It's been almost 2.5 years since one of the worst periods of my life... I have never written about it because well it is a time in my life that I wanted to forget. I didn't want to relive any of it and I was embarrassed. Until now, because well I have realized that I am over the trauma and now I feel like if I can help just 1 person who is living with eczema or with TSW (Topical Steroid Withdrawal) then it is worth trying. So I am going to be vulnerable with you all, and share my story.
In 2015 my eczema became the worst its ever been since I was a kid or at least since I can remember. I was going to the dermatologist almost weekly to try everything they could think of. Test after test, cream after cream, prednisone for weeks, and the start of photo light therapy. My skin was getting worse and worse and it was affecting my life so much that I could barley work, I couldn't take care of my kids, and I fell into depression.
Finally after hours and hours, night after night of researching, I came across TSW or Topical Steroid Withdrawal and also the 'Flawless Program'. After a week of hesitation I took a leap of faith and I signed up for the Flawless program. When I received it, I stayed up all night reading and it was like everything started to make sense. Basically this program explained why my eczema was getting worse, why it never cleared up, and why I have been dealing with this my whole life. You guys, I cried with happiness because in all my life, this was what I had been waiting for. What I had wanted to hear from doctors but never did. It gave me hope that someday I could be freed of this horrible disease and freed from steroid creams.
So that next day, I went cold turkey with my asthma medication and all the steroids I was on to "control" my eczema. The idea behind it all was this:
When I was little, I had eczema (dry skin and itchy to the point of making myself bleed). My mom took me to the dermatologist. He prescribed hydrocortisone cream. My mom put that on my spots and it cleared it up. Then it came back and so she continued to put cream on to help my eczema. This cycle of having eczema, going to the doctor, and him prescribing higher doses of steroid creams each time continued for 32 years. By this time in 2015, I was using the highest dose of steroid cream and it wasn't helping. My skin was so thin that any time I itched which was always, it would break open. So I started on Prednisone which is a steroid taken everyday by mouth that helped clear it up but made me feel horrible and was not a fix but a band aid.
Christina the founder of the flawless program was the first person to tell me that all this time, my skin was actually addicted to steroids!! I mean how did I not think of that before? That is what steroids do... they are addictive in nature. So every time my skin showed signs of what I thought was eczema it was actually just my skin saying "give me steroids". And the reality was for most of my life, I probably didn't even have eczema but instead my skin was addicted to steroids and when it didn't have it, it flared up and showed signs of dry rashy itchy and cracking skin (which is what dermatologists look for when diagnosing eczema).
So her program was extreme and broken down into stages. The program was to help guide me to rid my body of all steroids and help repair my skin function, and my body's auto immune system. To do this, you stop all medications and change my eating habits toward foods that are easily digestible, anti-inflammatory, and healing for skin. This meant not only was I not able to eat gluten, dairy or sugar of any kind, but that hundreds of other grains,vegetables, fruit, and meat were off limits. Foods that are healthy for skin were allowed only. (ie. grass fed beef, rice, cooked vegetables, and sweet potatoes) And the reason why the diet was so extreme was because as I started to realize the symptoms of going off topical steroids are by far the worst thing I have ever been through. So by changing your diet, you are helping the symptoms diminish and helping your skin repair from the inside out.
Every inch of my skin was itchy, red, inflamed, and broke down. I remember sitting in a HOT bath for hours just to take away the pain. This was my lowest. I couldn't do anything else. I was just too itchy. So for 9 months this continued and was told each step of the way what to look for next and to keep going and that it gets worse before it gets better. I also kept up with going to photo-light therapy twice a week. This is going to the dermatology office and stepping into a total body UVB light rays for a few seconds - a couple minutes. The light helps decrease inflammation, increase vit. D, and "sanitizes" the raw skin. You do get a tiny burn each time, but I swear by it, and I know it helped me during this withdrawal phase.
At about 6 months I hit the worst of it. But weeks after this, it was like something shifted. My symptoms were exactly on point with the program and my skin started to heal and change. The last 3 months my skin was looking so much better but my body when through the worst itching I have ever had. It was constantly itching. But it was all mental. My brilliant mother suggested using a TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)machine. This is a small devise that I kept on my body all day and night and hooked up the leads to where ever was the itchiest place. When I had an itch, I cranked up the machine and it delivered a electric impulse to that area which gave it a shock of pain. But... the pain would make my itch go away.... it was a miracle! So instead of itching and breaking my skin, I could instead endure a little pain to that area and then with in seconds it would stop. I did this for about 3 months and finally 9-11 months later my body was healed. I no longer was having flare ups, I no longer had itching, my skin had NEVER looked better. Also eating so healthy helped me lose all the baby weight which was an added bonus. I was the happiest I had ever been in a long time. It changed my life, it saved my life, and I owe it all to Christina who had the gut to design a program and inform others of what doctors still to this day do not understand.
Fast forward 2.5 years and I haven't touched any steroid creams and never will again! For me, because I do have eczema and extremely dry skin, everyday I use Cetaphil cleanser and Cetaphil lotion and essential oils. I also have found some tried and true companies that I could highly recommend. Together I have a non-toxic skin regimen and although I get the occasion skin flare up still from eczema, I know how to treat it naturally. I didn't need to keep up the strict diet because my body can function properly now and can fight the natural inflammation that happens with eating food that is not so great for you. When I do have the occasional flare up, I can almost pin point now what caused it. Be it food I ate or if I have been stressed out. Stress for me is a huge factor in my eczema. I notice that when I am feeling anxiety or worried and I almost always start itching my hands. This is where essential oils have been a huge game changer. Using essential oils to keep my stress low and my anxiety under control.
I can only pray that other people will understand the consequences steroid creams have. I pray that people will stop putting them on their kids. I pray that people who suffer from eczema will be able to sift through all the eczema "cures" and find the same information I have... I pray for these people every day.
If you know anyone who deals with eczema, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I will forever be on a mission to educate.
xoxo
