Bad Flare and Herbal Salves

Well, my flare continued to get worse last night and this morning.  I actually had my shirt stuck to my skin - OUCH!  I jumped in the tub and upon getting out, put on some of my new salve I got in the mail yesterday.  I only tried 2 of them and only in a few small select areas - had to make sure I had no reaction.  I then put on the simple salve - with only beeswax and olive oil - on the rest of my body instead of vaseline.  The good news is I was pain free and itch free for 2 hours!  But after 2 hours my skin started to tingle and then itch and then flare.  Within another 2 hours I was scratching like mad!  I get this with the vaseline as well.  But considering I did not have any reactions, I will continue with my new salves and simple salve to see how my skin progresses with these.

These are my new salves!  They all smell so wonderful!  The dream balm is to use right before sleep - apply a little to the temples and it has a very nice calming effect to help go to sleep.  Doesn't help with the itching, but it helped some with my nightly anxiety.  

My left wrist this morning - the flash seems to take out some of the redness as my skin looks much redder than this.  

My right wrist - will post pictures once a week or so to see if there is any difference.  I doubt there will be any significant changes, but again, I am taking a multi-system all natural approach to healing at this point.  

And just when I thought things were not so bad....

My recent flare a few days ago started off as a normal flare -but not as bad as previous ones.  Until last night.  It was as if someone flipped a switch and everything intensified immensely!  The pain was almost unbearable - worst it has been yet!  I couldn't touch my skin anywhere without searing burning pain.  I freaked of course and was a crying mess!  It lasted for hours.  I also had intense chills - felt so cold.  It then dawned on me that I may have an infection brewing - I worked Thursday and it was a crazy day in the ER.  I am faithful with washing my hands but I caught myself absentmindedly scratching throughout the day.  Being exposed to so many germs at a hospital is one reason I made the decision to quit working full time.  So I then went to the cupboard and started on colloidal silver - a known antibacterial and antiviral.  Today the pain is significantly less - back to tolerable levels.  But my skin is much worse - scratched a little and could not believe the damage!  I am doing my best to not scratch at all - but even rubbing will take off lots of skin and cause me to bleed.  Cannot go a minute without my ice!  Hoping to feel better in a day or so - back to work on Monday.  Not sure I will be able to handle it. Oh well.

Good news is my herbal salves arrive in the mail today - looking forward to trying them.  Going to try 2 of them - one on the right side of my body and the other on the left.  Will then only use in 2 areas - the wrist and behind the knees.  Just want to se if there is any difference after 2 weeks of use.  Will keep you all posted!

Red, red, red!

Boy, I have been very very red the last 2 days!  Even my kids are telling me my face looks much more red than normal.  Lots of pain - seems more nerve pain than anything.  I woke up early this morning and couldn't fall asleep so I hopped into the tub before the itching got to be uncontrollable.  It was a nice change from my normal torture....the burning was much less being I went most of the night not scratching.  I have a pretty good sleep regimen since about week 4 or 5.  I take 2 Benadryl about an hour before I want to go to sleep.  It takes about an hour for the Benadryl to "kick in" causing me enough drowsiness to fall asleep.  Just before falling asleep I take 600-800 mg Ibuprofen with 1000mg Tylenol.  For whatever reason this works wonders for me.  If I just take the Benadryl I will be awake by 4 am itching and in pain.  If I take the pain meds at the same time as the Benadryl, I will be awake by 6am.  But if I take them as above (an hour after the Benadryl) I sleep til 7 am.  I know that ibuprofen helps relieve both pain and inflammation.  Tylenol helps with pain - even nerve pain.  They can be safely taken at the same time.  I however am careful to only take them at bedtime as they can affect the liver and kidneys - and those organs are taxed along with the rest of the body through TSW.  I have only taken them during the day 3 times in the past 3 months during the most agonizing times. 

My energy levels are still pretty high - went shopping today at 3 different stores with the kids.  I had to skip our favorite Barnes and Nobles as the pain in my neck was too much and I didn't have my alternative to ice - Neosporin with pain relief.  LOVE this stuff!  Kills the burning and pain instantly.  But like all medications - only to be used sparingly - so I use it when I cannot get to the ice.  Anyway, going to try some Yoga this evening.  Hoping to start getting in some exercise now that I a having more energy!  But I can't do anything that will cause too much sweating - not at that point yet where I am sweating normally.

Hope all is having a good day! 

