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KlutzyChy1
August 23rd, 2019, 02:00 PM
I've been desperately trying to get my Seborrheic dermatitis to calm down and NOTHING is helping. I literally JUST washed my hair with two different medicated shampoos this morning and just finished blow drying it and every inch of my scalp is covered in flakes and they're getting bigger and patchier. I'm so desperate. I've tried Ketoconazole 2%, T Gel, T Sal, Tea Tree shampoo, Clarifying shampoo, ACV. Nothing is making a difference at all. And it's making me pull out handfuls and handfuls of hair. I just want to cry, I don't know what to do with this anymore. And I can't afford to go to a dermatologist right now and every time I have gone, they just tell me to use the same shampoos I've told them I've already tried. Please, any help would be very appreciated

lapushka
August 23rd, 2019, 02:49 PM
Have you used just 1 of these shampoos, say the Nizoral/Ketoconazole 2% the correct way (letting it sit for 10 min.), then washing with it twice a week?

Rowdy
August 23rd, 2019, 03:14 PM
My sister has scalp psoriasis but also deals with SD flares on top of that and she uses this spray: https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/head--shoulders-royal-oils-instant-soothe-scalp-elixir-treatment/ID=prod6386861-product?ext=gooKBM_PLA_-_Beauty&pla&adtype=pla&kpid=sku6319913&sst=_k_CjwKCAjwnf7qBRAtEiwAseBO_LLYIWXcyWL-1YojQA7UFCTsXCn45OUJuhi4LuFDetwGvxMCJOkx_hoCoKIQAv D_BwE_k_&gclid=CjwKCAjwnf7qBRAtEiwAseBO_LLYIWXcyWL-1YojQA7UFCTsXCn45OUJuhi4LuFDetwGvxMCJOkx_hoCoKIQAv D_BwE

She mostly uses it the day before she washes but occasionally after if the medicated shampoos have made her scalp too dry.

lapushka
August 23rd, 2019, 04:14 PM
Buying all these shampoos costs money too. So before you go out and buy more, I would save that towards a potential doctor's visit. If you could? Any small amount helps and becomes a bigger amount in the end. Just save where you can.

Maybe it is not all SD, and this really needs a professional.

MusicalSpoons
August 23rd, 2019, 04:41 PM
Has it been diagnosed as SD? (Probably a silly question, but just wanting to make sure.) It actually sounds like it's parched, crying out for moisture - mine used to look like crazy paving / cracked desert soil, on the top layer of skin, but I didn't have any underlying scalp condition, it was simply dehydrated. Quite how you'd go about genuinely imparting moisture without aggravating SD I don't know though, sorry :(

KlutzyChy1
August 23rd, 2019, 04:54 PM
Has it been diagnosed as SD? (Probably a silly question, but just wanting to make sure.) It actually sounds like it's parched, crying out for moisture - mine used to look like crazy paving / cracked desert soil, on the top layer of skin, but I didn't have any underlying scalp condition, it was simply dehydrated. Quite how you'd go about genuinely imparting moisture without aggravating SD I don't know though, sorry :(

I was diagnosed years ago with SD and have tried every treatment you can think of using it every which way you can, and it seems like it's always in a constant flare, you could say. I'm not sure if it's SD. My boyfriend just looked at my scalp and my flakes are small, whitish/silvery and he said he saw some red bumps as well on my hair follicles. Does that sound like SD to you guys?

KlutzyChy1
August 23rd, 2019, 04:56 PM
Have you used just 1 of these shampoos, say the Nizoral/Ketoconazole 2% the correct way (letting it sit for 10 min.), then washing with it twice a week?

Yes. & I've stuck with every routine I've tried for weeks. No improvement. I was doing a double wash with T Gel, let that sit for 10 & then Ketoconazole, let that sit for 10. Absolutely nothing helps.

Lady Stardust
August 23rd, 2019, 05:05 PM
I’m afraid I have no knowledge about SD but maybe the information on Science-y Hair Blog will help? Here’s the link to her post about flaky scalps. There’s a lot to read through but maybe it will give you something to work with.

http://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/p/products-for-itchy-scalp.html

I hope there’s something useful in there :blossom:

spidermom
August 23rd, 2019, 05:31 PM
Don't use 2 separate shampoos in a row. That's asking for trouble. The ingredients may not be compatible, and the last thing you want to do is completely dry out your scalp.

