N: "Jnet, your skin looks good this week. Complexion looks clearer and even."
J: (nodding in agreement). "Your face looks better than the last time I saw you."
Jnet: "J, you saw me yesterday."
J: "Was that yesterday?"
This conversation was from Thursday evening, AFTER my Wednesday Bax 3000 treatment with my chiropractor. It's Friday and I'm en route to San Diego for a wedding. I'm drinking at least a dozen pints of water in hopes that I can drown out the baddies and wake up with better skin.
My skin is happier but not thrilled. I'm holding a cold compress or ice pack to my face while my boyfriend drives. He also patiently gets off the road and looks for a decent place for me to go to the loo. We've stopped at three times and we've not traveled one hundred miles.
R: "I'm glad you're drinking a lot of water. I need to drink more myself."
He always finds something nice to say.
Today I am not red and swollen. It's a long drive and I can only hope that my skin will behave so that I can enjoy my friend's wedding.
jnet
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
tsw: what is worse getting bit by fire ants or dealing w tsw
I battled fire ants yesterday at my students' house. That was seriously yucky. I rushed home and went straight to the shower. My skin felt better yesterday before the fire ants and despite them. I almost felt like a normal person...a normal person that can't wear anything unless it's super soft to the touch. Getting ready for the day is frustrating deciding what to wear that won't hurt. If I feel better tonight, I think I will make a project of taking off the tags. The tags on the collar alone irritate my skin. I'm wearing my pjs inside out because even the stitching doesn't feel comfortable.
I woke up to a red swollen face that felt like it had an electrical dermis storm going on. It took a few hours of ice packs and cold compresses to calm it down to a pink. I'm drinking ginger root steeped in my French press with hopes that I can drown out the baddies.
Its day 20 of not taking any topical steroids for eczema and allergies. Normally, if I used a topical steroid, the dry irritated areas on my face may calm down to a smaller patch of dryness, maybe not. I would encounter some breathing trouble at some point and would add breathing in steroids (asthma medicine). My "allergy flare" would calm down for a couple of weeks and I would repeat after a week or two.
But I was only barely gaining wellness and I was slowly growing less well. I've become less sociable and have fallen into the habit of disappearing for months thinking that perhaps I needed to slow down (they say eczema is a stress reaction). Seriously folks, I have made it a lifestyle to be a negativity slayer, working toward taking things in stride, defusing drama and staying away from toxic people and situations. I think if I was a Buddhist monk, yogi master or nun, I'd still be struggling with flare ups.
Topical steroids have stopped working. But wait! Despite the misery of the red face electrifying dermis storm, I'm breathing free and easy. I'm petting my students' cats and not sneezing at all. That's weird.
It's as if a part of my "life with allergies" has whisked itself off to fairyland. My asthma buddies are lamenting allergy season and I'm standing alone with no need for inhalers. Can it be that the asthma/eczema medicines were giving me asthma?
I'm reading up on non steroid ways to handle allergies. Wow. There's a whole world out there that I didn't know of. Himalayan salt. Who knew? Google it. I plan to write on it eventually.
So fire ants or topical steroid withdrawal...which feels worse? TSW. It takes a lot more to feel better if you are going through TSW.
jnet
I woke up to a red swollen face that felt like it had an electrical dermis storm going on. It took a few hours of ice packs and cold compresses to calm it down to a pink. I'm drinking ginger root steeped in my French press with hopes that I can drown out the baddies.
Its day 20 of not taking any topical steroids for eczema and allergies. Normally, if I used a topical steroid, the dry irritated areas on my face may calm down to a smaller patch of dryness, maybe not. I would encounter some breathing trouble at some point and would add breathing in steroids (asthma medicine). My "allergy flare" would calm down for a couple of weeks and I would repeat after a week or two.
But I was only barely gaining wellness and I was slowly growing less well. I've become less sociable and have fallen into the habit of disappearing for months thinking that perhaps I needed to slow down (they say eczema is a stress reaction). Seriously folks, I have made it a lifestyle to be a negativity slayer, working toward taking things in stride, defusing drama and staying away from toxic people and situations. I think if I was a Buddhist monk, yogi master or nun, I'd still be struggling with flare ups.
