Today I read an article in the Washington Post entitled, What is Topical Steroid Withdrawal? You might be thinking, fantastic! That's amazing coverage, but I'm left fuming at the journalists lack of research and general dismissive attitude towards people going through this. Here's why I hate this article, written by Tonya Russell - I've just tweeted here my blog response … [Read more...]
Long Covid, ME, TSW and diagnosis…
Long Covid is a recognised condition, one that doctors are learning to recognise, diagnose and support patients through. Yet it's a tricky condition to identify, so it's not easy to test for. Yet the guidelines for doctors encourage them to diagnose patients even if they have one symptom. This recent article by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, Long Covid, gave me so much hope … [Read more...]
Why won’t anyone talk about topical steroid withdrawal?
Why are people so scared to stand up and talk about topical steroid withdrawal? Why is it such a taboo subject? I know you love my rants and this one has been bubbling since last Friday, so I'm warning, I am about to let rip. Doctors, GPs and dermatologist mostly refuse to even acknowledge TSW even exists and this creates a lot of problems. I'd like to firstly thank … [Read more...]
Doubt is the worst symptom of Topical Steroid Withdrawal
I am terrified that Topical Steroid Withdrawal is here to stay. That I'm going to be stuck like this, struggling to heal, in pain, with dysfunctional skin. Itching, shedding, flaking, cycling through flares, losing sleep and feeling like I'll never get better and heal. It's like a nightmare that keeps replaying. Not helped by my recent visit to the dermatologist who … [Read more...]
My Protopic usage, tapering and withdrawal
We hear a lot about topical steroid withdrawal, but little about Protopic withdrawal so there is hardly any research existing about what happens if a person decides to stop using Protopic. This is my analysis of my own usage and withdrawal from Protopic so far... and counting... I can't even prove that the problems I'm having with excessive burning, inflammation, crusting … [Read more...]