Until I found out that the solution to getting rid of rosacea is so simple, I went through many experiments. This post is about my personal experience and I hope it helps somebody else with the same problem. Then I definitely reached my goal! I couldn’t be happier about the outcome and I want to share my story, how to get rid of Rosacea.

I found out, that sickness doesn’t have to be a chronic condition. Much more it is the way our body communicates with us, telling us something is wrong and begs us to make a change. And it doesn’t have to be the kind of change that brings our doctors the money in their pockets…

Median Neck Cyst

My personal suffering history with my Rosacea started back in February 2011. But I didn’t know what it was until a year later. So in February 2011 I had surgery on my neck. There was a median neck cyst that bothered me, it even affected my breathing. It felt like a big clump in my neck, I couldn’t swallow properly. The cyst evolved after I had another surgery back in 2005, where my thyroid got cut out after Graves’ Disease. I was actually excited to get the cyst removed, I didn’t care about the surgery and didn’t think about any possible side effects.

Bye bye Cyst, hello Rosacea!

The surgery went well, my surgeon was satisfied, his deed was done. As I resurrected from anesthesia, I was happy to see Alex’ friendly face, not so happy about him taking all those funny pictures of me lying there. Now I’m glad he did, so I can show you how my Rosacea welcomed me after surgery. There it was, glowing on my cheeks. I didn’t know at that time what it was, I thought it was some kind of post-surgery stress syndrome. My surgeon couldn’t give me an answer either. It’s not his field of expertise. Well ok, I could swallow properly and that red stuff on my cheeks will be gone as soon as I leave this hospital. So I thought and hoped. Unfortunately quite the opposite happened, my glowing cheeks didn’t leave me for a while and even got worse sometimes.

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Dermatologist

After about half a year and many tries with aggressive and abrasive self medications, I called a dermatologist. Of course I googled a lot before that appointement and made my own diagnosis. Comparing pictures to my own condition, I thought it must be rosacea. My dermatologist confirmed my diagnosis pretty fast after seeing me, rosacea in the second stadium. She told me it was a chronic disease and that we can soften the symptoms for a while, but they can be triggered anytime.

Peeling with hyaluronic acid

As this disease concerns the face, it can lead to psychic problems. I didn’t like being around people and isolated myself in times when my rosacea glowed. Yes, my cheeks were glowing, but not in the healthy, red-carpet manner. I felt like a light bulb, my face felt hot and swollen.
My dermatologist made peelings with hyaluronic acid. That was a relief, my skin was renewed after the top layer of skin peeled off. For some days after the treatment, it made me look like a snake skinning itself. But after that, skin like a baby! I loved it! Unfortunately, it didn’t last that long. After a month or so, the treatment had to be done again.

The Triggers

My rosacea came and left unannounced. There were triggers that made the outbursts predictable. My triggers were the following:
– Alcohol. I love a glass of red wine from time to time.
– Spicy food and Wasabi. I love those Wasabi coated peanuts…
– Heat… Yeah, I love summer and warm weather.
– Coffee. I need COFFEEEEEE!
– Cigarettes. I don’t need those. Good moment to stop with this nonsense.
So I quit smoking from one day to the other and never regretted that decision. And I really tried to reduce the other triggers as well. But this meant to give up things I really enjoyed. Who wants that.

Antibiotics and lots of Ointments

The only thing that really helped with my rosacea at that time was antibiotics. Topical and oral antibiotics turned out to be most effective against the disease. I loved my skin for those short times when I was on my medication. As soon as I stopped, the rosacea was back. Like a roach. You can drive it off for a while, but it will be back. There were the bumps again, there was the redness.
So it happened, and I’m not proud of it, that I was on antibiotics every three to four months. At least I didn’t have to deal with those ugly bumps on my cheeks. As rosacea is a chronic disease, it came back whenever it wanted. Unannounced and unwanted.

No more Alcohol

After about four years of antibiotics on a regular basis, I was done with this unhealthy situation. I was unhappy and depressed, also a side effect of the medication. So I made my next step and quit the medication. And the alcohol. Not that I was an alcoholic before, but I loved a glass of red wine from time to time. After quitting the drinking, I felt an instant relief and I loved it. The rosacea was still there, but not as present as before. More in the background, still reminding me of being somehow sick. Now I know my body was trying to tell me that I had to try a little harder.

Food heals: How to get rid of Rosacea

Just as surprising as my rosacea came to me, it left almost miraculously after a change in my life. In June 2018, Alex and I changed our diets to a vegan, mostly whole food plant based nutrition. Plant based, because there sure is a lot of vegan junk food out there. We love to cook with natural ingredients, mostly unprocessed and fresh. No convenience food that we don’t know where it comes from with ingredients we can’t pronounce. We choose and prefer soul food that comforts body and soul and actually provides us with the nutrition we need. We did the dietary changes for various reasons, we will tell you all about those in another blog.

As for the rosacea, one of the positive side effects of the dietary change was that it was gone! No more medications, just the natural one. Food heals! For me personally this was the proof. Food can make us sick, but it can also reverse sickness and heal our bodies.

More positive effects: I can eat spicy foods, including my beloved wasabi coated peanuts. A glass of wine is not a problem any longer. I enjoy my coffee and the summer can come!

This is my personal story which is not based on medical science. For me it was a long path to find out what my body was calling for. Maybe and hopefully it will help some of you with the same or similar condition.

Cheers
Lucie