Topical steroids have stopped working. But wait! Despite the misery of the red face electrifying dermis storm, I'm breathing free and easy. I'm petting my students' cats and not sneezing at all. That's weird.
It's as if a part of my "life with allergies" has whisked itself off to fairyland. My asthma buddies are lamenting allergy season and I'm standing alone with no need for inhalers. Can it be that the asthma/eczema medicines were giving me asthma?
I'm reading up on non steroid ways to handle allergies. Wow. There's a whole world out there that I didn't know of. Himalayan salt. Who knew? Google it. I plan to write on it eventually.
So fire ants or topical steroid withdrawal...which feels worse? TSW. It takes a lot more to feel better if you are going through TSW.
jnet
Friday, June 19, 2015
tsw: day 16 - if only life was a day at the beach
The violin teacher thought I was sunburnt.
That's how red I was....am....
Wednesday I woke up to a balloon face. The fancy word is edema and it means I puffed up. It began earlier this week and it seems to be my "thing of the week." I had plans to get loads of things done like laundry, play the piano, but even eating seems like a luxury. I found myself needing to choose between making food or cuddling an ice pack. My ice pack won.
I scheduled a biofeedback appointment that took the redness and swelling down a smidge and then braved going to trader joes. H told me the only reason she recognized me is because she knew me by how I walked and carried myself. She wouldn't had known me by my face alone.
A: "You don't look as scary as you think." My roommate assured me. Depending on the hour, I feel and look different.
My face is swollen. I haven't slept well all week. Antihistamines arent getting me remotely sleepy. And my ice pack is my teddy bear of comfort. Despite my plastic tight feeling face, I have good news. I'm not struggling with any allergies whatsoever. No breathing problems and no itchy eyes. I'm breathing free and easy and I'm petting my student's cat without breaking out in hives. Go figure.
I'm thinking all these years of "allergies" and breathing problems have to do with using medicines that kept me slightly feeling well with occasional downward spirals of un wellness. I never got ill ill. But I got occasional flare ups where my skin would break in rashes or hives, my eyes would be itchy and I would have an inhaler in the ready. Sometimes I had to break out my nebulizer. Topical steroids....even steroids for my EYES as well as breathing them in as asthma medicine kept me "in check." If I had a performance and had to look stage ready, I used oral steroids.
I've been working at weaning myself off of steroids for several years. This is the first time I've gone off it cold turkey and committed to not return. Thanks to my late night insomnia inspiring google searches and YouTube surfing, I found out about topical steroid addiction and withdrawal.
I'm not alone. It's been my comfort to read other "skin warriors'" blogs about their journey into wellness that I've decided to go for it.
It's not easy but it's doable. I feel I look terrible but I'm finding people are really kind and sympathetic. It's day 16 of no more steroids. It's a rough ride but I'm realizing keeping a good attitude makes the pain feel less terrible. I have a friend's wedding to attend next weekend. Here's to clearing up a bit before then.
jnet
That's how red I was....am....
Wednesday I woke up to a balloon face. The fancy word is edema and it means I puffed up. It began earlier this week and it seems to be my "thing of the week." I had plans to get loads of things done like laundry, play the piano, but even eating seems like a luxury. I found myself needing to choose between making food or cuddling an ice pack. My ice pack won.
I scheduled a biofeedback appointment that took the redness and swelling down a smidge and then braved going to trader joes. H told me the only reason she recognized me is because she knew me by how I walked and carried myself. She wouldn't had known me by my face alone.
A: "You don't look as scary as you think." My roommate assured me. Depending on the hour, I feel and look different.
My face is swollen. I haven't slept well all week. Antihistamines arent getting me remotely sleepy. And my ice pack is my teddy bear of comfort. Despite my plastic tight feeling face, I have good news. I'm not struggling with any allergies whatsoever. No breathing problems and no itchy eyes. I'm breathing free and easy and I'm petting my student's cat without breaking out in hives. Go figure.
