Hello all, I apologize for making my first post such a downer, but here goes. Three years ago I weighed 250 pounds, I had spent the previous decade beating my body up in every way imaginable (drugs, booze, sedentary lifestyle, etc.) I finally gathered the courage to do something about it a bit more than three years ago. My journey from there until now should have a happy ending, and maybe some day it will. I now weigh 150 pounds and am in very good physical shape from a strictly outward perspective.
Inwardly, however, is a different story altogether. About 18 months ago I had my braces removed after having them on for about four years, this is a long time to have them on but is not out of the ordinary according to my orthodontist in extreme cases (which mine was.) What I initially thought was simple irritation due to the retainer that everyone who gets braces taken off has to wear was something altogether different, lasting and sinister. I was diagnosed with Oral Lichen Planus, which is not a common ailment. I'm not sure if we're allowed to link to outside websites on this forum, so I'll just say to google it if you're interested in the symptoms. You won't find any information on the causes or the cure, because they aren't known and it doesn't exist.
My family seems to think that I'm too skinny, I doubt it because I feel better physically than I ever have. My Aunt is a doctor, she says that due to my rapid weight loss and long term caloric restriction that my immune system is completely out of whack and needs fixing. She also recommends weight gain. She did not go into specifics on what to eat, apparently doctors aren't too informed on this subject. My current diet is pretty clean when viewed through the eyes of a normal American, although compared to the proponents of 80/10/10 it would likely be viewed as horrifically bad! I'll list a normal day of eating for me in case that's helpful.
Breakfast: Whole oats in soy milk with some raisins, and a banana or two.
Snack: Peanut butter sandwich on gluten free bread and an apple or two (I should mention I've been gluten free for about two months with no noticeable improvement in symptoms).
Lunch: Usually brown rice and meat, with some veggies.
Snack: Some kind of fruit, usually bananas (I love bananas).
Dinner: Lately I've been on a breakfast for dinner kick, so I'll have an egg scramble with a ton of veggies mixed in.
I've started juicing over the last month or so and I will say that it is the only dietary action I've taken which has had noticeable effects on my OLP (Oral lichen planus). I have three juices per day, consisting of carrots, celery, spinach, cucumber, etc. I've tried eliminating various things from my diet over the past year to no avail (Meaning completely cutting them out for at least four weeks, I've tried cutting all meat, coffee, eggs, etc.)
I'm very physically active. I do some sort of cardio for at least 30 minutes 6 days a week, I also climb (indoors and out) 3-4 days per week. Additionally I do 30 minutes of easy stretching/yoga after waking.
I'm at my wits end, I never knew it was possible to be this healthy and this sick at the same time. I'm reluctant to begin 80/10/10 diet because my condition is easily irritated by a wide variety of fruits. Believe it or not it is quite painful for me to eat citrus fruits, grapes, even apples if they are particularly sweet. I've also read that sugar can exacerbate my condition, although I think that's only referring to the processed variety.
I think I've rambled on enough. I'm not sure really what to expect having written this, but I will say that it feels good to have done so.
Cheers
~Brandon
Permalink Reply by RawBenny on 
Permalink Reply by Abbie on Do you have any mercury fillings?
Do you take any supplements?
Have you ever had full bloodwork done?
Have you ever done food sensitivity testing?
Have you tried any kind of remedies (natural or otherwise) to soothe the pain?
As you say, it is a strange and elusive condition, but nonetheless these pointers may help to start to narrow down certain avenues. There tends to be a notion within natural hygiene that all auto-immune conditions stem from similar root causes, and thus, potentially, they are all treatable by similar means. As RawBenny said, you need to get to a place where your body can find equilibrium again, but you need to remove the barriers to that healing first.
Permalink Reply by Brandon on Hey, thanks for the quick response.
Do you have any mercury fillings?
Yes, I have one.
Do you take any supplements?
Yes. At the onset of this condition I took only a multivitamin, now I take many things. Here's a list:
Probiotic, Selenium, Lysine, Garlic, Vitamin E, B-Complex, Fish Oil, Glucosamine-Chondroitin, Q10, as well as a Green Phyto Base powder which has a ton of things in it.
Have you ever had full bloodwork done?
Yes, a few times. The only thing they've found out of the ordinary is low white blood cell count.
Have you ever done food sensitivity testing?
No, it's on my list of things to do.
Have you tried any kind of remedies (natural or otherwise) to soothe the pain?
Many things. My doctor has prescribed corticosteroids, which work until I stop taking them. I've also tried gargling with: Aloe, Mylanta (this helps out quite a bit, surprisingly), peroxide (this made it worse), apple cider vinegar (made it worse), various other mouthwashes (they all make it worse). I can't even use mint flavored toothpaste, mine is flavored with fennel. I've tried a ton of other things as well, dietary and supplement-wise, none have had any noticeable effects.
Permalink Reply by Brandon on So I started the 80/10/10 diet today, I want to make sure I'm eating enough. This is what I ate today:
Bananas: 16
Apples: 4
Avocado: 1
Tomato: 1
Green Pepper: 1/2
Carrots: 1/2 pound
Greens (Kale/Spinach): maybe 150g
Broccoli: Not sure of the measurement, quite a bit though.
Water: About a gallon.
A little side note: I felt completely stuffed the entire day. How long until your stomach gets used to eating this volume of food?
Permalink Reply by Brandon on Day 14 of LFRV today. I'm not having any trouble sticking to the diet, but my Lichen Planus symptoms are getting worse. I'm not really sure if I should continue or not, I had my condition under relative control for the past couple of months before beginning LFRV.
I know you guys aren't doctors (I don't think so at least), but what would you do? I can continue and hope that this is the part where it gets worse before it gets better, or I can go back to the old way and try to get it under control again.
Permalink Reply by Alena on Permalink Reply by Brandon on Hey, thanks for the reply
That menu was only for the first day I started trying this, since that day I've been eating basically nothing but bananas, spinach, and a salad at the end of the night made with romaine lettuce. Are you suggesting that I eat nothing but bananas for a while? I've seen this suggested in other places on this forum, what exactly are the benefits of eating one thing for a prolonged period of time?
Permalink Reply by Jennelle LeMoine on Permalink Reply by Brandon on 
Permalink Reply by Erin Volentine on Permalink Reply by Brandon on Hey Erin, thanks for the reply!
I'm still on LFRV, I think this is day 39. I have not seen any extreme improvement in my OLP, but I will say that the flare-ups seem to be clearing up faster than they were before. I understand that this condition may have been festering for years before manifesting and am going to put my faith in fresh fruits and vegetables to clean my body up from the inside out.
From an athletic perspective, I've put most of my exercise routine on hold as I have not felt up to doing much. I am still climbing 3-4 days per week, but my supplementary exercise has been essentially zero for the past 39 days. Interestingly I have not gained any weight, although I do notice a small change in body composition (my abs are less visible these days) I am hoping that as I continue I'll have more energy to include that supplementary work back into my schedule.
I've made an interesting observation recently, which prompted me to come up with a hypothesis. I believe that the phrase "You are what you eat" should be taken much more literally after noticing that my dry skin has been getting better. My hypothesis is that my body was so used to using the cooked food as the building blocks of my skin that it was confused by no longer having access to it. This confusion is apparently being reduced and my body has discovered that bananas make pretty good skin too!
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I forgot to mention that I've taken several different varieties of corticosteroids over the past 18 months, these drugs have terrible side effects and are only a temporary fix for the symptoms of OLP. I haven't had any steroids in about 3 months, but some of the side effects are still apparent.
Additional edit regarding weight being the cause:
When this first started I weighed 30-40 pounds more than I do now.