Comparisons and Energy Levels

First off, I want to touch on the subject of comparing ourselves to others going through topical steroid withdrawal.  I believe it is both beneficial and detrimental - depending on how we view what is going on.  If one tries to compare themselves to someone who used for approximately the same amount of time and similar strengths of steroid cream, and they are expecting the same results, this can be detrimental.  Not everyone is going to take the exact same path.  But if we use the information from others to educate ourselves and realize some of the symptoms the other person has are some we may have to endure, then this can be helpful.  I have read others blogs and gone back to their 3-4 month period of TSW.  I find that some have similar symptoms while others are in a completely different place.  I compare myself and then use that information to help me prepare for either something worse or maybe even something better.  This helps my mental state more than anything.  In the beginning I would compare and then get depressed thinking of what lied ahead.  But I no longer get depressed.  Some people get breaks in between flares and others are in a constant flare for months on end.  There is no way to know where you will be at a certain place in time.  My motto: prepare for the worst and hope for the best.  :)

Next, my energy levels the last 3 days have been phenomenal!  Of course they are no where near what I am used to in my "real life", but hey, compared to being completely drained and not being able to do simple tasks, I will take this!  The increase in energy is not correlating with my 4-5 period of good days - They started on the last day but my energy continued even though I have been in a major flare over the past few days.  To top it all off I worked 12 hours yesterday and expected to be completely drained today (like the other 3 times I worked this month).  But to my surprise, I still have a high level of energy!  Very weird and bizarre.  Diet related given we are 5 days into our all natural diet?  Not sure....only time will tell.  By the way, I am also 100% caffeine free!  A huge crutch of mine - 3-4 cups per day for years - sometimes more.  But caffeine is a huge tax on the adrenals. So I cut it out completely!  Maybe that has helped my energy?  Who knows.

Hope you are all having a decent day - if not, hang in there!  This too shall pass.

Trying something new....

I remember years ago trying to find something, ANYTHING that would help with my "eczema".  I spent hundreds, probably thousands of dollars on all sorts of creams, herbs, treatments, etc.  Only to find myself going back to the steroid creams over and over and asking for something stronger. 

Now, I am looking for anything that may help this process along.  Seeing others heal at 17, 20, 24 months, etc. makes me feel somewhat discouraged.  Do not get me wrong, I am ecstatic about having a "cure".  I just wish the cure did not take so long!  I know the skin is in a huge state of healing in multiple layers.  The adrenal glands are dysfunctional.  My liver enzymes are elevated (and I am sure others are too).  The fatigue is almost too much at times.  So I understand why it takes so long to heal.  I am though not convinced that diet does not play a role in the healing process like others think.  I think the more natural, organic nutrients you provide your body, the more resources it has to heal.  And also the less detrimental food you eat, the more energy the body can free up to help the healing process.  Like I mentioned before, I am now on a very strict diet - only 3 days in so I will not elaborate on any good or bad effects yet - I think a synopsis once a week will suffice. 

But I am now looking into herbs that help heal the skin.  Here is what I learned:

Chamomile is excellent for healing the skin - it has antibacterial properties and anti inflammatory properties. You can rub a salve on your skin or drink tea.  I decided on the tea as I am trying other salves (see below).  Just bought my tea today - chamomile with lemon.  This will be great as lemon helps detoxify the liver - something I know I need. 

Aloe Vera: this helps tissue regeneration and penetrates deep into the skin.  Not going to try this yet, but it is on my list of things to try. 

Comfrey: Helps to heal and regenerate the skin quickly.  Use as a salve or a tea.  I read somewhere that ingesting too much comfrey is toxic.  So I plan to use tis as a salve only. 

Calendula: Many web sites promote this as the number one herb to have for skin healing.  Can be taken as a salve or internally. 

Today I purchased a few salves from an online store - the salves are a combination of some of the above and a few other things.  I bought a beeswax and olive oil salve today at the health food store and applied it on my skin to make sure I had no reaction to the base ingredients in the salves I ordered.  I actually really like this basic salve - it feels good on my dry skin for a few hours.  If any of you want to see what I ordered here is the website page for the salves:

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/salves/salves.html

I am not promoting them for any reason other than I liked their website and what they offer.  Plus the prices are very reasonable! 

My advice is to not bankrupt yourself, but do try a few things.  I know that looking into these things help to keep my mind off the pain and itch.  I am determined to try a multi-source approach to healing in order to help others in the future.  I know that regardless of what I do, I will still heal.  But if I can diminish my suffering in any way, it will be way worth it!  My goal is to get back to working full time in order to live our dream! 

