I am happy to announce today that, three years after this website went live, we have a first guest post. Tim, a reader of the website, kindly agreed to share his story with our audience. Tim, the page is yours.
Hello. I turned 50 earlier this year which means that I’ve been dealing with seb derm for 26 years, more than half my life.
The first year was really tough because I had no idea what I was dealing with and the Internet wasn’t the source for medical information that it is now. My skin was red, raw, cracking, flaking and very oily. It was diagnosed as seb derm right away, and it was all over my face. The first thing that worked for me was Desowen gel, which is a mild steroid. It provided relief for a year or so, but didn’t last. Then I began the long cycle of trying topicals (selenium sulfide shampoo, Nizoral shampoo and cream, Klaron lotion, Loprox shampoo) that worked for a few months or longer, then became ineffective. When I returned to them, they seemed to be effective for less time. So, I began looking for longer term solutions.
I’ve had a couple of breakthroughs over the years which have provided me years of relief. As we know, everyone’s body is different, and everyone’s seb derm is different. These things may work for you, and they may not. There is a lot of information online that you can read about these supplements.
My first breakthrough came in 2007 or so when I tried large doses of Vitamin B5. I read about a protocol on the Vilantae website which sells the pills. After a few weeks, I noticed a major reduction in the amount of oil on my face. It worked just as advertised and the only side effect was mild diarrhea. Because it’s a water soluble vitamin, there’s no risk of it causing damage to your liver. I started by using the Vilantae pills, then switched to Solaray because it was easier to buy them on Amazon. Gradually, I reduced the number of pills I took, and maintained the same positive effects. If oiliness is a big issue for you, check this out. The bonus was that the topicals I was using in rotation worked better because there was less oil on my face. Perhaps they were able to penetrate into the skin better.
This worked well for several years, then I started noticing an increase in oiliness. I then added a supplement of Boswellia Serrata on the suggestion of someone on a seb derm forum. It’s an extract from the boswellia tree. It worked almost overnight to reduce the oiliness even further. Thinking back, I could probably have increased the B5 dose to kick start the effect, but I didn’t. I think I took the Boswellia Serrata 2-3 times per week during that time. I now take it once a week. Again, the reduction in oiliness allowed the topicals to work better and for longer periods of time.
After about 5 years of this relief, I started experiencing red spots on my chin, around my eyebrows and next to my nose, and increased redness overall. The oiliness was still mostly under control, but the topicals weren’t working very well on these areas. I dealt with this for a few years by spot treating the areas with Desonide gel, but it was a low point that lasted a few years.
In 2016, on the advice of another seb derm forum friend, I started taking fish oil (Dr. Tobias brand) and Vitamin D3 (Solgar brand). He said these supplements helped his skin inflammation. I added them to my routine. I started with 2 fish oil pills a day and 2 pills or 10,000 mgs of D3. It took 2-3 months, but I started to notice a reduction in overall redness and spots. My skin seemed more resilient, and not as thin, more like how my pre- seb derm skin was. It was a huge relief. I was able to reduce the topicals to just occasional (once every week or two) treatments with selenium sulfide 2.25% shampoo. This regimen worked great for me for the past five years. I also use a mild soap/lotion called Aquanil mixed with water. It helps keep my skin clean and from getting too dry. Recently, I have noticed some increased redness, so I’m planning to rotate to another topical treatment and possibly increase my supplement intake.
As for my diet, I’ve tried a few different things over the years (low carb, low sugar, no alcohol), but I haven’t noticed a connection with my seb derm. Plus, I don’t think I was disciplined enough to stick to a diet if I didn’t know for sure that it was working.
Regarding mental health, this is the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to deal with. I’ve tried a few different medications (Paxil and others) for depression and anxiety, but I can’t say that I noticed any difference. My main strategy is to distract myself with exercise, reading and work. If I work extra hard while I’m not doing well, I’ll have more free time to enjoy when I’m doing better. I tell myself that nobody really cares how I look. Some people may notice, but they don’t really care or hold it against me. So, I try to care less. I don’t want to miss out on anything because of this, so I force myself to do all the things I would normally do if my skin was in good shape. That’s a tall order sometimes, but I don’t want to have any regrets about how I lived my life. Another thing that helps is to list all the things that I’m grateful for. This really does help.
One thing I’ve done is to keep a diary of all the treatments I’ve tried and things I’ve learned. I recommend it because it’s often reminded me of things I’ve forgotten about, and it’s helped me figure out what to do next.
I hope that my story has been helpful for you. Please feel free to ask me questions in the comment section. I’m an open book!
Best of luck to you all,
Tim
Thanks, Tim, for sharing your story!
Both Tim and I hope that this will be helpful to our readers (you!). If you are reading this and think you could also help others by sharing your own story, please contact me via the contact page.
