Category: inspirational goodies

depression, Dermatitis, eczema, Essential oils, fundraisers, gofundme, Hodgkin's Lymphoma, holistic healing, holistic nutrition, inspirational goodies, itsan.org, journal entry, milestones, nutrition, plant based, raw food, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, update, vegan

4 Years Topical Steroid Free!

by jlh82712 Comments on 4 Years Topical Steroid Free!
blossoms
Spring Blossoms ❤

Yup, you read that title right… March 2016 marks four whole years that I’ve been topical steroid free! It’s pretty amazing when I look back at all that I’ve endured, physically, mentally & emotionally. This post is kind of bittersweet because on one hand I have nothing but gratitude in my heart that I’ve come this far but on the other hand I wish I could be writing this saying that I’m completely healed and back to my normal life. Now this isn’t to discourage anyone…healing DOES happen. In my case it’s taking awhile. If you’re new to my blog I think it’s best for me to give some background of my history. I used topical steroids from 10 months old to 26 years old. I also had injections of (I believe) triamcinolone into my hands and feet multiple times. I was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2008, which I underwent 6 months of chemo twice a month (it’s said chemo has a half life in the body up to 10-12 years!). So needless to say I’ve had A LOT of toxic build up in my body, hence my lengthy withdrawal. Buuuut I’m apparently right around the time as far as healing times go. Supposedly for every 7 years you’ve used TS you will go through a year of withdrawal. So although actually 28 years of usage would equal 4 years of withdrawal, I’m not too far off, plus I have the “added bonus” of injections and chemo 😦 . Everyone is different and depending on your usage and potency you may have a shorter or longer healing time than myself, so don’t be alarmed by my lengthy healing time… you may restore faster than me, it just all depends.

Continue reading “4 Years Topical Steroid Free!” →

inspirational goodies, journal entry, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, youtube

The Journey…

by jlh8272 Comments on The Journey…

inspiration

So many times I will think about this “journey” that I’m on of healing. It’s been a loooong rough road and I still can’t believe that next month I will be 4 years topical steroid free! There have been many ups and downs. Many depressing times where I thought I had zero strength left in me to continue, then I realized I truly had no choice… it was either go back on the poisonous medication or keep on pushing, and I kept on pushing. I wiped my tears, calmed myself down, prayed and kept on going. My faith, and strength has been tested so many times I can’t even begin to count. Through all of the emotional and physical pain that I’ve endured, I would honestly not take it back. This journey that I’m on has changed me for the better. Just as the message says, I’ve felt that I’ve now become the person that I was always supposed to be in the first place. I have felt that this experience has broken me down so much that I’ve only had to understand myself in this broken state, the true person that I am. I feel that I’m now more empathetic to others pain and suffering, I feel so deeply now than I ever have before. I feel that I’ve found a purpose in all of this pain, and it’s to help others in any way that I can. To be of service is truly our only jobs on this planet and I feel that using my experience; the good the bad and the ugly, to inspire, help and comfort others is what it’s all about.

The journey may be a rough one to endure, but always remember that “the blessing is in the breaking”… when you’ve been broken down so much you finally realize who you are truly supposed to be and what the breaking is all about… bringing you to your highest self, vulnerable and ready to be built back up to a better you. Don’t give up, in your weakest hours is when your faith and strength are truly tested and when you need to hold on even tighter. In these moments I give thanks to the Most High. I praise God all throughout the day, when I’m having a great day and when I’m crying out in pain with thoughts of crawling into a deep hole to never return. He always listens, He always comforts and heals. Never give up on your faith… the journey may take longer than you’ve expected, but it WILL end, it may not be in your time, but in God’s time. Just know that everything has it’s purpose and  there is a reason and season for everything. Trust in your body’s natural ability to heal, just give it all of the love, rest and nutrients it needs to heal and it will do all the work. Always tell yourself how much you love yourself, no matter what state your skin is in, kiss your skin, talk to your body calmly and sweetly with positive healing words. Your thoughts will influence your healing just as much as what you put into your body and on your body. 🙂

Many Blessings Warriors ❤

Jen

I leave you with an inspirational tune from Hillsong United

cancer, eczema, holistic healing, inspirational goodies, joel osteen, journal entry, plant based, plant based diet, raw food, spiritual reading, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, vegan

Inspirational Sticky Notes

by jlh8272 Comments on Inspirational Sticky Notes

If there’s anything that I’ve learned through these 3 past years of withdrawing from topical steroids as well as getting through cancer years ago, it’s that your attitude is truly everything. We all go through times of suffering, some more than most, and to keep your sanity, it is so important to keep your mind right. To stay faithful, positive and full of gratitude, I feel is the key to getting through the rough times. Negative, despondent thoughts can keep you just as sick as the illness you’re fighting, so it’s super important to change your thinking.

