TSW

9.5 Months

brianarachelle23

And the itch goes on…

9.5 months. It’s been annoying, to say the least. I am living at my mother’s house, my husband is away being a bad ass, my dance friends are shoulder rolling on different stages, and life seems to be flowing as normal all around me as I sit and wait… and wait… and itch… and wait.

I see improvement, but it’s just so painstakingly slow. It’s not enough to have me bed ridden, but it’s enough to play with my mind and keep me from pursuing my career in the arts. I am longing for the stage, an aerial class, a play, a musical, helping a cause, a full day outside with no pain, my long lost hair, non red and blotchy skin, a full night’s sleep, a chance to be a functioning human again.

9.5 months… 292 days. Can you imagine it?

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The thickness in my legs and creases in my arms is so strange. It’s literally deep set wrinkles. The elephant skin is obnoxious.

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It’s even in my belly button!! And my skin is this plastic like casing. It’s not real skin. People may think it looks better, but it’s not actually normal skin. It doesn’t move the same and certainly doesn’t feel the same.

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My nails (my thumb and middle finger mostly) have been severely deformed. All my fingertips hurt with the pain of constant scratching, but the actual nail on my thumb and middle finger are decaying. There are two different levels in my middle finger and three in my thumb. However, these past 4 days I have been taking Biotin and it makes SUCH a difference. I can see that are trying to rebuild themselves.

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More fun skin. Just a wrinkly old woman. Makes stretching difficult.

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One happy thing is my scalp doesn’t have the weird skin anymore! I wasn’t able to start growing my hair back because of it. But, it seems to be toughening up. The back is still a bit red and it flakes, but no where near as badly as before.

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My face is a roller coaster. One day it’s only a small nuisance, and then other days it aggravates the hell out of me. My neck as well. Turning my head can sometimes be painful.

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Hands, feet, arms, and legs are so itchy. Sometimes they can be very red, and then sometimes they can be lightly pink. And this can all happen in one day!! It’s a fun time when TSW is your companion.

I truly can’t believe I know other sufferers who are way past the 1 year mark of enduring this horrific condition. I see them still having to trudge through each day with all of the pain. Doctors NEED TO LISTEN! We shouldn’t be the ones educating them, arguing with them, being bullied by them. The use of topical steroids for a long period of time (MORE THAN 2 WEEKS!) should never take place.

Homeopathic doctors are the way of the future. It may not be a “quick solution”, but that’s the problem with this world. Aesthetics rule over health. Greed rules over health. I’m sick of it, and you should be, too. Do what’s best for your body. Instead of depending on pills and medications that are doing your health harm simply so you can look better, find out what mother nature can offer you first.

I ordered some Camu Camu powder to mix in with my smoothies in the morning. It is a superfood rammed with Vit C (more than oranges). Apparently high doses of Vit C can be extremely helpful to the healing process. I’ve also ordered more viscopaste (zinc wraps) for my skin, more Jojoba oil for my scalp, and some more shea butter to mix with some essential oils that can help rebuild and protect my skin (geranium, grapefruit, rosemary, clove, lavender, and tea tree). There are many more that I could add to the list.

Keep fighting! Keep going! I know the road can be long and exhausting, but the end is worth it. Think that Ryan Gosling is at the finish line!! (Or Benedict Cumberbatch, or Jack Huston, or Chris Pine… Evans… Hemsworth) Or Jack Wren xoxo

Love, B. R. Wren

10 thoughts on “9.5 Months”

  1. Hi Briana, I watched some of your videos (I saw a clip of the Doctors) on youtube. I appreciate your humor and I feel your pain. My 6 year old son has severe eczema. I felt like we didn’t have any choice but to get him on the big-gun steroids. It was so bad. Like you could smell the rot and infection even though he bathes daily. He’s been on the steroids for a little over a month. It was quickly under control but now it seems to be coming back. We are also doing bleach baths and mupuricin. I tried the natural route for years and it just wasn’t working anymore. Just don’t know what to do anymore.
    Do you have any ideas of what caused or triggered your eczema?
    BTW you are still a beautiful woman. I am going to pray for a complete healing for you.
    -Sierra

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    1. A huge thing that I’ve learned about us atopic individuals is that our skin barrier is not closed off like most others. If your son is allergic to something, it can trigger his eczema. Getting sweaty can activate it as well. I know a fungus what was made mine horrific. The steroids did this to me (from becoming dependent on them), but once I’m free of this steroid induced hell, I am definitely figuring out what I am allergic to, keeping my gut healthy (probiotics and greens), and constantly making sure to combat fungal infections and bacterial infections. You can do bleach baths or apple cider vinegar baths (half cup bleach and one cup acv). Zinc wraps help with wounds and redness. Manuka honey as well helps get rid of staph infections. Vaniply is an emollient that doesn’t have lanolin to help create a barrier for the skin. And I have essential oils that I will mix into shea butter to moisturize my skin (some help with itch, fight fungal and bacterial infections). It’s a lot to handle but it’s better than steroids

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  2. So, did you get any help from that dermatologist on the Doctors?
    I just purchased some manuka honey and probiotics for him. Thanks for your helpful suggestions. We are going to ween him off the steroids.

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    1. Nothing major (well, she did more than any other dermitologist and that was to swab me). They found the MRSA (though I wasn’t infected with it. It was just on my skin). I took antibiotics for that and will start taking an antifungal soon for a fungal infection I have. Hoping it speeds up my healing process.

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  3. So great to find others going through this crazy journey. Just watched your vid about going to the docs with a ton of research and they don’t listen to a word, so funny, love how positive you are! Gotta laugh or you just might cry! I just did exactly that – going to the docs and walking out holding two scripts for steroids even though i explained how badly i was reacting to them! In the bin they went. Craziness, glad there is a bunch of us cheering each other on! 3.5 months in for me 😉 I’m over at http://healedwhole.blogspot.com.au/
    You def look like you have improved in November, hope it’s all up and up from now for you x

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    1. You look beautiful, and so does your family. Always trying to keep the humor involved since I know this can be such a trying time. I hate that many have to go through this but I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel that we ALL will reach. I wish you the best on your journey and i hope that it is a swift one. Keep on that duet 🙂 I think it will help.

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  4. Hi,

    Have you tried apple cider vinegar, this is proven to be really good for skin conditions, diluted in water, I have some and I have had dry skin since I was a child, I take it twice a week it does seem to help my skin, I still do use a body moisturiser as well.
    Just thought any suggestions are better than none at all, hope this helps.

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