Skin splits in neck

For many years now my neck has been red and it seemed no amount of cortisone would bring the colour down.  To me, this says this was one of the worst affected areas and hence is no surprise it is giving me such grief now.  The problem at the moment is a series of splits all around my neck and throat, deep enough that they can't heal overnight and quickly crusting over whenever they dry out (which happens easily and quickly).  The dry skin of course is uncomfortable and you can't help but scratch it off, exacerbating the problem.

One thing I have noticed is that using my traditional moisturiser (QV cream) has not worked at all.  The reason for this is that QV tends to dry out, leaving a coating on top of the skin, which in turn the brain confuses for dry skin in sensitive areas.  Since moving onto an oilier moisturiser I have found more comfort around the neck, although I might add that the sensitive is driving me nuts.

It has been about 3 weeks now and whilst my face has almost recovered, the neck is still struggling.  Discipline will help sole it, but also the body itself will eventually just decide to heal, which is a recurring theme within my recovery, at some stage, doing nothing different, the skin just heals.

Overall I think my body has recovered quite well in the  first 3 months and if I was judging on overall colour, I would say the redness has gone down about 25% and the dry flaky skin about 60%.  If you think about it as a full year recovery, these are good signs.

OK, plenty more to discuss, but honestly my neck is distracting me, so another time.  Night all

3 months off cortisone steroids - A hard recovery

I won't lie to you, it has been one hell of a difficult 3 months with enough ups and downs to make a rollar-coaster look decidedly pedestrian.  Today however is a celebration, despite feeling like hell as i work in the office today, i am now a full 3 months in!!

The positives are that you can see the improvement in the skin, it's stronger and many of the horrible initial symptoms have started to or completely gone away, for example:

~ Hair has slowly started coming back
~ Swollen legs are almost normal now
~ Infections have stayed away
~ Ears no longer weeping
~ Skin rarely weeps, but is still dry and flaky
~ Skin flaking has reduced significantly since month #1
~ Legs barely flake at all anymore

So overall there are many positives and you only need look at louise in the UK or Rochelle as another great example of those who had gone through the pain and are now seeing the terrific results of cured white skin.

Here's to you all everywhere.  I can't wait till this most recent flare up ends, Christmas is 3 weeks away and I would love a few days of relief while I lay around in the sun!

Stay positive and see the good - Day #84

The affects of cortisone withdrawals are still taking a toll on me, but this video reminds you to stay positive and smell the roses. Life is pretty good all the time, you just need to recognise it.

Day #75 - Cortisone Withdrawal Driven Facial Flares

The improvements are coming along, let there be no doubt of that, but with these advancements come an ever new set of trials and tribulations.  This week has been facial flaring, and whilst I would normally swoop on the opportunity to make a dirty joke and smile the pain away, I figure I better explain it so as to help others suffering distress over something similar.

This picture explains it better than any words.  Basically the skin became very soft and itchy and with just a light rub of a face cloth all the top layers of skin had been removed, revealing just a watery (weeping) mess of skin underneath.  This weeping is the lymphatic system and the goo that it produces, whilst good for skin, is messy and clunky when it dries.  The problem here is that you have to go to work, which means trying to clean yourself up as best possible, which often results in removing the top layers of skin again and thus the cycle continues.  I should also mention that the new skin growing back get itchy and even the slightest touch or rub of a course pillow will take you back to square one.

This leads to an equally concerning issue, the inability to sleep.  It's truly horrid, and I think in all honestly I've had about  5 hours of sleep in the last 3 days.  That's not to say I haven't dozed, but it scarcely counts as sleep.  The affect of sleep deprivation is a loss of cognitive function, motivation and drive.  I often find myself staring at a blank computer screen unwilling to progress with any task that that result in imminent repercussions.

Now my regular readers know I'm a man of positivity and I will continue this trend today.  Whilst it looks ugly and feels disgusting when it's weeping, it's really not slowing me down.  What I mean is that it's not like other symptoms, it's really only cosmetic, and barring the sleep dep, it's not effecting me.  The silver lining is that whilst the body is dealing with this issue, the rest of my body is pretty good.  My chest, arms and legs are peeling less and itching is minimal, so you have to take the good with the bad and enjoy the changes as they occur... variety is the spice of life right?

