I called Charlie, in Kansas. We hadn’t spoken for quite some time and I needed a Charlie fix. See, Charlie and I are quite different animals when it comes to psoriasis (and a number of other things:)
I was curious how his skin was doing and if he was religiously (ha!) following the protocol. Of course he wasn’t. He was living his life the way he does which is a lot more laid back than me. And he’s more lackadaisical about taking the supplements. And staying off dairy. His mind set is more along the lines that he’s fine with where he’s at. It ain’t perfect. But he doesn’t give a toot.
Because I’d been battling a flare lately (well, that’s up for debate because it’s more like an allergic reaction that’s creating a flare). I wanted his input on what I should do. His recommendation? Water! Drink lots of it. When you wake up in the morning, the first thing to do is drink a big glass of water. Not what you’d call complicated but I have a lot of respect for Charlie so I started drinking more water.
Has it helped? Sure! My skin’s not perfect (it’s a small flare) but it is very slowly improving.
See, this whole adventure with our protocol has been based on a little logic and quite a bit of intuition. Charlie was the Magnesium King. I was the Dairy Queen. Bethany had provided the High Dose D3 and K2 mk7. The whole thing was coincidental–all three of us showing up on the discussion board at around the same time. And each of us providing an essential part that later became a whole– our 4 Part Protocol.
And what has been fascinating for me is how each flare I’ve had has occurred because I needed to learn something.
My first flare was in 2014. This was the BIG one. I was covered in red spots. 90% of my body affected. My dermatologist was recommending Methotrexate. That’s when I hit the Internet and found the discussion board. And Bethany’s thread (post) about High Dose D3 and k2 mk7. I had been dairy free for a couple of months before I started these supplements. Six weeks after I took the first pills I was psoriasis free.
The second flare was a couple of years later (maybe early 2017). It wasn’t very big but it was troubling. I thought the protocol had stopped working but I woke up at 3 a.m. one morning and had the intuition to revisit the Dr. Coimbra hospital study in Brazil. That’s when I found out about foods/beverages fortified with calcium. And that the flare had been caused by changing my almond milk which had a lot more calcium than the one I usually drank.
And, coincidentally, Charlie had also had a flare (at the exact same time) because he started drinking almond milk. I called him to say I thought I was onto something based on the study and he just laughed. He’d realized that the only thing he’d changed in his diet was the almond milk, so he stopped it, and his skin was getting better. Ok, that was weird–us having flares at exactly the same time for exactly the same reason.
And now, this new flare which I blamed on sneaking a little dairy here and there. But, I don’t think that anymore. See, that first big flare in 2014 was set off by an allergic reaction to a laundry soap. And this new one is following that pattern (although much smaller and mostly only on my inner thighs). Now this is NOT a normal place for me to have psoriasis. And it’s also quite hot and red around the spots. That’s not normal for me either.
So, I have learned that laundry detergent residue can set off a flare. AND maybe those fabric softener dryer sheets. So now I’m washing my clothes with a Laundry Ball. No detergent! If I put on anything that was washed with detergent, my skin gets itchy within minutes. That’s important! The supplements (high dose D3, etc.) can’t seem to suppress the damage done by the allergic reaction. I have to 1. keep taking the supplements and 2. keep my clothes free from any detergent residue.
There’s probably still things to learn. I’ll keep you posted about what I find.
Now, if you live in Canada (especially Vancouver) you can buy the laundry ball from my friend Daniela (who is the partner of Mike, our web genius, who keeps this website alive)
.
Here’s the link for getting a Laundry Ball from her: thelaundryball.com
And that’s all for today. I hope you are all doing well, using the protocol, and having your skin clear for the summer.
Much love, Dakota and Lucky (and Charlie, too)
Check Out These Related Posts:
