I've been getting back into sport of recent, playing a bit of ultimate frisbee and touch rugby at Albert Park (where the grand prix is held). Whilst it has been a bit hard on the body to start with, I realised that once the sweat glands started to work, they cleared the dry skin and it all felt great. In fact, the body is the best it has been since I started.
Good diet and only minimal booze has really helped and I feel like I'm almost at the end of this journey. To be clear, what I mean by this is that I'm through the bad stuff, now I just wait a few more months for the skin to strengthen and the moisture to come back fully.
To everyone following my progress, please encourage others to do the same. I've been given a new lease on life and it really wasn't that hard. I say that in a relative context, meaning of course it was hard, but compared to losing a leg or getting cancer, a year of dry red skin really isn't that bad.
All the best and keep messaging in.
Josh
Yay Josh! Geoff is also beginning to work out a bit and sweat, and has also noticed how the sweat helps the skin clear out! He also is beginning to let himself think he has passed the worst of it! YAY!!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled to hear that. It will probably go up and down a little, but that's a great sign!
DeleteI followed your blog and started to take Vit B, Vit C, Zinc and Cod Liver Oil. I am in month 2.5 now. Any moisturizer do you recommend? I sweat a lot in this summer, but my skin is still very dry.
ReplyDeleteI use a mixture of QV and Dermease.
DeleteThe QV standard is daily use when I have to wear clothing and when I was at home by myself I used the very greasy dermease.
Keep lathering it on, the skin is much nicer with moisture.
Hey Josh!
ReplyDeleteGlad to see things are going so well!
My skin has begun the routine of weeping and oozing, and I was wondering if you used any sort of product to stop or reduce this.
I've heard the Domeboro works to dry it out but I'm a bit nervous to give it a go.
Ashley
Hey Ashley,
DeleteI did one of two things to stop the weeping, either clotting it (around my ears) with toilet paper, or putting a greasy moisturiser like Dermease over it.
I also used sleeping pills like crazy to help me sleep. The oozing is really tough!
I also found the supplements cod liver oil, primerose oil & vitamin D + C all really helped speed it up.
So great to hear your improving Josh.
ReplyDeleteJust passed month 8 for me and I feel incredibly good as well (That of coarse is relative to wanting to jump off a bridge four months ago) Still struggle, but it's for minutes at a time instead of hours now. My heart really goes out to everyone in the early stages. It can get much worse before it gets better, but it does get better. Blogs like yours were one of the lifelines that I felt so useful throughout this ordeal. Reading these on the worst sleepless nights were enough to get me through. Thanks again, and keep us updated. I know for the early sufferers, these last entries are helpful to read as well.
Cheers Mate.
Cory Z. Canada
Hey Cory,
DeleteThanks so much for the kind words, it means a lot to me.
I went to my doctor yesterday for the first time in about 4 months and he finally admitted that I was right. His exact words were: "You were very brave to cut out all the drugs and trust the body would recover, but you have proved that the body will heal itself if you let it".
I hope everything is going great for you, in a couple months I bet you'll be going days without irritation!
Stay in touch,
Josh
Josh, I know you are only a few weeks ahead of me in the recovery process, so I was wondering. I've felt much better for about four weeks now. Minor itching after a shower (still cool and fast and every two days) and a little on and off during the day, as well as a short bout around 2 am most nights. Still tearing up my skin on my wrists and ankles a little bit, but otherwise look almost normal. I'm trying to be optimistic that I'm out of the nasty stuff, but can't help thinking there are more flares ahead. I've never had more than 3 or 4 days of relief before this so it's hard to believe that I'll get worse again. I want to be mentally prepared for it so I'm wondering what your experience has been. Have you had really long breaks and returned to misery again?
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear your doctor has opened their mind up a little. I have been quite disheartened by any medical staff that I have talked to. Their arrogance and refusal to listen has been so frustrating that I unfortunately have lost respect for the whole field of western medicine. Oh well. On with life right?
Hey Cory,
DeleteI've found that the colder the shower, the less itching I get. Today I took a cold shower (not by choice, the water was out) and I didn't itch or get red at all. Now I don't think I'll do that again, but I will be reducing heat down to the bare minimum.
Your comments were really interesting, I also wake up around 2am with dry skin most nights. In these instances I can either force myself back to sleep, or the best option is to drink a glass of water (I'm usually thirsty) and toss some more moisturiser on my skin.
My face nowadays looks completely normal, as does most of my body. I would say my legs and chest are still pink, but it's not noticeable. I still scratch, but it's not like it use to be, now it's more just dry spots where the skin is annoying me, and/or to feel good (i hate that last reason).
I also have the dry skin around my wrists and ankles. I guess it's just a tough place to get moisture back into. It's not bad, but I will be happy when it heals. The other place I have dry skin is on my left shoulder. This has been a problem spot for a while and while the shoulder blades look like they have finally settled, this one is still an issue.
On with life buddy, rock on :)