Yesterday, my time line reminded me how far I have come in this withdrawal battle.

I think it still boggles minds when talking about a withdrawal that can last years at a time, literally. I’m at 15 months and 19 days. That is 476 days. That is 685, 440 minutes. And I’m not even finished yet! Truly is astounding.

However, this time last year I was in misery. My face was crusty, my body was oozing in certain areas, super flaky in others. My eye sight was blurry at times, I had low blood pressure, and worst of all, my hair was constantly falling out.

My hair was super long. Suuuuuuper long.

Needless to say I was in a very dismal place, wondering when this Topical Steroid Withdrawal hell was going to give me a break. Sadly, my break wasn’t coming any time soon.

Because my scalp was so heinous, I took the big leap and shaved off my hair. I couldn’t take seeing pieces of it all around the house, finding it in our food, and seeing it stuck to the walls of my shower. Emotionally and physically I needed to let it go.

This was me one year ago: 

My hands, my face, and my body look completely different

Today

Month 4

I think when we all feel a bit down that we are still going through this, we need to take a step back (many steps sometimes) to see how far we have come. It’s amazing what our bodies can do. Keep fighting for your health. I am so glad I took the leap of faith. Red Skin Syndrome is very real and healing does happen without the use of topical steroids. In fact, healing happens because we are not using topical steroids anymore.

For those who are first hearing about this condition, please be aware of the risks that are involved with using topical steroids (or any medical steroids) for a long period of time. Just after two weeks of use, your body can become dependent on these drugs. It affects your skin, your eye sight, your hormones/cortisol/adrenals/lymph nodes, even your hair and nails. Education is a powerful weapon against this condition. Let’s help educate others about this and many other conditions that are being overlooked.

Love, B. R. Wren