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hey everyone. i am wondering if anyone has had problems with skin and hair? i feel my hair is thinning and ive had horrible acne issues. im wondering if this is due to ic or maybe stress related to the ic. matia said acne can happen, i forgot to mention the hair issue. what does everyone use for skin and hair that will not cause a flare up? also any nail problems for anyone? i personally have had a few of my nails have grooves in them that dont appear normal!
torey
When I first started with Matia my hair, skin and nails were terrible. My hair was falling out and it was very thin especially in the front. My hair is much better now, it's a normal thickness in the back. The front of my head is still sensitive and so my hair doesn't grow very long before it falls out, but Matia tells me this will get better. My skin was breaking out like crazy, I think this is one of the ways your body detoxes. My skin is sooo much better now. My nails used to be weak and had a lot of ridges, now they look better than I ever remember them looking before. The condition of your hair, skin and nails is one of the ways you can see that your body is getting back into balance. Their continued improvement is one of the things that reassures me that I am getting better. Carol
Thanks so much for sharing...
Carol - how long did it take for your skin to start improving? and how long before it was much improved?
Lisa
I'd guess that it was about a year before I stopped getting so many big, ugly impossible to cover up breakouts. I would have breaks in between having bad skin so it wasn't a year straight of feeling so self conscious. I had so many weird and terrible symptoms in my first year that my skin was not what really freaked me out. Probably because I never really had "clear" skin since I was a teenager. I do still have breakouts, but they are super tiny and easy to hide. I was about 2 years into treatment when I noticed that my skin was remarkably better. Just keep telling yourself that this isn't forever, your skin will improve. And try that probiotic mask, I wish I had known about that!
your support means a lot
Carole -- good to know there were at least some better periods in between. I just feel so gross -- but I guess since you & others are sharing how self-conscious you felt as well, I'm not completely crazy that this bothers me so much. It's hard when, among other things, not only have the disease & treatment meant the brakes on sex life for my husband but now he wouldn't want to touch me if he could!
Yes, I've had many other die-off symptoms too that should make the skin thing not as big a deal... but the problem is more that it's ON TOP OF everything else... like I'm so overwhelmed by dealing w/ the pain, getting through the treatment and its effects, etc.. and I can't believe I've got to face (no pun intended) this as well. But I will continue to remind myself that "this too shall pass"... I agree that's the best focus. Thanks for your support.
Are you healed/recovered bladder-wise?
Lisa
I'm still working on getting completely better. I'm close, but like a lot of things in my life the hardest part is in the last 10-20% (not that it's physically difficult but it's just taking soooo long). But in most ways I have my life back, I am can eat pretty much anything that Matia would ever recommend eating, my bladder symptoms are mild now, all my other weird symptoms have also toned down and I'm not freezing cold all the time! The root of my IC is very deep in my joints and is very hard to get out. Matia says eventually it will all be gone, so i just keep plugging away. Carol
Carole --
That really is fabulous for you that you're getting so close, esp. from my just-at-the-beginning-of-all-this perspective -- just being able to eat most foods is huge! congrats for getting that far! Though I can still understand your frustraion w/ wanting to 'cross the finish line' - this is such a test in endurance and patience. I wish you much further healing and thank you again for taking your time to share & help me.
Thanks so much for sharing...
Carol - how long did it take for your skin to start improving? and how long before it was much improved?
What is/was your skin experience & how is everyone coping?
I'm dealing with bad breakouts & thinned hair (both of which started before seeing Matia but now with the treatment my skin is getting bad -- and when I say bad, I mean B-A-D). I know that it's a positive signal toxins are eliminating, that it should go away once I'm better, that looks are superficial, etc. etc. but sadly none of that helps much to shake the emotional impact/self-consciousness. You'd think resolving the IC pain would make everything else unimportant but the fact that you can't really hide your face, that makeup only covers so much, etc. is making this such a struggle for me. I'm being brutally honest here, and it's hard to say, but it's bad like I want to cry every morning when I look at my face without makeup, don't want my own husband to see me, don't want to go out with people.... I just feel disgusting. And when Matia said at the meeting that if skin is your major eliminative route, it will keep happening, I'm afraid I'll have to deal w/ this for one year, more? So I want to ask how are others coping with this?For those further along in treatment, how long did it take for your skin to improve?
lisa i know how u feel
its been pretty hard for me too. i work in the hair and spa industry constantly surrounded by ppl who look''perfect''. its been hard for me to go to work and face my clients b/c they look up to me FOR beauty answers.i just keep trying to tell myself once i get through this my skin will look better than ever, but its still hard to face the now. are you using makeup that doesnt cause more irriation during treatment?
Thanks Torey
Wow, that's got to be esp. hard given your line of work -- I feel for you. The only face makeup I'm using is 'natural' mineral powder (zinc & titanium oxides) so pretty basic. On occasion if I have to dress up for something or my skin's esp. bad I'll wear Estee Lauder's full cover? cream foundation... but I'm always hesitant to use it even if it would make me feel better as I don't want it to worsen my skin since it's heavy & has chemicals, plus the color match isn't great so it looks very painted on/heavy. I'd love to find a heavy duty coverage that is safe & wouldn't aggravate things but don't know if it exists.
