Hi

[Sany]

Hello all!!!

I'm a 28 year old female living in London. Since my 14th anniversary I have a severe acne problem. I tried so, so many types of treatment and it never worked. The only thing I manage is to controll it. Recently I started thinking that maybe it was some food that I eat all days that was causing my acne and a new flatmate told me she was intolerant to milk and that milk caused her acne. She stopped it and she's fine now. I was in shock, after all I love milk and cheese and so on. I decided to try it, after all I hate my face and it's not helping my confidence. I've been dairy free for 1 week now and i have a major breakdown. I hope is the detoxing that's contributing to this but what about if it's not?!:unsure: After all I stoped the contraceptiv pill that was controlling it 1 month ago!! How long will this detox effects last??? Sorry, really getting desperate. :cry:

[Pam]

Hi Sany, welcome to the site. The toxins from de-toxing usually clear up within a few days but it might take a few weeks for you to notice a real improvement in your skin. You should be drinking lots of water to help flush out your system and make sure that the rest of your diet is healthy too (stay off greasy food, caffeine and sugar).

There's not really much that you can't find a replacement for on a dairy free diet so if there is anything that you are really missing just ask and someone will be able to point you in the right direction. Unfortunately dairy free cheese is one thing that just doesn't score too highly in the taste tests. At least with your flatmate being dairy free you can share cooking and help each other and you can sample her foods before you buy them yourself.

Good luck, I hope your skin clears up soon.

[rebecca c]

Good luck Sany, dairy makes my nose really bad. Life is so much more bearable without a snotty nose I dont mind giving up the dairy.

I tried giving it up several times over the years for 4 weeks at a time, but with the help of a nutritionist I realised it needed 6 weeks to clear. It is well worth it for me but it can be tricky. Once you have cleared your system, if it helps, you may find you can tolerate the occasional treat.

I've picked up a lot of information from this site and support. Good Luck:)

[matt]

welcome and goodluck. bear with it and let things take their course, cutting out dairy isn't going to make any condition worse.

have you discussed it ever with a doctor? give it atleast a few weeks to see results. but check for hidden milk in stuff or you could find that you're not actually dairy free yet.

[Sany]

Hello again!!! Thank you all for your replies and support!! It's great!!! Tomorrow will be 2 weks since I gave up the dairy. My skin is still breaking out but less and I see changes as it's more lighter than before. I will desperatly hope it's the dairy:D . I never spoke to my docto because of this, but even so I decided to give it a try. I've been checking the labels, so believe I'm completly dairy free. I have to admit sometimes the label doesn't sate milk products on it and I suspect. The real problem is eating out. I have to take my own food to work which is really boring but worth. A coleague ask me if I feel changes in myself and that made me think. I feel exactly the same, same energy, same eveything and I was a heavy milk drinker...I guess I just adapt easilly to dietry changes!!


Thanks again and see you all around

Sany

[cnc]

Hi glad to hear things seem to be on the up. Stick around and let us know how it goes!!
Its always nice to read about the positive things. Good luck and I really hope you continue to see positive results.

[zoefruitcake]

Hiya Sany,

glad it's going ok so far, fingers crossed it will get better and better.

Remember to check toiletries for milk products...

[Broxine]

Hi!

I was told a couple of weeks ago to give up diary (along with red meat and processed food) as I suffer with cronic joint pain. Its only been a couple of weeks but there is already a marked improvement in my pain levels - but I have to admit that my skin (which has never been clear) hasn't cleared up at all and I still suffer with fatigue and stomach upsets... I'm hoping that that will all get better given more time on the new diet - but even if not, the improvement in joint pain has been so miraculous on its own that I'm happy!!!

[cnc]

Hi welcome to the site! Glad you're seeing an improvement. Hows the dairy free diet itself going?
Keep us all updated on your progress.

[Copper]

Welcome to the site Christine - you will find that some of us are a tad mad but harmless :)

It takes a while for the human body to clear itself from all the "bad things", so hopefully you will see more improvement. I am just lactose intolerant and so I am ok as long as I avoid dairy products. I have other allergies too and the list is getting longer :( I spend ages checking foods in the supermarket and dread the words improved as that usually means it did taste fine and now doesn't or they have added things I can't eat.

[Pam]

Hi Christine, welcome to the site. I'm glad to hear that your pain is lessening, evening if you aren't seeing an improvement in your skin yet. Drink lots of water to flush the toxins out.

