I Cured My Lifelong HS
I’m now 53 and have just recently stumbled on HS and started reading it and it was a true revelation.. This was the answer to the biggest mystery of my life, what is causing these huge cysts I’ve had in the strangest places since I was a teenager.. I had been to probably 6 different dermatologist in the beginning, even went to Johns Hopkins trying to get this “cystic acne” cured.. I have taken every antibiotic imaginable, even took accutane, nothing worked.. Eventually I just learned to live with it..
Well I’m writing this to tell anyone suffering as I suffered, I believe I have found the true cause and the true cure.. I never found out about HS until AFTER mine seems to have completely retreated over the past almost three years now… What happened was I decided to quit sugar and anything with high fructose corn syrup for weight loss purposes.. I’m not fat, 6’0” and 197, but wanted to slim down and giving up basically anything and everything sweet was my gameplan… I also switched over to drinking nothing but water… I have stuck to it religiously,gotten completely used to it… My HS slowly started to just go away, I noticed my skin all over went from oily to very dry.. I no longer was getting new breakouts anywhere, not on my face or back or groin area.. The cysts that you could not see but could feel deep under the skin all gradually shrank and went away… My skin is the healthiest its been since before I was a teenager.
Frankly, I really wasn’t expecting all the benefits those simple changes to my diet and what I drink made in how I look and even how I feel…. I think the cure is simple, jusr eliminate sugar and corn based sweetners, and only drink water… Basically I have concluded without any shadow of a doubt in my mind, my HS was an allergic reaction to sugar and high fructose corn syrup …. Makes sense, I ate sweets everyday, drank nothing but regular soda, not in crazy binge like excess, but I’d think nothing of eating a donut or cinnamon bun or ice cream, or cake, or whatever I wanted….
I could write a damn book about all I went through and silently endured for 40 years of my life.. I want my discovery to help others get their HS cured too and feel compelled to tell everyone I can find with this disease how to get rid of it and get better… Real simple, drink only water and water only and no sugar or high fructose corn syrup, no sweets.. Fruits are okay, they don’t affect my HS…. Hope this helps someone, anyone…
Thank you for sharing. My 23yr old son has HS really bad. Nothing seems to help. Hopefully trying your suggestion will help.
Hi
, I'm so sorry to hear about your son. It can be painful to watch a child deal with a chronic condition like HS, especially when nothing seems to help. What a supportive parent to be seeking out information for him. Is your son working with a dermatologist for his HS?
Many people with HS do find that certain foods trigger flare ups. Has your son noticed any dietary triggers? One of our advocates wrote about her experience with an elimination diet and noticing some triggers in this article, https://hsdisease.com/living/elimination-diet. Also, these article has some general information about HS diet, https://hsdisease.com/diet, and this one goes into specifics about an anti-inflammatory diet, https://hsdisease.com/clinical/anti-inflammatory-diet
Please don't hesitate to reach out here any time, whether you have questions or could use some support.
-- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
I have some big changes to make to my diet as I have started to belive in sugar being a root cause. Reading your post has given me the strength to go for it. Thank you
I'm so happy to hear that this post has helped give you some motivation and strength to make some dietary changes. You are definitely not alone in finding (or believing) sugar to be a big trigger for your symptoms. As you can see from this article, https://hsdisease.com/answers/advocate-triggers, sugar is a trigger for a couple of our advocates as well. I also wanted to share a link to this article about dietary/lifestyle changes for HS, https://hsdisease.com/diet.
It's important for me to point out that, while making dietary changes certainly can help, what works for one person won't necessarily work for another (as triggers can be vastly different person to person), and, at this time there is no known cure for HS. Thankfully, some people do find that cutting out their triggers can put them in remission, but this isn't the case for everyone. (You might also be interested in this article from one of our advocates where she touches on remission, https://hsdisease.com/living/wish-people-knew.)
Please, if you're comfortable, keep us posted and let us know if you make those dietary changes, what they are, and how you find they impact your symptoms. And, reach out here any time! This community is here for you and I do hope that you can get some relief. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
That's an incredible journey you've been through! It's inspiring how you found relief from HS by changing your diet. Your story could truly help others facing similar struggles. Keep spreading the word—you never know whose life you might positively impact!
remission is the word, cured means you eat what u want and hs dosent come back.
Hi
, thanks for joining the conversation and the clarification. Yes, unfortunately, there is currently no cure for HS, but, as you mention, many people are able to experience remission (whether due to dietary changes, medication, or something else). One of our advocates wrote about her remission here, https://hsdisease.com/living/finally-remission. How are you managing currently? Are you finding a treatment that is helping manage your HS symptoms? -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
