My neck is giving me lots of grief lately.
To look at it, it doesn't appear too bad at all to the naked eye. It is not particularly red.
But it feels terrible. Every night I go to bed and my neck area oozes thin, sticky fluid. If I touch my hand to my neck, the whole area feels wet. The sheets and pillow end up smeared in ooze stains and need changing daily. The smell of the ooze is very "organic", one of the most unpleasant smells I have encountered, a musty, metallic smell. The ooze itself is blood serum, leaking out from dilated blood vessels.
Sleeping is tough, as it is a challenge to get comfy with a wet neck! Last night, I resorted to my old friend, the silk scarf, something I haven't used since my early TSW days. I wrapped it round my neck to mop up the ooze and protect the bedding from staining.
Waking up is another toughie. I wake up feeling gooey and smelly and my skin feels tight. Once the ooze hits the air, it dries and tightens. My neck and upper chest now feel incredibly sore and raw from all the oozing, but also dry and tight, restricting movement. I thought I was over this part and I am surprised how the neck ooze has come back. little consolation for those in the early stages of TSW, as I have just passed my 13 month marker.
My face is also unsettled, peeling on my nose and around my mouth, with lots of gouged out areas where my fingernails have been busy. I have taken to tying my hair up off my neck. Even soft fabrics, like fleece cardigans, feel like wearing steel wool.
It is times like this when I start to get doubts about whether I will heal. I know that thousands of people have healed of TSW, but can't help wonder whether I will end up being an exception, stuck in a steroid-free limbo of perpetual oozing and flaring.
I truly hope that the new year will bring me some new skin!
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