#Day 71 - Cortisone Withdrawal & Recovery

Progress is slow and steady, I'm seeing improvements across the board, be them slow and sometimes painful. It's still a long way to go, but cortisone will not beat me, I am stronger than this and I will be recovered no matter how long it takes. Thanks for all the support. Josh

Day #59 Leg swelling from cortisone withdrawl

After withdrawing from topical cortisone steroids my legs instantly swelled up to the point where I could only wear very loose sneakers and even then, my ankles would be hanging over the sides.  My calves, foot and ankle were all red/purple and swollen and no matter what I ate or didn't eat, they did not go down at all.  It was only after a visit from Jake & Lib from eczema  healing blog that I thought about massage and started to see the swelling go down.

For the last 5 days my parents have kindly been rubbing my legs, starting at the feet and pushing the blood/liquid up towards my heart.  It doesn't really matter how hard you push, any movement seems to help, and even after the first session I had noticed significant improvement.

Of course, it's not a magic cure, thanks to the cortisone withdrawl process you will swell up again shortly, particularly if you're standing on your feet all day (as I tend to as I run around the office), but overall it has made a noticeable improvement very quickly.  When I can also spend time laying down elevating them, my legs improve even further.  It reminds me of my foot reconstruction last year, where spending large amounts of time with my legs in the air reduced swelling to almost nothing.

So from my end, I'm very happy to see this symptom going away.  Now I can focus on looking forward to my hair growing back.  I noticed what I think are a couple new eyebrow hairs have grown, I'm hoping this is the start of everything going back to normal.  I think on Tuesday I'll shave everything off the top and then it can all grow back at a steady rate, perhaps ready for Christmas?

Hope you are all healing well.  Cortisone withdrawl is a bastard, but I'm taking a lot of positives from the steady improvements.  My friends have noted the big reduction of redness in my face and while I could be upset about missing all the fun and frivolity of the Melbourne Cup and the lovely weather that is the Melbourne summer, this time next year I'll have the power of 20 men. It reminds me of an old movie quote:

"Don't threaten me with a good time, you don't know what I'll bring to the party"

Josh

Day #53 Unexpected Life Lessons

I maintain you must always focus on the silver lining, as life is about solutions, not problems.  Keeping your mind open and looking for the upside, you will always win.  Today I wanted to talk about something very positive to come out of my recovery, a life lesson if you will.

The last few years of my life have been played at breakneck speed, always doing things, working late, partying hard, women, booze, sports, travel, there has barely been a spare moment... and I loved it.  That said, it is possible to fall in love with bad habits, and this process has certainly taught me a lot about slowing down and even reconnecting with my parents.

1.) Slowing down
My work alone (advertising agency) is extremely stressful, coordinating our largest accounts, our staff and our company operational strategy.  By the end of a work day I am absolutely exhausted, and traditionally I would then push myself to go play sport, followed by meeting friends for drink or maybe a late date.

I've never been good at slowing down, the only time I really relaxed was overseas and even then I am accustomed to doing everything.  What I've leaned through this process is how to cut out distractions, focus inwardly and listen to my body.  In time gone past I could never take a midday nap, now I can do it with my eyes closed (deliberate joke).

2.) Reconnecting with my parents
This is a funny one, because I have the world's best parents and we've always had a brilliant relationship.  Being in recovery mode, I've been forced to take a back seat, allow them to look after me and be thankful for their support.  In time gone past I've been so independant I've actively pushed them off, but now I find myself truly appreciative of their support.

Sitting back and allowing people to help, makes you appreciate them and their issues.  I feel guilty for all the times I've come over for dinner and spent the whole time talking about myself.  Over the past month I've learned so much about their lives, thoughts and inner workings.  I feel closer to them than ever before, and comforted by their mere presence.

I guess the meaning of this post is to encourage you to look at the upside, appreciate what you have in life, and look forward to the future.  If you are positive, it's really not that bad, in fact, in a lot of ways it's very good.