My Topical Steroid Withdrawal - Month 60 (FIVE YEARS STEROID FREE!!)

Taken last Sunday. No face make-up or filters.
Many freckles.

Like every year, this is up a day earlier than it should be because as per, I have written a special post to mark the actual anniversary, so keep an eye out for that tomorrow.

I haven't done a skin update in ten months so I thought it was about time that I did, especially seeing as it's such a huge milestone. Five years = sixty months TSW. How?! I'm feeling pretty emotional about it all at the moment and, to be perfectly honest, a little bit angry. I have always said that TSW changed me for the better and was by far the best thing I've ever done for myself (more positives coming tomorrow...) but that doesn't alter the fact that none of us should have to go through it in the first place. When I wrote my book, CURING MY INCURABLE ECZEMA, I wanted to use it as a means of closing a door on that chapter of my life but recently, I don't know, I'm feeling pretty passionate about spreading awareness so that hopefullly in the not too distant future, no one else will have to go through what we have. Every day on Instagram and Facebook I see hundreds of people suffering from topical steroid addiction, including children, and I'm finding it very hard to bear ... even though most of the medical community think we are doing this on some kind of arbitrary whim and through choice. What they don't seem to realise is that they have left us without a choice. Something has to be done. A skin condition has been created from a treatment that is meant to be helping us. The question is not IF topical steroid addiction is recognised but WHEN and I won't stop until we get there. I don't know if what I just said was positive or negative but regardless, it's the truth so make of it what you will. It is the reality.

I stopped counting what month TSW I am a LONG time ago but I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I'll not feel something on the 6th of every month, marking another small milestone since I started this crazy journey. I feel (BEYOND) grateful for my current situation: a woman who has recovered from topical steroid addiction and is living her life, and has done for nearly three years now. I will highlight specific things I have noticed during the last ten months but remember, these are minor issues and pretty much what most people experience in their lives, with or without a skin condition.

Also taken last Sunday. Still no filters or face make-up.
Still many freckles.

For many months after my last update post (here), there was absolutely nothing going on with my skin - it was simply skin and throughout the rest of summer and autumn it was exactly that. In early January this year, I decided after my experience writing and working on CURING MY INCURABLE ECZEMA and loving it, to really burrow away and simply write. That has pretty much been my life since then and as a result, both my diet and sleep has suffered. I have not been very balanced and a typical day (Monday to Saturday) has consisted of getting up at 6 a.m. before work to write, working, then coming straight home to write again. As it's taken its toll physically, I have been turning to sugary comfort food much more than usual and whilst that hasn't necessarily made me flare, I've noticed a difference both mentally and physically. My skin is basically reacting to food like someone without a skin condition would so I get the odd spot and now that my natural oils are back to normal, my nose has actually been greasy (greasy skin?! Who would have thought it!). When I've really gone to town on the junk, my skin will feel terrible and not look its best but absolutely no TSA symptoms. On top of that, I have been getting on average 6 hours of sleep a night and it's just not enough.

Now let's move onto the weather. I don't know if it's just me, but I feel as if last winter in the UK was one of the longest we've had in many years, with colder temperatures and snow even in spring! My skin was fine in the colder weather but when the temperature suddenly shot down, my skin was left feeling very chapped and sore on my face and hands but was minor enough for no one but me to really notice. I would also get the odd rash on my face and hands. I also found this winter absolutely brutal on my face generally from the constant, bitter wind and if the weather is the same next winter, I might have to look into using some kind of moisturiser, just as a means of protecting it somehow.

Around easter, the weather started to improve and I did my biannual panic about not using any kind of sun protection. In case you are unaware, every time I have used suncream post TSW, my skin has hated it and I have broken out in a rash wherever its been applied. Well, I tried another one recently and guess what? My skin hated it. It was marketed as an 'extra sensitive' fragrance free body mist. I tried it on the left-hand side of my face and on the first day of using it, there was no reaction and I started to get excited that I had found 'the one' but on day two, I came up in a mild hivey rash. It felt as if my skin was rejecting it. TSW is so good at making you hyper aware of everything you put in or on your body. I am still conflicted about whether I actually believe suncreams etc. are the right way to go but I think I might have to ignore my personal beliefs and use one anyway. If you have any recommendations, I am ALL ears ... and before you say Green People, I've tried it and my skin wasn't having it :)

The last thing I wanted to quickly mention is that I have started getting hay fever symptoms this year with irritated eyes and a runny nose. Oh the glamour! Even my non-skin friends have started to suffer from it too. Is there some kind of crazy pollen plant/flower that has suddenly decided to start growing?!

Bar my face and hands, I haven't had a single issue on my body, to the point where I have forgotten what it feels like to feel irritated or uncomfortable. Recently, a little ant crawled up my leg which naturally tickled and as a result, I scratched my skin and I remember how odd the act of scratching felt. That stopped me in my tracks for a moment and made me realise just how far I have come. When you're in TSW you can't imagine any other life bar one filled with irritation and discomfort. I cannot stress how different life is now and that TSW isn't forever. It is temporary.

A lot of people have messaged me to say they were upset by the absence of monthly updates over such a long period of time so I apologise for that. As a happy medium, I will aim for quarterly updates instead as I do acknowledge it's important to know what happens after withdrawal.

Because there really is an after.

Love & hugs,
Cara x

P.S. See you tomorrow ;)