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-   -   Frustrating problem: xanthelasma (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=481818)

FrankieFay Mon, Jan-07-19 02:56

Frustrating problem: xanthelasma
 
I started getting these after going into menopause. At the time I was eating high carbs and some fat; a mixed diet. I read that it can be exacerbated by dietary fat so I started eating a HCLF diet with a lot of starch. This did cause the bumps to start to go down, but it also caused me to feel very funny in my head, to gain weight and my blood sugar and blood pressure to go up.

So I went back to the only thing that's ever helped with weight gain and keeping blood sugar steady: a low-carb diet. But then the bumps started to slowly get bigger again! My ldl and cholesterol is high-ish (in the 200s), but it's been like this ever since I started getting it tested in my 30s. I'm in my 50s now. I wish there was something I can do for them besides surgery or painful wart remover solution.

cshepard Mon, Jan-07-19 08:16

I have been researching xanthelasmas ever since they appeared around my eyes a few years ago. There is not much out there - the causes are vague and the natural therapies questionable. Even with laser and surgical treatments, they are likely to return. I have doubts that they appeared due to my change of diet to HFLC, because I don’t believe I have increased my saturated fat or cholesterol intake from previous levels.
I even joined Dr. William Davis’s Undoctored Inner Circle group just to ask him specifically about this issue. He had no insights.
I have given up, really, as mine are very small and don’t seem to be growing, but every once in a while I check to see if there is any new info to be gleaned.
I believe they are age related, perhaps due to a previous lifetime of poor eating habits and perhaps just something I have to live with.

An interesting blog post of one woman’s search for answers and her overview of the options;

https://dreamama.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/pesky-xanthelasma/

cshepard Mon, Jan-07-19 08:33

Just did a search on this forum and found an interesting quote from a long ago thead:

Quote:
Originally Posted by gecolon
My daughter gets them (she is only 12) and I used to get them more frequently when I was younger. Now I only get them every once in a while. I'm not sure you are going to like how to get rid of them though. Sterilize a needle, prick the skin to expose the hard little ball of fat, and remove it , dab with alcohol. It heals with in a day and the ball is gone forever [well kind of it's lil sister is sure to pop up some where else on your face]. If you don't remove it those things will stay on your face until the cows come home. However, if you are attached to it one day after it being there forever you will wake up look in the mirror and it will be gone. :spin:


Makes it sound pretty simple, eh? If I can drum up the courage, I might give it a try : )

JEY100 Mon, Jan-07-19 09:58

Ken had them, I believe they are better if not gone, consider asking on his Journal.
https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=478139

FrankieFay Tue, Jan-08-19 01:50

Quote:
Originally Posted by cshepard

An interesting blog post of one woman’s search for answers and her overview of the options;

https://dreamama.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/pesky-xanthelasma/


Thanks for sharing this link! I read it last year but forgot to bookmark it, and for some reason when I went to search for the article it didn't come up in the results.

FrankieFay Tue, Jan-08-19 01:57

Quote:
Originally Posted by cshepard
Just did a search on this forum and found an interesting quote from a long ago thead:



Makes it sound pretty simple, eh? If I can drum up the courage, I might give it a try : )


This helps a little bit, but it also causes irritation (as you can imagine). This works best when the spots are very small. Once they get as big as the ones I have now (one is the size of a shortgrain rice), it doesn't do much. But I think I will try to find a smaller needle, and see if that makes a difference.

Part of the reason why it doesn't work well for me now is because it's hard to poke the needle through the skin because the head is too blunt.

FrankieFay Tue, Jan-08-19 02:00

Quote:
Originally Posted by JEY100
Ken had them, I believe they are better if not gone, consider asking on his Journal.
https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=478139


Thanks for the suggestion!

FrankieFay Tue, Jan-08-19 02:06

Quote:
Originally Posted by cshepard

An interesting blog post of one woman’s search for answers and her overview of the options;

https://dreamama.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/pesky-xanthelasma/


Over 700 responses! Yikes. I only know one person who has them, but hers are much bigger than mine and since she doesn't mention it, I don't want to ask her. I guess she hasn't noticed mine since I cover it up with makeup. No one in my family has it either.

FrankieFay Tue, Jan-08-19 02:17

This article claims that a man was able to get rid of his spots by taking a statin for over ten years. I'm definitely not going to try that.

Disappearance of eyelid xanthelasma following oral simvastatin (Zocor)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1772630/

cshepard Tue, Jan-08-19 08:36

Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieFay
This helps a little bit, but it also causes irritation (as you can imagine). This works best when the spots are very small. Once they get as big as the ones I have now (one is the size of a shortgrain rice), it doesn't do much. But I think I will try to find a smaller needle, and see if that makes a difference.

