Tired of lying?

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Originally posted by Maggie

I am so tired of my friends asking what wrong with your arms! I have cryed so much about it! I have said all the excuses. I went on a hike and got a reaction from something, It's just goosebumps, and just saying I don't know! I use buff-puff and cream and it gradually gets better! I wear long sleeve shirts so no one will see my arms! Can anyone relate?

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Originally posted by Newman

Your post is a perfect description of a KP sufferer.

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Originally posted by kim

one more thing- the peasant blouses that are in (well in so cal anyway) are lightweight, thin and way cute. long sleeve w/o the questions. they have them all over the place.

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Originally posted by kimberly

dang ur in so cal too? what part...thats coo...im 14 and im ova here in the IE, and i see a lot of girls that have KP but not nearly as bad...what part of so cal u at and what do u use so i might get a betta idea of products? right now im using carmol40, SalAc Foam and some sort of LacHydron (spellin) well all from my derm...

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Originally posted by kim r

maggie- blow it off. there are waay worse things that can happen to you thank KP. and be careful about stressing over it. a lot of us w/ kp are succeptable to other skin conditions which are WAAAY worse to treat. for instance, i have had kp forever. then when i got married and had a little one i stressed over the bad area we had to move to while my husband did his residency, our lack of money and the God awful heat and smog. KP blew up all over my body but that was not the worst of it- I still suffer (it has been over a year) from chronic eczema on the soles of my feet. Not only is it hideous (ergo no sandals this year) but the pain is almost intolerable and it not like i can go w/o walking esp with a 2 year old.
You all need to chill. Dont stress- it is the worst thing you can do when you have KP. Feel down? go do something nice for yourself. shop, get a manicure, and by now you all know i am a huge advocate of the day spa thing. Be good to yourself. Don't let people's curiosity over your condition hurt your feelings- they may just be curious or concerned, esp if it is a friend. i know if a friend of mine had something i have never seen i would ask her about it to make sure she is okay. blow off the negative - it is not worth it to your self esteem or your kp.
fall/winter will be here soon and we will all be in long sleeves and pants!

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Originally posted by Terri

I'm there with you. The last time one of my sleeves slipped up a little, and my friend asked "what's wrong with your arm?" I sobbed in the car on the way home. (I told her it was keratosis pilaris, and that it left little scars, but my stomach churned for the rest of the evening.) I hope it is of some comfort that you are not alone.

Terri

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Originally posted by Gidge

Maggie, I COMPLETELY know how you feel. I keep myself out of situations where I know my KP would be noticeable.Ex: no swimming, wearing tank tops, shorts, etc...things that so many people take for granted who don't suffer from this. I know there are people on this board who talk about overcoming that & feeling comfortable enough to wear tank tops, etc... & not worry about what others think but I just can't do it yet. KP makes you feel so ugly that it can really hurt your self esteem to the point where you really limit yourself in life & let IT take over. I am just really looking forward to Fall so long sleeves & pants will be in season & I can hopefully take this time to find some sort of cure before next summer. Best wishes!

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Originally posted by traci

Maggie, your not alone, i feel the same way. I always wear long sleeves and people ask me why and when i have attempted to wear anything even a little shorter people stare and say oh my gosh what's wrong with your arms, i have used every excuse as well, i as well don't know what to do and i am leaving for a cruise in 2 weeks, i guess all we can do is hang in there and hope for a cure, good luck
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traci

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Originally posted by traci

Maggie, your not alone, i feel the same way. I always wear long sleeves and people ask me why and when i have attempted to wear anything even a little shorter people stare and say oh my gosh what's wrong with your arms, i have used every excuse as well, i as well don't know what to do and i am leaving for a cruise in 2 weeks, i guess all we can do is hang in there and hope for a cure, good luck
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traci

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Originally posted by traci

Maggie, your not alone, i feel the same way. I always wear long sleeves and people ask me why and when i have attempted to wear anything even a little shorter people stare and say oh my gosh what's wrong with your arms, i have used every excuse as well, i as well don't know what to do and i am leaving for a cruise in 2 weeks, i guess all we can do is hang in there and hope for a cure, good luck
]
traci

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Originally posted by kim r

I am now in OC- I lived by the beach and then my husband got accepted to Loma Linda University. When I was in th 9-0, my KP SUCKED. It was the worse I have ever had it. It was sooo bad on my legs I could not shave last summer, and remember how hot is was out there last summer? Yeh, I was in Loma linda (by Redlands) in pants in 113 degree weather.
The best thing that helped me was 1) heading to my parents' in OC as much as possible and
2) Differin (not on the face)it worked really well as far as the bumps were concerned. I used Keralyt in the am and Differin in the pm.
I feel for you my IE sistah. Try to get a good dermatologist and NOT one at LLU!

I know for a fact that the hot dry air really angered my KP, so I used a ton of lotion.

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Originally posted by Luvfolkart

Yes I can really relate. I wish we had a chat support group. I'm sick of hearing "its not the worse thing to have". I know this,esp.working on oncology and infectious disease units in a hospital. It does matter. Let me explain. It can really mess with self esteem and confidence. It can lead to depression, loss of interest in social fuctions amnd going out. I am 43 and have had this since I was 14. I only recently dicovered it was Kp. Every Derm.Dr. I went to treated me for folliculitus and acne.(suffice it to say these tx. just made things worse) I'm a nurse and heard of almost every skin disorder but KP. I read about it in my Teen daughters teen magazine. Go figure! Over the past few years my kp is more chronic and has gotton worse. It's all over my body. The scars are terrible. My skin is sensitive and breaks easily. I get sores easy from scratching and picking at the bumps(I developed this nervous habit a long time ago) I had given up hope,stopped going outside,missed a beautiful summer, gained a ton of weight from secluding myself in the house. Hate going to those hot summer Wedding in short sleeve dresses.
anyway, I didn't mean to have a pity party, but now that I know what I have, I'm working at controlling it. i have hope again and see some improvement. Just reading these boards helps.
So good luck and God bless. cathy

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Originally posted by STeal411@aol.com

I remember when I first got KP....I went to my doctor for a physical for school. He asked me what I had done to my arms and legs...and told me it was a reaction to shaving! Then he said "Aren't you embarrassed by this?? You should learn to take care of yourself better!" Every day people ask me what is wrong with my arms..and I actually go into the whole KP explanation and it usually shuts them up. I think one of the biggest problems is that no one...except for us who have it..knows what it is. When I was in labor with my baby, the LAD nurses asked me what was wrong with me..and doubted me when I said it was KP and I had had it since childhood...Fortunately, 99.9% of the people who ask me about it, are nice and don't make fun of me. For those who do tease you about, don't worry about it. They aren't worth it.

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Originally posted by Melissa In Louisiana

I have had KP on my arms and the top of my legs since I was about 13. I just recently found out what K P is and I am 25 years old. Dermatologist always treated me for acne. I have never worn a sleeveless shirt since my first sight of bumps. I am so self concience. I even wear a tshirt and pants over my bathing suit. The sun and tanning bed does seem to help when I have the time to go. But I am fair skinned and I dont want to chance having skin cancer. I have been using Coppertone Endless summer self tanner and I can hardly see the bumps because of the camoflauge. I am so glad I found this site. I dont know anyone else with this. My parents or none of my realative have it. They all have beautiful clear skin. I think I am going to try some of the sulphur treatments I have been reading about on here. I have never tryed that. I have only scrubbed with loofa and applied lotion which does make the bumps red.