. I totally forgot about it until she mentioned it.

Do you have Kp anywhere besides your arms? I am curious because I am so interested in following your results as you have only had for 3 years, and you may respond quicker?

To Kei.......I am glad you read this thread everyday, it means you are well informed and understand everything that we are discussing....I am also thrilled to hear you get your test really soon.... if I remember you are only 18, have you had KP for very long? I am so glad you are willing to be a guinea pig!

To Kebod......I don't know if your read my post above in which I asked my doctor some questions, one of them being on alternatives to vega test, and the first thing she mentions is the elimination challenge, so thread readers who cannot get tested have another method of testing for sensitivities. I am so happy to hear you are feeling results only after 2 days of eliminating certain foods, I am sure it will inspire others. Thank you as well for posting all of that information, thread readers will aprreciate it very much. Please keep us posted on your progress.

Hello baronster,

Thank you for your post. I am 27 and I have KP since I was born. I believe my KP is the worst case as yours (everywhere on my body). I have rarely have antibiotics and I live in Turkiye. I heard they do vegatest in Istanbul, Turkiye but since I am working in another city far from Istanbul I don't have enough time to get there to do the test. However, i always believed KP is coming from inside and KP is only the reaction of our body to something -we don't know. Your experience comfirms this. I also know that doctors suggest their patients that have eczama to avoid tomato (a friend of mine who had eczama told me she got rid of her illness by avoiding tomato). I think eczama, KP etc. are all in the same category.

As far as i see, in your case, KP is mainly caused because of wheat (gluten?) and dairy (lactose?). Although it is challenging for me to avoid these products, i decided to give it a chance. It has been 19 days since i started the diet, but i can recognize the change of the color of my skin. The bumps are started to disappear (slowly). Thank you for the hope you gave us. I am sure it will work.

look at Kebod's post just above.......it tells you what foods to challenge for 30 days.....this is very helpful for people who cannot get tested.

I think you need to take some acidophilus (human microflora) to put some friendly bacteria in your gut, especially of you have had this since birth.

Take a look at the top of this page, I ask my doctor some questions which might be helpful to you, about other ways to test for sensitivities.

Do have any other benefits at this point other than some bumps going away?

Tomatoe is on the list above of the foods to avoid, I actually I agree with all of the foods that are listed, as they seem to be the main aggrivators.

we see a pattern with peoples results such as potatoes, spinach, broccoli. cauliflower, grains, dairy and shellfish and so and so on.

Try the elimination diet for 30 days, if you can......and tell us how you feel, I bet you it would be dramatic.....

please get back to us, I would love to see an improvement for you, and you would be interesting to follow because you have suffered your WHOLE life, I would like to see how long it would take to for you to heal. Do you have the redness or just big bumps?

I know the diet is challenging, but remember this is temporary.

Don't forget if you have suffered since a baby you probably have some sort of digestive problem in your gut, so avoiding foods is one element, but taking the supplement would be a first good step to helping your gut.

Can someone find Rachel18 post on what supplements she took to heal her Kp(on this thread twice), I have to go for the day and do not have time to find for levant right now. Rachel avoided foods, but didn't completely heal her KP until she took some natural supplements.....hopefully someone can quote that post for you so you can explore that route along with challenging foods.

Good luck and keep in touch...

I have one more question about candida. I don't think that there are any naturopaths in my country, I've tried to contact some people of similar profession but they seem to be unreachable, so I really hope that perhaps Baronster (or her naturopath doctor, if she's willing to ask her?) or Rachel18 will know the answer. What I'm wondering is the following: what happens, if you treat candida but in fact don't even have it? Basically, I've been thinking about doing some self-treatment (like Rachel18 did), because I can't reach any professional where I live, but I'm worried about doing some kind of damage, if I don't really have candida (as I've mentioned a few posts ago I don't have really typical symptoms or causes for it).

I am crying I am so happy to find this site, I am not a monster after all!

Thank you so much for thinking of me! I have done a lot of research about Vega-testing and I have found a therapist that is closer to me. She uses Vegatest I. I think that´s an older model, but I´m not sure. I have e-mailed the retailer in Denmark, and they will have an education day in Oslo,Norway,the 20th of april. If I can I will go there. I´m very intrested to use this equipment as a therapist myself, but...the problem is of course the PRICE...Oh my...But the education day is for free at least. Because of all my knowledge in the "nutrition-field" I have tried almost everything..With good effect on my general wellbeeing but sadly with little effect on the KP. Very frustrating! I have been thinking of going on a more strict so called elimination-diet/rotation-diet, but it takes a long time and may cause more imbalances. I have ordered the Antiinflammation diet-book that was mentioned here, and it will be very interesting to read it. I have recently done a gluten-intolerance test and I´m waiting for the outcome of that. But... I have lived both gluten and dairyfree for years before so...I just recently started to eat MSM. Right now I eat 3 grams 3 times a day. I feel a little bit smoother but the redness is awful! I have more dots than ever! But I know that´s a normal reaction so I´m not alarmed. The show must go on...