My own personal torture chamber...

That would be my bath tub!  I have read about other topical steroid withdrawal people loving their time in the tub.  They talk about how they look forward to bath time every day.  For me it is the opposite.  I force myself in the tub every other day.  Showers are a definite no-no.  I took one shower in the last 4 months - it was on a good day and I LOVED it - but I have yet to have another day like that where water would not sting my skin. 

Getting in the tub requires a lot of momentum and produces tons of anxiety for me.  There are days where I just can't bring myself to get in.  I know it is good for me....2 cups of dead sea salt will help to bring in minerals to my body and the anti-bacterial effects of salt are essential for all the open areas on my skin.  But gosh darn it, it BURNS and STINGS.  My arms especially are really torn up and burn the worse.  I wish there was a way for it to not feel so bad.  I have tried staying in longer than 10 minutes, thinking over time the burning would go down, but for some reason with me, it does not. 

The past 2 times I added coconut oil in - just a few teaspoons - it still stings, but my skin feels so much softer after getting out.  Plus I do not have to use as much Vaseline on my skin.  Putting coconut oil directly on my skin right now doesn't work - it causes significant itching for some reason.

So find what works for you....but remember, our skin needs hydration and something to soothe it.  My next thing to try is a little aloe vera on my skin that is not so broken, but just dry.   

And the healthy food reigns!

Today marks the beginning of our all natural eating - with no cheating at all for at least 4-6 weeks.  I am trying to see if eating drastically better helps with my symptoms.  My withdrawal from the topical steroids has been pretty consistent so far.  Currently I am in a break period - these last for only 5-7 days max, but I am extremely grateful to have them.  I worked yesterday and that sort of increased the itching and swelling a bit, but my skin still feels better than it did last week by miles!  My breaks do not include any clearing of the skin - just a diminishing of the itch and redness and swelling.  I am praying that by eating all natural foods, I will decrease substances in my body that add to inflammation, therefore decreasing the severity of my withdrawal symptoms.  Of course there is the possibility of what I call a cleansing reaction instead - where I will actually get worse because my skin goes through a rapid healing phase because it has the nutrients it needs to heal the skin.  Either way, I think I will benefit greatly from this change.

So here is what we are doing - it is called the Maker's Diet - a 4-6 week plan of eating very specific foods.  The maintenance diet is similar to the Weston A. Price Foundation dietary guidelines.  The beginning focuses on eliminating certain foods in order to decrease insulin surges, inflammation, and infection.  The first 4 weeks are similar to paleo.  No dairy, wheat, or sugar.  The only natural sugar you can have is in strawberries, grapefruit, and cherries - something to do with the type of sugar in them does not cause inflammation like other fruit sugars,  Milk is a natural inflammatory product.  So all milk products are out.  What is left...all meats - organic only and beef is grass fed only beef.  No pork products.  Wild caught fish only.  No shellfish.  Organic eggs.  Fruit mentioned above,  Most vegetables except potatoes and corn.  Homemade salad dressing.  There are a few other things I think I am leaving out, but that about sums up the first 2 weeks.  The nest 2 weeks have you include a few more things like beans and a few more fruits and veggies.  By week 4 dairy and wheat can be introduced.  I will be taking our time with those foods though.  I will start off with homemade raw milk yogurt first and see how everyone handles it.  By then our taste buds will have gone back to a sense of normalcy.  Eating off the diet will not only cause GI problems, but may not taste as good as it once did.  We did this once before years ago and I couldn't eat bakery goods for awhile because they were way too sweet for my taste buds.  That changed over time, but I am hoping to go back to that time!

The kids are none too pleased to do this, but they know it is important not only for my health but for theirs as well.  I have 2 kids with athlete's foot - not bad, but it is a chronic issue for them.  I have one child with OCD tendencies.  They went away when we did this diet before, so I am looking forward to it helping her again.  And one child has an issue with stomach problems - again this went away last time in this special diet. Processed foods are just bad for us, regardless of what problems we may have.

So far today there has been little drama....2 of the kids complained about scrambled eggs.  They love ketchup with their eggs and ketchup is off limits.  Oh well!  I am sure there will be worse drama to come!  Once the detox from sugar starts, there will be extreme drama.  Day 3 I believe was the worst and it continued until about day 7 or 8 from what I remember.

I will do my best to chronicle any changes in my skin.  I know food does not directly cause specific flares according to Dr. Rapaport but I believe food has a lot to do with the overall healing process.