I’ve been going through it pretty hard core these past few weeks. I’ve been experiencing a healing crisis with my skin to where spots on my feet and both of my calves have been oozing then crusting and flaking, with extreme itchiness. I know exactly why it’s doing this…I started going fully raw vegan with my diet and implementing enzymes therapy to help speed up healing…I’ll be doing a blog post on this later ;). After a few weeks of ups and downs, I feel like I can confidently say the worst of the cycling is over, and I’m coming out of the healing crisis into a calm (hopefully the end!!!) stage. My skin is feeling stronger, softer and much better off than before I implemented a raw diet. Although it was hell to go through at times, it was well worth it because I feel that this healing crisis was the last push my body needed.

Through these rough few weeks, I’ve had to really hold it together, dig deep, and find my strength to keep pushing through. I’d like to share with you all some sticky notes that I’ve had on my wall for years to keep me inspired. I’ve taken these stickies with me through two moves, one from North Carolina to New York, to another apartment also in New York. I look at them daily and since I’ve said the words from them over and over again, it’s ingrained in my mind so I repeat them throughout the day. I hope that the affirmations, and spiritual scriptures that I’ve scribbled on them can give you some inspiration to help keep you fighting through this eczema healing journey ❤

-Jen

Continue reading “Inspirational Sticky Notes” →

depression, eczema, inspirational goodies, journal entry, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal

Random thoughts…

by jlh827Leave a Comment on Random thoughts…

I wonder how many hours I’ve accumulated:

Scratching my skin,
Crying over my skin,
Being in pain because of my skin.

I look forward to the day when I don’t even THINK about my skin and I don’t have to adjust my life around because of it.

Stay strong y’all! ❤

-Jen

IMG_7266 IMG_7267

eczema, holistic healing, holistic nutrition, inspirational goodies, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal

Abby’s Open Letter to Eczema Sufferers

by jlh8271 Comment on Abby’s Open Letter to Eczema Sufferers

My good friend Abby of Prime Physique Nutrition wrote a lovely heartfelt letter to her readers and I wanted to share it all with you. It can be a rough journey that we travel and having encouraging words from others can really help us through. For all of those out there suffering, you’re not alone, I’ve been there and Abby has been there, it does get better…just keep the faith and continue to trust in the body‘s natural healing capabilities!

❤ Stay strong eczema warriors! ❤

An Open Letter to Eczema Sufferers 

eczema, holistic healing, holistic nutrition, inspirational goodies, nutrition, nutritional medicine, plant based, plant based diet, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, vegan

Fellow TSW warrior, Thomas shares his story on Instagram!

by jlh8277 Comments on Fellow TSW warrior, Thomas shares his story on Instagram!

My homie Thomas has decided to share his Topical Steroid Withdrawal story with his friends on Instagram! I’m super proud of him for being so courageous, it takes a lot of guts to put yourself out there, and I’m sure that he will reach many others just by honestly sharing his experience & his passion for healing with a whole foods plant based diet. He’s been in TSW now for about a year and has been pushing through like a trooper. Cheers to you Thomas! Keep on keepin’ on! 🙂

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Click to enlarge

I think its time to share what my life has been like for the past year. For all of you that have normal skin, take a moment and appreciate the hell out of it. Not only do I look like sh*t, but my confidence is non existent, it sometimes hurts to fully extend my arms, and I cant sleep through the entire night without waking up to an itch fest. Every day is a struggle just to get by. This is the worst its ever been so it can only get better right? What I have is eczema. In an attempt to cure this “incurable” condition, I changed my diet to only organic fruits and veggies. With the help of all the nutrition, my body now has enough energy to start dumping out all the bad stuff. Diseased cells and tissues are being disposed of and malfunctioning organs are being restored to life, and the toxins are coming out of my skin. The good news is eventually there is an end date to this misery, just don’t know when. All I can do now is have faith that my body will restore itself as long as I continue to provide it with good food, water, light, and love.

eczema, inspirational goodies, journal entry

Reaching our healthiest potential, we must come undone…

by jlh8275 Comments on Reaching our healthiest potential, we must come undone…

Such a beautiful quote to wonderfully express our healing process! ❤
Sending healing vibes to all!