I agree with don't buy different products. Save as much as you can for a doctor visit. Meanwhile, read the link above and do some of your own research. Meanwhile, just use the one shampoo that's given any relief at all. It can take time for any treatment to work.

I'm really sorry you're going through this and hope something helps soon.

Kalamazoo
August 23rd, 2019, 06:08 PM
I'm wondering if witch hazel could help? (Personally, I'm a big fan of Thayer's. They make it both with and without alcohol.) This webpage looks like maybe it might work. (About half-way down the page, under number 3., WH is mentioned.)

https://healthyskinadviser.com/seborrheic-dermatitis-treatment/

But do be careful not to do too many things at once, because they might interfere with each other.

Seeshami
August 23rd, 2019, 06:34 PM
Have you investigated your diet to see if it is a nutritional trigger?

Are you staying hydrated?
I agree that using two shampoos is way to much. In all honesty I would try to use one medication entirely and not mix them until you make head way or rule it out as completely ineffective. I also agree that saving up for a visit is probably better and I would change dermatologists if they are not listening or helping you.

Aurora O.
August 23rd, 2019, 06:35 PM
If nothing works, you may have some internal problem. Did you go to a doctor?

KlutzyChy1
August 23rd, 2019, 07:03 PM
I do have severe digestive issues, I've had them for the past 6 years, but have yet to get a diagnosis. I've been too many, many doctors to no avail. I'm currently seeing another stomach doctor & have already had an endoscopy and have a colonoscopy scheduled, but it's not until October, so it's all a long waiting game.

KlutzyChy1
August 23rd, 2019, 07:05 PM
Only one dermatologist has even bothered to look at my scalp and the last dermatologist I went to suggested I use the shampoo I was already using & when I asked her if I'd ever be able to wash my hair like a normal person or take normal showers, she literally laughed in my face and said no. Like there's nothing funny about this. It has completely taken over my life.

Entangled
August 23rd, 2019, 07:43 PM
Have you investigated your diet to see if it is a nutritional trigger?

Are you staying hydrated?
I agree that using two shampoos is way to much. In all honesty I would try to use one medication entirely and not mix them until you make head way or rule it out as completely ineffective. I also agree that saving up for a visit is probably better and I would change dermatologists if they are not listening or helping you.

Seconding diet and water. I had pretty bad SD (my whole scalp was flaking, and had been for several years) and the first things the dermatologist suggested were cutting certain things from my diet. He suggested cutting peanut butter(which I ate a lot of) and deep fried things (I think those were suggested for the sugar and oil). Drinking water will help your whole body as well.

The other thing that helped my SD was a “kill” strategy, so to speak. I washed it every day (scalp only) with medicated shampoo, left it on for five minutes (it’s important to give the medicine time to sit), and then before I put it up, I made sure it was completely dry, so I blowdried it on a low temperature. I did that for two weeks, then cut down how frequently I used the medicated stuff but continued to let my hair dry completely before putting it up. (My scalp does not like to be wet for hours on end.)

Begemot
August 24th, 2019, 01:08 AM
Only one dermatologist has even bothered to look at my scalp and the last dermatologist I went to suggested I use the shampoo I was already using & when I asked her if I'd ever be able to wash my hair like a normal person or take normal showers, she literally laughed in my face and said no. Like there's nothing funny about this. It has completely taken over my life.

I'm so sorry you haven't received much help from professionals. Very unprofessional behavior from the derm :(

Years ago I also went to see doc for my scalp issues. They weren't sure what my issue was but said it's probably SD. I got a product that made my scalp very angry and red, didn't use it many times. I have used Nizoral shampoo mostly (I have tried other medicated shampoos) but it never did much for my scalp. My issues have been on and off for years. I get best results when I wash twice a week and use anti-fungal cream (sometimes weekly, sometimes bi-weekly depending how my scalp feels). Though I'm not sure if I can give credit to this product, I'd like to mention scalp lotion I have been using since the beginning of this year. It supposedly "regulates moisture balance".

AutobotsAttack
August 24th, 2019, 01:57 AM
What exactly does a full days worth of eating look like for you personally? SD is also an auto immune response.

