Tag: topical steroid addiction

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!” →

Dermatitis, digestive health, eczema, informational goodies, journal entry, nutrition, nutritional science, plant based, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, update, vegan, youtube

My experience with a 3 & 5 Day Water Fast!

by jlh82720 Comments on My experience with a 3 & 5 Day Water Fast!

I had been reading a little bit about fasting and specifically water fasting and wanted to give a go. I’m always looking into natural remedies that I can try out, and fasting is one of the best ways to give our bodies a break and let it heal on its own. Just days before my 3 day fast, I was an oozy mess. My legs were sticking to my sheets (from the ooze coming out and drying on the sheets) and I was having this uncomfortable, achy, heavy pain in both of my legs and feet. That odd throbbing pain seems to happen when the skin is cracked, open and oozing. My skin also itched and flaked a decent amount the night before the first day of the 3 day fast, and shed even more the morning of.

Before I go into my experience, let me give you some info on why in the world someone would want to go days without food, only consuming water, and how to do it safely.

Continue reading “My experience with a 3 & 5 Day Water Fast!” →

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, Dermatitis, digestive health, documentary, eczema, health books, holistic healing, holistic nutrition, informational goodies, journal entry, nutrition, nutritional medicine, nutritional science, plant based, plant based diet, raw food, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, vegan, youtube

What I Eat in a Day – Vegan!

by jlh8271 Comment on What I Eat in a Day – Vegan!

Ugh eating a vegan diet is sooooo hard! Hehehe, just joking! 🙂 This lil blog update is to show what I eat in a day, all vegan, all delicious! Vegan is basically no animal products (meat, eggs and by products like dairy) and all the abundant plant based foods you can eat!

check out my instagram, username: jlh827 for lots of vegan inspiration pics!

Continue reading “What I Eat in a Day – Vegan!” →

Dermatitis, eczema, informational goodies, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, youtube

Check out Mel’s YouTube channel & site!

by jlh827Leave a Comment on Check out Mel’s YouTube channel & site!

Hey Guys!

Check out my good friend Melissa’s new YouTube channel. She is a fellow TSW warrior and she wants to share great info on healing from eczema as well as share her journey.

You can also look at her new site where she gives many tips on healing from eczema: topeczematreatments.com

Make sure to show her some love! ❤

Dermatitis, eczema, Essential oils, holistic healing, plant based, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, update, vegan

My DIY Essential Oil Cream 

by jlh8275 Comments on My DIY Essential Oil Cream 


Hey guys!

Here’s a little “part two” of my emollient experimentation 😉

You can check out my DIY essential oil lotion and see what I added to it the first time around. I kept this mix a bit simple with only 4 essential oils this time, and I made the consistency a bit thicker so it’s more like a cream instead of a lotion. Since using this blend, I’ve found that I like it better with this consistency than the lotion. Using less olive oil and less essential oils made it more like a thick, fluffy cream instead of liquidy.

The newest addition to this mix is helichrysum essential oil, which is a game changer for skin health. I’m so glad I started incorporating this healing oil to my moisturizer because of it’s awesome restorative properties! It feels really smooth when applying and it locks the moisture in well enough to where I don’t really need to reapply too often. It’s weird, but in a way I feel like it’s almost drawing out the dead skin to where my skin is sloughing off flakes somewhat more often. I suppose it’s just the skin cells regenerating at a faster rate, this property is due to the helichrysum oil.

Continue reading “My DIY Essential Oil Cream “ →

eczema, Essential oils, holistic healing, holistic nutrition, informational goodies, journal entry, nutrition, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, update, youtube

Using Helichrysum Essential Oil

by jlh82712 Comments on Using Helichrysum Essential Oil

I’ve been experiencing some super annoying irritation on my hands lately. Cracks in the lines of my palms and rawness in between the fingers. This has been making everything much more challenging because of the pain I feel in doing the most normal chores. Just getting my hands wet would burn like crazy and leave me crying waiting for the tingling and intense itch to calm down. Because of this symptom, I’ve been keeping my hands as dry as possible, using loose fitting plastic gloves to do anything (chopping up veggies, brushing my teeth, washing up my body). The skin is trying so hard to form a new layer and every time it gets wet it’s just ripped off, left exposed and oozy 😔

Continue reading “Using Helichrysum Essential Oil” →

eczema, holistic healing, holistic nutrition, informational goodies, nutrition, plant based, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, vegan

Want a $10 off Vitacost coupon!?!

by jlh8271 Comment on Want a $10 off Vitacost coupon!?!

