i took a week off from the msm. i’m not really sure why, honestly, but i did. i noticed a slight worsening of my skin quality by the end of that week – not so much with the hyperpigmentation, but with the overall texture and smoothness. it was looking pretty nice there and then it wasn’t as much. i’ve been back on it a week, and that smoothness has come back. if it is the msm, i’m surprised that it would make an impact so quickly. i guess it’s subtle, though. i’m sure no one noticed but me.

anyway, i was poking around the internet to get more ideas on how to treat this and i kept running into this copper toxicity thing. it turns out that i eat a lot of high copper foods and am likely low on zinc, which balances out the copper. best source for zinc at a good zinc-copper ratio = raw oysters! yes!!! i happen to love them and am meeting some friends for dinner at a restaurant nearby that serves them. perfect!

probiotics is another thing that is supposed to help. i think having too much yeast or other fungus in the system can cause hyperpigmentation also. and of course, i have been one of those rare healthy adults to have the misfortune of experiencing oral thrush in the past, so this could definitely be a possibility also. it turns out, kim chi and pu-erh are both pro-biotic! love it!

so i’m taking the msm, upping my zinc, and getting the pro-biotics in. that in combination with the herbs i’ve been taking should help me make some progress.

i can’t believe how hard this has been. i would love to see something make a difference. anything.