MusicalSpoons
August 24th, 2019, 09:49 AM
I do have severe digestive issues, I've had them for the past 6 years, but have yet to get a diagnosis. I've been too many, many doctors to no avail. I'm currently seeing another stomach doctor & have already had an endoscopy and have a colonoscopy scheduled, but it's not until October, so it's all a long waiting game.


Only one dermatologist has even bothered to look at my scalp and the last dermatologist I went to suggested I use the shampoo I was already using & when I asked her if I'd ever be able to wash my hair like a normal person or take normal showers, she literally laughed in my face and said no. Like there's nothing funny about this. It has completely taken over my life.

I am so sorry to hear this. The digestive issues could well be linked and be something systemic, whether the scalp problems have the same cause or are a result of the digestive issues. We usually say here that it's more important to get internal problems sorted first but the reality is external problems can be more distressing and feel more immediate, and we're likely to panic a bit more and try all sorts whereas for internal problems there's a limit to how much stuff we can throw at it in an attempt to calm things down.

If at all possible then keeping yourself hydrated should be the first thing to do if you aren't already - even if it doesn't make an obvious difference, that's one potential cause you've eliminated. (I don't know how simple it is to keep hydrated with your digestive issues though.) I'd suggest sticking with one medicated shampoo for a certain length of time, and if it doesn't help, then consider the possibility of it not being SD. We can't say whether your scalp symptoms for certain sound like SD because it apparently manifests in so many different ways. [Maybe it's the IBS of the scalp world - an umbrella diagnosis often handed out without finding the true cause!]

Actually, does your scalp get oily (or did it, before this bout of intensive medicated shampooing)? If it does, that's not a guarantee it definitely is SD but if not, it certainly makes it less likely.

lapushka
August 24th, 2019, 03:12 PM
I have SD. In my case, my diet is very healthy and I don't notice any difference with that. I sometimes get bouts and it is not because I ate something different or had a diet change - not at all.

MusicalSpoons
August 24th, 2019, 03:22 PM
I have SD. In my case, my diet is very healthy and I don't notice any difference with that. I sometimes get bouts and it is not because I ate something different or had a diet change - not at all.

I was not at all implying SD has to be caused by diet - certainly not. However in the OP's case we don't know if it truly is SD even to start with, and it's well-known that internal issues can also cause a whole host of external symptoms. For me personally, too much dairy makes my skin greasier, and too much wheat causes an eczema-type flare-up around my eyes (of all places!) Not that those examples are comparable to KlutzyChi's issues, but just demonstrating how even minor things can manifest. Also if it *is* immune-related for OP, that is something systemic that can manifest in almost any way you can think of! At this point we just don't know - nobody does, especially as the cause of her digestive issues unfortunately hasn't been identified.

lapushka
August 24th, 2019, 04:21 PM
I was not at all implying SD has to be caused by diet - certainly not. However in the OP's case we don't know if it truly is SD even to start with, and it's well-known that internal issues can also cause a whole host of external symptoms. For me personally, too much dairy makes my skin greasier, and too much wheat causes an eczema-type flare-up around my eyes (of all places!) Not that those examples are comparable to KlutzyChi's issues, but just demonstrating how even minor things can manifest. Also if it *is* immune-related for OP, that is something systemic that can manifest in almost any way you can think of! At this point we just don't know - nobody does, especially as the cause of her digestive issues unfortunately hasn't been identified.

I was just making a general comment about my case. :)

milosmomma
August 24th, 2019, 07:35 PM
I'm sorry you are having issues right now and I wish for you to come to a diagnosis soon. I dont know if I have anything helpful to offer but I do get the greasy dairy flare ups musicalspoons brought up. My chin is the worst for my case.
I second making sure you are hydrated as well, do your digestive issues cause problems with absorption? Sorry if it was mentoned and I missed it. I dont want to make your scalp worse but would moisturizing the scalp directly help? I think of your treatments like a harsh acne treatment for that face(which i have experience with, but not the shampoos you use) and usually a moisturizer would follow up a drying treatment. Please disregard if this is a bad practice for your condition! Hope you feel better soon.

