So long break.....hello flare :(

My break lasted a glorious 4 days!  Started flaring at work yesterday and thought it was just work.  Nope. Woke up red and swollen again.  Yippee.  But with that bad news comes a little bit of good news.  I have yet to have any pain like before so I am thinking the swelling is not as bad right now.  Also the itching is bad like it has been, but I am not breaking open the skin like before when I scratch.  The few areas that are broken open do ooze, so that is discouraging, but the ooze is not as much.  Overall I am happy with my progress.  While my break did not last as long as I had hoped, my skin is becoming stronger.  My energy levels are stable - still very low, but better than the first 3 months.  I am confident that my new approach - a multi-faceted approach is helping my healing.  The diet, juicing, supplements, herbal balms, and adrenal support are all part of allowing the body to best heal.  Again, this is MY own personal approach.  I still believe people will heal no matter what they eat or don't eat during TSW, but I firmly believe the body can heal faster if given the appropriate amount of nutrients and support AND taking away things that will tax the body (like sugar and processed foods).  I base my approach on science, not some pseudo-science or alternative theory.  I took many science courses in college including organic chemistry.  I also took anatomy, microbiology, physiology, and nutrition.  Based on those courses plus many other books I have read since college written by doctors and other well educated people, I know diet plays a key role in the health and well being of our bodies.  All anyone has to do is look at the epidemic of heart disease and diabetes in this country and know without a doubt that diet affects our bodies significantly.

OK, enough about that.  Here are some pictures from this morning.  My skin is very red although my camera still whites out a lot of the redness in some areas.  You can see I have less open areas but the small areas of clear skin I saw on my arms during my break are back to being all red.  My neck is my biggest improvement thus far (except the back of my neck).  I still had to grab my ice pack over night and a little bit today, but I can take it off and sit without another one for about 30-60 minutes.  My face is still red and SUPER dry.  A bit painful today, but not as bad as it has been in the past.  Hope everyone is having a good skin day!

You can go HERE to compare from the last pictures I posted.  Today I am 2 days past 18 weeks into TSW.