I was not going to post again until my stupid GD was gone, but as sometimes happens with medical research, the study was terminated because of dramatic results. I have been tricked before into thinking something was effective when it wasn't, but this time, I think it's for real. I am one of the people for whom cilantro and chlorella were not effective for my GD. I still take them as I think they are beneficial to take (as are some of the other supplements I have tried during the course of this ordeal.) I was getting progressively worse, despite all my efforts to follow the advice given on this site, short of steroids. I am grateful to markopolo for posting the possible connection between Demodex mites and GD. I did my own research on Demodex mites and found that several essential oils were effective against these in a Petri dish. The trick is to expose the mites to the essential oils. They live with their heads stuck in hair follicles, and apparently only become symptomatic when there are 5 mites per follicle. (So offensive to even consider!!!) They apparently come out at night to mate and party on your skin. That explains why I can feel okay and then lie down to sleep and it feels like creepy crawly things are all over my back...because it's true! The oils that have been found to be effective are tea tree, peppermint, clove, and sativa. I bought all 4 and did my own experiments. The clove oil was hands down, the winner. It has the added benefit of burning/numbing your skin very much like the Bengay I had been using for the itch. I tried it with hemp seed and then grape seed oil as carriers. It worked a little, but I was still suffering terribly at night, and it wasn't going away fast enough for me. Then I put the clove oil full strength on my back and on the most active other areas. I went to bed and felt the creepy crawly itchy feeling, and just waited. In 5 minutes, all activity ceased. Slept through the night with no problem. Lest you think this was the end of my ordeal - it wasn't. The life cycle of the mite tells you that you will not be out of the woods for a couple of months at least. There are new eggs hatching every day and those newbies have to come out of the follicle to be properly exposed to the essential oil. I have had some ups and down during the past two weeks, but have now been 3 nights with no itching. I wake up with a slightly itchy feeling - like a tickling feeling all over my torso just from contact with my cotton turtleneck I wear to bed. After I take a shower, scrub my skin with my silicone scrubber and reapply the oil, no itching. If I exercise, I shower or wipe down right after and reapply oil. I have taken to using the carrier oils on areas that are not as active, and full strength on my back and on most active areas. There is still a slightly bumpiness on my right shoulder and around my neck, but it is improving steadily. When I started with the clove oil, my GD had effected my entire torso from my earlobes down to my pubic and was starting to creep into my genital area. I was having to slather myself with Bengay several times a night. I have just getting progressively worse by the day. The clove oil turned the tide. I now have hope that I can control these beasts. Apparently up to 100% of older people have Demodex mites on their skin. It was thought that only people who are immunocompromised become symptomatic, but it is becoming apparent that is not true. It is apparent to me that GD is not a disease, but a cluster of symptoms which can have a variety of causes. I realize now that I probably have had this problem for several years. I never had a rash, but I had a very itchy back and would have my husband slather it with coconut oil every night. That often made the itching worse and I couldn't underhand it because I assumed the itch was from dry skin. Turns out the mites just love oil!!! Yummy to them. That is why I continue to treat my back with full strength clove oil, even though clear of bumps. It is probably the most intractable area. I saw that old lady itchy back is condition written about in the medical literature. Derms always assume, as I did, that it's just dryness, but I'm thinking given the Demodex mites' enjoyment of older people, that it's not dryness that is causing old ladies to itch. I might have to continue using the clove oil or alternate with tea tree in a carrier oil as a maintenance treatment after the core of these symptoms are gone. Anyway, I am encouraged by this progress and wanted to share. As always, I am grateful to all of you for sharing your experiences!