Day 341: (photos)

It is really hard for me to post this photo.

I have had so many lovely comments from people who have been encouraged by my progress, and to show this photo feels like I am letting everyone down.

BUT....I have to be honest about the reality of TSW and the reality is that it has ups and downs. I thought I was almost healed, but I have hit a setback.

I woke up this morning and the left half of my face felt wet. The skin was rough again, like sandpaper, and the skin was oozing fluid, a bit like in the early days of withdrawals. Don't get me wrong, it hasn't been disabling, and I have still been out and about as normal, but it seems so  discouraging at almost 12 months in.

Anyway, here is the photo:

As you can see, the skin is not overly red, and it is not until you get really close that you notice it, but it feels uncomfortable, sore and itchy.

This is what the my face looked like a few weeks ago, so you can see why I am sad:

It seems that my facial skin is on a weekly flare cycle. For some reason, it flares on a Tuesday, and by the weekend it looks normal, before flaring again the following Tuesday.

The rest of my body is doing really well...

My hand is NORMAL!!! It used to have a big red "tidemark" on it, but the skin is lovely now.

My inner arm was a huge problem area for me, but is now almost normal colour too. I am not afraid to wear short sleeved tops now.

My neck is also much improved. Only a little bit of pink visible. I remember when it was so bad, I couldn't move it and this area was all shiny and red, like plastic.
...so I shouldn't really moan, but its my blog and I'll cry if I want to! I have tried to figure out why I am flaring, but there are too many variables. The TSW rash seems to be focusing all its efforts on my face and leaving the rest of me alone, so I think it is losing power.

TSW is a very long journey and yes, I have days when I wonder if my skin will ever actually heal fully, but I am still glad I got off the steroids, as I believe they were doing me no good at all. Others have healed, so I really hope it will happen for me soon and that this face thing is a "blip". I hope nobody is discouraged by this post.