Update, Month 22!

Hello everyone, long time no update! Really sorry for not updating for so long, but school has been keeping be pretty busy. As for my condition right now, I would say it's great! Here are some pictures of my face:

I can't upload pictures of my shoulders and arms at the moment, but they are in good shape. My skin at the moment is mostly calm EXCEPT before menstruation when I notice flare ups. The flare ups are nowhere near the ones I have had before, but they are just simply exacerbations of my affected areas. No oozing, burning, minimal flaking, and no insomnia :) The areas that I have now feel like regular eczema due to scratching habits and stress (exam periods especially, sigh)

Also, I have noticed that all of my past pictures have been lost somehow, and I think that is because I had to replace the hard drive on my laptop and therefore lost all of my photos ): It's saddening that I can't see before and afters anymore, but I think it's a way to help me let go of the past! 

I hope everyone is doing well!

Month 20!

Another month has come and gone! This month has brought a lot of changes, as I have moved out of my home and am now living in a college dorm! I think that as a whole, living outside of home and with other people has been beneficial to my skin. I scratch dramatically less that I had while living at home, and thus some of my stubborn patches are healing. I think that I flared a bit last week, but it was so mild that I wasn't even sure if it was actually a flare. Also, I am 99% sure that it was caused by my period starting the week after. The flare has pretty much died down now, and I'm looking forward to more improvements.

For those of you still in the thick of it, just have hope that YOU WILL HEAL! Like countless others have said before me, time is the biggest healer. I was just like all of you, questioning why TSW happened to me and letting the depression wash over me over and over again. It's completely normal and okay to feel depressed, but I would say to just make yourself as happy and comfortable as possible in this hard time. You all deserve all the rest and time off in the world, as only a few in the world have as much strength as all of you going through TSW.

Month 19

Just checking in for another update! Still doing good, seeing slow but steady progress. My rashy areas are getting smaller and smaller, when I can manage to not scratch. However, I notice that I still get weird heat rashes/hives after exercising which is quite bothersome. This is what happened after I went biking in the sun the other day:

It went away after an hour or so, but it never fails to happen after I sweat. I wonder how long it will be until my skin is no longer hypersensitive? Or will it be like this forever? Hopefully not....

Month 18 and doing well!

Wow! Month 18 already....time has really been flying by this summer. I'm happy to report that I'm seeing steady improvement in places I thought I'd never see any.

Please excuse the towel turban...

Eyelids are doing better overall, they usually look much better but are acting up a bit today.

Wow this camera really accentuates the dryness....but overall my perioral area is significantly less red!

Shoulders are slowly, SLOWLY getting better.

Inner arm is on and off most days because of scratching

Wrists are...somewhat better

Neck is still the most problematic area, but I can deal with this much.

The song "Started From The Bottom" by Drake just came up on my Spotify...and truly, I started from the bottom, now I'm here! 

Month 17!

So far month 17 has been ok! Mostly the same, but a few improvements to share!

Still very flaky and dry in some areas 

Neck is still the worst area for me

Shoulders aren't so great as well (mostly due to scratching)

Now for the grand reveal!

Wrist before:

Wrist after:

Completely back to normal, no trace of a rash or scars or anything!

Forearm perfect!

Inner arms still giving me a bit of trouble, but they're getting better!

Wrist still horrible.

Hope everyone is doing well! If not, just keep in mind the fact that you will heal!

Doing a lot better!

So happy to say that my recent flare has disappeared. It seems like most traces of tsw on my body are slowly fading, and it's just my scratching habit keeping things a bit rough. Also, happy to say that I will be attending University of California San Diego in the fall majoring in molecular biology. I'm not exactly sure what my career goal is yet, but perhaps topical steroids will come into my research someday? But, that will be very VERY far in the future. It would be a great way to thank ITSAN for everything it's done and contribute to this cause. Bye for now!

Month 16

Sorry to bear bad news, but month 16 has brought one of my worst flares since starting tsw. I finally know what it was that made me flare: vitamin E oil from the capsule. I thought it was that I had consumed too much sugar, or that it was my pre-menstrual cycle flare, but it was indeed the vitamin E oil. I used it again a few days ago, thinking that it was safe because I had used it before with no reaction. Then the day after, I could barely open my eyes because they were so swollen, I was oozing and swollen from everywhere that I had applied the oil, and my other tsw areas that I hadn't applied the oil were flaring as well. The swelling is going down very very gradually, but even 2 days later it still looks bad.

This flare was just so alarming to me because my face has never become so swollen before. When I looked into the mirror, I could not recognize myself at all. I know that I will get better and this will all go away, but in the meantime it is quite difficult to just put my entire life on hold. I've already missed 2 days of school, and am probably going to miss tomorrow as well. Hopefully I will have the strength to carry on for a few more days and see myself heal.

To anyone who has had eye and facial swelling, how long does it usually take to go down? The info would be very much appreciated. I hope that you are all faring well, and if not, we can wait it out together.