Month 5 week 2 (originally posted 28 Jan 2014)

Not much to say here, as I only took two photos to show my flaking/shedding this week.

Month 5 week 1 (originally posted 21 Jan 2014)

Hey again! These are photos I took at the start of month 5 but never got around to uploading them anywhere. The first images are a before and after regarding use of shea butter, my new favourite moisturiser!

  

Hands haven't changed much so far, still dry, flaky and red!

 

Ouch. My legs are so sore, swollen and red.

My feet are getting really bad, really fast. It's starting to affect my walking now.

Day 102 (Originally posted on 28 Nov 2013)

Closeups of random bumps I have on my skin.

Day 100! (Originally posted 22 Nov 2013)

Redness is starting to spread across my torso this month.

Day 80 (Originally posted 6 Nov 2013)

Dryness/redness spreading across my face.

Slightly dry skin on my neck.

Closeup of my collarbone area.

Red sleeve is creeping towards my wrist.

Legs are pretty decent at this stage.

Day 77 (Originally posted 3 Nov 2013)

Hello everyone! Today was one of those rubbish days where I had to actually leave the house.

How I look right after coconut oil application. :(

Elephant skin is starting to appear.

It’s on my neck, too. D:

Red sleeves!

Trying to look as close to normal as possible before I go out. :D

I really wish I could find a foundation or something that doesn’t make my face burn.

Time for bed! (Originally posted 2 Nov 2013)

I love my Dermasilks, never go to bed without ‘em!

If you’re in the UK you can get most of the garments via an NHS prescription.
PS: I know I missed Halloween, but meh! I think I look scary enough in this getup. >:3

Ignorance and eczema

These are all things I’ve heard at least once in my life.

TSW Month 3 (Retrospective)

Attack of the flakes! D:

On the plus side, I managed to get a jar of this for a decent price at the herbalist.

It smells LOVELY! Just like a Bounty (without the chocolate of course), but it’s a bit sickly and overpowering when I’m covered in it. My skin doesn’t feel as moisturised as it did with the Diprobase and Vaseline, but at least it’s not as itchy.

TSW Month 2.5 (Retrospective)

Hello again! These photos cover my skin from the 19th of October to the 30th.

26th Oct, showing red sleeve development.

29th Oct. My hair has grown a bit since I had it cut! Keeping the ointments off it is quite annoying.

Boo! 29th Oct in my Dermasilk mask.

Flakes. :(

TSW Month 2 (Retrospective)

These were taken on the 26th September 2013.

Showing the development of my red sleeves and the lack of TSW on the backs of my arms.

Closeup of my left arm at the inner elbow, showing dryness, redness and lichenification.

During month two, I stopped using the Diprobase ointment as my skin was itching intensely at night and I thought I was developing a sensitivity to it. I started using Vaseline this month which helped a bit as it wasn’t quite as thick, but the itching at night started again. I carried on wearing Dermasilk to bed.

TSW Month 1 (Retrospective)

These photos were taken in July and August 2013, respectively. These were the last photos I took before stopping the steroids.





These photos were taken on the 11th of September 2013 and are the first photos I have after stopping the steroids (3 weeks in).

During the first month I stuck to using my prescribed Diprobase ointment as a moisturiser, along with my faithful Dermasilk. My TSW during these first few weeks was relatively mild, with no oozing, flaking, chills, edema or any other symptoms like that. Just some mild redness and itching that was no worse than how it was when I was using topical steroids.

Dangers of Topical Steroids – ITSAN

A short informative video on the dangers of topical steroids and the International Topical Steroid Addiction Network.

Realisation and a new path. (Originally posted Nov 2 2013)

NOTICE : This is an older post taken from my original blog. Some info may be out of date.

It’s been a long time since I last posted; I was still on my steroids back then too with my skin showing no signs of improvement after 20 years of use. I then found out about Topical Steroid Addiction. This is where after prolonged use, your skin basically becomes addicted and reliant on the steroids to merely keep the skin from getting worse. It no longer actually heals it at all. At this point you may tell your dermatologist or GP and they will most likely prescribe an even stronger steroid which will help at first but soon enough, the cycle repeats itself until you’re constantly applying a dangerously strong steroid on a daily basis and you have to wonder something: “Am I ever going to get better?” “Will I always be this way?”

In late July, I started researching the subject. It seems to take around a year (it can be more or less than this though) and it seems to follow a fairly consistent pattern including the following:

Image owned by Ian Humes @ Flickr.

Flaking – your skin develops scales. These then flake and eventually shed, revealing either healed or raw skin underneath. Sometimes the skin underneath doesn’t change at all. This can vary in severity depending on if the sufferer is currently experiencing oozing or not.
Applying makeup or attempting other concealing methods result in the coating sitting on top of the flakes and drawing ever more attention to itself. Even though the flaking causes me the least physical discomfort of any of my other symptoms, I actually hate it second only to the redness, because it ends up all over clothing, bedding and anything else you go near.


Burning – this can feel like stinging or searing heat. The only way I can describe my burning to others is that it’s very similar to the feeling produced when chilli oil happens to get on to your skin.
It can be pretty annoying to alleviate as well. Anything cold is nice at first, but the rapid temperature change can wreak havoc to my skin, causing another flare up. Anything wet is a shock to the dry skin and can also flare it up. If I have to cool down somehow, I just take a layer off or open a window and cool myself down generally, because cooling a specific area makes it worse for me, sadly. It doesn’t stop me wanting this though.


Tightness – that terrible feeling where it feels like your skin has no elasticity. Attempting to stretch the affected skin results in the terrible feeling of paper cuts opening up across the area. This can be caused by something as simple as bending down to pick something up, making general day to day tasks somewhat difficult. For me, this is mostly alleviated on application of a very thick and greasy moisturiser. Anything less isn’t enough for mine.


Intense itching – The single worst symptom of this for me. I can only describe it as feeling like small insects are crawling over your skin. It’s infuriating and completely stops me from doing anything else until it’s gone. I can distract myself sometimes, if it starts while I’m doing something using my hands, such as playing video games or typing on this blog. I can’t ignore it when it’s started though, at all.
That’s when I start looking for tools – combs, brushes, hair slides, bottle caps, pegs, anything really. I’ve even been known to use knives. Funnily enough, I’ve never actually cut myself while scratching myself with one, but have with the other mentioned items. Worst thing while itching? Being told to “stop, you’ll only make it worse!”


Oozing – Not something I can personally describe, as I’ve always had “dry” eczema and I’ve always been thankful for that (even though dry eczema is still horrid). It seems to be a universal symptom of TSW though and I’m not looking forward to it at all.
So the point of this post is that I came to the conclusion that I was addicted to my steroid ointments and as of August 19th 2013, I have been topical steroid free! This blog will now be documenting my journey and my hopeful road to recovery. I really hope this may be of use to other sufferers and their families, as well as increase awareness of this preventable condition.