Hi Corrine!

Thanks for taking the time to keep me posted. :)

For me food has been the most important part of my journey. I had no idea that my body was essentially having to fight foods that I was putting in it, especially something as seemingly benign as lemon or watermelon. I wanted to share my story to give another angle of self-care that is well within our control in the midst of an experience that feels completely out of it.

I have a normal head of hair again - something I haven't been able to say in the better part of a decade. Eyelashes are good (and pseudo-blonde!) and eyebrows (also pseudo-blonde - mascara is a blessing!) are probably 60-70%, but I can fool 'em - something I'm sure many of us get really accustomed to doing. Hat's off to those who don't feel the need!!!

In a totally bizarre way I am actually somewhat grateful to my AA in that it truly taught me how to educate myself and be far more conscious of what goes in my mouth. It also taught me to feel beautiful no matter what, something I'd really struggled with in my squandered youth. :D Even with thin, patchy hair and bits and pieces of my eyebrows, I learned to feel good about myself.

Beyond eliminating the foods, I pretty much cut out most processed crap and try to stick to organic. It's stupid that you have to pay more for food in the form it was intended to be, yet thus is our reality. I've also added random supplements. Can your doc order blood tests? Have 'em check your D3 - that's a big one many women are lacking in, I was. C with MSM, B Complex, and biotin have also been said to be helpful and I've added them in. Although biotin gives you zits and you have to be careful of that. If your doc can measure that's great, I was deficient.

I can't tell you how many things I've tried: From stinky little black pills that were literally ordered from China - and gave me the WORST gas and stomach aches, to onion juice on my head and taking any number of "hair,skin, and nails" stuff at a time. Getting the answers straight from my body finally eliminated a ton of grief!

So, I've totally rambled. My apologies!! I hardly ever talk about this and I guess I've got a lot to say. And it's been such a long, bloody road!

In short, I was making myself crazy and ultimately decided (or had) to approach this as a path to wellness. That's not to say that there wasn't a mass amount of tears, fear, bewilderment, anger, and eventually acceptance. In the end making peace with it won and I have been a much happier person.

Take Care