Part of the reason why it doesn't work well for me now is because it's hard to poke the needle through the skin because the head is too blunt.


So you have tried this? Could you describe the procedure in detail for me, please? Did you simply prick a tiny hole and the fatty lump can be squeezed out? Is the lump hard or maleable? Mine are small and I wonder if a pinprick hole would heal quicker than the ‘burns’ that topical treatments leave behind.


Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieFay
This article claims that a man was able to get rid of his spots by taking a statin for over ten years. I'm definitely not going to try that.

Disappearance of eyelid xanthelasma following oral simvastatin (Zocor)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1772630/


Interesting and although a good example of “correlation doesn't equal causation”, most hits do indeed describe high cholesterol as being the culprit, however most also advocate the outdated advice of decreasing dietary cholesterol to control blood cholesterol, so that does not inspire a lot of trust.
Plus, my blood cholesterol has been in the normal range for decades and I still have xanthelasma ...

FrankieFay Tue, Jan-08-19 22:52

Quote:
Originally Posted by cshepard
So you have tried this? Could you describe the procedure in detail for me, please? Did you simply prick a tiny hole and the fatty lump can be squeezed out? Is the lump hard or maleable? Mine are small and I wonder if a pinprick hole would heal quicker than the ‘burns’ that topical treatments leave behind.


While looking at my eye in one of those small 10x magnification mirrors with suction cups in the back to stick it on the bathroom mirror, I pull the skin up with one hand and try to pierce the area over the fatty deposit with the needle. The skin, although thin, is very resistant to being punctured. It's difficult to get the needle deep enough to where the fat is. I'm able to get only a small amount out before it gets irritated and starts bleeding, so I stop. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like the fat is solid enough to be squeezed out, like the head of a pimple.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cshepard
Interesting and although a good example of “correlation doesn't equal causation”, most hits do indeed describe high cholesterol as being the culprit, however most also advocate the outdated advice of decreasing dietary cholesterol to control blood cholesterol, so that does not inspire a lot of trust.
Plus, my blood cholesterol has been in the normal range for decades and I still have xanthelasma ...


Not to mention, people have tried low-fat diets and it doesn't eliminate the spots either.

I stumbled across this study where people with xanthelasma were divided into two groups; one was given an injection of B12 weekly for 6 to 20 weeks, the other was given an oral supplement. Many in the former group got good results:

Treatment of Xanthelasma with Vitamin B12
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...15486610#af0010

I wonder how sublingual B12 would do? I take it once a week or two. It's worth a try!

cshepard Wed, Jan-09-19 09:36

Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieFay
While looking at my eye in one of those small 10x magnification mirrors with suction cups in the back to stick it on the bathroom mirror, I pull the skin up with one hand and try to pierce the area over the fatty deposit with the needle. The skin, although thin, is very resistant to being punctured. It's difficult to get the needle deep enough to where the fat is. I'm able to get only a small amount out before it gets irritated and starts bleeding, so I stop. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like the fat is solid enough to be squeezed out, like the head of a pimple.


Thanks. I may try this later in the year after some social and work obligations (when I won’t care what I look like so much!)


Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieFay
I stumbled across this study where people with xanthelasma were divided into two groups; one was given an injection of B12 weekly for 6 to 20 weeks, the other was given an oral supplement. Many in the former group got good results:

Treatment of Xanthelasma with Vitamin B12
https://www.sciencedirect.com/scien...15486610#af0010

I wonder how sublingual B12 would do? I take it once a week or two. It's worth a try!


Apparently, there are patches and ‘breathers’ as well ...
Let’s look into this, come up with a method and dosage and try it. Take some ‘before’ pictures and update every 2 weeks or so. Game?

cshepard Wed, Jan-09-19 13:18

I’m finding some connections between xanthelasmas and liver function:

http://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/hepato/ah-2007/ah073k.pdf

https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cld.561

FrankieFay Fri, Jan-11-19 01:37

Quote:
Originally Posted by cshepard

Apparently, there are patches and ‘breathers’ as well ...
Let’s look into this, come up with a method and dosage and try it. Take some ‘before’ pictures and update every 2 weeks or so. Game?


That’s a good idea. I’ve already started taking a sublingual B12 every day. I’ll try to take some clear pictures tomorrow.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cshepard

I’m finding some connections between xanthelasmas and liver function:

http://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/hep...2007/ah073k.pdf

https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wil...10.1002/cld.561


I’m not surprised by this! Although I don’t have any symptoms of liver problems, this is worth looking into.


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