KlutzyChy1
August 24th, 2019, 08:13 PM
I'm sorry you are having issues right now and I wish for you to come to a diagnosis soon. I dont know if I have anything helpful to offer but I do get the greasy dairy flare ups musicalspoons brought up. My chin is the worst for my case.
I second making sure you are hydrated as well, do your digestive issues cause problems with absorption? Sorry if it was mentoned and I missed it. I dont want to make your scalp worse but would moisturizing the scalp directly help? I think of your treatments like a harsh acne treatment for that face(which i have experience with, but not the shampoos you use) and usually a moisturizer would follow up a drying treatment. Please disregard if this is a bad practice for your condition! Hope you feel better soon.

I think they do cause problems with malabsorption. I have chronically low vitamin D & iron and even when I'm eating enough to put on weight, I don't.
& I tried something like that today. My scalp was so irritated, so I put aloe vera gel all over and let it sit for a couple of hours & washed it out with a sulfate free shampoo to try and calm it down. It's still irritated and flakey everywhere, but I'm going to try it for a couple of weeks to see if it helps at all & I'm calling a dermatologist Monday.

KlutzyChy1
August 24th, 2019, 08:17 PM
Thank you guys for the suggestions & support. I don't really have anyone to talk to about this. People don't really listen and suggest things I've already tried and get mad when I say that it doesn't work and insist I'm just not doing it right. And today my bfs mom kind of threw it in my face that I'd have to deal with this forever. I don't think she was trying to be mean but she told me there was no cure and that there will never be periods with no flares and if I ever stop using whatever medicine that works, even for a little bit, it'll come back with a vengeance and that I'm going to be stuck doing this for the rest of my life and just a bunch of things I really didn't need to hear today. It's just really disheartening

Kalamazoo
August 24th, 2019, 08:35 PM
Such beautiful hair!

MamaLou
August 25th, 2019, 05:13 AM
I agree with lapushka, I think it's best to continue using the Ketoconazole 2% as your only shampoo and to save up for a doctors visit.

spidermom
August 25th, 2019, 02:46 PM
I think seborrheic dermatitis must be one of those catch-all diagnoses that includes a lot of things. My SD manifests as small red bumps that look kind of like pimples that never come to a head. No flakes, no extra grease; only the bumps. I had good results from ketoconazole 2% shampoo and keeping my scalp dry. My doctor told me that it is most important that I avoid sitting around with wet hair. Therefore I use my blow-dryer on warm. I have long periods of remission. My SD flares only very occasionally.

lapushka
August 25th, 2019, 03:10 PM
I think seborrheic dermatitis must be one of those catch-all diagnoses that includes a lot of things. My SD manifests as small red bumps that look kind of like pimples that never come to a head. No flakes, no extra grease; only the bumps. I had good results from ketoconazole 2% shampoo and keeping my scalp dry. My doctor told me that it is most important that I avoid sitting around with wet hair. Therefore I use my blow-dryer on warm. I have long periods of remission. My SD flares only very occasionally.

I rather think SD can present in many forms. Slightly different approach.

For me it's mostly itch & flakes, and big ones, up to and around 5 mm usually, rather yellowish in hue sometimes even. Then if it persists and I do nothing, the patch becomes angry and red. I usually get it in patches, temples, back of the head, top of the head. You name it. I never get it all over though. Sulfate washes are amazing for me, personally. But everyone needs to see for themselves what is best to wash with.

Ophidian
August 27th, 2019, 12:14 AM
I’ve been spending (wasting ;)) a lot of time on reddit lately and I’ve noticed that there is a fairly active thread on SD (SebDerm is the name of it I think) where many people share their routines for managing it. Overall it seems to be pretty science and common sense based stuff, some that I’ve seen here and some I haven’t. Might be worth checking out? It seems like figuring out how to successfully manage these chronic scalp issues takes some time, and sometimes requires several false starts with doctors and treatments (and importantly, different ways of using products) until you find what what helps you deal with it.

For sure see a doc if and when you are able, but I also understand the frustration of seeking treatment and finding that standard advice isn’t helping. Especially if you’re not getting a lot of support in real life, the more allies you have as you figure this out the better.

Good luck :grouphug:

Liz_H
August 27th, 2019, 04:14 AM
I too had years of painful digestive issues with no real diagnosis, and some treatments that were a short term help but longterm harm. If you'd like, I'll share a paragraph or two of what helped me.

Malabsorption was a real problem as well.

KlutzyChy1
August 28th, 2019, 03:08 PM
I too had years of painful digestive issues with no real diagnosis, and some treatments that were a short term help but longterm harm. If you'd like, I'll share a paragraph or two of what helped me.

Malabsorption was a real problem as well.

Did you ever end up finding out what was wrong? & At this point, I'd welcome any kind of advice. I'm seeing a stomach doctor right now, but it's months in between each appointment and I'm not sure what to do in the mean time.

Kalamazoo
August 29th, 2019, 01:10 AM
I just googled "malabsorption cause". Several webpages came up, the first of which was

https://www.healthline.com/health/malabsorption#q&a:-complications

I would suggest reading through their list of causes and looking for something that "rings a bell". (I mean, it seems like it might possibly apply to you.) Then google whatever might be the problem & how to treat it. (i.e. "how to treat gluten sensitivity" or whatever)

I think it's also standard advice to keep a food diary in which you notate how you feel & when, as well as what you eat. Then, after a week or so (maybe sooner), you'll be able to reread your journal, & the cause(s) of your problems may very well just jump out at you. (I mean, be extremely obvious.)

This would also be a good time to start (if you haven't already) reading ingredient labels with a fine-toothed comb. When I first began doing that, I was simply amazed at what was in what I previously thought to be normal foods!

Some surprises I've encountered:
* According to Dr. Will Clower in Fat Fallacy, olestra is something used in place of fat (so the label can say it's "fat-free"!) I think he said it could cause intense diarrhea & nutrients not to absorb.
* I tried making cranberry sauce with a cup of xylitol instead of a cup of sugar. I thought it was natural & safe (I mean, all that was in it was cranberries, spring water, & xylitol!), so I ate kind of a lot of it. It gave me bloody diarrhea.
* Fluoride, yeah, the stuff they put in our toothpaste because (they say) it's good for your teeth ... well, ur, um, It's a deadly poison, if you believe The Fluoride Deception, by Christopher Bryson.
* Hydrogenated vegetable oil. I don't know about you, but I grew up with all kinds of clever TV jingles claiming that margarine was ever so much better for you than butter. Uh, well, personally, it gives me asthma attacks that land me in the emergency room. So I've been eating butter & avoiding margarine like the plague for about 40 years now, & I'm considerably healthier than many of my contemporaries (some of whom are no longer with us). So sometimes I wind up feeling grateful for my allergies, because they have motivated me to avoid things that other people (who haven't lived as long as I) consider(ed) harmless.
* Peanuts
* Gluten
* Oh yeah. Antacids. According to the wisdom of TV commercials, if you have indigestion, you should really take a Rolaid, because it will get rid of excess stomach acid. Well, the truth of the matter is, we need our stomach acids to digest our food! No digestion happens without them! So there's a lot of indigestion that happens due to too little stomach acid, and then, if that's actually the problem, taking an antacid to further diminish the amount of acid present, is only going to make the problem worse. So for me, myself & I personally, I've found it helpful to have a little grapefruit or grapefruit juice. (The grapefruit is very similar to the hydrochloric acid that our stomachs need to use.) So if I have a little too much fat in my meat, if I chase it with some citrus, I'm fine...
* Except that I may be allergic to lemons. (They make me lose my cookies...)
* Erythritol! A diabetic friend of mine likes baking with what the grocery store calls "stevia". In fact, if you read the label on that brand, you'll find that erythritol is a major ingredient. So I ate one of my friend's muffins. It was delicious. I had a really extremely bad coughing attack a minute after I finished snarfing it down. So now she warns me. But I am NOT allergic to eating the leaves of stevia plants that I've bought at a nursery & grown in my own garden.
* Pasteurized milk. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, pasteurization destroys the enzymes naturally occurring in milk which we need in order to digest the milk. Thus, pasteurization renders the milk indigestible. My health improves considerably, the more I steer away from the dairy products sold in the grocery stores. (There are several places where it's illegal to buy raw milk.)
* Back to Will Clower's Fat Fallacy, at the time he wrote that book, the FDA in the USA was permitting over 3,000 additives in our food supply, while France was permitting 8.

So, I don't really know what your problem is. Those are just a few of mine.

