A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my desire to give moisturiser withdrawal another try, even though I'd struggled with it in the past. The reason for this was because I found that my skin was reacting to everything and needed a break.
I'm trying to follow Dr Sato's guidelines strictly, as he has had proven success using this method with his TSW patients. He has quite a strict interpretation of what constitutes moisturiser use so I'm using the Sato method to the best of my ability.
These are some of Sato's rules:
No cosmetics: Not an issue for me, as I haven't worn any makeup in a couple of years.
No moisturisers at all: I've been a good girl and followed this to the letter.
No long soaks in the bath: I've been a bit naughty with this because I do love a long bath and my other vice is that I like my water hot. I redeemed myself a little by having a full bath as infrequently as possible and just wiping over my skin with plain water or Epsom soap to maintain good hygiene.
No picking scabs: I'm getting better at this one and it's REALLY important. It's so tempting to pick a scab or a big skin flake, but it does you no favours, the skin underneath is usually raw and wet and the whole process will start again. Leave it alone! My biggest problem is scratching off scabs and flakes in my sleep. I don't really have much control over that.
In conclusion, I've been pretty good following Sato's regime and I'm pleased to say that even as early as two weeks in, I'm seeing results! The redness is largely gone and skin flares seem shorter in duration. The large skin flakes have been replaced with smaller ones, which make the skin look a little dry, but not blotchy or red. It's a fair compromise.
The downside is the itch, which can be bad at night and sometimes I damage my skin in my sleep. Hopefully this will be less of an issue with time.
The plus side is the improvement in my skin and the savings I'm making on skin products!
So those are my observations, two weeks into MW. I'm not going to lecture anyone or make people feel bad about moisturising, as the decision to moisturise is a very personal one. If moisturisers are helping your TSW then do what you need to for comfort. However, in my case my skin was reacting to absolutely everything, so this was a signal to stop. My experience with MW this time round has been very different to when I tried it in 2013. It was really horrible then and my skin was cracked and bleeding. This time round, my skin seemed ready for it and discomfort has been minimal.
4 years in and this is a new phase for me. Maybe a final push toward healing.
9 comments:
So pleased to hear the 2 weeks have gone well! My only fear is not moisturising the skin on my face. It becomes extremely sore and tight after a shower/bath and I just can't imagine myself not putting some form of cream/emollient/lotion on it. Could I ask how you got round that? I'm OK with body but just not face arrghhh! Been following your blog for a long time, but first time commenting :-)
Manpreet (TSW since 01/01/14)
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Hi Manpreet! Thanks for leaving a comment. I love chatting to blog readers and seeing what works for them.
I know exactly what you mean about moisturising the face. That's how I felt too. I've tried and failed MW many times in the past, especially on my face, but it just seems to be working out for me this time for some reason. Do what feels right for you. If it's too stressful, you can always try it again at a later time.
Comfort is important in TSW and if moisturising helps you to be comfortable, maybe stick with it for now. As you get further into TSW, it will get easier to go without creams.
Best wishes.
Hello, I am going through the first months of TSW and the hardest thing is not to scratch. I uses baby cream with canabis that is really very gentle to skin and without any bad things in. I would like to ask you regarding this - as you didn´t cover your skin with anything which I can´t cause I go to work and you know it helps look more normal :-) but what about your diet? My friend Josh told me two things. Don´t use steroids and wait around 12 months and that is all. No need to do anything else. But if you would help body then try not to eat sugar, gluten, diary, alcohol and also use some vitamins like vit.D, omega 3,6. What did you eat? or did you do anything special regarding your meal and diet? Like only fruits and vegetables and nothing else like meat,eggs,gluten free bread, butter, dark chocolate, coffee?? Thank you.
Hi Martin! Glad that the cream is working out for you and enabling you to be confident at work. It's great when we find something that works for us.
