Wow, now I am into the third week of withdrawal and things have taken another turn for the worst. When I sleep at night, I wake up with soaking wet skin from all the weeping and oozing. My skin cracks and flakes and is completely raw, so I am actually scared to fall asleep. I woke up early this morning and I was immobilized by the wet, raw skin on my neck and chest. It didn't look like skin, it looked like raw bacon.
Anyway, I thought I'd better post some more photos, as a picture tells a thousand words:
My neck is my worst problem area, as this picture clearly shows. I had read about people with this condition having shiny, plastic skin, but I didn't know what they meant until now. The skin is shiny because it has lost so many layers due to the flaking and oozing and this is brand new skin that wasn't quite ready to show itself to the world just yet. The skin is very tight and feels to small for me. I have trouble turning my head as the skin is too tight.
The crook of my arm, as in so many people with topical steroid withdrawal, is red and sore. The skin in this area is also very dry and itchy. When I scratch, I usually have a bit of a frenzy and can't stop. Stretching my arm out is painful and it is hard to reach things high up on a shelf because the skin tightens in the elbow crease.
My right arm, above, shows a pattern very typical of steroid addiction withdrawal. My arm is bright red, but stops at my wrist and my wrist and palm have normal white skin. Alsmost everyone withdrawing from the topical creams has the same skin patterm, which proves that it is not true eczema, but Red Skin Syndrome due to dilated blood vessels that have been messed up my the steroid creams.
The pictures look pretty grim, but I am upbeat and positive that this is a temporary phase and that I will heal completely in time. There are some new posts on the Steroid Addiction Withdrawal support group that show members who have been in the process for several months with much improved skin. Hopefully, I will post similar pictures in the coming months.
2 comments:
Hi there, I just found your blog and have been reading it from the first post. Your symptoms were exactly like mine. I stopped using my steroid cream and it's only been 6 days. Feels like forever though. My worst area is my neck too. I will continue to read to find out what your progress has been....hopefully good! I feel like crap right now but feel very positive for the future.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
Mamta
Hi Mamta,
as you can see from my photos, it is hard at the beginning, but if you flash forward to my latest photos, you will see skin that is almost healed.
I urge you to check out www.itsan.org for more info and support, as well as a forum where you can talk things through with other sufferers. x
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