Wednesday 17 February 2016

TSW 1 month

Monthly update.

Yesterday Grace declared herself to be perky. She had been out for a meal with a friend and had realised that she could laugh and socialise even when she looked like crap and to be honest she didn't look that bad. Her face is flushed but it doesn't look nearly as bad as the infected eczema. Her ear swelling has gone down a bit though one ear is blocked. Her arms are 50/50 scab to skin. Her temperature control swings. She has had 2 days off work in the first month. One wobble when she thought about steroids. Mood is 6-7. Physical 3-4.

Treatments:                   Epaderm moisturiser
                                    Dead sea salt and epsom baths
                                    Ice packs
                                    Has discovered the knee-buckling ecstasy of the scalding shower
                                    Has gauze wraps to try and save some arm skin




Friday 5 February 2016

The thug unplugged: TSW early days

The last post ended with the dilemma, to withdraw from TS or not. I wasn't expecting Grace to decide so quickly, but since she had run out of TS and was already more than a week into withdrawal it made sense to carry on.

I think I'll be doing most of the posting because I'm a writer and that's how I deal with things whereas Grace deals by internalising. I do think it's important that so many people are documenting their journeys because it helps others who are desperately seeking information and it will provide data for researchers when someone gets round to it.

Day 16

Redness but not extreme, flaking, itching and insomnia. The sleeplessness isn't just down to itching it seems to be biochemical. Some pus-filled eruptions on body.

The worse thing about the early weeks seems to be the fear of what's to come. It's like seeing a forest fire coming towards you and knowing that you have to stand and burn. BUT there are new cells under the charring and new leaves will form and while the forest floor is smoking, a bird comes back and begins to sing.

It's shit that I can't walk in her shoes I can only walk with her and buy stuff. Today it's extra sheets, long sleeved cotton tops with mitts, jojoba oil and dead sea salts.

A lot of this will be down to mental strength, staying positive and using all the techniques out there for dealing with stress. More about this later.