Wow....life sure is busy! Working full time and even quite a bit of overtime. We are now full blown into the process of building a house from the ground up. We are no longer going for the simple manufactured home. We are building the home of our dreams. And that means a lot of time being spent....collecting papers, scanning and emailing said papers, making a ton of phone calls, and going to the property to meet with people for bids and all sorts of matters. While all this is very exciting, it is also very stressful. With all the new stress, I'm no longer eating as healthy as I should. Eating a ton of carbs, sugars, and even dairy. And that means eczema! Not TSW, but regular run of the mill eczema. Dry itchy skin around the ears, at my elbows, and now back of my neck. Same places I always got it as a kid. Every so often I take benadryl for the itching. And of course the hives are back.... not bad like before as I'm still taking my DAO histamine pills but I seem to get hives from all the stress like when I'm at work.
Overall I'm still doing exceptionally well and no sign of TSW whatsoever. It seems I need to REALLY focus on healthy eating irregardless of my stress or working conditions. It needs to be a priority. Unfortunately I am booked solid for the next few weeks with short term but important projects on top of work. Then during the last week of September I will be taking a much needed break. It will be then that I take up focusing back on my health. Back to healthy eating and exercising more that 2 or 3 times a week. My goals are to lower my cholesterol (just found out it's 230), lower my resting heart rate (hanging in the 70s and should be 60 or below), get rid of my asthma for good (using inhaler or nebulizer only 10 to 15 % of what I was before), and lose this extra weight on me. I would love to meet these goals by next Valentines Day. That will be my 4 year anniversary of TSW. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be back to what I deem as my old normal self but so much healthier without a sign of eczema, TSW, asthma, or being overweight? I think this is obtainable even with the stress of working full time AND building a house.
To all the TSW warriors still suffering... keep fighting the good fight. Hang onto hope and never give up trying to find relief. It's worth it in the end. Believe me.
what is tsw? and what is "say no to topical steriods"? is this to stop using skin creams etc. if you have eczema/dematitis?
ReplyDeleteTSW is Topical Steroid Withdrawal - it is when one realizes that the steroids they are applying to their skin is contributing to their worsening eczema, not helping it. One realizes this when one stops applying steroid creams and their skin flares horribly. TSW can take many months and often years to get over as the body tries to normalize the skin after years of using steroid creams. You can research Dr. Rapaport from California for more information.
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