PSORIASIS STORY
My Psoriasis outbreak allowed me to connect to self and practice gratitude fully.
Summer 2019 was a challenging time period for me. When life presents these tough situations, I always try to find a lesson or at least.. I initially trip out, feel my feelings and then I rise up and thank the universe for throwing me through the ringer.
So where to begin?
Not only was I not aligned professionally at my HR job, but I had the crippling guilt of not pursuing my studies in what I was most passionate about: natural health. The pressure was causing me to over exercise to “get my mind off things” but then I was falling victim to ‘diet culture’ tendencies yet again: I was eating my emotions and putting on weight rapidly (15 lbs). To hide my less than desirable weight gain, I was wearing biker shorts and big t-shirts on the daily (luckily, it was the trend this summer lol). I had very low self-confidence and so much self-doubt.
I quit my job to pursue my passion but it felt like I was spiralling more and more. But wait, the story gets better!
I decided to go against my internal compass and figured it would be a great idea to get an IUD. I say that because previously in my teenage years when I was on the pill, my body rejected the hormones and I was hyper sensitive and well.. depressed. Despite this knowledge, and being totally disconnected from myself, on August 9th I had the Kyleena inserted.
Kyleena, has only one hormone: it is a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system. So I thought, one less hormone maybe my body can handle this! And boy, was I wrong!
The experience with the IUD was HORRIBLE to say the least, I was in foul mood (thank you Sabrina and Bader for sticking by me), and I felt like my world was crashing down on me.
Now let the real story begin…
On September 19th, 2019, I started developing small little red bumps on my chest. At first, I dismissed it as a “heat rash” because I was sweating quite a lot at the gym. I was using Egyptian magic and polysporin, but the rash just kept spreading.
I started asking myself a million questions: Did I use a different cream? Did I use a dirty machine at the gym? Did I contract something from the plane?” I was only using natural soaps and products, so what the heck could this be? And then my AHA! Moment. The I-U-FUCKING-D. The only new foreign object in my body.
At this point I was CONVINCED my body was rejecting the IUD. I was reading a bunch of horror stories online from other women and I just knew this poison needed to be removed. Every story I read, the clearer this became.
I scheduled 2 appointments for September 24th: one with a naturopath and the other with a doctor.
First I saw the naturopath. He told me my skin was doing it’s job by eliminating the toxicity and manifesting itself as a rash. He told me this was actually a good sign. My body was sending me major warning signs that something was toxic in my body and that I should have the IUD removed immediately. He also assessed my digestion and it came to my attention that I wasn’t eliminating properly and he recommended I go on a cleanse and elimination protocol. I eliminated all inflammatory foods (gluten, eggs and dairy) and basically was eating a ton of fruits and vegetables, healthy starches and protein. I was also consuming a cleansing drink twice a day to help with elimination of toxicity from the extra hormones.
That same day, I saw a doctor and told her I was convinced my body was rejecting the IUD and that I was super depressed and constantly crying since I got the IUD (this statement was totally ignored btw). She responded by saying she was certain that the IUD could not have caused the skin issues I was experiencing and that I should give my body time to adjust to the hormones and device. She let me leave the office with an anti-fungal cream and told me to come back in a week if the rash didn’t get better.
I went against her recommendation and had the IUD removed within two days.
I swear to the heavens above, the moment I had IUD removed, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off me and within a week, my mood improved significantly. Placebo effect or not, I felt liberated.
However, the small red dots started expanding into large dry red patches and spread like wildfire over my ENTIRE body.
I called the clinic for an emergency appointment to show her the “progress” and still not convinced the IUD caused this, she said it looked like I had guttate psoriasis and gave me a referral to see a dermatologist.
“Um excused me, I have what?! PSORIASIS!?
I was in complete disbelief. I went home and started doing more and more research on IUDs and psoriasis and saw that many other women had experienced the same outbreaks from the IUD. And suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone anymore.
The theory is that the IUD causes major stress for the immune system, creating inflammation in the body. And because Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition, it was triggered. The dots (pun intended) were connecting.
I saw the dermatologist, and was given a prescription for steroid creams (that I need to apply on each individual spot) and light therapy sessions at the hospital to speed up the healing process.
After purchasing these creams, I went home and sat down in my room and took a moment to assess and accept. In this moment, I knew I needed to share my experience and bring awareness to my situation. I also felt it in my heart and body that I was going to heal myself through nutrition, self-love and a positive attitude.
If it wasn’t for my self-love practices that I incorporated in my daily routine prior to figuring out what the heck this rash was...I would have completely lost my shit and drowned in self-hatred.
Now, about 2 months later, my psoriasis is nearly completely healed. However, in moments of stress and whenever I sweat at the gym, my spots become red, itchy and inflamed. But hey! At least they’re healing!
The cleanse helped me go back to the basics, eliminating all extra supplements that were unnecessary in my diet. I mostly eat plant-based now, and only consume fish or meat when my body craves it and I have to say, I have very high energy and my digestion is on point.
This journey has allowed me to reconnect to myself, learn to trust my gut and listen to my body’s needs.
I’m sharing this journey with you because we all have challenges we must overcome in life. I cannot stress enough the power of the tools I use daily: mirror work, meditation, journaling, etc.) These tools remind us to connect to ourselves, practice mindfulness, and self-compassion during rough times. The same way we exercise for our health to look good on the outside, we must exercise our brains and mindset to be healthy on the inside.
Thank you to all those who have followed my journey and have written me the most beautiful messages. I appreciate you.
Here are some of my daily affirmations:
“I am in perfect physical and mental health”
“My skin is getting better everyday”
“My body is powerful and I am healing”
#castingspells 🔮📿
