Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Month 26

Since June, I've been going through... Yes! Another flare!! I guess I had spoken too soon again, haha. This has to be my second year anniversary flare. I've been hit pretty hard with almost a full body flare and I'm still recovering from it after three months. All of my worst areas are on the same exact spot from each year. So darn stubborn! My legs were so clear and soft for months and my feet were healing really nicely, and then bam! I get these really nasty raw and oozy rashes on my calf and feet that I got two years ago and the year before, accompanied with some more rashy, flaky, and oozy skin all over. Luckily though, my face and neck stayed completely clear this time!!! My neck used to be such a disaster! My hands were also slowly healing, but then they got worse again, and my wrists now look like how they did last year. My arms, back, and stomach aren't so bad, just a bit rashy and dry.

The past few months I've been eating really clean. No processed foods, and I've also cut out gluten and dairy. Not really for my skin (and it doesn't really seem to make a difference), but for my overall health, since I know it's definitely not good to stay inside the house all day while eating cake and chips, haha. On and off now, I've been using tsw as an excuse to eat unhealthy. 
"I feel like shit right now, so I need to treat myself to something! Can't go out or do anything fun, so I might as well eat all the cookies in the house!"
Not to mention, ever since tsw, I'm slimmer than I have ever been, which also gives me another excuse. I've always carried some extra weight around my stomach and thighs, so I'd often have to exercise and be conscious of what I ate (I looked kinda chubby throughout most of middle school haha), but now that it's gone, it's hard not to feel like you can eat anything you want.

However, recently more than ever, I realized I needed to be eating healthier, not just to be skinny, but to stay young and healthy. I don't want to develop any health problems, so I've been really strict with myself about it. I also try to get in about 15 minutes of sunlight a day too. Im in the house most of the time, so I really need that sunlight.
 
I'll be turning 19 this month, and to be honest, I still haven't felt like I've turned 18 yet because I've done nothing these past two years. No school, no social life, no fun or any celebrations. Just dealing with the hell of tsw. Time is going by so fast, and the uncertainty of when it will all end really makes me anxious. I feel like I picked the worst time of my life to go through tsw. I don't want to be so pessimistic, but the truth is that I hate my life right now. Despite saying all this (I know all I do is complain) I have already decided that this is the decision I have made and I will stick with it until the very end. I know I can get through this. I will, and you will too!

6 comments:

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  2. Hey Erena! Thanks for updating your blog :) I think its good to keep it real! Not sure if I've already asked this but are you on a corticosteroid/preventer athsma inhaler? My twin sister and I started getting TSW from the inhaler alone so it could be contributing. There are non steroid preventer inhalers that exist but you need to talk to your doctor about them. Best of luck!!

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  3. Hello Erena,

    How are you doing at 33/34 months TSW? I'm doing a follow-up on 26 blogs of kids and individuals under age 19 with TSW, and I first came across your blog in Spring 2015. This is the paper I wrote from information gathered from your and 25 other kid blogs. (Your TSW start date qualified you as a "kid" :-)

    https://tswresearchgroup.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/systematic-review-of-tsw-in-children-diagnosed-with-eczema-rev.pdf

    I see above you mentioned you were doing well for a while but started a 2-yr anniv. flare. Are you still having TSW signs and symptoms now? oozing, shedding, redness, etc. How do you treat/manage your symptoms?

    Thank you for sharing your TSW story. My 12-year old son is 30 months TSW and still has the classic TSW stuff going on, but functionally doing better. We don't know when it will end either, but we just try to take it one day at a time and are thankful that it is much better than it used to be.

    I wish you continued healing, strength, and perseverance on this journey. I also hope you're able to find some joy and peace in knowing how far you've come.

    Take care,
    Rosemarie Curley
    www.beyondtheitch.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Erena,

    How are you doing at 33/34 months TSW? I'm doing a follow-up on 26 blogs of kids and individuals under age 19 with TSW, and I first came across your blog in Spring 2015. This is the paper I wrote from information gathered from your and 25 other kid blogs. (Your TSW start date qualified you as a "kid" :-)

    https://tswresearchgroup.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/systematic-review-of-tsw-in-children-diagnosed-with-eczema-rev.pdf

    I see above you mentioned you were doing well for a while but started a 2-yr anniv. flare. Are you still having TSW signs and symptoms now? oozing, shedding, redness, etc. How do you treat/manage your symptoms?

    Thank you for sharing your TSW story. My 12-year old son is 30 months TSW and still has the classic TSW stuff going on, but functionally doing better. We don't know when it will end either, but we just try to take it one day at a time and are thankful that it is much better than it used to be.

    I wish you continued healing, strength, and perseverance on this journey. I also hope you're able to find some joy and peace in knowing how far you've come.

    Take care,
    Rosemarie Curley
    www.beyondtheitch.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Erena, hope everthing is going well for you and thanks for sharing your TSW journey with all. I've shared your site on my own site which is primarily to raise general awareness of eczema. You can check it out over at http://eczemacreamhub.com/eczema-blogs-follow/

    ReplyDelete
  6. I started on COPD Herbal treatment from Ultimate Life Clinic, the treatment worked incredibly for my lungs condition. I used the herbal treatment for almost 4 months, it reversed my COPD. My severe shortness of breath, dry cough, chest tightness gradually disappeared. Reach Ultimate Life Clinic via their website www.ultimatelifeclinic.com . I can breath much better and It feels comfortable!

    ReplyDelete