From spreading pustules and panic attacks to clear skin and a completely different way of living.
Michelle's palmoplantar pustulosis affected both her hands and feet. It frightened her, disrupted her digestion and left her feeling that she had been handed a lifelong condition with very few answers.
Then she started looking beyond the skin. She changed her diet, followed the Autoimmune Protocol, worked on digestive health, adjusted her approach when progress stalled and gradually found a way of living that worked for her.
By the time Michelle shared her story with Autoimmune Wellness in 2020, she described herself as clear of PPP and said the experience had changed not only her skin, but the way she ate, handled stress and lived her life.
Her recovery did not happen in one straight line.
One of the things I appreciate most about Michelle's story is that she did not find one magic answer and wake up healed the next morning. She experimented, watched her symptoms and changed course when something was not working.
Antibiotics and digestive problems
Michelle reported receiving several courses of antibiotics for infections while travelling. The following year she developed persistent bloating and pain after eating. Looking back, she believed these events were part of the health changes that preceded her PPP.
PPP diagnosis
Small dots appeared on her hands. She saw a dermatologist quickly and received a PPP diagnosis, but her skin then worsened across her palms and soles. She described this period as frightening and emotionally overwhelming.
She started AIP
Michelle began the Autoimmune Protocol elimination diet. She reported that her hands cleared within about two weeks. Her feet, however, continued to flare, which became an important clue that she still had more to investigate.
A plateau forced another change
She was still struggling with digestion, weakness and weight loss. Rather than assuming the whole approach had failed, she modified her diet, combining elements of AIP and a Mediterranean-style approach, and sought additional help for her digestive symptoms.
Her digestion improved and her feet began clearing
Michelle reported that after changing her digestive-health programme, her bloating and pain settled, her energy improved and her feet stopped flaring. She then spent roughly ten months reintroducing foods and eventually settled into the long-term diet that suited her.
She found my book while desperately searching Google for another way forward.
Michelle said she was repeatedly searching online for information when she eventually found How to Treat Palmoplantar Pustulosis Naturally. It was not sitting at the top of Google. She found it several pages into the search results, ordered it and read it in about three hours.
“This simple book opened my eyes to what was happening inside of me, and finally gave me the answer I was so desperately searching for.”
Those words still mean a great deal to me. I wrote the book because I had once been the person searching for exactly that kind of hope.
Her approach went far beyond simply removing one food.
Food
She began with AIP, later adjusted the balance of foods and eventually reintroduced many foods while continuing to avoid the ones she felt did not suit her.
Gut health
Her gastrointestinal symptoms were a major part of the picture, and improving digestion became one of the turning points she described in her recovery.
Stress and emotional health
PPP triggered severe anxiety for Michelle. By the time she told her recovery story, she described herself as calmer, more emotionally stable and much less driven by stress.
Persistence
When her feet did not respond as quickly as her hands, she kept asking questions rather than assuming nothing could help. That willingness to adjust is one of the strongest lessons in her story.
Michelle chose a natural route, but this is her personal treatment story.
In the original interview, Michelle explained that she was frightened by the treatment options being discussed with her and chose not to use biologics. She instead focused on diet, digestive health and lifestyle.
I think it is important to preserve that part of her story without turning it into a universal instruction. Treatment decisions are personal, and today's PPP treatment landscape is not exactly the same as it was when Michelle was diagnosed.
The hopeful part is not that everybody must follow Michelle's exact protocol. It is that she kept looking for the combination of changes that made sense in her own body, and she reached a place she once feared was impossible.
Recovery stories matter because they expand what feels possible. Michelle's path was her own, but hope is something we can share.
If you are searching the way Michelle once was, this is where she started.
Michelle found my original book while desperately looking for information about PPP. The book explains the framework I used in my own recovery, including possible triggers, diet, gut health, stress, nutrients, conventional treatment and the lifestyle changes that became part of my long-term remission.
