On Christmas Day, I went to work at the soup kitchen at the YMCA in Hastings. It was an eye-opening experience and it helped me to gain a bit of perspective about what I was going through in relation to the people I met. My sensible head kicked-in and I felt uplifted and driven to make sure the withdrawal from steroid cream went as smoothly as possible. I left there with a spring in my step and a strong resolve.
On Boxing Day, the burning began - it felt as though my face was on fire. The itching and redness drove me to distraction. My face was swollen and I hardly recognised myself in the mirror. The more I worried about it, the worse it got. I got myself in to a real state and I could feel the rage boiling-up inside of me. Why Me? Had I not suffered enough with skin problems over the years? I sat on my sofa and stared at the wall, thoughts going over and over in my head. Will this ever end? Will the burning ever stop? What will happen next?
Then came the acne. Rosacea is a common side-effect of steroid cream withdrawal. I later discovered that this is linked to poor Liver function - more of this later in 'Healing From The Inside'. The spots were angry and dotted all over my cheeks, chin and forehead; all the places I used the cream. My skin was in severe shock and all I wanted to do was to find my little tube of white cream to take away the pain.
I just stopped using steroid creams on my kids ages 4 and 1. Its been about three days since withdrawl and they look like little elephant men. There entire face is one big scab. I have no idea what to do. I dont want to call the doctor. Do you have any experience with this?
ReplyDeleteRuthie
Dear Littlehousemamma,
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry, I have only just seen your message. I really do hope that your little ones are on the mend. I went through exactly the same thing when I withdrew from using steroids on my face. The skin goes in to shock when steroids are ceased, then the toxins are eliminated through the skin so it has lots to deal with at once. I feel for you, I really do, it must be so hard to see your children in pain. I can hand-on-heart say that I am walking proof that the skin can, and will heal. It just needs time. I can recommend (from my own personal experience) that pro-biotics will help the gut to heal which will in-turn allow the liver to detoxify thoroughly. I have been taking pro-biotics for a long time (along with other supplements) which have helped me so much. Maybe you could make an appointment to see a nutritional therapist -I feel that your doctor could and would only prescribe other steroids to dampen their reactions.
I would so love to hear back from you on your children's progress. I wish you love and send you encouragement. Breaking the cycle is the hard part, hang on in there, their skin will heal and get better. Please feel free to contact me at any time if you have any other questions.
Much love to you,
Holly xx.