I'm thinking all these years of "allergies" and breathing problems have to do with using medicines that kept me slightly feeling well with occasional downward spirals of un wellness. I never got ill ill. But I got occasional flare ups where my skin would break in rashes or hives, my eyes would be itchy and I would have an inhaler in the ready. Sometimes I had to break out my nebulizer. Topical steroids....even steroids for my EYES as well as breathing them in as asthma medicine kept me "in check." If I had a performance and had to look stage ready, I used oral steroids.
I've been working at weaning myself off of steroids for several years. This is the first time I've gone off it cold turkey and committed to not return. Thanks to my late night insomnia inspiring google searches and YouTube surfing, I found out about topical steroid addiction and withdrawal.
I'm not alone. It's been my comfort to read other "skin warriors'" blogs about their journey into wellness that I've decided to go for it.
It's not easy but it's doable. I feel I look terrible but I'm finding people are really kind and sympathetic. It's day 16 of no more steroids. It's a rough ride but I'm realizing keeping a good attitude makes the pain feel less terrible. I have a friend's wedding to attend next weekend. Here's to clearing up a bit before then.
jnet
Monday, June 15, 2015
tsw: day 10 of no steroids
What was once a couple of troublesome dry areas on my face has blown into a full face flare up. Even my eyelids and ears are dry. My face is slightly inflamed and swollen. It hasn't turned red or sunburnt looking. The back of my neck feels the weirdest. The rest of me seems to be fine .
I'd like to think the Bax 3000 treatments are keeping my symptoms mild because I've gotten much worse in the past. In the past, my face would get very inflamed and red. I thought my skin reactions were due to stress. My rehearsal schedule was demanding. My director would look at me and ask what's wrong with my face. I would be prescribed a topical steroid to get things under control. Nearer curtain time if I hadn't cleared up yet, my dermatologist would put me on oral steroids.
I would clear up and slowly decline back to having dry, red blotchy angry areas on my face....then my neck ...then my arms....then my back....Many times even my eyeballs felt dry. It didn't matter if I drank five pints of water or fifteen pints.
After two cycles of oral steroids and angry skin in a row, I decided to take an alternative route. I found I couldn't afford my condition. Futile appointments with doctors who only knew the steroid path was getting expensive. And the medicine was too strong and dangerous to use long term.
My chiropractor introduced me to the Bax 3000 back in 2011. It's biofeedback technology and it's perhaps too modern (it's not mainstream). I wish it was more available. If you live somewhere where it is available, do it. Fortunately for me, the technology is available fifteen minutes away in Glendale.
My skin has been relatively calm since using the technology. But I had these dry areas that would annoy me. Sometimes I would request a Bax appointment for maintenance and sometimes I would put on hydrocortisone. Most recently I was resorting to topical steroids. It was less expensive.
Tube of medicine less than five bucks versus single Bax treatment forty dollars. The steroids won.
It took me a while to understand that I lost big time with that decision.
Fast forward a couple of seasons. I added Chinese medicine and acupuncture to the equation (they were covered in my health care plan) and still "eczema" was not under control. I decided to take on Bax treatments again but not before finding out about ITSAN and a constellation of people around the world dealing with similar skin issues.
Stop steroids was the mantra.
I'm on day ten of no steroids and I've had two Bax treatments to calm the withdrawal reaction. My face is dry and peeling but not as intensely as before. My skin is not as angry either. It's a calmer inflammation. And I'm hoping that with Bax treatments it will only bring on calmer healthy skin. Until then, I'm grateful for supportive friends and family. It's not an easy transition but I am optimistic thanks to other bloggers who've shared their story.
Now off to ice my face before teaching...
jnet
I'd like to think the Bax 3000 treatments are keeping my symptoms mild because I've gotten much worse in the past. In the past, my face would get very inflamed and red. I thought my skin reactions were due to stress. My rehearsal schedule was demanding. My director would look at me and ask what's wrong with my face. I would be prescribed a topical steroid to get things under control. Nearer curtain time if I hadn't cleared up yet, my dermatologist would put me on oral steroids.
I would clear up and slowly decline back to having dry, red blotchy angry areas on my face....then my neck ...then my arms....then my back....Many times even my eyeballs felt dry. It didn't matter if I drank five pints of water or fifteen pints.
