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Diet

Posted , 9 users are following.

rona14627
rona14627

i would like to know how important diet is in lichen sclerosis 

especially suger. 

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • judy04448
    judy04448 rona14627

    Posted

    I have not found any medical studies that confirm a link. But in reading the blog posting many people seem to feel that sugar agrivates their condition. It also is related to yeast infections which seems to come up in personal reports. Listen to your body. If you get a flare up after eating a lot of sugar try cutting back to see if you see a correlation,
  • andrea58721
    andrea58721 rona14627

    Posted

    how important diet is in lichen sclerosis especially suger. 

    _____

    Is that ever a good question!

    For the most part, mainstream doctors in Canada don't talk about diet as it relates to disease.  I'm being treated by a mainstream practitioner for my LS, so who knows? Nobody in the medical profession is saying.

    But here's what I think. It's a bit convoluted, so please bear with me.

    I've been on a diet of no dairy, no wheat, no flour or sugar since 2003. It was prescribed for irritable bowel syndrome which I got a few years before I developed vulvar LS. Since good health is related to how well your intestines/ bowels get rid of waste, when I did get LS, it was a mild dose. It only flares up when I'm going through a stressful period.

    My integrative doctor considers there are 3 types of stress: environmental, emotional, and eating foods to which your body is sensitive.

    Aother thing: I had vaginal yeast infections throughout my young married life, one after the other. I'm now 66 & LS was diagnosed ten years ago. Thinking about yeast in bread-making, you put the yeast in water. Then when you add sugar it explodes into overgrowth. I was once told that's what happens in  your body if you have any yeast trying to get a foothold. Also, if you crave sugar, it could be the yeast talking..... At one point I ended up with systemic yeast throughout my body. No energy whatsoever!

    But, back to the non-stop vaginal yeast infections. I believe that in my case they morphed into vulvar LS after menopause.  The two conditions have many similarities and I'm convinced there was a connection for me.

  • lee12629
    lee12629 rona14627

    Posted

    Ivre read ls can be from past trauma to the skin..dermatits etc
  • kb08194
    kb08194 rona14627

    Posted

    I have never had an issue with diet until this pregnancy. Clobetasol every few days did the trick; I ate what I wanted. But now this entire pregnancy, I have been a mess struggling with flare ups. It has been terrible. Several women on here suggested sugar, and as much as I hated to do it, I cut it out completely and things have dramatically improved. If I do cheat and have a sugar dessert, I pay for it the next day. I have noticed I can have a cookie or a small piece or cake, and I am fine, but anymore than that and I am in a world of hurt. 

    I am really hoping I go back to the way I was before this pregnancy, but limited sugar intake really is a good thing. I just miss my sweets. 

    Good Luck!

    • Jess1612
      Jess1612 kb08194

      Posted

      Hi KB when you say "you are in a world of hurt" what exactly do you mean?  Is it a burn, sting, itch or just general soreness?  Just interested to get and understanding of what people find their symptoms to be.
    • kb08194
      kb08194 Jess1612

      Posted

      All of it - soreness, itching,burning, stinging. It has been terrible. It has never been this bad for me. I think it was brought on by pregnancy and really hope it subsides once I deliver. Prior to this,I had it under control; only having problems a day or two before my period and those were mild in comparison to what I have dealt with the past 32 weeks! This baby can't come soon enough! However, what is funny is that my 3 previous pregnancies resulted in a remission of LS- no symptoms until I stopped breastfeeding. Not sure what that means. 
  • Morrell1951
    Morrell1951 rona14627

    Posted

    Personally, I find it hard to separate stress from sugar. Most of my life (I'm 64) I've known that eating a lot of chocolate gave me boils or made my psoraisis worse, so I've cycled on and off the wagon for decades. The truth is, I'm most likely to binge on sweets when I'm upset of bummed out or anxious under pressure. When I'm calm and content, I eat sensibly. It is definitely true that once you get off the daily visit to the snack vending machine or whatever, the craving for sugar disappears and it isn't hard to resist desserts.

    And as Andrea says, yeast, sugar and LS go hand-in-hand.

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