Month 22 Steroid Withdrawal

I am nearing my 2 years of withdrawal and still not done yet. I have been taking Vitamin D and Vitamin C with Iron tablets for around 2 months now but things still aren't running smoothly. I eat a mostly vegan diet with plenty of fruit and veg but there is always room for improvement. I'm waiting for summer to try going mostly raw vegan again as that is when all the nice fruits will be around.

We went for a little getaway on the 16th to the Lake District. I never in a million years thought I'd ever have the enthusiasm and motivation for going on a walking holiday, but I guess these things change. Anyway, no sooner had we arrived I could see the tell-tale signs of infection emerging. For goodness sake. I'm not allowed to enjoy anything am I?! What was more annoying was that we were blessed with dry, sunny days which were perfect for going for walks, but no, I ended up being mostly confined to the cottage. It was a stunningly twee little place though so I was glad we were able to make the most of staying there.

I did however force myself to go out a few times, even though I looked like the undead. My camera has been lovely to me though and you can't even see that there is anything awry.

I used my drying out and tea tree oil method but it didn't seem to work as amazingly as it had before, though it did appear to clear the majority. I booked in an appointment to see a doctor on the Thursday evening of our return who prescribed me antibiotics as a standby option. I can tell you, I'm bloody glad I did. Overnight it returned with a mean vengeance. Everything was yellow, swollen and I felt feverish and yuck. So I'm back on the unwanted antibiotics.

The following Monday I had a follow-up appointment with my derm nurse at the hospital. She essentially told me that she was drawing blanks with what other treatments I could have as I have tried them all. Ciclosporin isn't working as effectively as it should be any more and our goals of treatment have changed anyway, seeing as I keep having constant infections again. She wants me to push the idea of biologic treatment and has issued me a fast-track appointment with my consultant derm. I wasn't supposed to see her until August but now have an appointment for early May. Biologics are new in terms of treatment for AD individuals, and I was actually given the opportunity to go on them over a year ago, but back then I was fed up of being a guinea pig. I could kick myself now, had I known I would regress again. Ho hum.

But yes, unless things get remarkably better with my natural solutions, it looks like I may be forced to take that route. I have been doing a lot of reading and research into Dupilumab, a biologic which is currently being trialed, and have seen good stuff so far.

So yep, this is where I'm currently at.

Oh, and it hardly seems worth telling because it was so minuscule but I also had a small bout of herpeticum earlier this week that originated around my eye. Fingers crossed it is now lessening in severity as after a few days of treatment it disappears. At least something is going right!