After two cycles of oral steroids and angry skin in a row, I decided to take an alternative route. I found I couldn't afford my condition. Futile appointments with doctors who only knew the steroid path was getting expensive. And the medicine was too strong and dangerous to use long term.
My chiropractor introduced me to the Bax 3000 back in 2011. It's biofeedback technology and it's perhaps too modern (it's not mainstream). I wish it was more available. If you live somewhere where it is available, do it. Fortunately for me, the technology is available fifteen minutes away in Glendale.
My skin has been relatively calm since using the technology. But I had these dry areas that would annoy me. Sometimes I would request a Bax appointment for maintenance and sometimes I would put on hydrocortisone. Most recently I was resorting to topical steroids. It was less expensive.
Tube of medicine less than five bucks versus single Bax treatment forty dollars. The steroids won.
It took me a while to understand that I lost big time with that decision.
Fast forward a couple of seasons. I added Chinese medicine and acupuncture to the equation (they were covered in my health care plan) and still "eczema" was not under control. I decided to take on Bax treatments again but not before finding out about ITSAN and a constellation of people around the world dealing with similar skin issues.
Stop steroids was the mantra.
I'm on day ten of no steroids and I've had two Bax treatments to calm the withdrawal reaction. My face is dry and peeling but not as intensely as before. My skin is not as angry either. It's a calmer inflammation. And I'm hoping that with Bax treatments it will only bring on calmer healthy skin. Until then, I'm grateful for supportive friends and family. It's not an easy transition but I am optimistic thanks to other bloggers who've shared their story.
Now off to ice my face before teaching...
jnet
Sunday, June 14, 2015
tsw: is my head on straight?
G: "ooooh wow. did you get a facial treament?"
I went to a Dodger game the other night. My friend's greeting gave me some perspective dealing with my funky looking skin. They were excited to see me and thought I went out and treated myself to some beauty time at the spa. What?!?!?!
I am walking and talking like a normal person. And people say hello and hug me like a normal person. But I feel far from normal. My face is currently dry dry dry. Moisturizers hurt to apply. The only thing I'm using is zinc oxide which is popular for sunburn and rash and does not sting. I hold an ice pack to my face any bit of time I can get away with it.
Smiling and eating takes effort. I can smile with my eyes; claim that my spirit will not be trumped by my outer flaking and somewhat swollen layer.
As for food, it is after 5pm and I've not had a bite. I think the corners of my mouth will crack should I repeatedly open it. I'm saving my patience to eat for my evening meal. Anyway, I've been meaning to drop a few pounds.
I have been reading several blogs of fellow skin warriors and it's encouraging to know that I'm not alone. I am, however, doing something different that I've not read in any of the blogs or forums, utilizing neurological stress reduction therapy.
I guess it is a bit star trekkie.
It's helping and perhaps makes for a less miserable withdrawal from topical steroids.
I'm "molting" and my friends thought I'm recovering from a facial treament. I guess that's cool. Lesson learned this week - get my head straight on. I'm still huggable and it mostly only my face that hurts.
jnet
Friday, June 12, 2015
TSW: No More Steroids - Week ONE
I've spent the first half of this year feeling "compromised" and so I haven't written.
The people closest to me know too well how I wrestle with occasional bouts that come out of nowhere. Is it an allergic reaction? Is it hives? Is it the weather? Where are my topical steroids? Do I have an inhaler in the ready? Where is my nebulizer? I never wrote about it because WHY immortalize a battle that has been going on FOREVER???
Watch this video.
I need to dash away to teach for the afternoon. I'm inspired to write about this battle, which I intend to win, after reading blogs of other people who have suffered and triumphed the same path of topical steroids withdrawal.
jnet
Compromised by allergies and temperamental skin, I'm up to the MAX amount of antihistamine I can take AND I'm not remotely sleepy. A restless late night of surfing brought me to this video, giving me a direction in how to be a negative slayer to win my health back.
Watch this video.
I need to dash away to teach for the afternoon. I'm inspired to write about this battle, which I intend to win, after reading blogs of other people who have suffered and triumphed the same path of topical steroids withdrawal.
jnet
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