But hey! I've made it to 63! And I am (thank You, Jesus!) in a lot better health than some other folks my age. Allergies aren't all bad. I use them as socially acceptable excuses to get out of eating what I don't want.

elsiedeluxe
August 29th, 2019, 08:44 AM
I was also diagnosed with SD years ago, by an experienced dermatologist, and for a time I used prescription shampoos. My sense was that it kept my scalp calm just barely, and did not seem to really consistently get the flakes and itching under control. On a hunch, I stopped using shampoo completely and went water only all at once. That is the day my scalp stopped itching. That was years ago, and I use shampoo again, but only SLS-free shampoos. My scalp is now mostly calm most of the time. I don't think I had SD at all; I think I have a sulfate sensitivity.

Anyway, I have total sympathy for you. It's a miserable, miserable condition, and super frustrating when it's not under control. There have been days when I couldn't concentrate on much of anything else because my scalp was so freaked out.

KlutzyChy1
August 29th, 2019, 04:36 PM
I just googled "malabsorption cause". Several webpages came up, the first of which was

https://www.healthline.com/health/malabsorption#q&a:-complications

I would suggest reading through their list of causes and looking for something that "rings a bell". (I mean, it seems like it might possibly apply to you.) Then google whatever might be the problem & how to treat it. (i.e. "how to treat gluten sensitivity" or whatever)

I think it's also standard advice to keep a food diary in which you notate how you feel & when, as well as what you eat. Then, after a week or so (maybe sooner), you'll be able to reread your journal, & the cause(s) of your problems may very well just jump out at you. (I mean, be extremely obvious.)

This would also be a good time to start (if you haven't already) reading ingredient labels with a fine-toothed comb. When I first began doing that, I was simply amazed at what was in what I previously thought to be normal foods!

Some surprises I've encountered:
* According to Dr. Will Clower in Fat Fallacy, olestra is something used in place of fat (so the label can say it's "fat-free"!) I think he said it could cause intense diarrhea & nutrients not to absorb.
* I tried making cranberry sauce with a cup of xylitol instead of a cup of sugar. I thought it was natural & safe (I mean, all that was in it was cranberries, spring water, & xylitol!), so I ate kind of a lot of it. It gave me bloody diarrhea.
* Fluoride, yeah, the stuff they put in our toothpaste because (they say) it's good for your teeth ... well, ur, um, It's a deadly poison, if you believe The Fluoride Deception, by Christopher Bryson.
* Hydrogenated vegetable oil. I don't know about you, but I grew up with all kinds of clever TV jingles claiming that margarine was ever so much better for you than butter. Uh, well, personally, it gives me asthma attacks that land me in the emergency room. So I've been eating butter & avoiding margarine like the plague for about 40 years now, & I'm considerably healthier than many of my contemporaries (some of whom are no longer with us). So sometimes I wind up feeling grateful for my allergies, because they have motivated me to avoid things that other people (who haven't lived as long as I) consider(ed) harmless.
* Peanuts
* Gluten
* Oh yeah. Antacids. According to the wisdom of TV commercials, if you have indigestion, you should really take a Rolaid, because it will get rid of excess stomach acid. Well, the truth of the matter is, we need our stomach acids to digest our food! No digestion happens without them! So there's a lot of indigestion that happens due to too little stomach acid, and then, if that's actually the problem, taking an antacid to further diminish the amount of acid present, is only going to make the problem worse. So for me, myself & I personally, I've found it helpful to have a little grapefruit or grapefruit juice. (The grapefruit is very similar to the hydrochloric acid that our stomachs need to use.) So if I have a little too much fat in my meat, if I chase it with some citrus, I'm fine...
* Except that I may be allergic to lemons. (They make me lose my cookies...)
* Erythritol! A diabetic friend of mine likes baking with what the grocery store calls "stevia". In fact, if you read the label on that brand, you'll find that erythritol is a major ingredient. So I ate one of my friend's muffins. It was delicious. I had a really extremely bad coughing attack a minute after I finished snarfing it down. So now she warns me. But I am NOT allergic to eating the leaves of stevia plants that I've bought at a nursery & grown in my own garden.
* Pasteurized milk. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, pasteurization destroys the enzymes naturally occurring in milk which we need in order to digest the milk. Thus, pasteurization renders the milk indigestible. My health improves considerably, the more I steer away from the dairy products sold in the grocery stores. (There are several places where it's illegal to buy raw milk.)
* Back to Will Clower's Fat Fallacy, at the time he wrote that book, the FDA in the USA was permitting over 3,000 additives in our food supply, while France was permitting 8.

So, I don't really know what your problem is. Those are just a few of mine.

