A Bad Day

Today was a very hard day. I had the start of a very bad flare yesterday... Not exactly sure why. I was up most of last night because of the itching. Thankfully I have a lot of support from my fiance and my mom in taking care of Owen. I did make it out to tan today, which always seems to help dry my skin out when it is weeping. I would much rather have dryness and flaking than the wetness. My hands are cracked, which at this point is just annoying. I constantly have to get my hands wet at work, and though I try to avoid it at home, there are certain things I can't avoid doing, like giving Owen his bath. I wear gloves when I do most everything else around the house, but the baby wash and shampoo are gentle enough that I can touch them without gloves. 

Tonight, though I really, really want to just go to bed, (It's 9:30pm) I finished up cleaning my house, and now am working on some homework that is due tonight. I am an online student, which I started because I did not want to have to take my son to daycare so that I could go to classes, but am now very thankful that I can work on my studies from the comfort of my bed/couch. :)

Lately, I am just happy when I make it through one more day. I think once the weather warms up my skin will improve a lot. Right now it is below zero here, and the cold makes my hands crack badly. Yuck! Ready for summer!

Haircuts!

I am making a conscious effort to not let my skin control my life anymore. This past week, my sister and I cut our hair and donated it to Locks of Love. It felt really amazing to do something that could possibly change someone's life! I am the brown haired one. :) I have not had my hair cut by a professional in over 2 years, because they never understand that I absolutely CANNOT let the skin on my neck get wet, and I am terrified of the irritation that will occur if any small hairs get into the skin on my neck. 

I did have a strange moment while at the salon though, the girl cutting my hair said that she had eczema on her hands when her kids were little, and that touching raw chicken was one of the things that she could recall even now, (about 20 years later,) that made her itching unbearable. It was so strange that she said this, because I experience the exact same thing... It has gotten to the point that if we are going to have chicken for a meal, I cannot prepare it at all, I have to do it on a night that my fiance is home from work so that he can do it. No other foods affect me this way, either. Just makes me think that some of the things I experience are not as uncommon as I once thought. 

Sunday, January 26

Well, today is just plain not a good day. I slept in this morning, and when I woke up, my neck and chest are raw from scratching, and I have gone from using my usual Cetaphil, (my favorite moisturizer,) to using A&D ointment. I usually steer clear of ointments and oils as they tend to make me itchier in the long run than the creams. I use Cetaphil as my all over moisturizer after my bath in the morning, and I have a cream called Exzaderm that my mother in law got me from Amazon.com that is a lot thicker and I usually use that on my neck and face. It's a lot greasier than the Cetaphil but it seems to help with itching as well as the dryness. 

Today is one of those days where I wish I could have just not gotten up at all. I am so exhausted from itching and scratching that I just want to nap the day away. Add in that I've taken about my weight in Benedryl to try to stop the itching, and being awake is nearly impossible. I'm over at my mom's house so that she can help me with Owen. I guess I have not mentioned that I have a son, he is about a year and half old and so full of energy! He is my inspiration to pull through the hard days, so that I can get to a good day and we can play. :)

A Start

I decided to start a blog to track my progress through eczema and topical steroid withdrawal. I have been steroid free since December 31, 2013 and have been keeping a written diary, but thought maybe I could find others going through this. I am sorry this is so short since it is my first entry... Today was not a good day. The exhaustion that comes with this is unbelievable. Goodnight for now.