If you haven’t read part 1 of my health journey, you can find it here.
It started out as a small tear. I noticed it was taking a long time to heal and it was quite itchy.
I went to my MD who referred me to a gynaecologist. The gynaecologist took one look and instantly diagnosed lichen sclerosis.
I am grateful for finding out so soon, as most women with lichen sclerosis are misdiagnosed over and over. Although I was diagnosed quickly, I was misinformed and under informed about the disease.
I was prescribed steroid ointment and was told to use it whenever I felt needed and the LS would go away. No follow-up appointment, no talk about this being a lifelong autoimmune condition, only a prescription for steroid ointment and I was sent on my way.
I went home and did a bit of research on it. It scared the heck out of me!
Since the doctor told me the ointment would work and acted like it was no big deal, I convinced myself not to worry. In hindsight, this was a good thing at the time, since stress, as all of us with autoimmune conditions know, is usually a major trigger.
I used the ointment whenever I felt I needed to, like I was told, and it did help…for awhile.
I continued on eating gluten free but decided it would be a good idea to get some tests done. I was tested for celiac disease, but by this time, I had been eating gluten free for a year. For this reason, the test was inaccurate.
The doctor suggested I eat gluten for at least eight months, which I wasn’t willing to do. I knew the affect gluten had on me, and at the time, I felt like I didn’t need a test to confirm this!
I was also tested for lactose intolerance, and was diagnosed as severely lactose intolerant. This was another clue that celiac disease was a big possibility, since lactose intolerance often occurs alongside celiac disease.
Although I avoided gluten and dairy for years, I gave myself permission to indulge in wheat and dairy occasionally.
Time passed and so did most of my LS symptoms. I got rid of the steroid ointment and even forgot that I had LS!
Year 2008 was a big year for me. I graduated from university, got married, and a few months later found out I was pregnant!
I adored being pregnant. I loved having a baby bump and feeling baby kick and move around, it was such a happy time.
I remember having some LS symptoms while pregnant but they were so minor that I didn’t even relate it to LS at the time.
Then I gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy! I was overjoyed!
I had a wonderful natural birth – no epidural, or any other kind of pain meds. However, what I DID get was a strong antibiotic.
I had tested group B positive prior to the birth. When a mother tests positive for group B, the common protocol is to administer penicillin. BUT I am allergic to penicillin. On top of the penicillin allergy, the nurses discovered late in the labor that I was group B positive. So they chose a very strong antibiotic that would work the fastest.
I now know that this majorly screwed up my gut flora and was a huge trigger for my LS. My immune system was compromised from the strong antibiotic, the lack of sleep, and the stress that naturally comes from becoming a new Mother.
The time after my son was born was a very joyful time in my life, but I was having trouble healing, and I was experiencing LS symptoms like never before…
Continued in Part 3.
So, you have LS since 10 years and stil not able to heal it with the auto immune protocoll?
What is the point then? I have LS myself and don’t see a diffecerence since the AIP and wonder if it is worth the trouble, money and time. Honestly, i don’t think so. And I don’t want to spend 10 years of my life cutting out a lot of food I like just to get ‘a little bit better’ but not in remission.
Hi there,
This story is to be continued. I will be posting the rest soon, but until then if you’d like to hear the rest to my healing story you can listen to a podcast I recently did with Phoenix Helix: http://www.phoenixhelix.com/2018/01/05/episode-87-healing-stories-5/ I talk about the how AIP changed my life. I went from thinking about LS every minute of the day to once every few months. It did take some time to get to this point but it was well worth the effort. Hope this helps <3