Happy 10 Months To Me!!

Tomorrow marks my 10 month anniversary of TSW.   I have to work tomorrow so I thought I would get this up this evening.  Today I went for my 3rd IV glutathione injection.  I was looking forward to it as I have been in a state of flaring the last few days.  At least I think it is flaring.  I cannot describe it as it is nothing like I have experienced all through TSW.  I guess it is my new way of flaring with the supplements? Not sure.  All I know is I have this feeling of intense burning itch a few times a day that lasts for 2-10 minutes.  Each bout lasts a different length and it is not associated with anything in particular (food, change of temperature, or anything).  These bouts are not getting longer in length or coming closer together.  In fact I haven't had one today, but I had 3 yesterday and 3 the day before.  I get this insane need to gouge my skin in the areas that are open/damaged. At the same time I have a burning sensation mixed with pins and needles.  If I do give in to the itching and scratch, that particular area will burn 10 times worse.  I learned not to scratch very quickly. I at least know not to scratch because these bouts are intense and much different than any itching I have ever experienced. At least they are short in duration and I can stay the course NOT to scratch!  But it is very uncomfortable especially when it happened at work.  Someone remarked that I looked like I was in a lot of pain. I had to explain I was just having an itch attack related to my eczema and that ended  that.

This is not necessary bad news - I knew I was not going to heal right away.  All I know is this is tolerable and manageable.  I just pray it doesn't get worse.  Since I had no bouts of that today, I am pretty optimistic it is something that might just come and go.

As for other news, my hands are the pits.  I had an ooze pimple for the first time in months on one of my fingers yesterday.  It was tiny and had only a tiny amount of ooze come out of it.  It is dried over and nearly healed today.  No other pimples anywhere.  I am just not sure what to do with my hands.  I don't want to use any creams or lotions.  But cracked hands are at high risk for infection in the world of hospitals and diseases!  So I have been experimenting with different things to keep them protected.  I have yet to find anything perfect, but I still have a few things to try yet....skin issues are common in hospitals and they have special skin care nurses to deal with them.  So I need to go see one to see if there is a protective barrier I can put on my hands to prevent infection and keep the cracking to a minimum.  I really don't want to take any more time off just because of my hands!  But at the same time I cannot afford to get a serious skin infection either.

Overall I still think things are improving.  I still have issues with my neck....it's barely pink but the dryness is annoying most of the time - once in awhile it becomes slightly painful.  Thankfully it does not last long enough to be bothered by it. I noticed though that if I have something wrapped around my neck,  I barely notice it. So I wear turtlenecks to work, ice packs when home, and turtlenecks when going to the store.  It's almost as if pressure itself helps.  If I wrap something like a t-shirt around my neck loosely, it still irritates me, but something snug is comforting.  My arms are clearing nicely as are my legs. I still have an issue with my right foot - on again/off again irritated itchy skin.  My abdomen and low back have the same on again/off again irritation -nothing worth noting really as I don't even notice those areas anymore.  My face I think is still really good.  I guess the bottom line is I am feeling petty darn good and dry, but still need to figure out how to help my hands while working.  I continue to be thankful that I feel as good as I do and can go back to work!!

Here are some pics from this morning before going for my injection: