Flare 4 is very nasty in severity. A red rash is covering a large percentage of my body and all of the previously healed areas are turning red and blotchy. It feels like everything is being undone.
I finally managed to get the kids back to school after the flu, so I have been able to take some photos today, although they are quite depressing:
This picture is quite a contrast to the previous photo of my neck, which had areas of good skin. As you can see, the skin on this picture is very inflammed and flaky. When I sleep, this area goes very red and gets wet, and in the morning it is extremely dry and sore. I wonder how it is ever going to improve. In the day, I wear tops that expose this area to the air to dry it out. it is very irritaring to have it covered and covering it causes the skin to weep. If I go out though, I wear a high-necked fleece over it to cover it up. The UK is currently very cold and the bad weather doesn't do skin like this any favours.
This is a troublesome patch of skin on my left calf that refuses to dry out. I have tried most things on it but it oozes constantly and is raw, as you can see, with a lot of deep damage. I get worried that it will get infected, but I keep the area very clean. One of the members of the support group sent me some Domeboros, which you can't get here in the UK, so I am going to try the Domeboros on this area later today.
The backs of my legs are still raw, but I can walk a bit better, and they are responding to the Hemp cream I am using, even if it just lubricates the area enough for me to walk. This area is very uncomfortable when it dries out, so I need to keep it moisturised. In the evenings, my right knee swells up a little and I have to raise it up.
Up to this point, my face had been doing OK, but it has gone quite blotchy in the last couple of days, especially round my chin and mouth, which has been a step backwards. You can also see in this picture how bad my neck is, too. Underneath the blotches, you can see how pale my natural skin colour is, so when my face gets blotchy, it really stands out! I think I will stick a paper bag over my head when I go and fetch the kids from school today!
The pictures above are my "morning skin", which is when my skin is actually at its best(!). I will try and get around to talking some photos that show how bad it gets in the evening, because it is a lot redder than this in the evenings and the contrast between the red skin and the white skin is even more pronounced.
My energy levels continue to plummet. I was doing some housework, changing the sheets on the bed and hoovering (all the dead skin!). When I had finished, my whole body was shaking and I felt absolutely wiped out, as if I had been running a marathon. I attribute this to adrenal fatigue. my poor adrenal glands have taken a fair pounding due to all the artificial cortisone I have put into my body over the years, and they need to get used to working properly again.
We read encouraging posts on the support group from people who are healed after 1.5 years and now have their lives back. Whilst it is very encouraging, 1.5 years seems a long way away for me, only 75 days into withdrawal. My mantra is to take each day at a time, and every day that goes past is another one under my belt.
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