9 Months of Topical Steroid Withdrawal

So today marks 9 months of ceasing topical steroid treatment and about 6 months of completely stopping the use of immunosuppressants.

I'm not gonna lie and say I'm doing fantastically well but I can definitely say that my life is back and I am now able to do so many things that I previously couldn't do. I think my last update is nearly 2 weeks old and in that time my skin has gone backwards and forwards, which is why I didn't really want to collate another post to show you that it has regressed again as it gets pretty boring really. It is comfortable enough to live with and I think that's fine by me, especially going by what I was like this time last year! In fact when I say regression what I mean is my face has gone a bit pink and flaky, my chest and neck have some eczematic parts and my arms are scratched, but my skin is much tougher now so it's not as though I'm sloughing it off with every touch. I should be more grateful really.

So if we look back... showering and getting dressed could take hours and hours, on a bad day I wouldn't even be able to put clothing on! Nowadays however, I can be out of the shower, have a bit of moisturiser on and dressed within 30 mins. Not bloody bad if you ask me! I can also stand to do stuff after I've spent the day at work without having to run headlong for the shower, and even if I do need a shower after work, I'm pretty sure I can be ready to leave the house again shortly after.

Also the way my skin is physically is very different. I was thinking the other day that my skin doesn't peel off in humongous pieces as it used to. It was kind of akin to sun burn peel where you pull a bit and an entire sheet of skin comes off(!), I remember the satisfaction of pulling all of my eyelid skin off in one swift movement. I'm a delight I know. Yet now it's more powdery in formation and isn't quite as joyous I suppose. It's quite dandruff like again.

I'm now off work for 2 weeks to go gallivanting up to Edinburgh for a couple of days and also bypassing my family and the cats on the way there (and back) so it will be interesting to see how I get on.

I do hope that everyone is doing well!x