As regards diet, I've tried a few things on and off over the last 4 years, but nothing seemed to really help. I've also done a few different supplements in and off. People in the ITSAN forum have tried all sorts of diets: sugar free, gluten free, nightshade free, eating clean etc, and although these methods may have brought comfort to individuals, there is no diet as yet that has helped everyone with TSW. I think it's a personal thing And has a lot to do with individual sensitivities and tolerances. I have a few food allergies, so avoid things like nuts and certain fruits.
Lately, I've been trying to lose weight, so have cut my sugar intake down dramatically. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but my skin looks great, so I will have to see if cutting out the sugar leads to permanent benefits. It's certainly worth a try, as sugar is very bad for our health anyway.
Best wishes for your healing and please let me know how you get on and what works for you.
Hi Louise, this - People in the ITSAN forum have tried all sorts of diets: sugar free, gluten free, nightshade free, eating clean etc, and although these methods may have brought comfort to individuals, there is no diet as yet that has helped everyone with TSW - is very weird cause I always thought that eczema has something to do with gut... :-) - I heared about people that cured themselves from eczema by just eating raw food only fruits and vegetables and they were healed. Do you have any advice that you consider the most important in this TSW? like don´t scratch, don´t take off scalps, take only very quick shower, or even some people don´t look at the mirror or cover it not to see themselves and it helps them to be psychically calm. Or what about coffee?
Well it's important to differentiate between classic eczema and topical steroid induced eczema. Yes, I've heard anecdotal stories about people healing eczema through diet, but TSW doesn't always act like classic eczema and Dr Rapaport, who has helped heal thousands of TSW patients does not think that diet helps healing. People may have personal triggers, like sugar, chocolate or caffeine, but the doesn't seem to be one diet that cures TSW.
It's hard to think of one piece of advice, other than try and make yourself as comfortable as possible, because TSW is a long road. If you find something that helps, then do it. This could be baths/showers, moisturisers/or not, heat/cold. Whatever works for you. If excluding something from your diet makes you flare less, then by all means do it. I found that as my TSW progressed, different things helped at different times.
As for coffee, I've no real strong opinion. I don't really drink it very often, but when I have, I've had no bad effects from it. One drink that helped me very much in my early TSW was dandelion tea, as it can lower nitric oxide levels in the blood.
Hope this helps!
oki but you know - what is difference between classic eczema and TSW - basically the symptoms are the same. Red dry skin etc. cause people that have eczema and had not used for long period steroids can also treat this the same way like TSW right? so I thing -TSW is result of using steroids but the treatment is the same like for somebody who has eczema and didn´t use steroids but want to cure his eczema natural way, right? :-):-)
Not at all. TSW and classic eczema are very different beasts. I addressed this topic in an earlier blogpost, which you may find helpful. One of the most basic differences is that TSW is primarily a vascular condition caused by dilation of blood vessels and buildup of nitric oxide in the bloodstream. Eczema, on the other hand, is usually an allergic reaction caused by an external or internal source. As a result, eczema rashes tend to be localised and patchy, whereas TSW can be a widespread, burning, full body rash.
http://topicalsteroidwithdrawal.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/day-287-difference-between-eczema-and.html
Hi Louise,
I'm now at month 20 and my whole neck (front and back) and some face is totally like elephant skin. Thick crust builds up every half day so I need to shower/wash to soften the skin and use camellia seed oil /coconut oil on it, then I would scratch and it would 'snow'. Then I would be able to survive the rest of the day. I am thinking about MW but not so sure if I should do and am a bit confused... coz when the thick skin builds up it is so painful that I cannot sleep...but then Dr Sato said that moisturizers would delay healing. Now this "elephant" thing has gone on for FOUR months and it still refuses to go away! (I gained more or less "skin-ish" touch on the neck during the past summer)
On the other hand, the beginning months of my TSW was naturally MW coz it was so swollen that I would not put anything on it and I think it was good.
And then I get more confused as people nonstop recommending creams for me that worked on them (they are pure eczema)
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