Skin
Also I had bad BAD break outs all over my face and neck in the beginning of the treament. I think it lasted for more than 1 year. I did not really care so much about it because I was just too sick all over. Slowly very slowly that all went away. I did not put any thing on my skin because I felt my body was doing the right thing. All these toxins that have been building up in our systems for many many years, they need to come out. There are 4 elimination channels; the bowels, the kidneys, the lungs and the skin. It is good to let the skin breathe. It will disappear in the near future. At this moment you are cleaning out all the bad stuff. Let it come out. You will be rewarded eventually. My skin looks better than it has ever been. Everything is going to be fine. You are going to be fine. I know what it is, I have been there. Your lives will be so different when you are all done with this!Much love,Angela.
this might help
Hi Lisa and Torey!Here is something Matia once told me to try for breakouts: a little water + some powdered probiotic (out of the capsule, etc; I usually use megadophilus, make sure it is dairy free) + a little olive oil. It is hard to give exact amounts; you have to play with the consistency. You don't want it too watery, or too pasty/crumbly. You don't want too much oil, but you want some b/c this solution can be drying to the skin. Matia said it puts some healthy bacteria on your face to help fight the bad. I put it on at night. It can itch a little when it dries on your skin, but it does seem to help some. icnot4me
icnot4me--Thanks for this suggestion
How much do you find it helps w/ the breakouts? When you say 'some' is that like 10% or 50%? I'll try it of course but want some idea of how much it's worth it to do every night.
Thanks again for sharing this -- so much appreciated.
IC Hope
I have gotten pimples that are almost more like welts, so painful they have been. The probiotic solution helps diminish the size and pain for me; I guess 'lessen' is the appropriate word. Try it one or two nights and see how it goes, if it lessens the size and appearance of the breakouts. Sometimes I would make a paste, like oxy, and glob it over large pimples and let it harden. You have to be careful washing that off though, that you don't remove the head before it's ready, etc. Hard to explain what it does; it puts some good guys on your face to help tame the bad. Just make sure you've got those one or two drops of olive oil in there to counteract dryness. You kind of have to play with the mixture which can be a pain. As you apply it, you'll see what consistency is best. I did not put it all over my entire face; just pimples/areas of breakout. I would not put it over your whole face. I did not need to use it every night; just maybe like 1-3 nights in a row depending on the severity of the breakout. Most times I only used it once or twice I hope this helpsicnot4me
Thanks icnot4me
This is really helpful -- I really appreciate your taking the time to give me such thorough info & instructions. So how is your skin now & how long did it take to clear for you?
ichope
Again, can't give you a straight answer on that. My skin breakouts have waxed and waned throughout my treatment, depending on what I'm taking and what Matia is doing. The paradox is that probiotics taken orally cause breakouts for me, but probiotics applied topically help with the breakouts. Also, my menstrual cycle comes into play a lot; I tend to break out right before my period. My skin os pretty good now, I do attribute some of that to switching from liquid foundation to mineral/powder makeup. have to be careful there b/c minerals could cause a bladder flare but it did help a lot. Be sure not to contaminate any makeup you are using with bacteria, or even more breakouts can occur.I know how difficult the skin issues can be. At one point I was covered head to toe with hives from a cleanse/junk coming out. Everything does go away. It just takes timeicnot4me
Thanks for clarifying
Appreciate your input. Yeah, I use pretty natural mineral makeup, like only 3 ingredients & no chemicals, but my skin is now getting so bad I need something stronger.
makeup
i would like to hear what everyone uses for makeup that is safe? i have used bare minerals for a long time and really liked it, and before i go spend more money on makeup i would like to hear from others what works well:)
You can try
Everyday Minerals. Bareminerals still has many other chemical ingredients, but EM has only 3/4 ingredients tops, and the coverage is just as good at least to me. They have a very thorough site and tons of colors.
hey girls
has anyone noticed their hair getting better yet during treatment? if so how far along did it take?my nails and skin are actually doing great, my hair seems to still be struggling with being thin,brittle,dry,scalp oily.
hair
My hair has improved quite a lot in the past three months. I am 10.5 months into treatment. Just before the improvement I had quite a bad case of dry scalp which I think was die of because it was extreme. Now the scalp is only a little dry more probably because of the season. My hair is actualy very healthy soft and shiny looking again. I used to have very healthy looking hair until I started to get ill. This I look back now was a sign. I used to use all sorts of product and harsh dyes in my hair. Now I don't use any styling products and a safer hair dye although it still has some chemicals. I ordered the henna that Angela suggested so waiting to use this. So hoping my hair will get even healthier. My skin has also improved which I do get many comments about. My nails are what I am hoping improves they have always been fairly weak. I have had peiods where they do grow so there is some hope for them.
Hair
Hi Toreyg, my hair is in really good condition now, it's taken some months. When I saw Matia In Nov it was stringy and thin and dank looking - after I washed it, it looked just as manky as before. But now (5 months later) it is really soft and shiny! I eat loads of olive oil (light) every day so I think this helps, and also oily fish about 4 days a week - getting good oils in the diet is important I think for hair, skin and nails. Also drinking enough water for yr body weight, climate etc
jane,
thats great ur hair is doing so much better! has it thickend any yet? i worry about it, i cant believe how much my hair has thinned, i keep forgetting to ask matia about when hair gets better. my skin and nails are doing really well tho! just wish my hair would follow