My Eczema Journey: Part Three

The Christmas before I completely cut out my food sensitivities was interesting. Before the blood work came back, the doctor recommended that I cut out gluten and dairy.  Even without the results, she felt certain they were needing to be removed. A gluten and dairy free Christmas is sad.  One food that came back as a sensitivity  was cocoa. I ate chocolate frequently before I started my elimination diet. The week of Christmas I ate gluten and dairy free chocolate cookies. They were delicious. However, my hands immediately broke out and four hours later, my legs turned bright red and I felt as if I had been thrown into hades. It was terrible. So, I tried the cookies again the next day. The same thing happened again. Obviously, I cut out cocoa a week or two before I was scheduled to. 

By February 2024 my eczema had gotten worse, even though I had cut out gluten, dairy, and all of my other allergens. I was warned by my physician that the supplements were going to make things worse before they would improve. That is just part of the gut cleanse process. I figured it couldn’t get any worse and  did not take her seriously. My skin looked far worse than the pictures I showed in Part Two. I was in so much pain; it was impossible for me to sleep. The only way I could get some rest was by popping two Benadryls pills every night. That went on for probably a month or two. Even then, it didn’t always work. My skin was purging. On occasion, I would accept my fate of having eczema forever because it was not getting better. Then one night, I was able to sleep comfortably without having to take Benadryl. That was a huge accomplishment for me! 

From January to now, learning what I could eat has been a challenge. Luckily, I was introduced to natural grain bread. I had been told to cut out gluten completely. When the results of my allergy test came back, it showed I was sensitive to most of the gluten free grains. So, no gluten free bread for me. I loved to eat bread before this elimination diet. It made up a chunk of my diet. When I had to cut out all the bread and grains completely, basically eliminating all carbs. I was very hungry and dropping too much weight. My mom and I learned about natural, unprocessed wheat berries and grinding your own flour. Store bought  bread is over-processed and filled with preservatives. Through loads of research, my mom and I decided to introduce bread made with fresh milled flour into my diet. When I eat store bought bread made with preservatives and processed gluten, I feel sick almost immediately. I have never had that problem with the bread we make. The only bread I have consumed on a regular basis the past year and a half has been this truly homemade bread. It has changed the game for my gut reset. 

By May of 2024 my eczema had healed by 85%. Unfortunately, I learned that stress makes it worse. It is hard to get my skin under control when my nerves are everywhere. To keep myself calm I use lavender oil supplements that also help with sleep. This is not medical advice. Thank you for reading!