My HS Story

Each person with hidradenitis suppurativa has their own journey. For many of us, these are not happy stories. Thirteen year old Cristina could have never imagined what her life with HS would look like. She didn’t know remission was an option.

I was diagnosed at 13 with Hidradenitis Suppurativa by a dermatologist, and while I was fortunate to get a quick diagnosis, I didn’t get a lot of support. This was back in 1998 (aging myself here), and the treatment options available today did not exist. Back then, doctors were still telling us it was a sweat gland issue. (Read What is Hidradenitis Suppurative post)

Wash Better and Lose Weight

Like many hidradenitis suppurativa patients, I was told to lose weight and wash better, super traumatizing for a teenage girl. Hello! For most of my life, I thought I just had “bad skin.” Then my doctor blamed my hygiene, my weight. I was so embarrassed, and I didn’t know it was something other people dealt with, too. I felt broken.

I spent my teens and twenties hiding my condition, dealing with drainage, pain, staining bed sheets, towels, clothing and more. Dealing with reactions from the adhesives, and digestive issues from all of the antibiotics.

It was an endless cycle of oral antibiotics, topical antibiotics, steroids, bandages, repeat. When the treatments weren’t helping my doctors at the time did little to reassure me. Antibiotics. Steroids. Birth Control. It felt like a life sentence. This cycle continued for many years, until I was 29.

The postpartum roller coaster, which made my HS worse than ever changed something in me. Perhaps it was wanting to feel better for my baby, or just being so desperate for relief. But my mindset changed. Instead of just letting HS happen to me, I was going to take control.

I had this growing sense that my body wasn’t broken—it was trying to tell me something. I just hadn’t learned how to listen.

Turning Toward Nutrition for HS

At the time, I was already on a journey of personal healing. I was a mom, a chef, and someone who had always been fascinated by the connection between food and how we feel. But I had never truly turned that lens on myself—not with compassion, anyway.

I started gently experimenting with how I ate—not from a place of punishment or fear, but with curiosity. What made me feel inflamed? What made me feel calm? What triggered my skin? What helped it quiet down?

Yes, I tried elimination protocols, like AIP (Autoimmune Protocol), and yes, they helped in some profound ways—but what changed my life wasn’t the diet. It was the act of paying attention. Slowing down. Noticing patterns. Learning my body’s language, rather than constantly trying to override it.

Through this process, I found my own rhythm. I discovered the foods that supported me, the ones that didn’t, and the deeper needs beneath it all—rest, boundaries, nervous system support, blood sugar balance. My flares became fewer and farther between. My energy improved. My skin, once raw and angry, began to heal.

Today, I’m in remission—not a perfect, flawless kind of remission, but a deeply embodied one. I know my triggers. I know how to respond to my body with love, not panic. And more than anything, I feel empowered.

Why I’m Speaking Up

I kept this part of my life private for a long time. Hidradenitis suppurativa can feel isolating and shameful. But I’ve realized that by staying quiet, I was reinforcing the very shame I was trying to heal.

So I’m speaking up now—not because I have all the answers, but because I’ve walked this road. And if you’re somewhere in the dark, searching for answers the way I was, I want you to know: you are not alone. There is a path forward. It may not look like mine. It may not be linear. But it’s yours to find.

My work now is rooted in helping others explore nutrition for hidradenitis suppurativa not as a rigid rulebook, but as a doorway to self-awareness. Food is powerful—but so are you.

Your body is not the enemy. It’s the messenger.

And once you start listening, everything changes.