I'm not sure if there are many other rant threads, but I decided that I should start one here. Sometimes talking makes us feel better, so if you have anything to say reguarding kp, wether it's at school or at home, feel free to post it here :]. Personally, i rarely get asked about my skin. I know people are looking at it but at this point what other people say doesn't really phase me. Sure, I have my insecurities about my skin. Sometimes it's just like "why me?", but I think i've just learned to accept it. This is definatley something I don't want to be dealing with 5 or 10 years from now. I don't want to let kp to rule my life. If they found effective treatments for psoriasis, the cure for kp shouldn't be to out of reach, right? At least that's how I like to think of it. And lastly, I wanted to thank you guys for sharing your tips and tricks on here. Everyone has been more than helpful :]

That's a nice outlook. I'm glad that you don't let this get you down. I wish I was as strong as you. I think there are already cures out there, you just haven't maybe found the right one yet? Keep looking, don't let it get you down when something doesn't seem to work. Hopefully I can start doing the same thing. I've been putting off getting a job and any other form of socializing because of this..

That's a good way to deal with it, the right way in fact. I wish I could be the same, although I know I'm not far off from being cured from everything, including my keloids[check my thread in the journal section this stuff is horrible]. It might take a year, it might take two but it's going to be totally cured and I'm guessing my KP by the time summer is over.

Sometimes all you can work with is hope and faith. I know one day I'm going to live a normal life and I'm going to be the happiest person in the world. Until then, I'm staying happy knowing I live a good life even while being held down and the worst part is already long over. The darkest days of my life are done with, the fog can only lessen from here on out.

Hey Chris, please do me a favor and get a job. Don't let KP win, don't let it control you. Make money so you can be happy now, or make money so you can have alot when you finally find a cure for your condition.

i've literally been doing hours of research on this whole keratosis pilaris thing, and i'm just working up the nerve to even post something on the forum. its probably the one thing i never talk about to anyone, so even though this is anonymous, it feels a little unnerving.

but sexpistol, i do my best to have the same mindset as you, but its just that im just ashamed to let anybody find out about this huge flaw i have. acne, cellulite, or stretch marks are all normal flaws, but red bumpy skin all over my body is something even i can't admit to. physically, theres not even a single other thing about my body that i dislike, literally, i'm proud of the body that i have. i mean at the risk of sounding conceited, i'm confident of the person i am "inside" too and i like my personality. so when i cover myself up, and pretend its not there, i can be this beautiful charming girl, and people can perceive me in that way. but the fact is, the kp is there, and so i build this huge wall, have this deep fear of intimacy, in order to maintain that image. and its not necessarily like i'm even being fake, its just that i have to misrepresent myself in order to represent myself, if that makes any sense.

the problem just comes down to intimacy, and explicitly, sex. i want so badly to be touched, and to be open, but i just can't let myself be vulnerable. and this stupid, almost trivial, insecurity just keeps me back. the one time i've let myself go i was totally wasted, but i still remember exactly what happened and its lightweight traumatizing. i have kp on my ass, and this guy went in for the grab, and i didn't stop him, and he just straight up left after about 30 seconds. so after that, its so deeply ingrained in my subconscious that i'm overprotective of my ass even when i'm ****faced, let alone in a relationship. i don't trust high school boys to be sensitive of that kind of thing, and anyone older might as well be statitory rape. so all i've let myself do is wait, and i'm kind of in this limbo, where my life's on hold until i cure my kp. and i don't want to waste my youth away like that. i mean ****, some day i may be old and wrinkled and still have kp, and that is a life well wasted. i don't know what your sex life is like, or if you even want to share it, but i am one repressed girl and thats my biggest frustration with kp. i best get me a vibrator.

as for a cure, i've decided to wage a ****ing war against this disease. ive spent probably way too much money, and definately way too much energy, to let it take over my body like this, so we'll see what happens.

Well I am 18 and a guy, although you may think KP does not effect me as much as it would to a girl...it is partly true. Although it is differnet with KPRF(KP on face, usually with a very red face). Although i don't have KP on my face it is usually red, or used to be until i found ways to control it. Anyway KP has kept me back socially because of my insecurities about it, and anxiety(which are also in control due to paxil). I know you may worry about how KP may effect your sex life, coming from a guys point of view it means nothing. Especially if you are actually looking for a relationship and not someone who just wants to have sex with ...I mean if he left after 30 seconds just because of KP, he obviously was not interested in you(but what all guys are interested in..). Although i may be biased because i am still a virgin partly from religion and own morals/beliefs. Anyway my point is if a guy actually likes you for who you are a few bumps mean nothing. The same thing in my opinion would apply from a girls point of view. I mean if you met a real cool guy that you wanted to get involved with, would you leave him just because of KP? If you would then you might have deeper problems besides KP. KP may seem like a problem in todays world, where beauty can only be obtained through photoshop, or a malnurished model, or even someone physically altering themselves through surgury. But in reality where most of that stuff does not matter, just chill .

-Nick
(Not here to judge)

P.s.- Youth is not about having wild sex and drinking, but rather the relationships and good times you have...ask anyone that is older(implying someone wise) when they made most of their mistakes in life and usually the answer will be highschool. You may think you are missing out, but you are actually just stopping yourself from making stupid mistakes. If you are able to communicate socially and go to parties and whatnot, then honestly i don't see your issue. I mean i don't want to sound like a parent or anything but honestly just enjoy w/e is happening in your life. I have spent most of my senior year being anti-social because of anxiety and this disease and am starting to realise just how stupid it all is, just how stupid society is, and how stupid a majority of my friends are. They all worry about trivial things, about material items, and having sex with that one popular person. It is all stupid. This disease has forced me to grow up faster then i should have, and sometimes I hate it, and sometimes I like it. Now i don't have to be ignorant to the fact that conforming to these stupid pressures about looking a certain way, and being something i am not. It is all very stupid. I hope i was able to make a point with you. Sorry for the rant. Highschool for someone with KP/KPRF/anything related to KP sucks period.

Freddie, I know what you mean... KP has really affected my self-esteem and the way I percieve myself. I mean, most of the times I just say **** it, I'm wearing a tank top and I don't care what anyone thinks... but after a while I become extremely self conscious and cover up my arms.

I'm currently in a new relationship with an amazing guy, and it took my ages to finally just take off my sweater in front of him. I was terrified he would be disgusted when her touched my bumpy arms, or saw the redness. But you know what? He didn't even seem to notice. My fears were misplaced. It all depends on the person you're with, and like JustaKid said, if someone genuinely likes you a few bumps won't matter to him at all.

Which isn't to say I burst with confidence when I'm in a short-sleeved shirt. But I'm trying to beat this freaking condtion, and if I can't then I want to stop caring about it to much.

I say **** you, KP!

well... it's cool some of you guys can be positive while having this. i can't seem to do that. i do feel fortunate though because my kp is a pretty mild case... but i still seem to have a low self esteem because of it. these forums have been helpful though because i probably wouldn't have ever thought of some of these things that people are doing to help their kp. but hope is all i have right now, and that's what i really need in order to help my kp. hopefully, we all can find some sort of way to beat this. if any of you guys need to talk, i'm listenin.

Hey guys,
I'm new on this forum and I just wanted to say this is an awesome thread. I've been having trouble dealing with KP ever since I hit puberty because that's when I actually realised there was something wrong with my legs. I live in Canada and the summers can get pretty hot and I never wear shorts. I told my last boyfriend the reason why I don't wear shorts and skirts is because I don't like my legs, which is partially true. He just assumed I thought they were fat and I didn't say anything else. I feel like KP is taking away my confidence at times and I desperately want it to go away! I'm so insecure.

Hey, welcome!
Gah, I know what you're feeling... I used to be in a position where I didn't show my arms, ever. I felt so insecure and unattractive, but you know what? After about four years of living with this condition I finally found the strength to stop caring about it so much. And you know what the amazing thing is? When you stop caring, others stop caring about it as well. It becomes, although not unnoticeable, totally insignificant. I say we shouldn't allow KP to rule our lives, we have the right to wear whatever we want and feel good wearing it!
I know it's difficult, but seriously, treating KP like it's not a big deal MAKES it not a big deal, and others will totally catch on to that.

Yeah I know what you mean. Sometimes, I feel better about it in the morning and then I force myself to wear something that shows my legs, whether it be capris or leggings but then once I go to school, I start freaking out about what other people think about them. I told one of my best friends about it earlier on and she knows how I feel because she has a serious case of ecxema so her skin isn't that great either. My two closest friends don't think there is anything wrong with my legs but I do and I feel like I probably am making more of a deal that I should.

Well people rarely make comments but you know they're like why is her skin like that?! But I have UO and I was in school at about 9/10 years of age and this girl was like "Why did you shave off your eyebrows?" I remember for days everyone in the class asked "Did you shave off your eyebrows?". Worst experience of my life. I remember locking myself in the bathrooms and bawling...

Is it me or does KP get worse around exams? I'm doing my Junior Cert at the moment and my face just looks like a tomato! Anyone else find the same?

Very well said.

Sorry I haven't posted in so long - I know what yall mean. I got mine after my parents divorced. When they were still together, my dad made me take cod liver oil and vitamins everyday. Then after my parents divorced, that all stopped, I gained a little weight ( my mom brought home takeout everynight..eek) and KP just showed up maybe when I was around 11. Sometimes its just like I hate myself for it even though I try to be strong. It's my own SKIN. Skin is supposed to be beautiful, but it's not. Then again, with KP I feel like I wouldn't be who I am today without it. I kind of see it as a blessing and a pain in the ass at the same time. I've learned to be more compassionate towards other people and see what's on the inside instead of the outside. But why should I have to suffer ugly skin for it? It's summer. I don't go swimming, and I'm usually stuck wearing sweatshirts and jeans. I've gone out once or twice with short sleeves and I just feel naked. It's absolutley horrible. I have it on my arms and legs and bootay, and a little on my shoulders. Then my cheeks are red. I'm going to a new highschool in september, and I'm absoloutley DREADING it if I can't get rid of the KP. I tell myself that I'll have it gone by then, but then theres this other part of me that just falls apart knowing that there's the reality that it might not be gone. It's hard being strong about it alot, I'm sick of always thinking "Well, at least my face is still pretty" or something like that. We're human beings, don't we at least deserve to feel pretty as much as we feel happy or sad or angry? Apparently not.

SP,

Have you read the two sticky threads, "Thread Devoted to What Works for You" and "Commercial Products that Work"? There are so many different products and methods that have helped others -- I hope you can find something there that will work for you.

kebod