My rosacea ACUPUNCTURE trial... (will last approx. 10 days)

[ewist]

I talked to an accupuncturist today. He looked at my rosacea and was sure he would be able clear it up, and he will do a 10 day trial (depending on how fast my body will react, but approx 10 days he will be able to evaluate how long it will take to finally CURE it). He said the cause of all of it is my digestive system (I am not able to assimilate the food properly, so it comes up as heat).

He gave me a few instructions:
1.) Only eat a light dinner (you can eat alot of breakfast and lunch)
2.) Eat papaya every day around 20 minutes after dinner
3.) Don't eat fast food and try to eat alot of fruits and vegetables..

Along with these 3 rules, he would have to do the needle treatment as well. He started today (was my first time having accupuncture). It was a strange feeling, sometimes a slight prick when the needle goes in. He gave me my own set of needles that he will keep at my house, in a vial: he will clean the needles after each session. (That is the only thing I am a bit hesitant about :? opinions?)

He definately knew what he was talking about. He said it was completely internal, and NO cream will do anything longterm, as long as you have the internal digestive problem - it will never completely go away.

He will do this every day for 10 days, and he says I will definately see improvement and he will be able to evaluate how long it will take to finally cure it. (will also boost my very low energy levels)

Pretty exciting to see what happens. Excited to find out.

I will post up photos (contrast before/after). What I will use now is:

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8206/aaaaaaus1.jpg
http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/5567/nose2tk2.png

This is what I look like in a bad flush.


Well.. Lets see what happens..

[Melissa W]

Hey Ewist,

I have been thinking that acupuncture is a good method to try and I do believe in it. My mom had acupuncture in the past for her R.A. and it really helped her. Only problem (for her) was that it had to be continued because after a week she needed another session for relief and so eventually she stopped. Do keep us posted as I think this has potential! Best of luck!!

Melissa

[naun]

Hey there,

Best of luck with your treatment. Please keep us posted.
I looked into accupuncture once, but I left not feeling good about the whole thing.
If you have success, I will reconsider.
I hope it all goes well for you and that you see some positive results.

Naun

[cashisclay]

I went to an accupuncturist for my rosacea. She said many of the same things to me. It did not help my rosacea, but was very relaxing. I only went 2 times, I probably should have given it more time.

Good luck. I might go back if you find some relief from it.

[pca_]

I had acupuncture once a week the last month, but it did not help me,
except my digestion improved awhole lot.

However, I think I have found what might be the reason of my rosacea:

Nickel allergy!

Yes you heard right .. I been eating alot of flaxseed everyday as a supplemental food, and it is super high on nickel and a must-avoid for
people with nickle allergies. (I just found out!)

My rosacea had been worse than ever the last week, but when I stopped eating flax, it calmed totally down after 2 days.

I also noticed when showering, sometimes when moving the metal shower head across my chest, I would sometimes get a rash there immediatly afterwards.

It might be a thing to check for, how much nickel is in the food you
guys eat ..

[moka]

thanks for the info about Nickel, pca!
I'm severely allergic to Nickel (had a patch test a couple of years ago).
the first dermatologist i visited (before being diagnosed with rosacea) told me that i should avoid touching my face after touching metals, no to eat ANY canned food, and avoid jewelery that contain Nickel (most of the cheap jewelery). She also mentioned that Shampoos and conditioners contain Nickel and i should avoid using them as well.
She said that Nickel in food is hardly absorbed in our bodies, but its best to avoid foods that are naturally rich in it like asparagus (which indeed, gave me an allergic reaction really quickly) and shellfish.
I followed her advices except for the hair products thing (not washing my hair is a bit too much... :? ), but i never let even a drop of them touch my face when i use them.
I also make sure that metal objects that i purchase are not made of Nickel (like door handles, lamps, etc.)
I found this list of foods that are rich in Nickel:
Herrings
Asparagus
Mushrooms
Corn
Tomatoes
Wholemeal Flour
Peanuts
Rhubarb
Cocoa
Cabbage
All Canned Food
Oysters
Beans
Onions
Spinach
Peas
Pears
Raisins
Tea
Baking Powder
Sprouts
Foods cooked with nickel utensils

And regarding the acupuncture -
ewist, what you are writing is very interesting!
improvement in 10 days is a very ambitious goal in my opinion, but i really hope it works for you!
I've been having acupuncture treatments for over a year (started with twice a week at the beginning and now i'm down to once a week or once in two weeks). It has somewhat helped me with the flushing and really helped me to feel calmer and relaxed. it also made me feel cold all the time (which is great ). didn't do a thing to my redness, though.
the rules he gave you are also interesting. i wonder if the papaya is meant to help with the digestion. i'll ask my acupuncturist about this too.
My acupuncturist gave me a list of foods to avoid (sugar, dairy, fatty foods, fast food, lamb, most spices, eggplants, and other foods that are considered "warming" according to Chinese medicine) and foods that i should eat (green veggies, fruit, rye, rice, and other foods that are considered "cooling"). this diet really helped me with the breakouts.
The light early dinner is something i still haven't managed to implement... (It's really hard when i come back at 21:00 from work, completely starved... ). but i know that when i manage to stop eating a couple of hours before i go to sleep, i wake up much paler than usual.
The "set of needles" is a little strange indeed. Anyone i know (including myself) who had acupuncture treatments had always been treated with disposable needles. for me, it is very important, because the last thing i want is an infection caused by them...
If i were you i would consider purchasing disposable needles or asking the acupuncturist to provide them.
Anyway, good luck and please keep us posted about your progress.

