Rosacea 101 by Brady Barrows

[Guest]

I ordered this book from Amazon.com after seeing Dr. L. mention it in a reply to someone's question here on the forums (don't remember the thread... sorry... but it was recent, so if you're looking for it, it shouldn't be too hard to find).

Anyhow, since I have rosacea (albeit very well controlled) on my face, and I wanted to test the theory that maybe I have some ocular rosacea contributing to my problems, I figured I'd try to implement some of the suggestions in the book, one of which is Brady's "Rosacea Diet".

Now this diet is pretty strict... INSANELY so, actually... but I figured what the hey... what have I got to lose... best case, my eyes improve.. worst case, I lose a few pounds and will be able to fit all of my pre-baby clothes again.

Anyhow, this diet involves eating a LOT of protein and very low carbs, avoiding all known rosacea triggers etc. Surprisingly, I haven't been hungry while on this new eating regime. Well, except for yesterday... I ran out of meat... lots of vegies, low carbs, and no meat definitely equals hunger time! So... off to the grocery store I go to buy MORE MEAT! lol

(he has a vegetarian version of his diet too, just in case any vegetarians are reading this)

So far, I don't know if it's helped my eyes, since I'm also trying to simplify my eye regimen... they have gotten a bit improved over the past couple of weeks, but I have no way of knowing if it's the diet, or the simplification to my eye regimen. One concrete thing though is that I've lost 4 lbs... cool! 8 lbs to go and I'll fit all of my old clothes again...HOW COOL!... I LIKE my old clothes darn it, and it sure would be nice to fit into them again!

If anyone else tries this crazy regimen, let us know how it works out for you!

[peepers]

i suffer with mild facial flushing & have little whiteheads on my cheeks,more so on the left side (my left eye is worse but don't know if thats just coincidence).Just wondering if this sounds like rosacea?

[alisonW]

SAAG - please keep us posted - I have almost bought that book several times. Good luck!

peepers - flushing is a key symptom of rosacea. The clogged pores you have could be acne rosacea as well. Definitely check out the Rosacea info on www.mayoclinic.com for more information. Many people with ocular rosacea have no visible facial symptoms - the eye problems can precede the facial problems.

[Guest]

Figured it's time for an update.

I manage to follow the diet pretty much to the letter for 5-7 days, then I run out of meat, and start incorporating more carbs back into my diet (since my pantry is loaded with them!)

During the time that I am following the diet properly, my skin gradually improves until these little pink pimple-like bumps I get all over my forehead, nose, and between my eyebrows disappear. (My rosacea is well controlled enough that most people would probably never even notice these little bumps, but of course, I can see them quite well when scrutinizing my face in the mirror! )

But when I go off the diet due to running out of meat, and therefore starting eating more of a higher carb diet for a few days, those little bumps come back.

This pattern has repeated itself several times now since I started this diet thing, and is consistent for me. (ie. follow diet for 5-7 days, run out of meat and go off it for a few days, go to grocery store to restock my meat supplies, follow diet properly again for 5-7 days... run out of meat etc.)

So, to my complete shock, this diet really does seem to help my rosacea.

Whether it helps my eyes or not is still a question. I'm not sure. Don't even know if I HAVE ocular rosacea for sure, but was hoping I might luck out and have this rosacea diet help my eyes (since such a high percentage of people with facial rosacea have some ocular involvement, I figured it was worth a shot...)

My eyes are the best they've been since they flared up last summer... but because I'm also using other treatments for the eyes, hard to know if THAT is what led me to any improvements over the past month or if it's this crazy diet.

One more thing...

For the past week, I've modified this diet so that I eat a "normal" supper. ie. if there are potatoes, rice, or some other high carb food in the meal, I'll eat it! I think following the rosacea diet exactly as written in the book is too difficult in the long term... I find the breakfasts and lunches easy, but supper not so much...hopefully I can get away with eating "normal" suppers and still have the benefits from the diet... we'll see! So far, so good though! The author of the book suggests trying the strict version of the diet for 30 days to prove to yourself whether or not it helps you... he suggests that after 30 days, you can experiment with the effects of adding various trigger foods and carbs back into your diet if your rosacea can handle it without flaring up again.

Phase 2: start working out again religiously 3 times a week... Dr. L. recommend exercise in his book for dry eyes, so I might as well give it a shot (still hoping to get back into my pre-baby clothes too darn it!) err... hate working out though... maybe I'll start that work-out thing NEXT week