[rebecca c]

Hi Christine, there is a lot of help and support availble on this site, keep at it and I hope the improvements continue.:)

[Broxine]

Hi welcome to the site! Glad you're seeing an improvement. Hows the dairy free diet itself going?
Keep us all updated on your progress.

The diet is getting a little dull if I'm honest - My mum's Italian so I'm used to loads of red meat and cheese! (I'm not aloud either now!) I've really taken to the soya milk though - think I prefer it to cows milk now. Although it does taste awful in tea, but I've just started drinking water at work now instead which isn't a bad thing. I'm pretty much down to fruit smoothies for breakfast and lunch then chicken pasta or chicken with some sort of veg or salad for dinner. It doesn't help that I'm a fussy eater anyway so now half of the foods I do like have been cut out I'm not left with a lot of variation!

But it's nice that you are all so welcoming - I'll keep an eye out for lots of meal ideas from you all! :D

[cnc]

I have a lot of sympathy with you for the lack of variation- I'm a student in a catered college, and they mostly provide me with chicken (think I went for a week eating nothing but plain chicken and some sort of potato product or plain pasta). Has got slightly better recently, I'm getting more variation (occassionally). You'll find more variations as well soon.
I'm sure people will have plenty of ideas for you- sorry I don't have any of my own particularly, but thats because I mostly eat whatever I can find in the canteen!

[Broxine]

Ah bless! Are you staying in catered resisidence for the whole time you are studying or are you moving out next year?

[cnc]

I get to live in college for the three years, but due to the ballot for rooms I've actually got to go live in a house at the other side of the city, but means I get to cook for myself, which might make things easier for me, but then I move back into college for my final year, so probably back to chicken! and get to choose one of the best rooms in college!!
There is a lot you can do with chicken though, what about turkey, thats nice for a bit of variation! You've got to remember that the lack of variation currently is worth it for the health benefits! and the longer you stick with it the more foods you'll find.

[Broxine]

I wouldn't argue with that! 2 weeks ago I couldn't type because the pain in my wrist and fingers was so bad - now it's down to just a bit of an ache and I'm typing away!!! :thumbsup:

I'm sure you will enjoy living out of halls - I rented house when I was at uni and all my mates who lived in halls ended up staying round mine all the time as they prefered it! (although guess it depends on what the halls are like - Wycombe uni ones weren't very impressive!)

[cnc]

I really like my college, theres only about 400 of us living here, so its like a little community as you see the same people here every day, the college system definately has that edge over halls, lots of my friends are in totally different years to me, where a lot of my friends in other unis only know people in their own year!
My turn to ask the questions!!What do you do now etc.... *I'm not nosy, honestly!!Just trying to make you feel welcome*
Buy recipe books, I'm sure there'll be loads of suggestions in those for you, googling "recipes for chicken" came up with 41,900 websites, so I'm sure you can keep busy with that!! :D

[Broxine]

Well my career has gone down hill really... I did Antique furniture conservation and restoration at Uni, but somehow got into writing bid and tender documentation!!! Its not very much fun but it pays well (more than struggling to set up my own business in furniture restoration) and I can still dable in upholstery and french polishing on the side. Plus it means I have the money to FINALLY buy my own place this year :dance:

I tried turkey mince with gnocci the other day (the gnocci were made with soya milk rather than cows) and it tasted really nice! Once the meat had soaked up the bolognase (sorry - can't spell it!) sauce it didn't taste like plain old turkey at all so that was another one to add to the recipe list. :drool: umm! I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it!

[matt]

welcome to the site.

aah wycombe that lovely town. when were you there? that's where i was for a while whilst i was still working! student accom might have been bad but the rented property was alot worse!!

good to hear things are improving with the pain.

[Broxine]

Thanks!

I was at Wycombe uni in 2000 - 2001/2 but lived there on and off until 2004.

[matt]

i left the end of 2001. well shot of the dump. first night there my supervisor pulls me to one side....."welcome to wycombe matt, it's a f%#%ng s$%hole!!!!" well atleast he was honest.

[Broxine]

Wycombe is a pretty grimm place - which is made even worse by the ridiculous cost of living round there! But I made a good group of mates there that I think will be hard to match again. Sadly they have (like me) all moved to different parts of the country (or world in some cases) so chances are we'll never ALL meet up again.

[matt]

yeah but you've places to visit and people to write to and none of them are in wycombe so that's an added bonus!!! not all bad i suppose, i'm sure i had some good times there......more down in marlow though.