Best wishes,
Yael.

[dpart]

Great info, please keep us posted on your progress! I have also been considering acupuncture for some time now, but haven't tried it yet. So I will seriously consider it again now and are eager to hear about your results.

My problem is mainly my persistent redness, especially my nose which sometimes (especially now when it's winter) is extremely red. The cold weather (below zero) turns it fiery red in no time! When I touch my nose it's also very cold, so it seems I have bad blood circulation. It has always been like that, but the persistent redness and the broken vessels has been worse over time. It looks like your nose is your biggest concern as well (since you posted close up of that)?
(Just to mention it: In addition my hands and feet's are also very cold. I have seen some people posting about this combination in other posts in the forum, I'm not sure whether it is significant or not). Do you have the same problems or is your redness aggravated mainly by other factors?

For those who are interested in the question whether acupuncture has any scientific effect or not: I recently watched the BBC documentary Alternative Medicine - The Evidence, where they had some interesting findings regarding acupuncture and it's effect upon chronic pain. They concluded that at least for some conditions related to chronic pain it is fairly certain acupuncture is having a powerful effect. They only tested it for chronic pain conditions, but it certainly made me believe that there could be more to it, and I'm willing to give it a try as well.

By the way good luck to you!

[eastwest]

I am going for my 28th acupuncture treatment tonight. I've been doing this for almost 4 months now. I have ZERO doubt that this has been working, as it's made a huge difference in how i look and feel. I often go 5 to 10 day stretches where I have no flushing episodes now and have seen a gradual and consistent change for the better ever since I started. After my body is back in "balance," i've been told that i will only have to do maintenance treatments (i think once or twice a month). This is combined with herbal therapy and cupping.

I now know that you need both the acupuncture and the herbal therapy to have the best effects.

[ewist]

Hello everyone,
Thanks for the responses, I have had my second treatment today (as I said I will be doing one everday until the 10 day trial is over). He added one new point - the top of my head, he said it will help with my memory and fatigue (fatigue is a big problem for me as well).

@ cashisclay: I really don't think 2 times is enough (not even close to enough). The 10 day trial is just to see how long it will take (how my body has handled it to that point) - if you try again, you will probaly need to it a bit longer to see results. Heh... Relaxing? I have an extreme needle phobia so it's not too relaxing for me, but it's only the second day and I am already pretty much used to it.

@ pca_: Sorry to hear you did not get any (skin) improvement! Very interesting about the nickel allergy, I had extensive (very very extensive) allergy testing done, and I don't recall seeing nickel. I will take a look again to see if its on the list. By the way, how is everything going? It has been a while

@ moka: Yes 10 days is very ambitious, but I am not expecting too much. Just enough for him to see the general rate of improvement so he can approximate how much longer the treatment will take. I take off to college in 4 months, and he said (without any doubt - he says for skin problems he has been 100% successful) by the end of that time it will definately be gone. I have faith in him, he is helping a man one of my parents know who, prior to the treatment was not able to move one leg, and now he is able to. Feeling cold all the time sounds pretty awsome , sorry it didn't improve the redness. As far as the needles, before the treatment he soaks them in a 'surgical cleaning' liquid (to use on a device after a surgery -- and he convinced me there won't be a problem. I am still a bit hesitant, but I don't think (at least hope :P ) that infection is too common if I am the only one using them.

@ dpart: I will a guinea pig for you guys, dont worry . Yes my nose is also the biggest concern, when I get a bad flush (really bad flush), I can feel a pulsing feeling in my nose, and it gets VERY red. Is your rosacea similar to the picture I posted? Strange my hands are also very cold, and my fingernails are often blue -- healing scabs on my hands will also be a purplish blue color very often. I flush from spicy food, heat (biggest problem), and stress. I find when it is cold (not too cold), the flushing greatly goes down -- I don't think I flush nearly as much from very cold temperatures, but if it gets slightly hot I flush very easily. Thank you, I'm excited to see how this will turn out.

@ eastwest: Man its been a while since I've talked to you. Very encouraging that your treatment is definately helping. How often did you have treatment initially? Every day as well? Awsome news that it is working for you. I am not taking any herbal supplements. Great news man. I remember your accupuncturist describing it as 'toxic heat', but does he/she also connect it to digestion? Any before and after pics would be awsome to see aswell. Anything else interesting about your accupuncure experiences? (are disposable needles used?)

[dwit392]

I am very excited to see how this goes for you. I am considering accupuncture over the summer and if it works well for you I might have to give it a go.

Good Luck.