Peace Out Eczema: Month 12

(2/1/2015 -2/28/2015)
(Day 337- Day 364)

So, Month 12 so far has been pretty stable, but I still flare. The flares aren't epic, they're small, and I heal quite quickly from them, but they're still uncomfortable and irritating. I can shower, apply moisturizer and makeup, and I still look pretty normal. The showers FEEL AMAZING. I've even had some days this month where I don't really need makeup or moisturizer and I looked pretty darn normal! BUT, there were days were I was SO dry and my skin wouldn't hold moisture for longer than 12 hours. This disease is beyond understanding.

So far this month.....

I can shower regularly! And they feel amazing! After not showering for the first 10 months this has been an incredible blessing.
I still have a restricted diet. I dabble with other food but any large amounts result in extreme inflammation and irritation. LOTS of itching.
Still don't sleep through the night. I sleep about 3-4 hours at a time and can usually go to sleep once I adjust and scratch a little.
I am LIVING. The flares haven't kept me down, but I've gotten sick both in month 12 and month 11 with an upper respiratory things. Other than that, my skin hasn't stopped me. My husband hasn't had to take time off because of it. It's been good. If I need groceries, I go.... If I need to run an errand, i go. It's been nice.
I GAINED 10lbs!!!! PRAISE THE LORD! I was scary skinny for a while and felt like leather skin hanging on a skeleton. So thankful to have gained back some weight.

Day 337

So, I think I get dishydrotic eczema on my ears. I would get these awful, painful blisters on my ears that I never knew what they were. I finally came to the consensus that it was dishydrotic eczema. Some people on the Facebook forum said it looked like herpeticum, but it never became out of control. At the same time I got these (which you'll see them change through this post), I also got a very mild cold sore and a weird sore on my nose. So, it could just be "herpes" outbreaks all over, but either way that's what herpeticum is when it's rampant and coupled with infection.

Day 338

BEFORE SHOWER AND MAKEUP

AFTER SHOWER AND MAKEUP

Day 339

Day 342

NO MAKEUP!!

Day 343

NO MAKEUP!

Day 344

Day 345

NO MAKEUP

NO MAKEUP

AFTER SHOWER A LITTLE RED

ADD MAKEUP AND VOILA!

SOMETHING MADE ME BREAK OUT ON THE WAY HOME. SOOO ITCHY

Day 346

NO MAKEUP

AFTER SHOWER

Day 348

Woke up swollen

Day 349

SOMETHING SET ME OFF.... THE BEGINNING OF A FLARE.

Day 350

Randomly got hives on my upper lip.

My lips randomly flared... itching and oozing.

Day 351

Post flare DRYNESS. Hoping that after a shower and moisturizer tomorrow, I'll be back to how I was.

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THIS HURTS. No clue why this happened, but it just randomly started itching SO badly.

ONE YEAR!? HOLY MOLY. I am believing that the worst is over. This year has been hell. Utter hell. And I'm ready to move on. The end of my first year was spent with the same old same old. Dry but doable with makeup. It loves moisturizer. I ended the year with a flare. From moving and maybe just from my 1 year flare....

Day 352