you can see in the pics the difference over 4 and a half weeks of no steroids how the red spreads then dries out due to lack of moisturiser

how I decided to tackle my tsw - a bit of useful info x

Before I gave up the steroids I decided I would get my skin clear ish and try to use the sunbeds to keep it that way haha it was very nieve of me it didnt work my skin was unable to tolerate the sunbeds a week and a half after it flaired, I have decided that moisture withdrawal is the route im taking as moisturiser seems to make my skin red, hot and weepy and I itch more feverently. Its not easy as im very very dry and flaky and I get very stiff, especially the joints (knees, elbows, armpits) but this is preferable right now and apparently it can speed up the withdrawal process so fingers crossed. One thing I would recommend is dead sea salts I have a bath 3 times a week using these and they do give a bit of relief, also hydrochloride hydroxine antihistamines while they dont really help me get asleep ive noticed I do sleep deeper using these and thats a big plus x I have had to quit using make up not a big deal for me except my mascara I always wore that but my eyes are to cracked irritated and sore to even bother putting my self through the hassle. Suprisingly I handled the lack of mascara better than I thought by the end of my first shift in work I wasnt arsed in the slightest, I now have I look the way I look deal with it attitude and I put that down to the facebook group I joined - eczema and topical steroid withdrawal- red skin syndrome support group, I recommend you join its been a godsend. Also if you havent already join itsan.org they are the best place for info and also have a chat and questions forum I havent tried this myself but if your skin is weeping quite a few people have recommended zinc paste to help, im not weeping anywhere except the back of my ear so have just ordered some to try, will post when I have recieved and used It x

introduction and background

Hi my name is lynsey and im currently about 4 and a half weeks into topical steroid withdrawal or shitty skin syndrome as I call it haha x
my story began 10 years ago when I was pregnant with my son, about 4 months into my pregnancy I started coming out in a rash which steadily got worse, I went to the docs and was told it was eczema and given steroid cream and moisturiser, it was getting worse the creams didnt help I went back again and was given different creams again I had no luck so went back to be told there wasnt much they could do while I was pregnant I felt like I was slowly losing my marbles I couldnt cope with the itch but continued with the steroid creams hoping eventually they would work, it got to the point where I just couldnt cope and went to my maternity department in tears saying they had to help me, I was admitted to hospital and waited to see a dermatologist, 3 days of being in I still hadnt seen one and was told as it was now the weekend I wouldn't see one till monday so I could either wait in the hospital or go home and wait for a call so I chose to go home, the call never came so off to the docs I went again this time I saw a new doc that was standing in he referred me as an urgent case to the derm and told me carry on with the steroids.....3 months had passed since all this started and finally I got to see the derm I told her I had waited on a ward for 3 days to see someone and she told me they had never been notified she was very angry on my behalf as I was a mess head to toe my body couldnt hold any heat I was a shivering,, she carried out a few blood tests and gave me more creams including steroid and told me come back in a week, I was still no better after the week and I had a skin biopsy done the results came back as puppp (puritic urticaria papules and plaques of pregnancy) a pregnancy rash not eczema!!!!! (My blood allergy tests came up negative I wasnt allergic to anything either). I was put on steroid tablets (pred) and for the first time I could see an improvement in my skin the steroid creams helped too once id had my son they decided reduce my dose of pred because the rash is supposed to go after the pregnancy is over but once the dose was lowered my skin would flair and nothing but pred would calm it, I tried puva treatment and also immunosuppresants but nothing worked, eventually I had to come off the pred ( I had gained lots of weight and was having horrible mood up and downs) and my skin seemed to be doing better I was using doublebase and betnovate . For the next 9 and a bit years my skin continued to flair on and off on a regular basis and it drove me mad not knowing the cause I had a patch test done again no allergy was found so why was I flairing, now bringing you to the present I stumbled across red skin syndrome and the itsan site and everything fell into place finally I knew what was wrong with my skin the steroids had damaged it. Ten years of using hydrocortisone then betnovate like a moisturiser head to toe had got me addicted (well i think I was actually addicted within a few months and my pregnancy rash did go after birth and I was left with tsa instead and ive been feeding it all this time) I couldn't belive it but it made so much sense as to why I couldnt go long without using it. Once id done all my research (read through itsan.org and other people's blogs and found an amazing support group on Facebook I ditched my steroids.   Now the healing begins x