Entering Month 15 (photo)

Hoorah! I just passed the 14 month marker! Another month under my belt and another step closer to healing.

The skin on my arms, legs and torso is soft and normal. The only areas affected by TSW are my face and neck and I also have a little bit on my hands.

Here is a photo of me today:

So yes, I am still a bit blotchy, but not so red today. It really seems like the skin is going back to its normal colour. When I am out and about, I don't feel like I look all that different to anyone else. I went to the theatre last night with friends and didn't feel self conscious. One friend told me how well I was looking, which was a real boost.

It has been snowing heavily here in the UK and the change in weather seems to have done my skin good. It suffered in the cold, grey rainy weather, but now the snow is here I think my skin is getting some UV at last which seems to be clearing me up nicely. If only it was warm enough to get outide in a T-shirt and shorts! The snow seems to muffle the bitterness of the weather, so it is not all that cold when I go out. I went out with no gloves today and my hands stayed toasty.

I have been reading a lot on the Itsan forums about people who have had their asthma clear up once they stopped the steroids. I have tried to quit the inhaler a few times, but my asthma got worse. I do feel that my asthma is steroid induced, as I had a long period in my teens where I didn't need an inhaler at all and my asthma only came back after I had been using the steroid creams heavily for a couple of years.

However, great caution is needed. I do need to be able to breathe! I am tapering the Seretide (Advair) very slowly. I have dropped my night dose and am just taking a single puff in the mornings. I rinse my mouth out to get rid of any excess steroid. I have been monitoring my peak flow, which seems OK and I have a Powerbreathe device, which I will start using more to try and strengthen my lungs. I really want to get off the steroid inhalers, but not at risk to my life. I will probably stay at one dose for a month and then try and drop another dose next month. Slowly does it. BTW, I am not advising that anyone else does this. I am just recording my own choices. Time will judge whether they are good or bad.