Self diagnosis
Well, first off I never knew this was a thing until I ran into a video on YouTube and holy cow does this tick every box and solidly inside the lines. Been suffering with this since late teens or early 20s, I till today have never given it thought and assumed it was hygiene which is odd because I'm ocd and very clean, even when I felt dirty people said I smelled great. But I started getting these bumps, started small and got out of control, especially if I shaved (I shave my head often so you can guess how that goes). Anyways enough rambling, I stepped up my hygiene which didn't help and made things worse at times and all sorts of stuff, I live in the desert so sweating is a thing I can't avoid which also makes it worse. I've gone to the point of going without fragrance or antiperspirant and cleaning my armpits with rubbing alcohol a few times a day and nothing really seems to help. I work labor and have to tough through the pain even on my worst days and I am at my wits end. Does anyone know of a solution that doesn't involve surgery? I heard bakers yeast and sugar can make it worse and I'm starting that diet today but I'm willing to hit it on 50 different fronts if it helps. Would consider a doctor but let's be honest, paying 300$ to hear the same advice you guys could give me free makes yours all the sweeter.
Hello,
, and welcome to the community. I'm so glad that you've reached out, and hopefully some of our community members here can share their experiences (and treatments) with you. I can hear what a frustrating and difficult time it has been, dealing with HS without knowing that it's HS (and assuming that it has something to do with hygiene, an assumption that many in the community understand and have also dealt with). And I really applaud you for researching, reaching out, and being willing to try various things to get relief in a way that feels right to you.
I know a lot of our community members have been able to help manage their symptoms by cutting out gluten and/or sugar, so hopefully you see some changes with your dietary changes as well. (That being said, it's not one-size-fits-all when it comes to what helps so while these specific dietary changes help some people, it won't necessarily help everyone.)
I'm going to share a few articles with you, hopefully they can guide you in finding a treatment that brings you some relief. This first one just has some general information about treatment options for HS, https://hsdisease.com/treatment. While this one, https://hsdisease.com/lifestyle-changes, has some lifestyle changes, and this one, https://hsdisease.com/alternative-treatment, includes some alternative treatments.
One of our advocates here shared a three part series on how he uses wholistic medicine to help treat his HS that you might be interested in, https://hsdisease.com/alternative-treatment.
I don't want to bombard you with too much information, but hopefully those can give you a starting point while you wait to hear from other community members here. Please don't hesitate to reach out here any time, and do let us know how you find the diet changes to impact your symptoms. Wishing you a gentle afternoon. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
