Getting rid of Granuloma Annulare
Posted , 25 users are following.
Hello! I've just joined so that I can pass on some information that may help. It may be a long one but bare with, I've waited 30 years to get rid of my granuloma annulare or at least try and control it and now I've managed to achieve clear elbows for the first time since I was 13! (all the rest is fading fast)
In my experience, none of the treatments work, in fact, the only steriod I ever tried managed to thin the skin on my foot so badly that I will need a skin graft if I make it to old age! The dermatologists I've met seem either not to care or at a loss as to what causes it. I made a slightly off the wall decision to visit a well reputed allergy tester. I was very sceptical as I was/am fit and healthy and live an active life on a farm. The machine used to flag up intolerences showed that sugar, yeast and in fact most moulds were not tolerated by me - causing inflammation. At this point I started to listen more intently. Firstly because I know I'm allergic to penecillin and the white and brown moulds in my straw at the farm. Secondly because when I was diagnosed in the 1980's the hospital told me not to eat sugar. In those days they thought there was a link between Type 1 diabetes and granuloma annulare. That is no longer the case. However, there must be a link somewhere whether it's related to insulin or hormones. I have adopted a life changing diet that has completely removed processed food and sugar and on that journey I have learned a great deal about the body and how it functions. I believe that this skin condition is your body telling you something, whether that is an imbalance of insulin, hormones, poor gut or whatever a good diet definitely helps. My diet before was not bad at all but now it is near on perfect. However, I should point out that it took 6 months before I started to see them fade. I cut out alcohol for the first 3 months and reintroduced red wine only at weekends after that time. I also cut out bread and replaced it with good quality crackers for a while. I have reintroduced good breads (no sugar) but with yeast and there has been no adverse effect. I've switched dairy and meat to all organic to avoid the added hormones and as many veg as I can to organic to avoid the toxins in chemicals. As I write this I realise it all sounds a bit excessive but it is a journey of discovery which starts with sugar. It has only been in the last 30-40 years that we produce and process food the way we do - largely because it is cheap. Granuloma Annulare may be benign but I suspect cases are growing because our bodies are sensitive to the environments we live in. If you have seen it then you may be interested to learn more about John Yudkin - definitely worth a Google. Good luck to all of you trying to deal with this condition.
9 likes, 21 replies
marsha33788 samantha86487
Posted
I have been on a whole clean diet for 3 months with no results at all. In fact my rash is still spreading. The last 2 weeks I have also eliminated foods that are high in histamine. I feel like I can't eat anything anymore. Very frustrated.
samantha86487 marsha33788
Posted
Hi Marsha - sorry for delay, just working out how this site works! Mine too got worse before it got better. I was really concerned in the beginning because there seemed to be an explosion of lots of little new ones. All I can say is keep going. The body takes time and I can say that mine did not make any difference for 6 months. I know it feels too long and easy to give up but i can highly recommend that you keep on it. I'll be wearing short sleeves this summer for the first time in nearly 30 years! Good Luck :-)
samantha86487 marsha33788
Posted
And another thought...I'm not an expert but when I tried to reduce all sorts of other carbs like rice, pasta and anything that could inflame it made me feel awful too. If you can stick to sugar free for now rather than giving the body too much to take on then you'll have a better chance of settling things down. Sugar is the only thing you can remove from the diet with no bad side effect. All other food stuffs (except anything that we're officially allergic to) give us some form of nutrition. Good luck again.
muchilera samantha86487
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i have ga for 9 months. i have never had food allergies , dermatologist keep asking if i have diabetes- which i don't.after reading posts here i started a gluten free diet although i am sceptic. will try to do it for months. i usually don't eat sugary foods but i love fruit. did you eliminate all carbs and fruit from your diet? thank you for your guidance
ann47246 muchilera
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debi42k samantha86487
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Samantha,
i have been sugar-free for about 6 years now but my GA has only appeared in the last 12-15 months. It has continued to get worse and has spread from the back of my hands to my arms, shoulders, upper back & thighs! Although I do not eat white, refined sugar, I do eat fruit which has a lot of natural sugar. I use stevia & splenda (when other sweeteners are not available) & local honey. I wonder if your sugar-free lifestyle is devoid of any sweetener or just refined sugar. Thanks!
sheree21376 marsha33788
Posted
I had granuloma annulare for as long as I can remember until I went vegan, for health and ethical reasons. I remember looking at my feet, ankles, elbows, and knees one day and the stuff was gone! I never did anything different, but gave up milk, milk products, eggs, fish, meat and poultry. I'm still vegan and it's been gone for about 4 years. I assume the rash has something to do with animal protein and an inflammatory response. I'm 55 years old right now and remember having this as such a small kid, maybe 7 or 8. I remember giving up and just living with it. I never used the steroid cream because I was too afraid of thinning skin. In the spots where I used to have the rash, the skin is fine, and I cannot tell it was ever there. I hope this helps someone. Please let me know if it does.
rachel92364 samantha86487
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Hi everyone, I also absolutely believe that it is coming from the inside. I did an allergy test aswell and the outcome was that I respond badly to cowmilk. Thats why I am dairy free now for 4 months. Before that I've tried a histamine free diet. So far no luck. I also tried taking anti-histamine tablets twice a day for a while, but it didn't do anything. Wich makes me believe that I am not allergic for something.
I am very interested in the the no-hormones. I like this view on the matter and haven't read into it yet. I've read on some forums that the spots dissapear when women are pregnant. Wich makes it a hormonal thing... It would make total sense!!! I will read into that. Thanks for sharinging your thoughts.
Sonja (Netherlands)
virginia55267 samantha86487
Posted
This is good to hear because I have had GA for over 10 years, all due to a mosquito bite! Two different dermatologists didn't know what it was; my brother-in-law, a transplant surgeon, diagnosed it as soon as he saw it! He is the only doctor who has contiunued to help me try and alleviate it, but even he is frustrated with the lack of research. After 10 surgeries in 8 years, including neck plates and 2 hip replacements, my GA is worse than ever. It literally exploded 24 hours after my last hip replacement. Due to all of the metal in my body, Metallosis is adding to the GA problem. I have tried elimination diets, removing medications, alcohol, caffiene, etc but nothing seems to help. Several of the doctors I have seen said there is nothing I or they can do. I believe that is an immune system disorder and the metal in my body doesn't help. However, I am not giving up! This forum has given me the courage to safely eliminate things from my diet, since I can't get rid of the metal. I will beat this or play for to for with my many patches...have to keep a sense of humor!
emma31356 virginia55267
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peggy72845 virginia55267
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ive read medications can cause it. i always thought the anesthesia i had triggered it. your post makes it seem possible.
Deetom samantha86487
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sheree21376 Deetom
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I went vegan for other reasons and mine went away. No meat, fish, dairy, eggs. Had GI for about 40 years and then all of a sudden, gone. I didn't expect it to happen, so can't say how long it took, but definitely less than 6 months. I think the animal protein causes some inflammatory response. Let me know if that helps you. I'm strict vegan, though, so please know that.
peggy72845 sheree21376
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i wonder if you ate clean meats? not injected with antibiotics, hormones, vaccines and steroids. hmm
Guest samantha86487
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