The perfect storm

Hey y'all,

I haven't been here in a long time, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking of you all. I've been posting lately on the facebook group, and thought I'd share that I've made considerable progress just in the last couple months. I can't scientifically say which of the strategies below has been most helpful so I thought I'd share them all, however, currently I am thinking constant moisture, no aggravators, sunshine, the absence of bacterial overgrowth, and my anti-inflammatory diet and natural topical strategies have been essential, the last couple points are just (essential too) icing on the cake. It was a perfect storm that got me into this mess, and it seems like a perfect storm is getting me out of it. I will post pictures in the Image Gallery .

1. Good dental hygiene (i.e. regular brushing, some flossing, and twice a year visits to the dentist), as well as switching toothpastes until I found one recently with propolis and manuka honey that seems good for me.
2. Vitamin D - taking 5000 IU supplements every other day in the winters, and getting a ton of sun in the summer -- remember that Daniel Miller said he got a lot of sun before his major healing happened -- most of us are sitting inside on the computer on those hot and sunny days
3. Anti-inflammatory diet (I was on this very strictly recently due to another health condition and I believe it to be a factor). One of the main foods I have increased is fish oil. 7g/day!!
4. Constant moisture - experimented with various oils and butters over the years with limited success but my recent favorites are antimicrobial, antiinflammatory in nature: emu oil, tamanu oil, coconut oil infused with calendula. I also do not avoid water hitting my lips anymore or saliva from kissing. Sometimes I will put the oils on after getting them a little wet.
5. Become aware of and reduce aggravators to the condition: for me, secondary infections, smoking weed, drinking, sitting near smoky fires, spicy foods, fried foods (I have not eliminated them entirely yet, however, but might for the final stages of healing and to prevent recurrence) but the main one for me is the forcible removal of dead skin -- I am trying my hardest to wait til the flakes fall off naturally!
6. Proper levels of sleep and exercise
7. I stopped taking pharmaceuticals that had xerostomia (dry mouth) as a side effect and dealt with my problems without those drugs, and increased supplements for immune support and cell integrity/repair/wound healing - Vitamin C, Vitamin B sublingual, mushroom complex, L-lysine, CoQ10, MSM
8. Manuka honey to hold flakes down and keep moisture in!
9. Reduce stress (I went through a lot in the last decade, but things have chilled out considerably the last month), and reducing even thinking about the condition (very hard but after all this time it gets easier cause life has a few other curveballs to throw at you)
10. This last one is the hardest of them all, but I can't discount it as a factor. After years of hopelessness and chronic anxiety and depression, I am thinking positively (I have witnessed progress and I will continue to witness it!), and experiencing deep feelings of gratitude and joy that I haven't felt for a very long time.

Let me know if you try this strategy out in any way and if it brings you any improvement!

-C.S.