The no-sugar diet recap

Well, not sure that the no sugar diet I tried worked very well.

But that might have something to do with the fact that I'm a big idiot.
It's especially shameful as I'm the recipient of a science degree.
You'd think I would be able to craft an experiment that would actually work!

So I went off sugar for a few weeks.
My doctor said it might help my psoriasis clear up partially/fully and I thought it was worth a shot.
I use some pretty heavy duty topical medications and I would love to stop using some or all of them at some point.

Anyway, I tried to cut out all refined sugar.
I did see some improvement in my psoriasis.
I was feeling both mildly pleased by the success and really grumpy from the sugar withdrawal when I realized that I never stopped using my medication.
In fact, I was probably extra vigilant because I was thinking about it more.

So not a very good experiment!
There's no way to know if the extra vigilance helped clear things up, or if it was the lack of refined sugar.

Perhaps I'll try it again in a few weeks for real!

Sugar Free?

When most people move to a new city, they find a hair stylist, a doctor and maybe a dentist in that order.

I start with the dermatologist (thanks psoriasis)!

Well, thanks to my dermatologist I spent 2+ weeks trying to eliminate all refined sugar from my diet.

Apparently some people think that since psoriasis is auto-immune, diet can have a huge impact on the symptoms. In my case, I do think that it gets worse when I overindulge in certain food/drink items.

In general, I’ve also been a little concerned about the long-term impact of slathering on a variety of pretty strong topical creams.

So I decided to try going sugar free for a few weeks.

It was a very grumpy 2 and half weeks, that culminated in my eating a large piece of (delicious) wedding cake and drinking some champagne.

At first I thought that there was some change.

Then I realized that I was still using the mildest topical cream.

For someone with a science-ish degree, I clearly did not take a very scientific approach to this little experiment.

So basically, I avoided all sorts of foods..grumbled, made B nuts..and then had NO way to determine if the diet did anything useful for my psoriasis.


Perhaps I’ll try again and also go cold-turkey from the meds..but for now, I’m back on the good stuff.

Kind of.

One thing I did realize is that there is refined sugar in EVERYTHING.

It’s actually scary.

Even pita chips have refined sugar. WHY do pita chips need sugar?

The answer is, they don’t!

So although I’m going to start eating some sweet things again when I need a treat, I am going to try and avoid refined sugar in every day items. It’s OK if I eat sugar when I eat a piece of cake. Cake should have sugar.

But pita chips? Bread? Jam? Why do these things need refined sugar, and often lots of it?

No more no-sugar, but definitely less.

Runway pictures & accesseries breakdown!

AKA the last (I think!) Psoriasis Runway Post..


Before I post a few pictures of my custom-designed outfit, my accessories and Tim Gunn (!), I just wanted to include my written response to a reporter about the experience.

QUESTION:

How do you think participating in Addressing Psoriasis™ will change your life or your perspective on style or psoriasis?


I think that participating in the campaign broke down the final barrier in the way that I relate to having psoriasis. Although I've never been ashamed of the condition, I've always considered it something private and managed it in a way that helped redirect attention to other parts of my life/body. While I'm happy that I managed to maintain a sense of personal style despite the condition, I don't think I realized how important it can be to really share my experience with others. Since participating in the campaign I've found myself blogging, talking, and generally being more open about living with psoriasis. In return I've received so much support from family, friends, and even strangers who felt like they were also kind of suffering in silence. Now that I've taken that first step in reaching out, I'm going to continue!







And now for some pictures!



From far left:

Post runway with Stacy!

My earrings (Olivia Clare Designs)

Bracelet (http://www.starsandinfinitedarkness.com/wiredrelapse.html)

With Tim Gunn

Shoes (Vegan line from Steve Madden)

Psoriasis thoughts post-runway..i.e. the last post without any pictures of the outfit/experience!

It seems crazy that the entire Address Psoriasis runway experience already occurred over a week ago.

I've been emailing,chatting, and meeting with my designer, Stacy, for months.
I participated in multiple conference calls, several interviews with reporters and had the chance to wave on the Today show.
I met the other winners, had a chance to interact with Tim Gunn, and walked the runway in front of a room full of media contacts and guests.

What an experience!

When I entered the contest last spring, I really did not think that I would be selected as one of the winners.
For one thing, I can't remember a time when I didn't have Eczema or Psoriasis.
I've also been pretty successful over the years at managing or hiding the condition. I covered my fingers in band aids in kindergarten, and had friends 'check' my neck and scalp for flare ups whenever I pulled my hair into a ponytail.
I still get frustrated when I see a flare advancing across my forehead in red angry patches, but mostly I just ignore the entire situation.

Being forced to talk about Psoriasis all summer and meet other people in similar situations kind of made ignoring it impossible!

It really has been exciting and humbling.

Overall, I'm glad this experience has forced me to stop ignoring the Psoriasis.
Yes, it's irritating to deal with an auto immune disorder with such visible skin symptoms..but I have it, and isn't going away.
All of the other contestants live with their Psoriasis, and have amazingly full lives: partners, friends, great jobs, babies, & grand babies!

I think if nothing else, I'm going to move forward and just be a little more forgiving of myself. If there's nothing I can do about a flare up, then there's no point in getting upset or feeling embarrassed.
A little more self-care and a little less self-doubt has got to be a good thing!

So what is Psoriasis?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm not going to copy and paste from WebMD or google, because some dry facts about the disease just don't seem that interesting. If you want the technical definition, feel free to look it up!

Anyway, what I will say is this: Psoriasis is an auto immune disorder. One of the most common problems with psoriasis is that the body overproduces skin cells, so you (often) end up with patches of red/ flaking skin. A percentage of people with psoriasis also end up with psoriatic arthritis due to the immune interaction with joints.

So far I'm pretty lucky. My psoriasis is mostly contained to my head, shoulders, forehead, and back. I occasionally have 'flare ups' on my arms but they're not usually as bad. Since most of my 'problem' areas are normally covered by clothing (or the hair on my head), most people don't even realize that I have psoriasis.

It can be pretty frustrating, mostly because it's a chronic condition with no cure.
I definitely get annoyed when scalp flare ups end up looking like uncontrolled dandruff, but thanks goodness for curls! Most of the time you can't even tell when I'm having problems thanks to my hair volume.

Anyway, the address psoriasis campaign was created/funded by a drug company in order to raise awareness about the disease. They wanted to showcase how you can still have confidence and personal style despite living with a chronic condition that can (potentially) limit your clothing choices and confidence.

Although I don't often talk about living with psoriasis, I entered their contest because it's definitely a part of my daily life. It was really exciting to be selected as a winner & participate in the fashion show (hosted by TIM GUNN).

As part of the prize package all of the winner (and a guest) got to fly to NY, stay in a hotel, and walk the runway in a custom designed outfit. B and I also got to meet Tim Gunn!

B and I didn't have to fly to NY, but it was exciting to get the rest of the prize! I've been collaborating/ meeting with my designer Stacy all summer and was SO happy to walk down the runway in the outfit she created.

Anyway, that's the psoriasis overview and contest background.

Next up: NY activities with the other address psoriasis contest winners and runway details!

Psoriasis runway fun now over...so back to blogging!

Wow, what a week!

As many of you know, I just finished participating in a fashion show for the address psoriasis campaign.

Now that I'm back @ work/home I'm going to start blogging about the experience.
I used twitter to chat about my feelings pre-runway and during the lunch but I'm also excited to really talk about psoriasis and the event now that I have a little more time/access to a computer!

To start, here's the video the campaign produced! I walk 2nd to last..

http://www.addresspsoriasis.com/video/popup_fashionshow.html?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&width=680&height=520

Big news. And no, we did not buy a house, get engaged/married, or procreate. So stop thinking about any and all of the above--you know who you are.

And no, I'm not giving out the big news in the title. You'll just have to read the post.
:)


Anyway:

I don't usually post super specific info about myself.



Ok, that's kind of a lie!

I post about my job(s), furniture, and life with Layla and B.



But I don't think there's a single picture of my face anywhere on the blog.



Guess that's (kind of) about to change!



I entered a contest a few months ago.

I saw a flashing banner on bravo's website (B and I are project runway junkies) that said TIM GUNN and something about psoriasis.



In case you don't' know, I think Tim Gunn is pretty great.

And by pretty great, I mean perhaps my favorite person on tv.

Oh, and I also have psoriasis.



Anyway, I went to the website and entered the contest.

Then I forgot about it for months!



Well, turns out I'm one of the winners.. (scroll down..I'm there, I promise).

I get to walk in a runway show wearing a custom designed outfit, and chit chat to media about living with psoriasis.



I thought that all that chit-chatting should probably include my own blog.



I won't give you all the details. Check out the website.



Oh, and check out the info about my designer.

We ichat.

And email.

And phone chat.

I've made her tweak the design several times. Even after I've supposedly made decisions.

She just smiles and sends new designs.

I'm a huge fan.



Anyway, there's my big news!