But hey! I've made it to 63! And I am (thank You, Jesus!) in a lot better health than some other folks my age. Allergies aren't all bad. I use them as socially acceptable excuses to get out of eating what I don't want.

I know, for me, things got even worse back in the beginning of the year. The doctors found out I had a bacterial infection in my stomach (H Pylori) & put me on two antibiotics for 2 months & a proton pump inhibitor for three. That absolutely destroyed my stomach. The entire time I was on the ppi, I could barely keep anything down. All I could stomach was soups & applesauce & things of that nature. I've been prescribed antacid medication multiple times & it has ALWAYS made things worse. & The weird thing is, I don't even mention that as a symptom I'm really struggling with. It's always the bloating, the gas, the burping fits, getting full too easily. THATS my problem.

I did get tested for celiac & that came back negative. I wanted to try to cut out gluten just to see if it would help anyway, but gluten free products or so expensive & then it limits what I can eat even further.

I actually cut out milk years ago when I got diagnosed with SD. I still have yogurt, but I only drink almond milk now. I tried having a bowl of cereal with regular milk a couple months ago, broke out in cysts on my chin. My skin was NOT happy.

KlutzyChy1
August 29th, 2019, 04:38 PM
I was also diagnosed with SD years ago, by an experienced dermatologist, and for a time I used prescription shampoos. My sense was that it kept my scalp calm just barely, and did not seem to really consistently get the flakes and itching under control. On a hunch, I stopped using shampoo completely and went water only all at once. That is the day my scalp stopped itching. That was years ago, and I use shampoo again, but only SLS-free shampoos. My scalp is now mostly calm most of the time. I don't think I had SD at all; I think I have a sulfate sensitivity.

Anyway, I have total sympathy for you. It's a miserable, miserable condition, and super frustrating when it's not under control. There have been days when I couldn't concentrate on much of anything else because my scalp was so freaked out.

Its just frustrating because from reading people's experiences with SD on here, it seems most are able to find a shampoo with trial & error that works, and then they can go months or years without a flair up. I wash my hair every other day with medicated shampoo & I've tried pretty much every one available, and my scalp will get flakey immediately after I get out of the shower. It just doesn't make sense. I didn't have any skin issues until I got sick. & Now, I also deal with super oily skin on my face & have been breaking out HORRIBLY all summer. And nothing helps. It's just miserable.

MusicalSpoons
August 29th, 2019, 04:48 PM
I can't remember if all the symptoms are relevant, but if you haven't already heard of MALS it might be worth investigating (median arcuate ligament syndrome - or Googling 'MALS digestive system' also works). It might not be it at all, but I seem to recall many people go years being misdiagnosed so it's worth having a look, even if just to rule it out.

Kalamazoo
August 29th, 2019, 10:03 PM
Another thing that may be helpful: Do an internet search on each med you're currently on. (Example: If you're taking aspirin, google "aspirin side effects".) Also research the ingredients in your medicated shampoo. Also do it for ingredients in your food. I find it fascinating to find out stuff like that. And sometimes, strange as the world is, a doctor prescribes a drug that actually has a side effect that mimics the ailment that the patient already has. Go figure! But knowledge is power, & the more you understand your treatment, the better able you are to ask questions and make informed decisions.

ETA: "Gluten-free". Um, yeah. The official gluten-free products whose labels I've studied all contained other ingredients that I deemed even more harmful. And when I tasted them, I didn't care for the taste/texture anyway. But if I bake my own bread? Well, all wheat contains some gluten, but I kind of greatly prefer the soft white spring wheat to the hard red winter wheat. The spring wheat is typically used for pastries, & contains less gluten than the hard wheat, which is usually used for bread, because with the additional gluten, it rises better. I prefer my dense, super-moist, low-rise bread. I also doN'T add in gluten as a separate ingredient. So no, my homemade bread is NOT gluten-free, but I really like it. Haven't made any in a while. About time I did again!

And I'm REALLY glad you're doing yogurt! Something about "repopulating the intestinal flora"...

Since there's a good raw dairy farm 20 miles away, I drive out there about once a month and stock up. Since they bottle their milk in glass, & because it IS raw, I've had it stay good & sweet (in the coldest part of my fridge) for as much as TWO MONTHS !!!!!!! I find that both packaging in plastic & pasteurization make the milk spoil far faster. (I know. Totally the opposite of what everybody believes.) So the raw milk is so sweet, it tastes like ice cream. I like making it into kefir.

