Re: Question for Meire

Hi Surley,

Well, it involved changing quite a few things and giving some things up altogether. Initially, after realising that my high oestrogen (35mcg) contraceptive pill was likely to raise copper levels (because copper levels tend to rise and fall in tandem with oestrogen) - I came off it. I gave up smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol - my beverages of choice used to be white wine and beer: I later read that beer contains significant amounts of copper and that white wine is often stored in copper containers. I gave up tea, coffee and chocolate (I allowed myself one cup of tea each morning with no ill effects, that was down from four or five cups per day). I checked all my cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning products to make sure none of them contained copper (some skin creams or shampoos do, and some cleaning or disinfecting products contain copper sulphate - as do some swimming pools). Beans, legumes and nuts - I cut down but I didn't eliminate them, they contain other valuable nutrients. Eating whole foods, particularly unrefined grains (which contain zinc) and a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables should give you a good range of nutrients. Refined and processed grains are stripped of the part that contains the zinc.

I took 1000-2000mg of MSM (methylsulphonylmethhane)
25mg zinc
1000mg vitamin C

A good quality multivitamin
Flax oil (later switched to hemp oil which I still use) about 1-2 tbsp daily over salads or mixed with some juice.

Invest in good quality supplements, the best you can get. I took the supplements for about six months. I started to notice fading after about two months and maybe four months after staring it had faded to a very feint shadow (I think I just noticed it because I knew it was there.)

At present I'm not taking the supplements, but I am trying to keep my diet as clean as possible and gradually cleansing. I had very, very slight recurrence this summer - but again hardly noticeable, just slight freckly-looking blotches, nothing like before - I was expecting worse because I've been out in the sunshine (obviously not frying myself under the midday sun or anything), and I haven't worn sunscreen ONCE. This, I never would have thought possible. For the last few summers, I had been hiding indoors if it was even mildly sunny, and when I did venture out it wasn't without layers of factor 80 sunscreen, corrective (v. expensive!) makeup and concealer.

The whole problem started for me when I started to take broad spectrum Antibiotics (which lower zinc levels). The skin discolouration appeared shortly after starting them, and I went straight to my doctor, who assured me it was unlikely to be caused by the medication but in the event that it was, it would fade quickly when I stopped taking it. I was left on the medication for 2 1/2 years, and started taking the pill on top of that (they were both prescribed for Acne - neither of them worked). It didn't fade after coming off the antibiotic, it's only faded in the last 8-10 months - I reckon the pill caused it to linger because of the raised oestrogen etc. etc. It started when I was about 24 - I'm 31 now. So I guess the moral is, if you do need to be on medication of any sort, cleanse your body, keep your diet as clean as you can, and make sure you are getting tons and tons of nutrients. Use good quality food and supplements.

(I just want to add that I never had my copper levels measured - everything I found out was based on research I did, my symptoms, past medical history, lifestyle factors, and a lot of guesswork, putting two and two together and experimenting on myself. When I started out, I was going after one symptom - melasma. Whereas what I did worked, it was just one part of a much bigger picture - the supplements did what they were supposed to do in the short term to help me to get rid of a problem that was affecting my self esteem and my well being, but in the long term the only way to be free of symptoms is to clean up your body and clean up your lifestyle.)

I hope this helps - any more questions feel free to ask! Tweet