For general health and exploration of "wellness" I began seeing an acupuncturist in August. Diane, a fellow Baha'i and also a good friend of mine, is incredibly talented, incredibly intuitive...I was hooked with the first session. I initially went to get treatment regulating my crazy monthly cycle and resolving chronic depression. But in the course of our sessions she discovered things that also needed attention, thoughts and attitudes firmly lodged in my body that had to be washed away. I began taking herbs for all of these things and was told to change my diet. On the top of the list: No More Sugar.
So I began trying to cut out more sugar from my diet. However, as I'm kind of like a crack fiend, only with sugar, this was less than successful. And so time passed and I kept working on things and seeing her as much as I could. And then I got the rash.
We (meaning me and everyone I was desperately asking) figured it was an allergic reaction to a new product I'd used on my face. Because the rash, the puffy, swollen, itchy raging rash, was only on my face. Lucky me. I didn't want to go out of the house like that, and I was also strangely tired all the time, so I spent a good week sitting at home (when not at work) watching Grey's Anatomy episodes and sleeping. (consequently not helping the depression thing...nothing makes you feel more isolated and depressed than the plague.) And so I got through it. Acupuncture did help, but as Diane tried different herbs on me, nothing seemed to do the trick. It was healing, so it didn't matter...I got rid of the suspect moisturizer and cleanser and put it all behind me.
Until it happened again. And I was so crushed. A sneaking suspicion, aided by frantic google searches led me to believe it was eczema. Which is something you have for life, once you get it. I have a friend who's sister suffers from it. She has to take a ton of Benadryl and uses steroid creams and still has horrible outbreaks regularly. Not having insurance, I wasn't going to run to a dermatologist immediately. I figured it'd be a big bill, for a diagnosis and a prescription for steroid creams that I didn't really want to take, as over time they damage the skin. My parents had come to town that weekend and I think they were really concerned because they'd never seen anything like it. My mom and I had an appointment at the Aveda Institute and though the girl who did my hair was nice, every other perfectly coiffed girl there glanced in horror at the girl who dared to appear in public with a face like that. At my appointment with Diane a few days later, she scolded me for not calling her sooner, and then after doing some acupuncture, she referred me to Dr. Chen, a Chinese dermatologist who would give me specific herbs to treat my condition.
The next day, I sat in the waiting room of the acupuncture school, flustered because I was late, because I got lost. My meeting with Dr. Chen was quick; she looked at my face, my tongue and felt my pulse. I told her about my symptoms and then sat back in the waiting room as she prepared the herbs. That night I felt like I was in Potions class in the Harry Potter books, brewing my concoction. The tea, I soon found out, was horrid stuff. Horrid. Like drinking vomit. And then there was the list of foods that I could not eat. Some I didn't care about. No mangos, okay. No seafood, no problem. No onions or garlic? What? Are you kidding me? It's only what I put in almost every dish I make. It's only what flavors everything. And then there was no beef, no fried food, no pineapple, no turkey. And cut out almost all sugar. Big surprise.
A week on this new regime was hard. And for some reason I thought it would only take a week. I improved dramatically. When I went back and she gave me more herbs, I was devastated. I felt I deserved a reprieve from the restrictions and the vomit tea. I may have been still detoxing from the sugar, because I became super depressed and didn't want to do anything. But later I got used to it. Used to the tea, and the new eating. I'm actually really grateful...nothing else would have made me quit sugar, but the threat of a horrid rash appearing if I didn't.
My skin has been getting better and better since. Until a few days ago. I think I'm having another episode. But I only think so, because I can hardly tell. I can feel it, and there are small patches of the rash here and there. But so far, no horrible outbreaks or eyes so swollen I can't open them in the morning. I see Dr. Chen tomorrow. This will mean more of the yuckier herbs, I'm sure, but I'm pretty sure we'll get to the bottom of this. With all these changes I feel healthier than I have in a long time. And if nothing else, at least I've learned patience. For long-lasting health benefits it takes a longer treatment. Hopefully I'll never have to resort to medicines that are more damaging than beneficial. Hopefully I can kick this eczema, or whatever it is in the butt.
