Wow, how time has flown! It has been 7 months since my skin last touched topical steroids and I can now say it has been possibly one of the best decisions I've made. I'm in no way healed yet, and my face is still very pigmented and a bit flaky around my eyes today but it's nothing compared to the anxiety I faced daily for the first 5 months into this process. The pigmentation is taking it's time to fade but it IS fading! The skin is now strong, and it no longer weeps or anything like that, it gotten to the point where I feel ok about using skin products to wash my face.
My main worry at the moment is pigmentation, being of South Asian descent it is unfortunate that it doesn't take much for my skin to go into post inflammatory hyper-pigmentation mode. I'm using diluted lemon juice on the affected areas of my face at night to help my skin regain its natural colour and I think it's helping somewhat. (Please DO NOT use lemon juice on your face when you're flaring, it'll possibly make things worse and it'll sting too).
I have also started going back to work last month and that was a huge HUUUUUGE step for me. At the beginning, I felt very self conscious because of my face looking so very patchy and discoloured. After the first couple of days of feeling embarrassed, it dawned on me that most people do not give an eff about how I look, which in a way, is very liberating. My work colleagues have been nothing but supportive and it also gave me the chance to spread the word on the damage that topical steroids can inflict on people. There are still days where I look at the mirror and get all wobbly and insecure but I only have to think about the other skin warriors that are going through the same thing and it gives me strength.
I feel as though I have a little bit of my life back, and though I still pass on social engagements, I can feel my confidence building itself back up after being completely annihilated by this monster called TSW. There's hope out there guys, we can do this :)
