So...as the ad goes, here comes the "science bit"....
This is a relief to me, because I am still using a steroid inhaler for my asthma, and wondered how it would impact on my overall healing time, but the doctor seems to indicate that it won't affect my skin and that I will not become addicted to the inhaler. I'm down to one puff a day anyway, so I am not overly worried.
I am very glad that Dr Fukaya has resumed his research into the mechanism of steroid addiction. Maybe this will lead to some kind of treatment that will result in shorter withdrawal times for patients. I am confident that in years to come, the medical profession will come to acknowledge the existence of topical steroid addiction and learn to treat it effectively, rather that resorting to steroid creams as the first line of treatment for eczema.
I also hope that the research leads to better labelling of steroid creams. Tiny print on a leaflet inside a tube of hydrocortisone is not really going to convince the patient to stop using the cream after 5 days. It needs to be printed in big letters on the front of the tube:
DO NOT USE THIS CREAM FOR MORE THAN 5 DAYS
Now that would grab people's attention.
5 comments:
Hi, very informative stuff! Question, so is it good to still use prednisone or injections while coming off topicals?? Thanks! -Ryan
Or do you think it's best to quit cold turkey off everything? Thanks ahead of time for the responses
Hi Ryan.
I never used prednisone, but I believe it is pretty strong stuff. Coming off oral or systemic steroids too quickly can actually kill you. It should never be done without medical supervision and should always be weaned slowly, NEVER cold turkey.
Take care, Ryan and get advice from your doctor. Never stop strong medication like this without a doctor's consent and supervision.
Thank you for your reply, much appreciated! I came off slowly from prednisone about a month off and used that to quit cold turkey off topicals. It's been over a week and the rebounds aren't too bad yet (keeping my fingers crossed) but the itch is INSANE and usually all occur at night.
Funny I NEVER really had skin problems when younger (I'm 30 now, live in LA, California) but I went to see a derm when I was about 22 about a simple itch and was prescribed desonide lotion and used that for every simple itch for 6 years then fluocinonide since the desonide wasn't working any more ( I regret all, big mistakes) then that wasn't working anymore and moved on to clobetasol and prednisone/injections, all from last year until now. Every time I stopped it came back!!!
I'm so glad to find people like you, DR Fukaya and Dr Rapaport whom is down the street from me, probably will see him during the withdrawals. But, so depressing but I'm committed to this journey of stopping after 8 years of using !
Wish me luck! And btw, much props on your improvement, I have ways to go and hopefully brighter days ahead.
-Ryan
Hi Ryan,
It's great to see that you have started on the road to improvement. it is very tough, but worth it, as you have seen from my blog.
Lucky you living so near Dr Rapaport! He has treated thousands of people with steroid addiction and they are all healed. He is supposed to be really nice.
If you go on the itsan.org site, you can access some teleconferences that he did with the group that answer many basic questions. they are long, but well worth a listen.
I hope the withdrawal process isn't too bad for you. The insane itch is something that many TSW sufferers get, as itch and pain signals travel down the same channels in the body.
Wishing you a speedy recovery and a steroid-free future. x
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