“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”

Cynthia Occelli

inspirational goodies, inspirational reading, journal entry

<3 <3 <3

by jlh827Leave a Comment on <3 <3 <3

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” 

-Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

eczema, holistic healing, inspirational goodies, milestones

2015!!! Looking Forward to an Awesome Year of Healing!!!

by jlh8272 Comments on 2015!!! Looking Forward to an Awesome Year of Healing!!!

Happy New Year!!!

I love the feeling of “new beginnings” and “a clean slate”.  I actually like to look at my birthdate as my New Year.  🙂

Although we don’t need a specific date on the calendar to tell us that we can start fresh, it’s nice to have a date where everyone celebrates together at the wonderful new beginnings of the future.  When you really think about it, we can choose any second of any day to start anew.  It’s just a conscious decision to change it up and work on ourselves.

2014 had its ups and downs for me, but I’ve made a conscious decision to let those things that I wasn’t able to accomplish or the rough times that I had went through health wise (and are continuing to go through) not get me down.  I’ve decided to keep on looking forward and let go of all the opportunities I may have missed out on, the people who may have disappointed me, and all the negative energy and bad vibes that may have came my way.

2015 will be a year of complete healing!  I can feel it that this is truly the end of this healing process and I won’t be going through this at all this time next year!  I like to “call things into existence” and I’m definitely calling this one in.  I want to be in the best health of my life, fully living my life and enjoying new experiences and opportunities this year.

I usually like to say that right now I’m 90% of the way there in my healing with just my feet left to restore.  The rest of my body from my ankles up is so much better from where it was years ago.  My natural oils are coming back, the thickness is smoothing out, the discolouration is evening out, I’m rarely itchy on the rest of my body, my face is insanely smooth and clear… even the wrinkles under my eyes are fading away!  I’ve seen the transformation of my skin, and I know that my body is recovering and healing!  I have nothing but gratitude for this rough journey, because it has taught me so much about myself, that our bodies are amazing at healing themselves, and has made me more spiritual with a closeness to God.

I mention that I like to say 90% of my body… but if I’m going to speak things into existence then I should say, “I’m completely healed! 100%!”.  I’ve learned that we must “CALL THE THINGS THAT AREN’T AS IF THEY ARE”.  So I’m claiming complete healing, and by this time next year, when I post my overview of 2015 on the first of Jan 2016, I’ll have nothing but awesome things to say about the past year!

I’m wishing everyone a blessed New Year of strength, healing and love! ❤

-Jen

inspirational goodies, joel osteen, journal entry

Joel Osteen, ‘Blessed in the Dark Places’

by jlh8272 Comments on Joel Osteen, ‘Blessed in the Dark Places’

 

I like to check out Joel Osteen’s sermons often to keep me inspired and encouraged.  Today, in the late morning hours as I was trying to fall back asleep, I decided to listen to one of his recent sermons.  Most days I sleep fairly well, but the itchiness on my feet was taking over, and it had been keeping me up for a while.  Time continued to pass and by this time it was 10 am and everyone else was awake, so of course the outside noises were also halting my sleep.

It always seems that whenever I check out one of his messages, it always hits home, and seems to fit perfectly for my life.  I’ve been going through topical steroid withdrawal for a while now, with breaks off and on, and as positive as I can be, weariness can set in from time to time.  I’ve accepted a long time ago that healing from eczema would take some time, and it gives me solace to hear sermons like this one… to make me feel that it will all be for my benefit in the end.  I know that my body has been transforming, and I’ve become healthier and healthier.  And I know that when I am in those “dark places” that there will be light, and that what I’m going through is only temporary and will ultimately make me a stronger, healthier person.

  • I especially love his metaphor of the seed… a seed being planted in the dirt (a dark uncomfortable place), then stretches itself and grows into a beautiful flower.  “You’re not buried you’re planted… Like that seed your potential is about to be released.  You’re not only going to come out, you’re going to come out baring much fruit.  Better, stronger, fully in blossom.”
  • “You’ve gotta go through the sickness to get to the fresh anointing, the new beginning.”
  • The blessing is in the breaking.
  • The brokenness is only temporary!
  • In the Bible, David said, “God enlarged me in my distress.”
  • The dark places are opportunities to grow.
  • “If you go through the dark places with the right attitude, you’ll see exclamation points coming your way.  The surpassing greatness of God’s favour” 

I hope that this sermon can give you inspiration to keep on pushing through, and to know that this struggle, or any struggle for that matter will turn you into a stronger person. 🙂

-Jen