Hey guys!

I would like to share with you all a $10 off coupon from one of my favourite online health food retail stores, Vitacost! They have an amazing selection of products and great discounted prices! I don’t purchase my supplements here (since I sell my own) except for organic primrose oil, and borage oil. I like to get my oils from here like flax, hemp and coconut oil as well as a variety of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, gluten free products and so much more. So enjoy this coupon and let me know what goodies you’ve purchased! 🙂

Click HERE for the $10 off Vitacost coupon! 

eczema, informational goodies, itsan.org, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal

TSW warrior Briana featured on “The Doctors”!

by jlh82711 Comments on TSW warrior Briana featured on “The Doctors”!

The word is getting out about the dangers of topical steroids! Unfortunately this show is notorious for editing important info and not really giving the guests enough time to speak, but either way, this fellow TSW warrior Briana’s story was put out on national television for all to see! It’s a horrific withdrawal process, that can easily be avoided by dermatologists not prescribing these poisonous creams in the first place & getting to the root cause of the eczema. I hope this segment will resonate with the viewers, they’ll do their research and take the steps to getting their health back like I and countless warriors have done! For more info on topical steroid withdrawal, check out www.itsan.org

Click the link: Briana’s segment on the doctors

Here’s her statement on the segment…

“I am incredibly thankful to everyone who reached out and gave me strength through this process. This was the scariest, most vulnerable thing I’ve done in my life. It isn’t easy seeing yourself on TV with a *viewer discretion advised* sign because of how badly I have been affected by my health condition. I wanted to help a suffering cause that I am a part of when I was offered a chance to speak out about my personal battle on national television. I am very thankful to The Doctors and their producers for giving me this chance. I did my best to represent the TSW community. Was part of it edited for their purposes? Of course. Is MRSA the cause of my pain? ABSOLUTELY NOT. I will be making my own video statement about this segment soon and what I hope others have taken from it. Topical Steroid Withdrawal will be a growing issue if the medical community doesn’t start calling it like it is and taking responsibility for the consequences that come with over prescribing medication to patients. I am hoping to be called back to the show once I am fully healed to truly drive home how important it is to ask questions, do your research, be prepared in a doctor’s office, and how you CAN recover from this without the use of more steroids. Topical Steroid Withdrawal is something that can be completely avoided, as well as many other iatrogenic conditions.

I am but one voice that was trying to speak out for us sufferers. All we can do is keep trying to spread awareness regardless of how people wish to spin our pain.”

Here’s Briana’s response video…

eczema, Essential oils, holistic healing, holistic nutrition, journal entry, nutrition, nutritional science, plant based, plant based diet, remedies, topical steroid addiction, topical steroid withdrawal, update, vegan, youtube

October 2015 Update

by jlh8272 Comments on October 2015 Update

October was thankfully a pretty great month for me! It had been a full month since I had been in Florida and my body had finally acclimated to my new environment. It took me a minute for my body to calm down from the stress that I was experiencing from the month before. Upon coming to Florida from New York, I was packing, getting my things together trying to not stress out on the day to day chores and such and my skin was already in a state, so of course it just started to get worse. When I got to Florida on the first of September, I was going through crazy insomnia, on and off oozing, chills and feverish symptoms. It wasn’t until the end of September that I started to feel a lot better. My sleep slowly started to improve, the skin that I was shedding (MASSIVE amounts at that) was becoming less and less and my oozing was calming down. I was experiencing oozing on my legs so badly that I was sticking to my sheets 😦

Continue reading “October 2015 Update” →