Update after 14 months of Acupuncture

[eastwest]

It's now been 14 months of regularly going to acupuncture and being on the herbal therapy. I have been very disciplined about all of this and have rarely missed a day of taking the herbs that the TCM doctor gives to me and rarely miss a week of acupuncture. When I started this, I was going to acupuncture twice a week and that lasted for 6 months (I think). After the 6 month point, I started going once a week.

My rosacea is now at the point where most days I can't even feel having it. There is a tiny tinge of redness on the corners of my cheeks, but it's very minor. My face is cool to the touch most of the time. I told the acupuncturist the other day that I am glad that I continue to get better all of the time but how it has been a bit frustrating that it has taken so long. She said that it took the body many many years to get into this state and because of that it will take some time to get balanced again. In my case it took about 35 years to get out of whack. She says that I have shown very very good patience and that I am doing very well for it.

For those of you that may have read my previous posts, you'll know that according to my TCM doctor that rosacea is caused by diet. Through my experiences, I have zero doubt of this. The thing that has surprised me is just how sensitive my body is to acidic foods. I remember a couple of months back, my rosacea was a tiny bit worse than it is now and I asked the doctor why. She asked what i was eating and I said that I was eating very healthy but I was having a couple small pieces of chocolate a day. She said that I really shouldn't have even those couple of chocolates a day and that these things all have a cumulative effect on the body. I eat very healthy now and I can definitely see the effects.

I don't have this thing kicked though. I just have it to the point where it doesn't really effect my life anymore. Believe me, I felt the same feelings most of you have felt. At times I thought I was going to go into depression if I had to live with that itching and burning feeling on my face for the rest of my life. I do have some flare ups still. For instance the other evening I went out with some friends for some beers and got a pizza pita on the way home cuz I was totally hungry. I thought that all that pepperoni will be bad but I have been eating so good lately. Well, when I woke up my face was burning. Had a few papules break out around my face during the day. Couple of days later, after eating clean, my face was calm again. The good thing is, I can totally tell which foods I have to stay away from after I eat them.

Looking back, I used to eat a lot of foods that would cause the burning and the itching. I used to eat a lot of those foods everyday. No wonder things just kept getting worse and worse.

For those vegetarians out there that might be confused as to why they might have rosacea, check your diet. Do you have other things that may cause rosacea. Things like chocolate, white bread, soda etc. There are a lot of you on the right track. It does come down to the acid-alkaline balance. My acupuncturist even says that would be the "western" explanation for what she practices.

Hope this helps.

[TheMediumDog]

Good news.

I just want to point out that by no means are all cases of rosacea diet-related. In my case, dietary changes have made no difference.

Its important to say, because following a diet adds pressure and restriction, in a situation where, due to the rosacea you are often already having to sacrifice things and make lifestyle changes. Also, it is very easy to get unhealthily obsessive over every piece of food.

Still, some people do appear to have great success, which is excellent to hear.

[Melissa W]

That is wonderful news eastwest
And I totally agree with what Alex said.

However, I wonder how much of your success is due to the acupuncture vs the actual diet and herbs? Perhaps it is the acupuncture that had such a beneficial effect on your rosacea or it could be the dietary changes of course or just a combo but I do wonder if anyone else has tried acupuncture and had good results with it. When I was younger my mom went through series of acupunture treatments with beneficial results but it wasn't for rosacea but I do hear that acupuncture can be amazing in the right circumstances. My girlfriend underwent a series of treatments to become pregnant after trying for a long while and she was successful as well.

Eastwest, are you continuing with the weekly acupuncture treatments or are you done with them for now?

Best of luck for continued success!

Melissa

[valby]

This is interesting. I was actually toying with the idea of trying accupuncture.

With the diet I am not sure there is a causal relationship but I do think that an inflammatory diet may worsen rosacea symptoms to those predisposed. I also have a condition of the bladder (amongst other inflammatory conditions) which if I even have one coffee (very acidic) will flare up like nothing else. I am hoping that I can get some of my rosacea symptoms under control by being careful with my diet. It is a process of trial and error for each individual though.

[Jason1984]

Hi Eastwest

What foods do you eat and what foods do you avoid?

Thanks

[eastwest]

Originally Posted by melissawohl

That is wonderful news eastwest
And I totally agree with what Alex said.

However, I wonder how much of your success is due to the acupuncture vs the actual diet and herbs? Perhaps it is the acupuncture that had such a beneficial effect on your rosacea or it could be the dietary changes of course or just a combo but I do wonder if anyone else has tried acupuncture and had good results with it.
Melissa

I am going to guess that the acupuncture was a big part of it. I really changed my diet about 3 months after starting acupuncture, but started to see really good results in the first 3 months.

Jason,

Which foods do I eat and what do I avoid? I've cut out all red meat completely, unless it is some special occasion. But I'll go weeks or months without red meat. Mostly chicken and fish now for protein. I used to have a lot of starchy carbohydrates, but those types of foods are way down in my diet (mostly just rice or potatoes now if at all on some days). Anything oily, greasy, or fatty are avoided. I now have lots and lots of fibrous vegetables, especially green vegetables. I start off a lot of days by having a smoothie (1 banana, a cup of blueberries or strawberries, 2 big handfuls of spinach and water). Sounds gross, but actually tastes not bad cuz you can't taste the spinach.

I also used to snack on chips and sweets like chocolate. I didn't used to think it was a big deal because I am in quite good shape so I thought as long as I burned off the calories it would be ok. Not so, ANYTHING HARD ON THE LIVER supposedly makes the rosacea worse. I've also cut way down on the alcohol consumption, but this is tough to cut out all together due to social outings. I've been told that alcohol is another big no no. I stay away from things that are refined and also sugary things. Finally, no more spicy foods.

It seems like when I found out about this, everything that I liked had to be cut out. But maybe that's why I've had rosacea, because I had too many of the bad things and it was day after day after day. I never let the body get back into balance. Since I've cut these foods out and now that I'm used to it, it's no big deal for me to avoid them.

[nataljaoo]

Hi Eastwest,

how good to read you are having such good results from the acupuncture and also the diet changes.
I also feel that my diet is a very important factor in keeping my rosacea and the general inflammation of my skin under controle. It is remarkeable that this diet you sort of describe has so much similarities with the Chinese anti-inflammatory diet, that also plays a major key in Chinese medicin to get skin diseases like eczema under controle. It is very similar; no chocoltae, no fried foods, no alcohol, no spices, little sugar, no red meat, only certain types of fish and veggies and fruits. I have seen very good results from it in the past, even before I knew I had rosacea.

It is hard though to follow it every day. A good 'snack' I found is gluten-free pancakes.
I use a mix of rice flour and tapioca flour, mix it with an organic egg (mainly the egg yolk, not the white if you are sensitive for histamine) and some salt. I add water to it, but you can also use rice milk or goats milk or whatever. Rather no cows milk. I bake them in sunflower oil and put confiture (marmelade?) on it from pure blackberries. Lovely and they don't make my face worse.

Good luck!