Flaring Again at Almost 18 Months (photos)

After the recent sunshine, my skin was doing really well. I could feel it healing; it looked good and felt smooth. Unfortunately, the sun has now gone again and we are back to the cold, rainy weather, which has undone all of the hard work and improvements.

I hate putting flare photos up on here, for fear it may discourage those in the early stages of TSW.

"What? She's still flaring at 18 months?"

Well, no. 18 months in a weeks time actually. I may be fine when I finally hit the 18 month mark. Who knows?

Yes. I have to be honest. I did think that I would be finished with all this by now. To be still flaring at nearly 18 months is a huge kick, both physically and mentally. Healing suddenly seems a long way away again. I get scared that I am still going to be posting photos like this many years down the line.

Anyway. here is the grim reality of a flare at (almost) 18 months.

My arm was previously white. Now it is all red and blotchy again. it is incredibly itchy and I rake it with my fingernails at night.

 

My hand is awful. it is quite puffed up and there are clear demarcation lines between the good and bad skin. I don't think the picture shows how red the skin is, due to the lighting. My knuckles have baggy skin on them too. They look like old lady hands and I am not even 40 yet.

My belly is SO ITCHY!!!! I just want to rake it with a garden rake. The whole of the front of my body is like this.

My eye looks like I have been attacked. The eyelid is all flaky and the area between the lid and brow is oozy.

My forehead has lots of bloody gouges where I have scraped it with my nails. Luckily, I have a fringe and I flip it down to cover the mess.

Sorry if anyone was eating their dinner whilst reading this. I should have put a warning up first.

Anyway. Perspective time. Yes, I am flaring, but it is not as bad as previous flares. My face is still looking OK, which is good, as I can cover most of the other bad areas up.

I know that this flare will pass, so I am not overly worried. it hasn't stopped me in my tracks like previous flares and I have been able to go out this morning volunteering at the local school and none of the kids said anything. I got up in front of 100 people last night at my place of worship to give a talk and I didn't think about my skin at all.

TSW is losing its grip on me, but it is having a final fling at my expense!

I know I have come too far to go back to steroids now, so it is just a case of plodding on and hoping that I heal eventually.