Garnetgem
August 29th, 2019, 10:32 PM
Its just frustrating because from reading people's experiences with SD on here, it seems most are able to find a shampoo with trial & error that works, and then they can go months or years without a flair up. I wash my hair every other day with medicated shampoo & I've tried pretty much every one available, and my scalp will get flakey immediately after I get out of the shower. It just doesn't make sense. I didn't have any skin issues until I got sick. & Now, I also deal with super oily skin on my face & have been breaking out HORRIBLY all summer. And nothing helps. It's just miserable.

I have been through similar issues i saw many doctors one even told me there was no cure.one said it was SD other said it was not but anyway i tried nizoral steroids and so many medicated shampoos it drove me crazy..and the feeling when it didn't work made my heart drop,and all this was from skin specialist and scalp experts,and hospital doctors,

then my face broke out and my brows flaked like crazy even in and behind my ears..but then again i realised one day it all began when my digestive issues began and my diet made things all the more worse,what i mean is some days worse depends on what i ate,

then i learnt about alkaline and acid diets so tried it,i now drink half a lemon squeezed in warm water in the morning on an empty stomach and by the first week my skin is clearing it turns out that lemons though citrus turns alkaline in the digestive tract so helping with digestion,this in turn stops inflammation in the skin and controls sebum so stops this problem,i am no expert and don't claim to be but thought this was worth a mention,but be sure your able to manage it like no allergies to citrus lemons,

i do hope this info helps even if only a little,you have put up with this far too long and hope its sorted soon.

Kalamazoo
August 30th, 2019, 12:22 AM
I thought of a couple other things:

1) A1 vs. A2 milk. Surprise! A2's better! (It doesn't seem to affect me, but for some people, it makes a huge difference.) (My favorite dairy farm treats all their cows like big pets, names each one, & puts the cow's name on each bottle she produces. Then, they have a sign up listing each cow's name, & whether she gives A1 or A2.)
2) Bone broth.

Obsidian
August 30th, 2019, 08:33 AM
Any chance you oil your scalp or use conditioner on it? My SD reacts horribly to any kind of conditioner if it gets on my scalp, even leave ins and creams will cause a flair. What are the other medicated shampoos you have tried?

When I was first diagnosed, I got a prescription for selenium sulfide 2.5% shampoo and it works amazingly fast. Unfortunately its really expensive and my insurance won't cover it anymore so I had to switch to ketoconazole 2% and it barely helps. I know the selenium sulfide 2.5 is sold over counter in some countries but in the US, I can only get 1%. It still helps thought, its the head and shoulders clinical strength in the dark blue bottle. There is also selsun blue though I haven't personally used it.

KlutzyChy1
August 30th, 2019, 11:29 AM
Any chance you oil your scalp or use conditioner on it? My SD reacts horribly to any kind of conditioner if it gets on my scalp, even leave ins and creams will cause a flair. What are the other medicated shampoos you have tried?

When I was first diagnosed, I got a prescription for selenium sulfide 2.5% shampoo and it works amazingly fast. Unfortunately its really expensive and my insurance won't cover it anymore so I had to switch to ketoconazole 2% and it barely helps. I know the selenium sulfide 2.5 is sold over counter in some countries but in the US, I can only get 1%. It still helps thought, its the head and shoulders clinical strength in the dark blue bottle. There is also selsun blue though I haven't personally used it.

No. I don't use any kind of oils in my routine specifically for that reason. Even when I apply conditioner, I do it from the shoulders down just to be on the safe side.
I've tried Ketoconazole 2%, OTC Nizoral, T-Gel, T-Sal, Head & Shoulders, Selsun Blue. I've tried three different tea tree shampoos, going sulfate free, acv, I bought a shower filter, stretching washes, washing every day, washing with two medicated shampoos. I've left them on for five minutes, I've left them on for hours. Nothing helps.

Obsidian
August 30th, 2019, 01:46 PM
I'm sorry nothing is working. At this point, I would question your diagnosis. It sounds like SD but something should have helped if it is.

I know a doc isn't a option now but when it is, you might ask for a skin culture so you can get the the bottom of it.

My only other suggestion is steroids but you need a prescription.