I have dealt with the pain and embarrasment of having this disease and the frustration of having something with no cure. Even though my husband is extremely understanding of the condition it breaks my heart to have to withhold intimacy and find alternative ways to have sex. Over the last few years I started to pinpoint what triggers it. First off, I am generally pretty active and I eat a basically healthy diet. I eat fast food only occasionally and I do like to have a beer and a burger or pizza once a week. I started having allergies around the age of 20 and was diagnosed with LS at 26. I started having problems with my gums at 28 and at 30 was diagnosed with periodontal disease. I was told the stage of my gum disease was more like a 60 yr old and that it wasn't caused by lack of hygeine. I realized my gums and my LS would flare up together like a reaction. The only medication I took other than a multivitamin and occasional Ibuprofen was birth control and had taken that since I was 15. I decided to stop taking birth control at 32 since sex was only occasional anyway and thought it might help. I feel like the LS got better after I quit my pills but still not good, same with the gums. Now it is four years later and I am 36. I realized about a year ago that I am allergic to my cat. I don't know if I became allergic or was always allergic but my LS would flare up if he sat on my lap or I sat on the couch where he lays. By the way he is 10 yrs old and that is how long I have has LS. I then made the hard decision to keep the cat out of my bedroom completely. I bought him a little cat bed and he took to it fine. I have had a lot of improvement since then but still troubles. I found that since I had been separated from the cat, when I would have him on my lap the skin on my legs or belly would burn. I would take a shower after and it would help. Over the last year I have been having increasing pain in my pelvic area and after a few appointments with people telling me it was probably nothing I got a doctor who sent me in for an ultrasound. They found that I have 2 complex cysts in my left ovary and believe I have endometriosis, another progressive disease with no cause and no cure, except menopause. At 36 I have a long way to go. They gave me a prescriiption for birth control pills, told me to get on them right away and set up and appt. for a second ultrasound about 1 1/2 months later. They told me if the cysts have grown they will want to do surgery because they could rupture and make matters worse. I got freaked out at the idea of going back on birth control but they said it would slow down the growth so I got some and started taking them. Every time I put one in my mouth I felt ill thinking of my LS getting worse again. I thought I would read the package insert and see what the side effects were. One of the side effects was something called Melasma (mask of pregnancy) which is where you get dark blotches/patches on your face. I didn't know what it was but I had dealt with that since I was 20. I went online to see if I could find out anything about it. It is caused by high levels of estrogen in the system. I also read about endometriosis and they believe that is caused by high levels of estrogen. I found out by looking on the internet that there are many sources of estrogen our bodies are soaking up. Birth control pills contain a chemical estrogen that the body reads as stronger than natural. You also can get a lot of estrogen from meat that has been fed estrogens to make them bigger faster. There are also certain chemicals called xenoestrogens that your body takes in through receptors meant for regular estrogen. One of those chemicals is dioxin which is a byproduct of chlorine bleaching and in very minute doses can cause endometriosis. Tampons contain dioxin. Another source of xenoestrogens is the parabens in soaps and shampoos. I was really surprised about all this but read it time and again. I decided to change out my soaps and shampoos and eat only organic meat and dairy products. I also started taking two supplements. One of them I learned about from the melasma forum and it is called MSM. It is a form of sulfur that is found in every cell of every being on the planet. It is non-toxic and comes in all fruits and vegetables but diminishes quickly and because of all the processed food and time from farm to table a lot of us are deficient in this. It is a necessary nutrient like calcium. It makes our cell walls permeable so nutrients can come in and toxins can escape. They say you might feel sick for the first few weeks taking it because your body is releasing and flushing toxins, and they say to start at a small dose. I started at 500mg twice a day and now take three a day. You can read about it on the web. The other thing I am taking is grape seed extract. It is a super antioxidant that is 50 times stronger than Vitamin C. It gives you the benefit of red wine without the alcohol. So all I have done is try to eat a little healthier, changed out my shampoo and soap, and started with the two supplements. I have had amazing results. It has only been about one month. My LS is reversing. I was just happy to have it not hurting but my skin is even turning stretchy and pink. I am so happy I could jump around. When I wash myself in the shower I can actually feel the skin with my fingers not just the sensitivity. I feel like I am going to get a sex life again, yay! My allergies have also been disappearing. I can pet and snuggle my cat without issue. I can breathe. I have energy, life. My gums look healthier. I feel like my body will be able to fight off the Endometriosis. The only other thing I am going to try is Aloe Vera. I read that it is the MSM in it that creates healing. I tried it the other night for ten minutes before my shower in case it made me itchy but it didn't. I just hope my case can help someone else and maybe you wont have to suffer for so long. Good luck! One more note...there is a website called "skin deep cosmetics database" where you can look up products and their toxicity. I have spent so much money on lotions and creams that claimed to be hypo-allergenic so this is a great thing to have access to.